Originally Posted by
datlas
Went out after the rain and wandered about on the CX bike. It was so much more work than the road bike. I even skipped my favorite climb because I was concerned I would not have a low enough gear to handle the steep sections. I estimate the bike “cost” in speed to be roughly 15-20%. That’s a high cost, and I am pretty sure it’s all rolling resistance from knobby tires. Weight and other variables are about the same as road bike.
I saw your comment about the tires on Strava. You should be good with a tire with minimal tread or possibly even slicks - you don't need the knobbies unless it's going to get really sloppy/muddy. IIRC, guys like Ted King stick with slicks/micro-tread, even for the big events, unless it's going to be wet.