Best cyclocross bike under £1000 and other CX chat

Interesting - they probably are re-badged Novatechs - the rims are just re-badged Alexs so doubt they're some propriety Wiggle hubs.

Would be cool to hear if anyone has tried thru axles?

@Howard @Jon. Also interested in this question (maybe the wrong thread), buying prebuilt online (where?) Spoke choice?

Also considering a second wheelset after my commuter stole the rear wheel of my current spare set.

Running Hope Pro 2 to Archetypes, which I got from here 2nd hand for a good price. I would like the second set to be either ~as good, or am wondering how much I would have to spend to have something noticeably better. Have considered hunt £400 alloy or £1000 carbon (which depth), or bontrager affinity elite (not strictly tubless so would probably run with tubes) from evans on cycle to work. Whichever were 'better' would likely become the mainly road pair, so would be happy for them to be more fragile but lighter/more aero with the other set having a cx tyre on for rougher rides.

Am tempted by hope hubs again, mainly with the intent that it puts the rotor in the same place (does anyone know if all hope hubs have the same rotor position?).

Are Kinlin xr22t disc only? It would seem nice to avoid a brake track when one isn't needed and I would have thought one could get a better/lighter rim if happy to be disc only?

I've always built wheels with DT Swiss Competition, or their equivilant. If you're light and are a (or have a) reasonable wheelbuilder you could probably get away with Revolutions, but I've never bothered.

I have no experience with "nice" wheelsets so I'm probably not the man to ask. But, if you're considering racing, or even just riding them off-road I wouldn't bother spending big money: rocks and big chunks of masonary are buried underneath mud, wheels are protected by 32mm tyres at 20psi, stuff breaks. Not to mention the jet-washing.

I don't think Kinlin produce a disc version of that rim, they look to be mainly road-focused so perhaps not. I think the DT Swiss R460DB are well received around that price point, and are disc specific.

I have a CAADX from 2016. I think is has post mount disc brakes?

Is that right? How would I go about attaching some flat mount brakes?

I don't think you can. Unless epic bodges are your thing.

Actually I just re-read the spec of the brakes and I think they should work. It's the ones from the Talbot fire sale.
https://www.thedogswheels.co.uk/products/acor-hydraulic-dual-piston-disc-brakes-road-racing-bike-cyclo-cross-cyclo-cross
"Includes 2 x 160mm post mount adapters and bolts".

Oh, yeah they'll be fine. Good brakes too :)

Summer CX tyres, go. Bonus points for cheapness.

File treads, probably.

Can't go far wrong with the Vittoria XN, cheap and readily available and fairly hard wearing.

Do not the conti speed king. They're bobbins at resisting the puncture.

They look good, thanks. I'm thinking maybe Schwalbe G one's too.

XNs are a bit narrow if you ask me. Okay for road riding with the odd off-road jaunt, but for racing you have to run them with too much pressure.

I don't usually bother with file treads. There generally aren't enough races (at least in the proper cross season) where they're enough of a advantage to justify the cost (and hassle) of switching tyres.

I've got some mud tyres but found them too hard going on dry grass or compact mud. What do you use for dry conditions?

I do most of my summer cross training* on XNs, just been out on them tonight in fact. I'm running them tubeless with about 30 psi in, seem fine to me. But then I don't go as fast as you, Jon. Especially these days.

If I race on Thursday I'll use them I think.

For more volume, the Clement LAS are an option, but they are quite pricey and have issues with stretching over time so aren't really suitable for tubeless set ups.

Edit: Just checked on prices, the LAS are much cheaper now than they were, if you're running them with tubes they are worth a try.

*Back when I used to train.

A blocky intermediate will be more useful across the course of the season. I was using Specialized Tracers for most of last year, with the exception of a few races where the full-on mud tyres came out.

If it's for the summer series in London, I found clement pdx with latex tubes up to the job of Addington, Herne hill, and Bethlem. Dunno how that worked as they're supposed to be for mud but they did alright.

#tyrediscussionsinacrossthread

it begins!

@sumo i asked tubeless all-rounder in the other CX thread and got specialized from Jon and Vittoria xm from Andy.
I bought xm because they were cheap.

XM is a proper mud tyre. I think the XG is the classic cyclocross intermediate chevron tread. The XL is a really good tyre too, but better saved for mud.

The XL is the proper mud tyre isn't it? XM is claimed for mud, but the tread isn't that aggressive and it seems to cope with intermediate conditions well.

I think I only ever used the XM in thick mud and didn't really rate them in that, so perhaps they are more of an all rounder. Good in a straight line but I had trouble getting around corners.

Racing Ralph

They are similar to the Michelin Mud 2s, adequate in most conditions except mud.

Add the x-one to that list, good in most conditions and easy to run tubeless. Crap in heavy mud but not as crap as the mud2.

#fuckingtyrechoices