UKC

I picked up my new CX bike this morning, I've never owned on before. I'm a road cyclist, who did a bit of light mountain biking in pre suspension days. I've bought it ride local trails and bridleways and maybe a little road on really foul days.

Any tips on CX riding? I've got the Mary Towneley Loop on my doorstep and I may ride that on Saturday as a good first test ride.

In reply to The New NickB:

Will watch this post closely.

Newbie too.

Getting my 1st cx end of this week. Come from mtb mainly with a bit of road cycling in the past.

Have a bump.

In reply to The New NickB:

If you are riding it mainly off road, then lay your hands on as wide tyres as you can fit - at the moment I run Bontrager 35c Jones, which are OK, I've also had Michelin Mud Pros which are good, but I want to go to a Panaracer Firecross 45c. Others worth a look are WTB Nano 40's.

Also funny alt bars are worth a look. I currently run on one midges which are a cheapish dirt drop bar. I want to go to a Salsa Cowchipper, others include the wood chipper, Cowbell from salsa, the Soma June bug, and a new bar by Alpkit. The advantage is that the drops are shallow and flared so that rather than having to bend you arms a lot to get onto the drops and brake, you can ride in a more conventional position and you end up with better control whilst going downhill. They look funny but they work well.

I've also just built a bike with 1x10 gearing and dropstop chain ring, 1-42 cassette and XT clutch rear derailleur. 1x is so much better so far than running two derailleurs - it's blown me away really. They are pig to match up gearing wise as they have a different pull ratio to shimano road gears so at the moment I'm running bar con shifters, but eventually I'm gunning for a Gevenalle set up, possibly with Juin Tech mech/Hydro brakes... quite excited about the new build really!

In reply to The New NickB:

If it's rocky or rooty, hang on like hell and try not to let your teeth rattle out. Prepare yourself for looks from passing mountainbikers on full sussers that is 50% "Dude! Kudos!" and 50% "You *€#%ing idiot" which is probably spot on for how you will be feeling.

In reply to The New NickB:

Oh one more thing, tubeless.... especially on the miche pro's I get punctures. The new rig is tubless ready - I just need the rip tape and valves and I'm off. With so much less tyre, snake bites are frequent...

In reply to The New NickB:

If racing find somewhere with soft grass and learn to mount and dismount, then learn to dismount and carry.

The rest comes with time and experience and having the right tyre for the right condition. I use mine to race but also to throw around on the bridleways and local common, then winter training in the foul weather (with mudguards and rubino's)

Light touch on the hoods, don't death grip, bit like cobbles

In reply to The New NickB:

I was in the same situation - bought a CX this year just to give a bit of variation to road biking and under estimated how much fun it is especially on muddy trails.

Regarding the mud I did initially find the sliding took a bit of getting used to but wasn't too much of an issue.

Go for flat pedals or MTB clips.

Enjoy

In reply to The New NickB:

Mary Towneley loop should give you a sufficient beating and give you a decent learning curve! One tip for rocky stuff is fatter innertubes and high pressures. For the 3 Peaks I use a fairly robust 35mm tyre, 35-42mm tubes and 80psi. If the bike comes with more of a racy setup it might not like rocks and cobbles. Enjoy, it's a blast and you'll have to ride light to get through stuff you'd would particularly think about on an MTB.

In reply to The New NickB:

Thanks all, took it for a very quick spin last night and enjoyed it a lot. I will take it out for a bit longer tonight on some slightly more challenging terrain.

Initial thoughts are that the tires that came on the bike probably are not up to the type of riding I want to do (at least with me doing the riding). The are 32s (Bontragar CX3) so I will look for something with a little more air and rubber.

In reply to The New NickB:

You need to look at the clearance - if you have discs you don't have to worry about getting the casing through the canti brakes, then you need to look at clearance to the chain and seat stays, and lastly between the casing and the seatpost. For example on my cotic the seat and chaoin stays would probably fo up to a 50mm tyre comfortably but the seat tube is quite clsoe so I'm limited by that...

In reply to The New NickB:

You are going to be playing with tyre pressure on every ride, each location and location condition make a massive difference. For instance 80psi to me is high, especially on wider tyres. I run (unless on tubs) between 40-60 unless I know I am doing road riding but I ain't changing the tyre.

32's shouldn't be an issue, though the profile/tread of them could be.

Keep the cadence high, legs spinning

In reply to The New NickB:

Just while we're at CX and gravel riding, would there be interest in me building up information on gravel tracks in the Dolomites? I'm taking my bike over for 3 weeks in august and I know there are some really good tracks around there which would be great for CX riding. Would people travel that far with CX bikes?

In reply to The New NickB:

Ouch, the MTL is going to beat you up; I did it on a full rigid and felt like I'd been in a boxing ring. Did it again a year later with SIDs and felt much fresher at the end. Come back and tell us how you got on; I'm guessing you'll say that the quicker time compensated for the beating you will receive on the sections of packhorse trail around the Calderdale area.

Another ride you might fancy trying is the circuit from Slaidburn, over the Hornby Road track to Wray then back on tarmac via Cross of Greet or even Bowland Knotts. All three are superb passes over the Bowland Fells; my favourite is Bowland Knotts, which has a super easy climb from the north and amazing atmosphere.

In reply to The New NickB:

3Peaks entries open today.... http://3peakscyclocross.org.uk/

Or for something different go and try one of the https://yorkshirecyclocross.com/ races, summer is a bit mad as its a mass start of over 100 people so it's a case of elbows out. For ideas for routes around Calderdale have a look at the sportives that Emma Ossenton organises http://www.strava.com/routes/3456498 is an example.

I'm also on a single ring and won't be going back, also your rims will take a bashing riding on stuff like the Mary Townley, I tend to run tubeless on training rides and haven't had any problems.

In reply to Rigid Raider:
I bet it won't hurt as much as when I ran it last Wednesday. I know the route pretty intimately, to be honest I can only think of a few sections that will be troublesome.

In reply to alisonk:

Well thanks for that (i think) just entered, lets see if i get in.....

Been a roadie and part time MTB rider for years and have just started CX ant he 3P was always on my radar.

I am also running single ring, it's the way forward, what gearing are you running ?

And OP you will know when you have crossed from CX to MTB terrain, we started riding some of the old loops that we used to MTB and whilst 90% of them are fine there is bits that the CX is just not happy on, mainly bouldery descents, i have been surprised so far just how capable they are off road, especially techy climbs.

In reply to The New NickB:

Great video on the link

http://www.cyclefar.com/proof-that-cyclocross-bikes-would-make-great-tourin...

In reply to Run_Ross_Run:

I would disagree with that; cyclocross bikes are not comfortable over long distances as they are built for one hour races and designed for speed. I suppose a few must come with mounts for racks etc. but they would be more "all-purpose" bikes. A pal of mine bought a CX bike to use as a winter bike and it was a big mistake; he couldn't fit mudguards and never got comfortable on it despite messing around with the position for months.

In reply to Rigid Raider:

I've only done a couple of hours on mine, but I have found it super comfortable, it is a CX bike as well, rather than one of these more relaxed gravel bikes, which are a bit like drop bar hybrids.

One of these:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/road-bikes/cyclocross-bikes/crocket...

I guess, as with any bike, fit is what is most important.

In reply to Rigid Raider:


My CX has mudguards and a rack and I find it comfortable enough for longish rides. I use it for mixed road/soft off-road rides and as a winter bike.