Jixr

I currently have a fuji sst. Full carbon, full ultegra, it's a monster. Stupid fast and nearly effortless. Coming in at a breezy 18lbs

My other bike is a fuji cross 1.5. Shimano 105, pretty basic cross build. Nothing fancy. Weighs in a hefty 25lbs.
I find myself riding the fuji cross way more than the stt. It's more comfortable, more adaptable, and outside of road events, way more fun to me. Despite it's lower components, higher weight, poor breaking and gearing.

The sst is only 6 months old. The cross less than a month.

I have this weird thing where I like things to be simple, efficient and usable. I tend to stress out when I have multiple bikes because I feel bad for having spent so much money on a bike I don't ride often. And it seems smarter to keep my limited biking budget on one bike instead of splitting them up across several.

I've kinda been thinking of selling both and building up a high end cross bike. They really do seem like the best do it all bike despite the weight and speed penalty compared to a dedicated road bike.

Anyone have any ideas suggestions or done anything like this yourself?

Edit: most of my riding is in social groups, shop rides, bumming around the city.

fietsbob

N+1

I have a Road , and a Cyclocross bike, but they are both steel frames.. I don't ride them much either..

I use the ones with an IGH, panniers, and mudguards, mostly. (in town )..

dim

Audax / Randoneer riders are switching to Gravel bikes now

Hydraulic disk brakes, dynamo hub/lighting, wider tubless tyres, and bike bags:






I'm looking closely at these setups and am hoping to have something decent before winter

Jixr

I don't really plan on loading it up with bags or anything. The main thing about my road bike I don't like is the harshness of the ride. I've done 2 centruies on it, and it just beats the heck out of me. Its a super aggressive frame, super stiff, and can only fit up to 25mm wide tires.

In comparison, my cross bike is much more comfortable, and its really fun to be able to see a patch of grass, a curb, or some gravel or busted path and look forward to riding on it rather than worrying about dismounting or finding a way around on my narrow tires.

I do know that it would be really expensive to get a cross bike to the same level as my road bike, but going with a carbon framed cross built up with hydro disc and some tubeless road wheels sounds really enticing. It would be about 90% road, 10% offroad.

Lazyass

A "gravel" bike (I hate that name) is better than a CX bike IMO because of the geometry. They have a lower bottom bracket and center of gravity so they will handle better on the road.

Jixr

Actually, this is a big reason why I like my cross bike so much. I started riding track bikes and I like the high bottom brackets. I don't like the feeling of sitting in the bike like you do on road bikes and I like being more on top of the bike.

12strings

If you like simplicity, it's the way to go. 28mm road tires would not lose you much speed, and bigger off-road tires would give you different functions.

A guy I our club does group rides on a cross bike and smokes us all....he has also just started racing crits on his cross bike (with road tires), so the trade-offs are minimal.

Jixr

yeah, with 25's or 28's the only real disadvantage I could see is weight, but in my book, anything less than 20lbs is good, and still lighter than most people I ride withs bikes.

bikemig 

Why not replace a road with a cross or endurance bike? It's a more versatile bike.

DrIsotope

I love that 25lbs is now considered "hefty." I ride a full steel CX bike with a 1x11 drivetrain, and I ride it everywhere. It's supremely comfortable, fits me exceptionally well, and I don't consider myself at any disadvantage, even when occasionally riding with people who have bikes that weigh 33% less and have double the gears.

Ride the bike that makes you want to get out and ride.

Lazyass

Everyone is different. I feel like sitting in the bike, not on top of it. Not to mention a lower center of gravity improves stability and handling. Which is why road bikes have the BB drops they do.

athrowawaynic

Yeah, do it.

I mean, I can't really tell you to n-1, but if the road bike is gathering dust and you have a thing about it, then why are you holding onto it? It's not getting more valuable.

D-Fuzz

I am thinking about doing this same thing. I have a road bike and had a steel framed gravel bike. While I loved the ride of my gravel bike, I sold it because it was too heavy and slow if I wanted to do 'cross stuff and my back can't take long hours of pounding over long rides on washboarded gravel. It always seemed to be sitting in the corner and I hated the thought of having money tied up in a bike I barely rode. I've been test riding some 'cross bikes and find them to be as comfortable as my road bike but with more versatility.

trail_monkey

Dude are we kin? I have the same problem.

Joeyseven

yea this is good to know.I was planning to do some Randoneer rides sooner or latter.And was on the
fence on which type of bike to build up.And I guess A adventure bike would also work.Longer WB.
Maybe best to buy the bike that fits best for longer rides.

af2nr

I actually did this. I had a Scott Addict and sold it and got a Trek Boone 5, another set of wheels and now have "two" bikes with a simple wheel change. This could be done without separate wheels but I run mine tubeless and I got a lighter set of wheels than the stock ones for my CX/gravel rides. I don't feel like I'm any slower on the road most of the time. I have only noticed a slight difference, likely only weight, on the few test rides I've taken on rim brake road bikes of similar price. Of course they are also void of cages, saddle bag, lights, etc. I actually did a ride on my Addict last fall and did the same ride on my Boone in May and had a few PR's on the Boone so for me there is no "real" difference.

motorthings

same story here, had a cdale supersix evo, bought a santa cruz stigmata, tried road wheels on the stigmata, and sold the evo.
swap wheels for dirt/gravel and i'm back down to a single bike to love on and accessorize.

Lazyass

This is the best article I've seen on them, a lot of detail. I am surprised they say the weight of the 54cm Comp E5 is 21.6lbs. Seems kind of light with the Future Shock.

https://www.cyclingabout.com/2018-sp...touring-bikes/

chas58

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

What is better for you is not better for everyone. You need to understand the difference and the pro's and con's

Reviews of the same bike (canyon slate) had the following comments:

Reviews by road bikers: too much trail, bike has to be manhandled
Reviews by dirt/gravel bikers: needs more trail for more stability.

Personally, I can't go below 70mm drop, but you clearly need more than that. It's all good, but what works for me doesn't work for you. Help the OP decide what is best for him...

chas58

Good idea, you are on the right path. I do that. Works great for me. can ride basic mountain bike trails, or go on training rides with the fastest guys in the state by changing wheels/tires.

40mm tires for long distance gravel riding or trail riding
32mm tires for general urban riding
28mm light weight tires for high speed street riding.

While a gravel bike might be a little sluggish for a very fast street ride, the cross bike doesn't hold me back much at all, with the right wheels and tires. The bigger 40mm tires give me a noticeable 5mm extra trail, so the bike is inherently more stable with gravel tires on it.

tangerineowl

Go for it. You can build up a pretty lightweight bike for your needs if you start with a carbon frame.

chas58

Start with Aluminum. Its not significantly heavier, but a bit more durable. ;-)

mtn_cyclist

I just sold my racing type road bike today. I'm am prepping a set of lightweight carbon
road wheels to use on my 'cross bike if I want to do fast road riding. They will be in addition to the heavier set of cyclocross wheels I already have that I can use for gravel or touring/bikepacking. Like a few of you have, too.

chas58

that is going to be nice! Enjoy...

Jixr

Update: ended up returning my road bike, bought a planetx fame, and just finished assembling it last night and will be taking it on its first real ride today.

Its not super light, ( came in at 21lbs ) but thats fine considering i'm using some heavy tires and some other cheap and heavy parts i'll swap out eventually.

So far its great, the frame is quite nice for what it is. I think i made the right call. ( now i just need to sell off some road parts to recoop some of my cost )