Bike Choice, CX and road racing
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Bike Choice, CX and road racing
I have a endurance road bike, I'm looking to start CX racing, I want to get somthing a bit faster for road racing too. Would endurance bike with CX tyres and have the road racing bike too, be better than a CX bike with slicks/CX tyres for road racing and CX. Would the endurance bike be better for CX than a racier road bike. Thanks
Edit: Any disadvantages of road racing with CX bike on slicks?
Edit: Any disadvantages of road racing with CX bike on slicks?
Last edited by Pfj; 08-06-21 at 05:25 PM.
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A CX bike with 48/11 isn't that much different gearing wise than a 50/11, you might need to spin a bit more making the final sprint tough but a 48/11 with 25c tire calculates to 24mph at 70rpm and just over 27mph at 80rpm. At the same time a traditional CX bike, not a gravel rebadged as a CX, will have a performance geometry that will handle well in a race setting. Bonus is a raised BB that will help it corner better in crits though you may then need the taller gearing.
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So lets say you don't have a cross / gravel bike. How big of a dummy am I going to be trying a cross race on a mountain bike? I am not worried about placing well. I am just looking to try it and see if I get the itch for it.
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If FS carrying over barriers and running uphill gets harder with weight and harder to hold.
Some people might do a whole season or two on a MTB around here.
Do it!
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I raced a couple of "practice crits" on my SuperX this summer and it was fine. I ran a 44t 1x front ring and 28mm road tires. The 1x gearing limits things a bit and I wasn't winning any sprints off the front, but for messing around in the pack it was totally fine. This setup has also been more than sufficient for weekend group road rides. Besides gearing, the only thing I'm really giving up is some aero advantages due to bigger gaps around the tires, and traditional round tube shapes.
2x drivetrains solve a lot of the problem here. I love 1x for CX racing, but it isn't a requirement and 2x will allow for more dual-purpose use.
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I rode my Giant TCX with Apex 1x 40t 11-42 on gravel/cross/road and loved it. I had it setup for both for 2-3 years swapping tires. I would still ride it on road but decided to get a fun older road bike as a project and now my TCX stays dedicated gravel/cx. I had no issues with the TCX on the road with a pair of Conti GP5000's in 700x32. It rides like a dream with that setup.
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You can absolutely race CX on an endurance bike as long as it will take 33mm tires (which it should). Worry about gains you may get from a bike with CX geometry when you move up to Cat 3 (if then).
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FWIW, my kid rides his CX bike (Spec Crux) in crits and the local Saturday morning road championships. 46x12 is his biggest gear, which forces him to really spin it, but he does fine.
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I'm interested in this as well as a way to get away with upgrading the cross bike. Kinda sick of how it is setup now.
I could see it working. I run a 50/34 on my cross bike and use it for gravel riding. The 34 is plenty in any cross race I've done with an 11-32 cassette and clutch RD. The crank was just what I had laying around to fix it up to be 11spd instead of be 10spd.
I agree on the mtb in cross thing, to start out. I feel locally there's guys who are winning that need to back off and get a dang cross bike. They abuse the generosity of the rules a bit IMO. They run the barriers a bit low here, so they just freaking bash over them on the mountain bike like nothing. It's cross, not mountain bike race. I think they should only allow Cat 5's in the 4/5 races to have mountain bikes. Not the cat 4's always in the top 5.
I could see it working. I run a 50/34 on my cross bike and use it for gravel riding. The 34 is plenty in any cross race I've done with an 11-32 cassette and clutch RD. The crank was just what I had laying around to fix it up to be 11spd instead of be 10spd.
I agree on the mtb in cross thing, to start out. I feel locally there's guys who are winning that need to back off and get a dang cross bike. They abuse the generosity of the rules a bit IMO. They run the barriers a bit low here, so they just freaking bash over them on the mountain bike like nothing. It's cross, not mountain bike race. I think they should only allow Cat 5's in the 4/5 races to have mountain bikes. Not the cat 4's always in the top 5.
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