# Before I sell, lets try them on...vintage cyclocross conversion



## PHeller (Jan 24, 2007)

I recently bought some cyclocross wheels by accident. Didnt' really read the ebay listing close enough and ended up buying some that didn't have disc hubs. DOH! I've had them listed for sale/trade, but I thought I'd try them out on my vintage roadie just for kicks.

Using a 6spd cassette from a wheel I found in the river, and pulling the wheel the whole way back in the drops, everything fits! No rubbing, surprisingly. 

700Cx30 cyclocross tires are not very grippy though, so I don't plan on keeping this setup or the wheels. It was a fun test though.


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

My old steel bike also can fit up to 700x32c Cyclocross tubies ( file thread though ) or 700x30c knobbly ones

In fact this is what they did in the past during the off-season, just put wider tyres and go off-road.

Nowadays the road bikes have much less clearance and hence the need of a cross specific frame.


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## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

Define 'not very grippy' 

M


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## PHeller (Jan 24, 2007)

"not very grippy" meaning "not as grippy as 300Cx34/36/38" or "not has grippy as 2.0 MTB tires"

I need to mess with the air pressure a little bit, but i was definitely slower on my singletrack ride on the CX tires than on my mtb.


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## MaxCycles (Nov 24, 2009)

I used to have a bridgestone 600 that I set up for some off road use. Swapped the 27's for 700's and fit 32c tires front and rear. Probably could of put a 35 up front. Had issues with getting the brake pads low enough so they wouldn't hit the tire but they just made it without problems. It was a fun bike.


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## d2p (Jul 29, 2006)

looks like a nice setup for early season and late season and rough road rides. but add ice/snow or mud and no more clearance.


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## Oirad (Oct 31, 2009)

PHeller,

That is a very cool setup and I like the conversion idea. Good job, even if you bought the wrong wheels! Your bike is inconspicuously versatile: road, fire trails, even trails (if you dare) with just enough gears to do the job. Having more clearance at the fork crowns etc... is a plus, of course. If you're not racing, then it doesn't really matter as much. You've breathed new life into an old frame! 

-- dario


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## cs1 (Sep 16, 2003)

MaxCycles said:


> I used to have a bridgestone 600 that I set up for some off road use. Swapped the 27's for 700's and fit 32c tires front and rear. Probably could of put a 35 up front. Had issues with getting the brake pads low enough so they wouldn't hit the tire but they just made it without problems. It was a fun bike.


There's a lot of cheap 27" bikes out there. Did you try using some of those long reach Tektro brakes?


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## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

PHeller said:


> "not very grippy" meaning "not as grippy as 300Cx34/36/38" or "not has grippy as 2.0 MTB tires"
> 
> I need to mess with the air pressure a little bit, but i was definitely slower on my singletrack ride on the CX tires than on my mtb.


Well, yeah. That'll happen when you actually hafta pick lines and be careful of not pinching yer tires.

I know I'm slower on my cross bike on the more technical/rocky/rooty stuff, but I also have more fun on the cross bike going on the same trails as the DS guys.

YMMV as to whether you wanna run yer cross bike *that* far off-road...

M


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