UKC

I'm considering a Pinnacle Arkose 3 as an all round commuter / on road / off road / all purpose bike, and I'm interested to know if other people who own similar bikes get on with them.

It will principally be used as an all weather commuter, my preferred commute at the moment is via sometimes rough sustrans cycle path, or country lanes, and in the winter the road bike feels more than a little dodgy with all the leaves, gravel etc. I can stick to the main roads in the winter but this feels even more dodgy (road spray, rim brakes, bad drivers, etc.), so would prefer a beefer but still quick bike with better brakes for this. A disc equipped cx bike seems to tick these boxes.

Would also want to ride some single track and light off road trails and bridelways. I like the idea of going for a ride and not being limited to the road, but still be able to keep a fairly brisk pace on road, and again this would seem like a good choice. Obviously its not going to excel at either on road or off road, but I don't need it to. Any views/observations welcome.

In reply to Phil79:

Cross bike are great do it all bikes for when you don't want to worry about which niche to fit in that day. Swift-ish on the road, very capable off if you see a track to the side and wonder where it goes. Strong as anything too. The cynic could say they're popular at the moment because the trade is pushing them after it ran out of things to sell us, but they're a pretty good solution to the situation you describe. I'd go with a more road biased tyre and just suck it up offroad. Proper cx tyres can wear fast on tarmac and be a touch squirrely. You'll be racing next and drinking obscure Belgian beer

In reply to Phil79:
Is that the 1x10 one? Looks interesting.

Just ordered a Rose DX Pro with hydraulic discs and Di2 for £1900 - putting 28mm rosd tyres on for winter commuting, very light off road and commuting.

In reply to Phil79:

You need to distinguish between pure cyclocross bikes and cross-purpose bikes. The former are for racing and aren't actually very user-friendly as an all-purpose bike; the position is racy and they usually won't take mudguards, racks or much else.

A good cross-purpose bike is something like a Specialized Tricross disc; I have one and although it's heavy and slow compared with my roadie it's a fantastic winter/all weather/all surface light tourer; I did C2C on it equipped with mudguards and rack & panniers and it was the perfect tool for the job on tarmac or muddy tracks. Effectively it's a hybrid with road bars so it's very stable and comfortable.

In reply to Phil79:

I've had a Colnago Worldcup (caliper brakes) for over a year now, and (as well as for longer/muddy trips) use it every day for exactly what you describe. I simply run the 32 mm knobbly tyres that it came with, and can cruise at 25kmph on flat tarmac, maintain 30kmph without too much effort, and am comfortable up to about 70km distance. If I was going further more regularly I think I would invest in thinner slicks, but at the moment I am extremely happy with it. The tyres seem to be wearing well, with plenty of profile left and no flat spots.

As mentioned, they are strong and stand up well to being chucked in the car and fallen off of, and I love taking it offroad on dirt and gravel. Grass, roots, holes, rocks, lumps and launching off speed bumps are all perfectly manageable, though I do get the odd snakebite! I rate it (and by proxy the cyclocross style I guess...) highly, and have no interest in investing in road bike.

In reply to Rigid Raider:


Yeah, the Arkose leans more towards the 'cross purpose' rather than a cx racer, so its more suited to the things you describe. I've no intention of doing any cross racing.

I almost brought a Spec Tricross 4 or so years ago, but instead brought my current road bike (Spec Allez). Probably should have brought one at the time and wont be having to think about another bike now!

In reply to SteveRi:

They do seem to be the in thing right now, but again they also seem to suit my needs fairly well. The Arkose 3 comes with Kenda Small Block tires, no experience of these but they look like a half way house in terms of on/off road. I'd probably end up running some Schwalbe Marathons as I know they are bombproof.

Worth looking at Planet X, their cx/commuting bike costs less than the Pinnacle and has a carbon frame http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FBPXXLSRIV/planet-x-xls-sram-rival-urban-commu...

I was given an old cross bike and find it a real hoot to blast around forest fireroads on, would definitely recommend disc brakes rather than cantis though!!

In reply to andy:

No its the 2x10 (at least its is in the 2014 model I'm looking at). Link below:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/arkose-three-2014-cyclocross-b...

The Arkose 2 runs the 1 x 10, with hydraulic discs and bar end shifter on the drops. Does look very interesting, but I'd like the greater range of the 2x10.

In reply to Tricky Dicky:

Yeah, I did have a look at various bikes on Planet X, including that one, but need something with mudguard bosses front and rear so ruled it out. The Kaffenback would tick that box, but they don't seem to do the drop bar version at the moment and I think it would be a little heavy for me.

In reply to Phil79:

I have one and although its the only CX bike I've ever ridden it seems great. I've used it for everything from off road epics (great glen way in a day) to scouting the local area for new trails to 100 mile plus road rides. Bike has always been fine so far and pretty comfortable.

I'd definitely recommend one.

Loads of info here:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/arkose-3-2015

In reply to neilestewart:

Thanks for the info, I've read that thread previously, some good info there. My local Evans store is ordering in the correct size, so should be on for a test ride in week or so.

In reply to Phil79:

I had one until some thieving toe rag decided he liked it more than me!
My go to bike everytime! Commuter, child trailer puller, offroader, road bike. Even tho i had road and mtb at the time i would often take the CX bike instead, great for mixing up road and trail rides and i got some funny looks when i went around Gisburn Mtb trails on it!

In reply to Phil79:

I bought a Specialized Tricross entry level model a few years ago and it's been great. I've not done a huge mileage on it, but the stuff I have done (similar to what you're considering) has been fun. Mine only has rim brakes, but I think the next level up had discs. I got it for faster use on road combined with a bit of flexibility on terrain but also not too aggressive a riding position, due to having a bad back. It also has eyelets for mudguards and a rack if required. Also, the cables run inside the main tubes, rather than being clipped onto them, which seems like a sensible idea.

These are the latest models:

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/archive/2013/tricross

In reply to Phil79:

I bought a cyclocross for commuting as I go through a park with mud/leaves etc. It's great for that (and much more secure than a roadie). I made the mistake of not getting disc brakes though. As the bottom of a steep hill in the wet, the calipers don't stop you. Definitely worth the extra.

In reply to hang_about:

Yes, I have the same issue on the road bike, calipers just don't cut it in the wet, especially on steep hills. I've had a number of scary moments and near misses when the ability to actually stop quickly would have been very useful!!

In reply to Phil79:

You ride your road bike in the wet?

In reply to Phil79:

Had a "near death experience" last week when commuting in to work. My commute basically starts with a kilometre downhill, dead straight and finishes at a 30mph limit sign. I've got my Hope vision 2 light on as well as a small flashing LED on the front. Just after the 30mph sign is a staggered junction, road comes in from the right and maybe 30 metres later there's one from the left.

I'm doing about 40kph and maybe 30 metres from the road to the right when a car pulls out of it then immediately pulls left to turn left. If I hadn't had disk brakes then I'd have been under the side of the car. An absolute pillock of a driver.

In reply to Phil79:

I've got a cheap CX bike that I picked up on ebay. I like the flexibility but it's slightly undermined by the fact that you have to compromise on tyres. If you choose a road tyre it will still be handful in light mud, it you choose anything else it will never feel too quick or sure-footed on the road. If you fit a light-offroad tyre it's great fun zapping along tracks and little off-road sections, but I'd never enjoyed riding mine on the road.

I swapped out the cantilever brakes for mini-Vs. the clearance is a bit on the tight side but the performance is way better. I'd probably go with discs if the choice is there as they help differentiate the CX bike from just a winter road bike.

In reply to Rigid Raider:

Yes. I commute year round on it, not everyday, and I try to avoid wet days, but sometimes forecast is wrong etc.

In reply to Ben Snook:

30kmph without much effort.........On a Cyclocross....... I'll no be going out with you then!

Steve

In reply to Phil79:

I also ride my road bike year round including some light off road sections. My only concession to winter is the fact that it's my less expensive bike so I am less bothered by the accelerated component wear and it has mudguards and a lot of reflective trim. I'd like to run slightly fatter tyres than my current 23mm but the guards are very tight so I stick with 23mm all year. Right now my cheap CX bike is lying fairly idle - I'll probably find a use for it again in future.

In reply to Phil79:

Crossers are the mutts nutts for versatility. I'm just back from a weeks holiday where I rode the red and black at Hamsterly on my crosser then a few days later put road tyres on it and did 60 miles on the road. It was great fun on both.

My dad has an Arkose 3 and loves it although he's unlikely to be pushing it hard.

In reply to Oujmik:


I tried the Tektro mini-Vs on my 2011 Specialized Tricross, which dates from pretty much the last year before discs became commonly available on 'cross bikes, primarily due to the UCI allowing disc brakes in cyclocross racing. On the front, anyway: the rear cantis (Tektro Oryx) were always good enough to lock the rear wheel if that was what you wanted.

The mini-Vs were a disaster. They're supposed to be a solution to the problem that road brake levers don't have enough cable pull to operate ordinary V-brakes. The only way I could get the mini-Vs to do anything approximating to braking was by setting them ridiculously close to the rim, which isn't what you want if you're going to head on to unsurfaced tracks in winter. Even then they were still worse than the original fit Tektro 720 cantis.

Another solution to the cable pull problem that is often suggested is to use a thing called a Travel Agent http://problemsolversbike.com/products/travel_agents/ which multiplies the cable pull from a road lever by running it round a dual-diameter pulley. However, that beautifully machined pulley does add weight (about 160g according to one source I found) which I grudge.

I then tried the Avid Shorty Ultimate cantis on the front. They are marginally lighter than the original fit brake, which is nice, and they can be set up with plenty of clearance - but most importantly they are much more effective at stopping the bike than the 720s. That's just as well, because one thing they were not was cheap - although still a lot cheaper than fitting a disc brake, which would have required a new fork and at least a new front hub if not a whole new wheel. Add to that the fact that an Avid BB disc brake is at least 200g heavier than the canti and I just wasn't going to go there.

These days discs are readily found as standard on 'cross bikes in the ~£1,000 range but I still wonder about the weight issue. Where else on the bike have the manufacturers skimped in order to keep the overall weight down and the bike within the target price?

In reply to Phil79:

Just bought a Ridley X-Bow for the exact same duties that you describe. It has 28mm road tyres on most of the time for getting to/from work, but have just put the cross tyres back on to ride from here to Inverness over a couple of days.

I'd say discs are a much better option than cantis unless you're racing (a bit easier to use spare wheels from your roadbike with cantis). Oh, and if you're fitting mudguards then the brake calipers might get in the way of the support struts, but this isn't unsurmountable.

In reply to Phil79: whats the difference between a cycle cross bike and a cross purpose bike in geometry? I'm considering a focus Mares

In reply to andy:



That sounds like a deal.and a half.

full Ultegra Di2 alone must be worth about £1K.

In reply to Phil79:

Canti's vs Discs - both will stop you far better than a typical rim brake caliper but the discs work really well even from the hoods. Cantis still require you to drop down and grab a load of lever.

In reply to andymac:
you can get the groupset for about £900 these days, but the hydraulic brakes are £400 or so extra, and the DT Swiss wheels are decent too. Rose are generally brilliant value (and don't skimp on wheels and finishing kit), and after they replaced my frame with a new one after 3 years they can do no wrong for me!

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/bike/rose-pro-dx-cross-3100-di2-2015/aid:775032

In reply to Phil79:

I've been riding a Boardman CX comp for the last three years and agree with what most people are saying here - super versatile. With mudguards and lots of lights on it (currently) it's doing well getting me to work and back through hilly south yorks now I've moved back to the UK, but last autumn I was riding it in CX races around southern Finland each weekend and I've used it bikepacking as well in Finland - mainly on gravel and dirt roads which it was perfect for http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/an-early-winter-bikepack.ht... I don't think you'll go far wrong.

Lots of talk about brakes, so just one word of advice - try to avoid BB5s which is what mine has, fussy and fiddly, they can work great but give a it week and you'll be going down a hill thinking, "i shouldn't need to squeeze this hard" and will have to fiddle more. People say BB7s are better. Before I got the CX i rode a 'sports hybrid' - basically a CX bike with a flat bar. I like my CX more (its faster just due to the bars I think) except for the brakes - my old Felt had lower end Shimano hydraulics and they were superb - never needed adusting regardless of it being +25 or -20, and always worked great. I might well have to save up for one of the hydraulic systems now available for cx bikes for my Boardman.

And get some Marathon Plus or Marathon Plus Tour tyres - expensive and heavy but just never puncture. Just superb tyres.

In reply to TobyA:
or tubeless... got some Schwalbe 28mm tubeless waiting to go on my Rose when it arrives.

In reply to TobyA:


I've got BB7s and they're superb. A little fiddly to setup but reliable and all the stopping power you'd ever want for a crosser, touring or road bike. Can't understand why some are holding out for hydraulic discs on crossers.

In reply to TobyA:

Thanks Toby, I've read your blog a few times and seen some of the posts featuring the Boardman. I was considering a Boardman CX Comp at one point, but thinking I'm likely to go with the Pinnacle Arkose now, as it feels significantly lighter plus comes with the BB7s, which seem to be the standard to which most aspire.

A set of Marathons will I'm sure go on at some point, as I've used them before and never had a puncture. Currently have a pair of Duranos on the road bike, again never had a puncture with them. Schwalbe don't seem to make a bad tire.

In reply to DaveHK:
Yes BB7s are very good and easy to adjust once you've worked out what you're doing.... apart from the very stiff thumbwheel on the inside pad.

However hydraulic disc brakes have their own mechanical elegance; a small bore/long travel master cylinder driving an incompressible fluid down a tiny bore pipe into a wide bore/very short travel slave cylinder, thus magnifying the effort many times (a bit like high voltage power lines and step-down transformers) and finally, a self-adjusting brake where the pistons will slowly creep through flexible seals as the pads wear. Once set up a hydraulic system works impeccably for years; I have original Hope Minis on my mountain bike and they still work perfectly.

In reply to Rigid Raider:

I used to think it was a thumbwheel and did quite a bit of swearing before I RTFM and found that you should use a Torx key. Luckily it's the size that's on most multi-tools. I've stripped down a BB7 and put it back together without much problem - the hardest bit was the manual itself, every component is a dark grey and hard to distinguish in the photos. These days with digital cameras it's easy to take shots of each step (or video things) so you can see what order to put things back.

In reply to wbo:

Generally eve

Generally everything is a bit more spaced out. The wheels have more clearance around them for mud and the BB is higher off the ground, this has the effect of making the whole bike taller and longer which to be honest I'm not a great fan of.

In reply to Oujmik:


General purpose CX bikes tend to be longer to remove toe overlap which can be unsettling for low speed manoeuvering.