Pictureguy87

Forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong section. I got into cycling this summer and decided i wanted to try cyclocross. I found a Trek 2300 at an antique shop to race and did the Trek Cup and Jingle Cross. I've had a blast and can't wait to do more. I figured I may as well upgrade to a dedicated cross bike. I found a Focus online from what I can tell it's a 2013 model (judging from pics and research) along with the following components.

Frame and fork: Focus Mares

BB: BSA

Brakes: Tektro RX5 linear pull brakes

Cassette: Shimano Tiagra 12-28

Crankset: FSA Omega CP 50 34

Saddle Handlebar Stem: Concept EX

Front Rear Derailleurs and Shifters: Shimano Tiagra

Tyres: Says Continental Cyclocross Speed but pics show Schwalbe


Anyway, the person wants $750, I thought about offering $500 but wasnt sure with the market if that would be fair.

Just would like to have something to be a lil more competitive on since I have to travel usually 8 hrs for a race as they don't happen often in my area.


Thank you for reading.

tdilf

I would just make the offer that you want and see what they say.

msu2001la

$750 seems like a lot, but the used bike market is crazy. If it fits and you like it...

The biggest downside I see is the rim brakes. For CX racing, the most impactful upgrade I have ever made was switching to a hydro disc brake bike. Of course you can race on rim brakes (I did it for years), but there's a reason why CX bikes were some of the first drop-bar bikes to have discs.

The other concern I have is the road gearing. 50/34 with a 12-28 is fairly high gearing. You might want to consider swapping to a 46/36 crank and something like an 11-32.

For an entry level bike that you're just messing around with, you could do a lot worse. You're driving 8+hrs to UCI races though, not just screwing around in the local park... seems like finding a disc bike might be a better approach.

black_box 

Quoting this point you mentioned... You already have a bike you're ok to ride, so I would suggest waiting for a better upgrade. Hydraulic disk brakes and better gearing would be nice. That price seems high for what you're getting.

Hmmm

You tried CX and you love it. If you don't want to pour a ton of money into a cx bike with disc brakes, then go for this bike! I raced a very sandy wet course two weeks ago that destroyed my discs. I wish I had raced on a cantilever bike. It's cx, it'll be muddy and fun. I say go for it and in the future get a bike with discs if you're really wanting them.

CX bikes have been raced on canti's forever. You'll do great with them.

Pictureguy87

Hey guys, sorry for the very late reply. Was travelling to do "local" (Nashville and Jackson, MS) races on the weekends and working at FedEx the peak season began to pick up. I did find a bike and as I was going to msg the guy about the Focus, I came across a Trek XO2 here in Memphis. Got it for $800 figured I'd spend more in gas than the cost difference between the two bikes. But anyways, been riding it and loving it. Wished they held more races in my neck of the woods which kinda bumps me out that there was a cross race held here in memphis for 32 years running and that ended in 2018 to move to a gravel race. So got me thinking maybe I should look into hosting one myself. I know there is plenty of interest here.