Which bike for cyclocross

A couple of my mates have been getting really into cyclocross over the last few months and have invited me along to one of their training sessions. Always looking for ways to spice up my riding so I'm gonna give it a go. Only one problem........I don't have a CX bike.

My options are either my Falcon Majorca road bike or my diamondback ascent MTB. The falcon had a 700c conversion done over the summer so there is plenty of room for some cross tyres but mud clearance won't be great and the diamondback is ready to rock n roll as is, but the 26x2.3's it sports are hardly ideal.

The woods where they train are a mixture of grass, gravel, Tarmac and muddy tree root infested trails.

I'd go with the Diamondback and stick some skinnier tires with a more CX tread pattern on it.

dirttorpedo":cozmr8e5 said:

I'd go with the Diamondback and stick some skinnier tires with a more CX tread pattern on it.

Click to expand...

+1 Mud clearance is quite important. A frame can quickly get clarted up, especially when riding in the woods where leaves form a sort of magnet for mud.

There are pictures of proper old school 'cross riders riding road bikes with caliper brakes. Even seen a picture of Merckx doing this, but it's not much fun having to stop and unclog your wheels every 500m.

Johnsqual":1sski8zg said:

dirttorpedo":1sski8zg said:

I'd go with the Diamondback and stick some skinnier tires with a more CX tread pattern on it.

Click to expand...

+1 Mud clearance is quite important. A frame can quickly get clarted up, especially when riding in the woods where leaves form a sort of magnet for mud.

There are pictures of proper old school 'cross riders riding road bikes with caliper brakes. Even seen a picture of Merckx doing this, but it's not much fun having to stop and unclog your wheels every 500m.

Click to expand...

+ another 1

Just makes sense to use skinnier tyres. Also try to up the gearing if there's any fast bits you know of, or your mates might get away. Maybe add drop bars, Tomac style
Maybe I'll just shut up!

mike

hi, i just wondered if you can get bolt on bosses to convert to cantilever.[nah i dont spose they would be robust enough]
or how much a frame builder would charge to braze some on ?
i have seen a few pics of mountain bike to road conversions but i think they were v long post, quill stems.

Re:

Hey,

I think bolt on bosses do exist, DNA BMX make bolt on v-brake bosses which might work with cantis (google DNA powerstop). Never tried them or even seen them in real life though.

Bob Jackson's say they charge £15 per boss, which would mean £60 for a whole bike. Plus you'd have to fix the paint after.

You could maybe just swap the front fork for a 'cross fork. But that still leaves the rear brake.

Other option is to pick up an un-sexy hybrid like a steel Raleigh Pioneer,
transfer some road kit over, bung some cantis on and rattle can it a nice colour. If you're lucky you could do the conversion for under £100 I reckon.

Re:

Surely bolt on bosses would be turned in towards the wheel when brakes are applied, due to the pressure generated by the rim ?

mike

Re:

I think the DNA ones have a sort of hose-clamp device that goes round the fork and the boss, presumably to prevent this. It doesn't sound pretty, and like I say, I've not seen it used in practice..

Re:

You could do a drop bar conversion of the diamondback with a high rise stem, drop bars, levers and bar end shifters. If you want to be competitive then consider building up a cross bike. You can get a brand new Pake C'muter frame on ebay dirt cheap. Build it up with spares from your parts bin and away you go. Just remember to go with lower gearing like a 46 big ring.

Re: Re:

i would like to have a go one day.. or even watch a race at a short steep gradient !