Naieviety here....regarding cyclocross/comuter/fire roader..

[LeeDevelopment]

I'm preparing to jump into the new waters of building up a cyclocross frame as a commuter and this bike will also see forest fire roads and the Upper Pennine trails. As far as mountain bikes go I'm rather shit hot, but where cyclocross is concerned I have to admit defeat.

What sort of chainring size set up should I be looking at and of course rear cassette sizes etc? Do I keep my regular 175mm crank or go for something longer? I have no ideas when it comes to road bikes and cyclocross stuff, as you can probably tell by now, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ta muchly,

Lee.

 

[jonnyboy666]

i run a 13-26 cassette with 34-45 rings up front, i also have a 12-23 cassette aswel for when i swap the wheels and use it with slicks for the road.

if you are goint to race i'd suggest a 42 or 44 top ring though, it helps with mud plugging also i know a couple of guys who use 32's up front.

crank length, i use 172.5 same as my road bike but have used 175 aswel, prefer the 172.5 though

hope that helps

 

[LeeDevelopment]

That's smashing, thank you. I have most of the equipment already from ex-mountain bike set-ups of yore. (Apologies to the 'spelling police' - I've had a long day and really can't be bodged to go and sort my spelling out this evening!).

I'll stick with the 175's then crank wise, means I can use my Middleburns (sure they're not straight road cranks but but MTB ones, that won't make much of a difference, right???).

It'll be MTB canti equipped too, they're adjustable for different sized wheels so should be OK, mind you the frame canti positions can be changed prior to purchase so it shouldn't be a problem. Waiting for Rody at Groovy to get back to me regarding forks and bars.

 

[jonnyboy666]

the cranks will be fine, i used my middleburn rs1's initially but remember for slow turning you might get shoe/wheel overlap.

brake wise canti's are best on cross bikes but i would recommend the froglegg styles, they are not to expensive but the standard pads are poo, replace with koolstop.

 

[LeeDevelopment]

brake wise canti's are best on cross bikes but i would recommend the froglegg styles, they are not to expensive but the standard pads are poo, replace with koolstop.

I'm hoping to use my Brooklyn Machine Works 'Snot Rocket' brakes mated to a pair of Paul Comp levers.....??

 

[jonnyboy666]

this is what i use with campagnolo record ergolevers using tekro crosstop brakelevers.

 

[LeeDevelopment]

Oooh talk about spooky, I was just looking at those on Google!

OK that is noted but i fancy the eccentricity of teh Brooklyns, ahem! Now, what about the shifting....I have some thumbies on their way to me (thank you to a fellow RetroBiker on here ), should I go for Dura-Ace or something of that ilk? Nine speed I reckon.

 

[jonnyboy666]

thumbies? how are you gonna mount them? i'd recommend sti levers, but i wouldn't run dura ace unless your super rich and they are known to seize into 1st gear position at the lever, maybe ultegra coz they'll save you a fortune, i run 9 speed but i know alot of guys who race with 8 because of mud clearing and stronger chains. but it's personal preferance and sometimes just down to what you have lying around!

 

[LeeDevelopment]

*making notes*

I'm aiming for a pair of Groovy 'Luv Handles' bars - yes, a flat(ish) bar as opposed to drop downs. (My back's knackered from years of DH abuse and will be made worse by drop downs).

Have swapped Dura for Ultegra on my list of bits needed, ta muchly

 

[dbmtb]

Here's my take...

Spooky/Frogglegg or older non-low-profile cantis are a must. Low-profile MTB cantis will give you real problems with setup and rim/mud clearance.

Compact is probably wisest for your part of the world - but for road use with a 12-27 cassette than the largest ring should not be less than 46. Also bear in mind that an MTB mech won't work well with road STIs.

Stick with 9-speed - then you have the option of fitting an MTB cassette/mech if the road one turns out to not be to your liking.

MTB front mech won't work properly with road STIs.

Consider barcons if you are thinking of thumbshifters.

Don't fit longer cranks than you are used to.

Keep it simple.