UKC

If you had to pick purely on specification and fitness for year round commuting rather than manufacturer reputation etc

Which would you go for?

This
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/moda/calore-2013-cyclocross-bike-ec0449...

or
This
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/caadx-ultegra-2013-cyclocros...

Thanks

Sorry for the links not sure how to do them properly on UKC

In reply to Indy: probably the cannondale, its got my name on it, other than that there comparable

In reply to Indy: have you ridden a bike with SRAM on? some people dont get on with "doubletap"

both similar spec, based on price and the fact you get £100 of clothing its the 'dale

The BB7 calipers on the Moda can be adjusted by hand, which I find useful.

The weight of the Cannondale isn't given, otherwise I can't see much to choose between them.

In either case I would replace the tyres with something puncture resistant when they wear out.

In reply to Indy:

I empathise with your tough choice.
I would recommend the £750.00 Dolan Multicross but it dont have disc brakes.

So here are two others from EVANS.

I would consider these over the two above mentioned because of gear ratio's I would find 11-28 cassette limiting for a fitness do-all bike.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kona/rove-2013-cyclocross-bike-ec044042...

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/tricross-elite-disc-compact...

Best of luck, all the bikes are fine machines.

In reply to Indy: for year round commuting dont get disks.

I have 3 bikes with disks and 3 with rim breaks. Disk breaks on road bikes is not a good idea, fine for cross and mtb but not on the road

In reply to mr rob:
I wanted to say a similar thing but bottled it.
There is nothing wrong with good old rim brakes.
Except if your going cross style bike then you may well end up with cantis for clearance purposes.
Cantis on the back are fine but on the front you may like me suffer from brake judder. I had to fit V-Bakes on the front to overcome this. But this creates the problem of having to regularly adjust cable length and adjust blocks, at which point your wishing you had discs.

Im disappointed how brakes have issues these days

In reply to Indy:

I'd go for the Cannondale - the 105/Ultegra mix is very hard to beat.

In reply to Green Porridge:

...and I hadn't looked at the price! Plus, with the Ult/105 mix, you've got all the important bits Ultegra - shifters and derailleurs, it's only the chain and cassette which are 105 (which is still great stuff).

In reply to Indy: Why not...http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/store/product/42142/Pearson-I%27veStartedSoI...

In reply to gear boy:
Hey, thanks everyone for the useful replies!

Firstly I've never ridden any bike (properly) with brake end gear changers so wasn't aware there was a difference with the SRAM. Thanks for pointing it out I'll definitely make sure I get a test ride.

Went out to do some errands this morning and I guess like everywhere else its wet. The reason I'm so hot on disc brakes is that I'm sick of not having decent braking in the wet. Obviously you take that into account when riding but being able to hit the brakes and stop quickly is definitely a big safety plus when riding in built up and heavy traffic areas.

"Disk breaks on road bikes is not a good idea" Mr Rob why?

Epic Ebdon, In all respects the Cannondale is pretty much a no brainer its £100 cheaper the components used from what everyone has told me are top notch but I just can't stand the paint job! There seems to be a CANNONDALE logo on every spare cm of frame. The logo's on the wheel rims don't help either. 99% of people know that Cannondale is a premium bike brand as this is a big purchase for me having a bike that stands out screaming steal me!! rather than the Moda who/what? next to it is sort of worrying. A rational concern?

MikeHike thanks for the suggestions I did look at Dolan but needed to get a manageable short list and them not being available at Evans or similar worked against them for me.

In reply to Indy: I've just got the CaadX and it is superb, just as fast as the Venge for commuting! Thoroughly recommend.

In reply to Indy:
http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/mens-giant-escape-rx1-2012-xl-frame-bike/...

This looks like a bargain/woman scorned??????

In reply to Indy:

Disc brakes are a very good idea on a road bike that is so versatile that it gets used as an all-round winter training bike/tourer/mess around bike. I use my disc braked Tricross with mudguards in winter, was out on it yesterday and we found ourselves on a road with snowy stretches; my two companions on standard road bikes were having a nightmare but the Tricross, being designed for off-road riding, just forged ahead with excellent stability over the packed snow, even with the standard 23mm road tyres I'm running on it at the moment. With a rack and panniers the Tricross is superbly stable and there's no heel-strike.

A disc-braked cross bike makes an excellent, versatile winter trainer. Discs are eminently well suited to wet muddy conditions.