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@andyp
Cyclocross bikes are a bit of a curate's egg. If you race then you quickly come to realise that brakes are there purely to scrub a bit of speed off, not to stop you quickly, yet the majority of cross bikes sold are never raced and are used mainly for commuting with the odd off-road ride thrown in, and braking needs are different.
It's a tricky time to be buying a cross bike, as the advancements in road disc brake technology aren't quite here yet but aren't that far away either. I've tried BB7s and thought they were utter pants, as they required near constant adjustment and even then didn't work well with Campag shifters, so I'm not so patiently waiting for an affordable hydraulic system to become available. Then I'd like it to be integrated with electronic shifting so I think my patience will be tested for at least another 18 months, if not longer.