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monstercross frame
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are there many cx frames that can take 29" wheels with mtb tyres on?
Strictly specking you need a monstercross frame. Depending on your desired reach you can get a 29er xc frame to work. Like Ed mentioned frames designed for flat bars have a longer Reach than those designed for drops. So use a short stem, and short Reach bars. Possibly even size down.
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Decided to give the cx thing a go, probably, due to ease with my workplace, using Evans ride to work scheme to purchase it, as a result and because my commuter is a 700c disc bike (pompetamine) I have narrowed it down to between the Cannondale CAADX Disc 6 Tiagra and the Genesis Vapour Disc.
As I have a sensible do it all commuter, the idea is that it will be a racier option, my idea being to give cx racing a go, explore the local trails and possibly, stick some road tyres on/have my friend build a set of road wheels and have use it for some short, fast (for me) road rides.
Anyone like to help me decide between them/tell me I am wrong, this is the internet do I am guessing yes.
One of my main concerns is getting the right size, at dead on 6 foot, I seem to be exactly on the borderline between a 56cm and a 58cm in each, this is not helped by the local Evans having neither in either size. I have ordered in, to test ride/size a Vapour, my current preference, mainly due to colour :-) in a 58cm (size recommended by the sales assistant). Though having today sat on my friends caadx in a 56, with a longish stem, which felt definitely big enough, I am worried I should of got the Genesis in, in a 56cm first. Does anyone have any first hand experience of the fit difference between the frames. I am not good enough at bike geometry to attempt to work out the difference from the charts.
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Stack and reach measurements are your friend. Do you have a road bike that fits? Can you get the stack and reach for it? If you can, compare them to the crossers.
As a general rule, the crosser stack should be a bit taller and the reach a touch shorter.
I suspect the Vapour is a touch racier than the CAAD but I haven't compared their geos. I think the vapour might have a tapered fork, too - the front end will likely be a bit stiffer. But I haven't ridden it so who knows.
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This has been round ebay a couple of times, might be worth popping an offer in
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Stack and reach measurements are your friend. Do you have a road bike that fits?
Unhelpfully my only bike is commuter/do it all a flat bar Pompetamine, in medium, with a 130mm ~+10 degree stem with about 15mm of spacer under the stem. I can obviously measure/try and work out the stack and reach for this but not sure how helpful that would be given the different purposes I intend?
Using http://bb2stem.blogspot.co.uk/ for the pompetamine (from the on one geometry chart) and guessing a BB drop of 60mm (anyone know this?) gives
STACK 518.33
REACH 372.58
STACK WITH SPACERS 551.80
REACH WITH SPACERS 362.35
STACK WITH SPACERS + STEM 610.82
REACH WITH SPACERS + STEM 478.18I can see that the 56cm caadx has a stack of 587 and a reach of 390, doesn't appear anywhere has the info on the Genesis fork, so I don't think I can easily compare.
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That's what I thought, having sat on my friends Cannondale, in fact I think I would even have a slightly shorter stem than him (he had ~110mm stem), hence the thought that I would also need the Genesis, if it fits at all similar in a 56cm, rather than the 58cm currently on its way, if nothing else, the delay will allow me to accumulate some funds.
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Verenti Substance fit the bill, he'll also get a bit of money left over to buy compressionless housing that nearly all disc bikes don't come as standard (make a massive difference to braking performance).
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-substance-sora-2014-free-lifeline-basic-kit/
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The Fuji Feather CX on Evans looks good for £850. Nice & understated too.
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Verenti Substance fit the bill, he'll also get a bit of money left over to buy compressionless housing that nearly all disc bikes don't come as standard (make a massive difference to braking performance).
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-substance-sora-2014-free-lifeline-basic-kit/
I think Boardman offer a product around the £750 mark, they always get good reviews and offer value for money.
Cannondale's CAADX with Sora is £800 and is a very good frame with okay group set and finishing kit.
The Fuji Feather CX on Evans looks good for £850. Nice & understated too.
Cheers gents. Much appreciated.
As a self-confessed miserly Scotsman I'm sure he'll be tempted by the cost of the Verenti but given his utter clueless with anything mechanical that doesn't have a motor it's good to give him some options.
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The Boardman is £900, but you can bring it down to £729 if you're a member of British Cycling (Halfords vouchers for 10% discount from face value) and claim to be a member of NUS (they apply the NUS discount online and it's unlikely the till monkey will check).
Best to get a LBS to put it together and check the usual troublespots (fork bung slips and BB bearings are often put in dry).
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Best cyclocross bike under £1000 and other CX chat
Posted by
@TM
Had an idea for a cheap cyclo-ish bike. Take a 26" old mountain bike and wack some drop bars on it, drop levers and try and make thumbies as nice looking as possible on the bars.
Anything I should watch out for/ not thought of?