Cyclocross - CX and SSCX races and training

noob question about CX gearing...

I've so far ridden a grand total of 6 CX races (all summer events so relatively tame) and I seem to get an enormous amount of chain slap and my gears seem to jump around a lot, particularly over the bumpy sections. Indexing and drive train appear to be perfectly set up on the road but are super annoying during cross.

My guess is that this is because I'm riding my touring bike (CdF) with touring gears (50/34, 11-34 and a tiagra RD), and since I'm always in the little chainring for cross, my chain is too long.

Is this a common problem, and is there anything I can do? I guess I could try removing a link or two but then that would be annoying when the bike goes back to touring duties.

Also since I'd love to get a dedicated cross bike, how much difference do clutched RDs make in this situation? I'm looking very enviously at the riders with SRAM 1x setups.

how much difference do clutched RDs make

All the difference. Not dropped a chain since going clutched 1x with narrow wide chainring.

50/34 is a horrible chainring setup for cross. Big is too big, small is way too small with little chainwrap.

You could slip a 42t chainring on for racing...

Most of the CX-oriented 2x chainsets I've seen have a 46T big ring.

Cheers all.

I originally bought my CdF as a "do it all" gravel/tourer/commuter/offroad bike but never felt satisfied with it as a jack of all trades... When I had fat tyres fitted it was sluggish on the road, mudguards and panniers just got in the way off road etc. Then someone suggested I try cross and so I stripped all the touring/commuting bits off and I've loved the summer series so far, but obviously the setup still isn't ideal.

So, should I:
a) buy a dedicated CX bike and return the CdF to touring/commuting duties?
b) convert the CdF into a more cross oriented build (Sram Rival 1x drivetrain, maybe carbon disc forks to save some weight) and rebuild my rusty old steel rat frame back into a regular commuter.

I think I prefer option b because we're currently saving for a house and I think it would be cheaper, and also I get the feeling that cross is a discipline where it's harder to buy speed than it is in TTs and so a £1,000 C2W cross bike is unlikely to make me much faster than the upgraded CdF.

What would you do? How much difference does a fancy carbon bike make in cross? Even with a carbon fork, I imagine the CdF will still weigh a ton.

a) buy a dedicated CX bike

Mostly because cross bikes tend to get ruined and there's some end of season bargs at the mo.

you don't have to go 1x, you could just get a 46t outer ring

I'm really inexperienced, but I'd say don't worry about the bike too much. Weight doesn't seem like it'd be a huge hindrance.

a) Rival 1, if buying the whole Hydro groupset on it's own is ££, add a carbon fork and you could have purchased a dedicated bike. Maybe wait for Planet-X to drop the XLA Apex 1 back to £899.

There wasn't a discussion on our club forum about getting cx bikes, 9one contributer pointed out you could getting a decent second hand canti cx bike for £300 from central league facebook so maybe look for an older second hand bike

I think I learned a bit of a lesson at tonight's race... So far all the races I've done have been in the dry but today was a slick mud bath. The only upgrades are likely to make a meaningful difference to my speed are a decent set of grippy tyres, a big improvement in handling ability, and some bigger balls.

I think I'll follow @fredtc's advice and just swap to a more cross oriented gearing and invest in some proper tyres for now - that will be the cheapest option. Then I'll maybe think about a dedicated CX bike if something cheap crops up.

I think I've just been dazzled by all the posh bikes at the front and a longing for some shiny new kit.

So, recommend me some nice grippy tyres. Do most people usually have several sets of tyres that they select on the day based on the conditions?

This year I'm going to run two wheelsets - a tubeless set which will normally have intermediate tyres for the drier races, then a tubular set with mud tyres for lower-pressure, muddier days. I can then use the other wheelset as a backup in the pits, should I puncture.

Some people have entire libraries of wheels and tyre choices at home with something for every condition, others rely on one tyre for the entire season. If I was doing the latter I think I would select a mud tyre with a fast-running strip down the middle, such as the frequently mentioned Vittoria XL.

Cross season is less than a week away now! Here are September's races reasonably local to London:

3rd September: London League, Stanmer Park, Brighton
10th September: Eastern League, Chelmsford OR East Kent League, Sandwich
16th September: Eastern League, Langdon Hills, Near Basildon
17th September: London League, Herne Hill
23rd September: Central League, Welwyn Garden City
24th September: London League, Penshurst OR Eastern League, Northlands, near Basildon OR Three Peaks
30th September: Central League, Milton Keynes
1st October: London League, Stanmer Park OR Eastern League, Colchester

I think the 1st October London League race is at Stanmer Park. There's one later in October at Happy Valley.

So it is! They must have updated the calender. That is good news.

Yep, much prefer Stanmer Park to the Happy Valley course (although I've only ridden it once, about 5 years ago, so it might have improved).

I've got, or will have, three wheelsets this year, one with a pair of Grifo tubs, then a selection of file tread, intermediate or mud tubeless tyres.

Given my lack of training I need every advantage I can find.

I've got two I think. XM and something yet to be purchased.

Training is cheating.

Gonna make myself use tubs at every opportunity then fire sale what's left of them at the end of the season

What's the cyclocross race with the huge crowds in a big sand bomb hole?

Found it - zonhoven

Who's going to Brighton on Sunday?

Not me, still trying to get fitness up to snuff and have dad duties to do.

Which is a shame as I like the course there. Will have to ensure I'm there in 4 weeks.

I'm on my holibobs.

I like Stamner, and it's surprisingly easy + cheap to get to if you take Thameslink. Gonna run some tubs and see how I get on.

Will have been a week since Torq so might have recovered. Maybe.

I'm driving down if anyone needs a lift from BR3. Aiming to get there an hour before the seniors but could be persuaded to go earlier if needed.