Best cyclocross bike under £1000 and other CX chat

Yep the 'cheap bike' above is definitely suited for racing rather than being a er... swiss army bike.

Except he's on clinchers :

Moar modifications.

Winwood Muddy disc fork + BB5 caliper. Left the original canti hanger and outer in place and joined the two outers up with a barrel adjuster. Idea being I can run both regular road and custom cross disc wheelsets by swapping the fork and brake cable out. Brake cable end is soldered rather than capped.

Muddy fork is about 10mm shorter than the stock ultra cross so I'm intrigued to see what it does to the handling.

I've been thinking of running a front disc too, while keeping the mini V on the back. Gone as far as to buy some BB7s already, but now baffled by the choice of front wheel hub, rim and rotors etc. What did you go for?

10mm shorter possibly affect handling a tad, but it may be something you might not notice.

Received the CdF, felt sluggish with original tyres, now livier with slick, blue a little too vibrate in picture (it's a bit more muted).

Cheap replacement for the stolen Crosscheck, took me a while to get the hang of Stack and Reach as the Stack is smaller than on my roadie despite having the same reach.

I've been thinking of running a front disc too, while keeping the mini V on the back. Gone as far as to buy some BB7s already, but now baffled by the choice of front wheel hub, rim and rotors etc. What did you go for?

CXP33s, SRAM X9 hubs, stock Avid rotors. X9s were OEM, and I've only managed to pick two pairs up from random suppliers. Nice and light though, bomb proof, and the rear is 135mm. Both front and rear have a braking surface, built by Arup with DT Swiss double butted spokes.

I have a pair of Chi Fibre tubs matted to Novatech disc hubs, they look nice, untested yet. Rear is 130mm.

^ Ed, that looks great. What tyers are those?

Jack Brown 33.3c

Rims a bit too narrow for my liking thought, narrower than my roadie! I'm looking at replacing the rims with the Stan Crest that have a decent 21mm interior width (the Alexrims have 17.1mm interior);

Thanks Howard.

New prototype PX (Ti this time):

^^ Where did you get them? Can't seem to find anything online.

This thread is making me want a cross bike now...

This thread is making me want a cross bike now...

You've made Ed speechless ;)

Well the thread seems to have turned it to people's cross bikes, like the look of the Cannondale CAAD x any other suggestions not too sure about the Boardman...

In theory I think both mine and ed's cxers were < £1000 :)

Well, when I bought it anyway.

Well the thread seems to have turned it to people's cross bikes, like the look of the Cannondale CAAD x any other suggestions not too sure about the Boardman...

Look at the Boardman in person before writing it off. Get a decent bike shop to set it up, and you're golden. For £729* you can't go wrong if you're looking for a disc setup.

• Current price is £900, and you can get 10% NUS discount unchecked online, and you can buy vouchers at 10% off through British Cycling.
  

I've been thinking of running a front disc too, while keeping the mini V on the back. Gone as far as to buy some BB7s already, but now baffled by the choice of front wheel hub, rim and rotors etc. What did you go for?

You found a disc fork for it? You could always try this:

http://www.lfgss.com/thread81091.html#post2733575

10mm shorter possibly affect handling a tad, but it may be something you might not notice.

Steering is a bit snappier at the front, which is no bad thing.

Disc brake felt good - surprised at the amount of modulation, wonder if that will reduce and they become more bitey when the pads wear in.

You found a disc fork for it? You could always try this:

http://www.lfgss.com/thread81091.html#post2733575

Saw it :) I've got a really lightweight alu 26" fork with a ridiculous long A-C measurement that I was thinking of trying. Carbon would undoubtedly be nicer, but would like to test how front disc braking pans out as cheaply as possible first.

In theory I think both mine and ed's cxers were < £1000 :)

Well, when I bought it anyway.

OK cool, going to test ride some options at the weekend. The plan is to slowly upgrade as I go along :)

Steering is a bit snappier at the front, which is no bad thing.

Disc brake felt good - surprised at the amount of modulation, wonder if that will reduce and they become more bitey when the pads wear in.

IIRC 10mm = 0.5deg

So a notable change. But might not be a bad one.

Ed. That bike looks well nice. Jello.

it's pretty porky but it's down to the hefty standard wheels that come with the CdF, a change of wheels to says, Hope Pro2 EVO laced to Stan's Crest would make a dramatic difference IMHO.

Man it's stiff, a lots stiffer than I thought it would be but still pretty comfortable to ride, not unlike my Brooklyn, the only thing I hated is the blasted Sora shifter which is fucking awful, can't downshift on the drop, not enough purchase to brake confidently, and coming from Campag, the little downshift button is awkwardly tiny.

Hood shape is reasonably comfortable thought, won't be long for bar-end shifter and SRAM S500.

If you're going Sram, you can mix the 10 speed TT shifters with a MTB rear mech (with a 11-34), and a compact chainset. Gives a great (non racey) range. The 50T ring covers most road use, and the 34 most off-road. So it rides like a 1x10.

I had the 1x9 equivalent on mine. Big gaps. But if you're used to SS/fixed riding, it feels OK.

Also if you have separate shifters you can use MTB cable discs. Which are betterer.

I've got that combination with Apex, very versatile

I've got that combination with Apex, very versatile

Apex gives a neater solution. But I'd be looking to run MTB calipers. A MTB rear mech is better designed for off-road use too.

I'm tempted to get some Dual bangers.

http://www.interlocracing.com/discbrake.html

50cm BoxerCross, currently £55 (RRP £970) so could maybe go cheap, 30 mins left.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120864456026&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:GB:1123#ht_500wt_898