Best cyclocross bike under £1000 and other CX chat

Genesis day one disc and swap the fork out?

^ good idea actually but then i'd need white ind ENO disc hub right?

There's some interesting stuff in that discussion. Clears up the DD / Bevato issue.

My next CX wheels will also be Iron Cross, but on Novatec :)

oh shite I thought Day one = CDF

Yea that whould be a good idea actually + I can slowely upgrade.

1. Hope Twin V
   
2. Carbon fork
   
3. Better wheelset
   

Gah, went to edit my post and deleted it.

But yeah, you see what I mean.

^ good idea actually but then i'd need white ind ENO disc hub right?

You'd be better off with that and vertical dropouts than track ends IMHO.

Day One is too big, their smalles 52cm has effective top tube of 54.5cm I need 53cm

pompetamine, with a real fork? that's my take on more or less the same concept.

yes, I was going to say that

So when will we see these "bad boys" on cx bikes now that discs are all the rage

If the suspension leftys rely on dual steerer clamping for added stiffness, and that commuter lefty gets by without it.

What would they do with a CX lefty?

Something more like this perhaps...

^ Very elegant solution :-/

Although you could use the hollow leg to store stuff in?

This week have fallen (back) in love with the Boardman CX.... To be honest, trying to get the brakes working to a level I was happy with was a royal pain in the arse.

Now with road BB7s front and rear, new cables (lightly lubed to reduce friction), removed cross top levers, travel agent on the front and having trued the (very wonky) discs...Braking power is great. Actually great, not just ok.

Might even be tempted to put knobblies back on and go ride it how it's meant to be ridden, didin't have faith enough in the brakes to do so before.

incase you don't know about them, these are genius http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=3318
A lot of polo players use them.

That's a clever idea.

This week have fallen (back) in love with the Boardman CX.... To be honest, trying to get the brakes working to a level I was happy with was a royal pain in the arse.

Now with road BB7s front and rear, new cables (lightly lubed to reduce friction), removed cross top levers, travel agent on the front and having trued the (very wonky) discs...Braking power is great. Actually great, not just ok.

Might even be tempted to put knobblies back on and go ride it how it's meant to be ridden, didin't have faith enough in the brakes to do so before.

The upgrade to BB7s sounds a great thing to do. I've got the brakes on my CX to an acceptable standard, they're OK and they do the job, but my preference is for brakes to be well above OK!

All in all I'm very pleased with the CX but I think the weather this year and the coming bad weather months is giving me second thoughts. I ride on single track and bridleways through Epping Forest regularly; not so much as a destination but a method of cutting busy roads out of longer journeys. A hint of bad weather at any time of the year here and the place turns into a boggy mire.

I'm seriously thinking of replacing it with a Genesis Day One Alfine 11 but the reviews are mixed, and I see from the latest specs that the 2013 bike is having BB5s fitted and not BB7s as on the 2012 version. Most of the reviewers use their bikes for commuting, so I don't know how it deals with loads of mud. The weight issue isn't important as any bike comes back in this weather with about 2 to 3 Kg of clay soil on it, which acts like a grinding paste on the drive train. Having a hub drive train in principle seems to be easier for maintenance, particularly for cleaning stacks of mud off. I am concerned though that I might simply be swapping one set of problems for another. I'd like a bike I can use and spend more time riding it than cleaning it, and because of where I ride elsewhere, it has to have gears. I walk enough hills as it is....

Probably not the right thread to ask this, but has anyone had an Alfine 11 for any length of time and ridden it in muddy conditions?

Probably not the right thread to ask this, but has anyone had an Alfine 11 for any length of time and ridden it in muddy conditions?

No, but I thoroughly abused an Alfine 8 and it performed flawlessly.

I'd go for the Eight for XC* given the commentary on 'tinternet regarding the Eleven.

That said you may have no problems with an 11 at all...

• I have a brand new unused one hand built into a Open Pro - PM me in case you decide you'd like to buy one.
  

No, but I thoroughly abused an Alfine 8 and it performed flawlessly.

I'd go for the Eight for XC* given the commentary on 'tinternet regarding the Eleven.

That said you may have no problems with an 11 at all...

• I have a brand new unused one hand built into a Open Pro - PM me in case you decide you'd like to buy one.
  
  

Thanks Howard. I've just discussed this with a friend over the 'phone and he thinks I'm going completely the wrong way with this. Rather than something different, I should be looking at something less complicated to get filthy and clean up. He thinks a single speed CX is a better option. I've reluctantly agreed that losing more weight and getting fitter will deal with the hill issue. It's good advice and I'll take it although it isn't what I wanted to hear, and as this is a fixed gear and single speed forum I'm pretty much stuffed. Still, it brings it back on topic for the thread as these can be found for well under a £1000, which really is a bonus.

It is also a reason to acquire another bike although I'm sure my wife will have a very different view.

Sounds like a good move.

SSCX rocks, if the hill is too long and you loose momentum, come off and leg it, that's the whole point of cyclocross, everyone will have to eventually, geared or not. Ride the mud/sand and hop the barriers to compensate.

SSCX rocks, if the hill is too long and you loose momentum, come off and leg it, that's the whole point of cyclocross, everyone will have to eventually, geared or not. Ride the mud/sand and hop the barriers to compensate.

Found one. Hopefully collect this coming Friday - and if I can work out how to post pictures I'll do so.

Anyone running mini v's here?

I'd be perfectly happy with cantilever's if I was just racing on the bike, but for commuting (in the wet) and general trail riding they lack a bit of power. Seems the main disadvantage is rim clearance (and losing the modulation of cantis, obviously), but cleaner routing, more power, easier to setup... tempting. The Tektros seem plenty cheap too.

I know some people who have them. A chap who just commutes on his CX has no comments on them other than they stop you nice. Those who race have issues with them clogging on very muddy courses.

So if you aren't racing go for it, they stop you better. Look neater too IMHO.

Another issue is simply the on-off modulation which take a while to get used to, but very powerful and can stop you dead easily.

I've got tektro mini Vs on my cross bike, exactly like Howard says they're good on the road, sometimes even better than the dual pivots on my other bike depending on conditions, but they're not ideal for racing on since they clog up easily and you have to keep the rims super true all season because tolerances are mm perfect.