Cyclocross help / advice want a early bike

Hi everyone got myself a 1996 full suspension mtb now I am after a cyclocross bike. a few of my friends have brand new ones but I fancy another retro bike. I am new to cyclocross bike so haven't got a clue of a early brand to keep my eyes out for. Also could a road bike be converted to a cyclocross?
thanks all

Cyclocross have a different geometry to road bikes to allow for wider tyres and plenty of room for the mud to be displaced and sometimes cantilever brakes for extra stopping power. I guess a road bike could be used if you can find a frame with good clearances. Like most things though its best to buy something built for the job. If you want something collectable, retro and a bit of an investment maybe something like the Vitus 787 Futural. It might take a while to track one down.

A cheap one recently sold on Ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Retro-Vitus-F ... 7675.l2557

Retro cyclocross bikes are not that common, but they do exist. I bought an Orbit from LGF on here:

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=268087

Orbit were quite successful in cyclocross so there must be some more around. I saw a nice Alan frame on ebay a couple of months back, so they do turn up. In fact, I this just came up in a search:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ALAN-cyclo-cr ... 5afb2832a8

Good luck,
Andrew

Hello,

Old steel and aluminium cyclocross bikes are great fun and well worth getting into. I'd guess that a steel 'cross bike would be more durable and better overall than a modern carbon or alu job, certainly for a non-professional rider.

The most famous 'cross bikes were the ALAN frames, which were made of lugged aluminium tubes. They were very flexible which arguably made them good for off road riding. These frames were also badged up by other makers like Guerciotti and Colnago.

Specialist steel cross frames were perhaps rather short lived. Up to the 1960's-1970's, a lot of riders just used road frames with profiled tyres. By the late 1970's-early 1980's, the ALAN type aluminium frames had taken over. So older steel cyclocross frames are quite rare, but worth having if you can find one. GIOS and Flandria are two of the most important brands of steel 'cross frames. Diamant is a Belgian company that made decent steel 'cross frames too.

TBH your best bet for finding a steel frame would be to look in Belgium or the Netherlands, if you don't mind paying for postage and stuff.

Johnny

Thanks for advice, being new to road bikes cyclocross I had not heard of ALAN before, but think this is a good option as my dad died suddenly in December and his name is alan and he was 54, so think a alan bike with a 54cm frame is a nice reminder of him just need to keep my eyes out for one within my budget noe

Sorry to hear about your dad. I lost my Dad to cancer a couple of years ago and cycling was something we had in common, so its nice to keep that connection with him. I think building up a bike as a tribute would make a really nice project.

Although (without wanting to be obnoxious), the size depends on whether the bike will fit if you want to ride it. ALAN's do look nice as wall art too, mind. The aluminium lugs polish up well.

Some more info on the maker here:

http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Italy/ALAN_main.htm

Good luck,

Johnny

Thanks, and sorry about your dad to buddy. Size wise is a bit of a issue to work out. I am 5ft 9 and always have a 18inch mountain bike which feels nice, but road etc go in cm and not sure frame geometry is the same. Kind of guessed a 54cm was my size but that's 21 inch and could ride a 21 inch mountain bike

Thanks, and sorry about your dad to buddy. Size wise is a bit of a issue to work out. I am 5ft 9 and always have a 18inch mountain bike which feels nice, but road etc go in cm and not sure frame geometry is the same. Kind of guessed a 54cm was my size but that's 21 inch and could ride a 21 inch mountain bike

BITD (1970's) Ron Kit seemed to corner quite a bit of the market for Cyclocross frames and Kit.........

Why he thought that green looked good beats me LOL

Shaun

Parky sparky u got mail