# Cyclocross for fun - The Pinarello CX Carbon



## rodericg (Sep 26, 2006)

hello, I am both a road cyclist and a mountain biker but mainly the former. Most of our roads are dirt and I am close to heaps of forest trails. We don't have cyclocross here in Australia and there are almost no cyclocross bikes in the country. I grabbed the Pinarello CX carbon when it was released here in February just to use on dirt roads and I am seriously impressed. Shame I can't use it for cross racing but it is an amazing second bike for a road cyclist! I wrote a review on the bike and posted it to my bicyclism blog if you are interested: http://blog.bicyclism.net/?p=199. This blog is definitely not a commercial site; I run it as a hobby. Hope the review is of interest. Regards to all


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## PeanutButterBreath (Dec 4, 2005)

Overall, interesting.

I have to say that there are good cantilever brakes out there, though they might be prohibitively expensive to get in Australia. Can't tell what is on the Pinarello, but they don't look like anything I would expect much from. Even bad ones can be improved with decent pads (stock pads are rarely decent) and some tweaks to the rim contact angle.


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## olekz (Dec 17, 2007)

Rodericg,

Great review, thanks... I am thinking about buying my first cyclocross bike and I am looking at P CX. I currently own a new Prince and love it so of course I am looking their CX bikes. In your opinion (or anyone else) what other CX bikes would you look at when comparing with the P CX bikes?


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## rodericg (Sep 26, 2006)

ta. There's lots of CX bikes available in theory, like the Colnago and the Ridley (very popular with the pro's). More important is what you can actually find in the shops or get from a distributor. For us poor Aussies, we have to import everything as no one has heard of CX bikes. Our Australian Pinarello distributor (Degrandi Sports) decided to bring in the Pinarello CX and that was really lucky because I wanted that one most and they just happened to have one in my size. Actually, it was the only one they had. Synchronicity I say!. The Pin CX is no Prince, but then again, nothing else is either. So grab the CX and you won't be disappointed!


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## olekz (Dec 17, 2007)

rodericg said:


> ta. There's lots of CX bikes available in theory, like the Colnago and the Ridley (very popular with the pro's). More important is what you can actually find in the shops or get from a distributor. For us poor Aussies, we have to import everything as no one has heard of CX bikes. Our Australian Pinarello distributor (Degrandi Sports) decided to bring in the Pinarello CX and that was really lucky because I wanted that one most and they just happened to have one in my size. Actually, it was the only one they had. Synchronicity I say!. The Pin CX is no Prince, but then again, nothing else is either. So grab the CX and you won't be disappointed!


I am going to pull the trigger tomorrow.... I just need to finalize the size. I ride a 57.5 Prince and the LBS and Pinarello distributor have told me to order the 54. A 54 seems small to me but they exchange it for a 56 if I decide I need it. 

What are your sizes (Prince and CX)?

Thanks again!


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## rodericg (Sep 26, 2006)

Go on, pull the trigger! Good move and I'd love to chat with you about your experiences with it. My Prince is 57.5 just like yours and my Pinarello CX is the 56. It's a perfect fit for me with the same 120mm stem and 175mm cranks as on my Prince. The 54 CX would be too small for me. I'm 182cm tall (5 feet 11 and a bit - 6 feet effecively).


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## olekz (Dec 17, 2007)

Ok "trigger pulled"! But you got me a little concerned, they are ordering the 54cm for me but will replace it with the 56 if "I" feel it's to small (I am 6'2" with a 32 inseam). Time will tell, at worst I may lose a week. 

I will definitely give you some feedback... Thanks again!


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## rodericg (Sep 26, 2006)

G'day again. As I said, I'm 6 feet but my inseam is 34.25 inches so I have longer legs so maybe that's going to make a difference. Best bet is to download the frame geometry for both the Prince and the CX (I found the best place to find that was at the Competitive Cyclist web site). Plus, cyclocross bikes are not ordinarily an exact duplicate of road bike sizing; with the CX bike usually smaller (because it is higher off the ground!) My first impression of my 56cm CX was that I was sitting on a giraffe. You do feel high up! So, again, a smaller than road frame is good. But make sure your cranks and stem are the same length as on the Prince. Have fun. I reckon you will find it really weird for the first few km on the Pinarello CX but then it's all good! Mine is starting to creak at the bottom bracket so I am having harsh words with it right now...

keep in touch


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