# cyclocross bike vs XC hardtail as all-purpose bike



## mozami

Jack of all trades, do it all, the much touted mongrel of the biking world seems to be the perfect '1 bike in quiver' machine...at least on paper. Numbers soldwise, the picture is actually quite dismal, no doubt due to be premium over other types of bike. The problem is that, no matter how good it sounds on paper it had always left me wanting in pretty much every situation but thats fine as this is whats written on the tin. 

However its my reckoning, that the cross bike is a rival to the trusty hardtail - the most successful selling type of bike. IMO The only point where the crosser really has a USP is carrying bit in cross races. These days xc hardtails are available at crazy low weights that in cx races that allow mtbs they dont perform all that bad. I recently took my trek 8500 suited with 26x1.5 cx tyres (final weight 21lbs) to a local cx cat b race and finished better then I expected, in fact 6/30 despite the problems of shuttling the bike over obstacles. This has lead me to question 'how much general advantage is there from a dedicated cross bike?' Is this why cross sales are usually so poor despite the rave reviews such bikes often receive...


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## pretender

A light XC hardtail is pretty well suited for cross. But instead of weighing yourself down with a suspension fork, run a 29er with rigid fork. The bigger wheels will roll better over the chattery stuff without hardly any weight penalty. Ideally, find a 29er frame whose geometry matches a rigid fork (no need for "suspension-corrected") and which has main triangle that's large enough for shouldering. Mountain gearing is way overkill for cross, so run road gearing, which means you could run road wheels with 130mm spacing.

If only such a bike existed.


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## mozami

Yes 29ers definitely do make a nice alternative rigid setup for cross... personally I prefer the weight saving of the smaller wheels although this means i definitely have to be more picky about what line to pick


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## atpjunkie

*if I had to sell all my bikes but one*

I'd keep a cx

covers the most situations in the best manners


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## cyclevt

*At the extremes...*

A cross bike will be a lot to handle on single track with rocks and really steep sections. It's not a deal breaker, but a CX bike with 40mm tires and the right (slack?) geometry would do the best on true trails. Though when I ride my CX bike on trail (which I will be doing in a few hours), I regularly start lusting for a 29er....

A Hardtail MTB will be stretched to perform really well in a cross race (based on geometry and weight vs a dedicated cross rig)... you can get skinny MTB tire (at least in 26") and approximate a cross-like wheel... this would lower the rotating weight for racing... limited tread options and no tubular options :-(

But then again. you can tweak a MTB to have drop bars, various fork geometries/options. You can convert a HT MTB in the fall to optimize it for CX and then change it back in the spring.

Gearing and drive trains are almost interchangeable, but you'll have to be careful with parts selection....

I guess if I had to choose only one, a light Carbon HT MTB with a (small) pile of CX specific parts might be a good choice.....


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## steve_e_f

What is the price range for a XC hardtail MTB that weighs competitively with a decent CX bike?

I have no idea, its a real question.

It seems the lines get blurred between the two. I set up a 1x9 CX bike for my wife this year with riser bars. Aside from the width of the tires and perhaps geometry(?), it seems like it could almost pass as a 29er. The bike cost surprisingly little to build up and weighs 16ish lbs.


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## turbomatic73

steve_e_f said:


> What is the price range for a XC hardtail MTB that weighs competitively with a decent CX bike?
> 
> I have no idea, its a real question.
> 
> It seems the lines get blurred between the two. I set up a 1x9 CX bike for my wife this year with riser bars. Aside from the width of the tires and perhaps geometry(?), it seems like it could almost pass as a 29er. The bike cost surprisingly little to build up and weighs 16ish lbs.


Yep good point...building a 22 lb hard tail is a lot more pricey than building a 22 lb 'cross rig.


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## gobes

If I only had one bike it would definitely be a cross bike. You can do a lot of trail riding on a cross bike and then swap the tires and go do a 100 mile ride on the road.


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## pretender

gobes said:


> You can do a lot of trail riding on a cross bike and then swap the tires and go do a 100 mile ride on the road.


You can do the exact same thing on an XC hardtail. Heck, don't even swap the tires:
http://www.bikemagic.com/event-features/whyte-racer-wins-road-race---on-a-mountain-bike/7204.html


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## buck-50

There's always the Rawland Drakkar and the Singular Peregrine sitting at the crossroads of the two... room for fatter than cross tires and a full compliment of braze-ons for racks and fenders, reasonably competent on road or off...

pretty sure one of these will be my next bike.


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## laffeaux

To be a true all-arounder the bike would need to ride well on pavement too. The downside for a mountain bike is often it's gearing - while a 42 or 44 tooth ring may get through a CX race, it's not ideal for pavement rides.

If I could only own one bike it would use 700c rims, work well with 25-45mm tires, and have cranks with rings somewhere around 26/38/50. I'd probably opt for a CX frame, but a 29er would work (sometimes it's hard to tell one from the other).


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## mozami

pretender said:


> You can do the exact same thing on an XC hardtail. Heck, don't even swap the tires:
> http://www.bikemagic.com/event-features/whyte-racer-wins-road-race---on-a-mountain-bike/7204.html


How the hell did he beat those roadies whilst on knobblies?!! WTF

Both Crossers and light HT's are both extremely versatile having many different uses... the HT less so on the road and cx on 'real' trails. I'd bet if one were to have one bike it should be able to bomb down stairs as well as ride on the road, anyone tried a rigid 29er with a deep v road wheelset? Theres not a lot of stuff missing...


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## 251

I have a rigid 29er and a CX (also 26" hardtails and road). In my experience, the CX bike is great on the road but the small tires really limit it on singletrack. The rigid 29er is great in the dirt, but the big wheels and tires plus the wide bars make it pretty slow on pavement.

I think a "Monstercross" would be the most versatile. More specifically, a rigid 29er with drop bars or a traditional CX frame with enough tire clearance for some more trail-appropriate tires. 

Alternatively, a 700c road tire and a 26" MTB tire have roughly equal O.D., so a 26" hardtail or rigid with a set of 26" wheels plus a set of 700c wheels (assuming disc brakes) may be a good option.

Personally, I'd just get two (or more) bikes. If you're interested my rigid steel 29er SS weighs 24.3 lbs, the steel CX bike weighs 21.5 lbs., and the 26" 1x9 Ti hardtail weighs 22.7 lbs.


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## Pablo

251's first paragraph hits the nail on the head. There are always compromises with tires, geometry and gearing. It also really depends on your off-road terrain. Here on the Front Range in Colorado, lots of singletrack would be really, really hard on a cross bike--I've tried. I'm all for havng one bike, but for really varied terrain, I'm doubtful you can do it without giving up a lot. I have a really versitle "dirt" road bike and a rigid 29, which covers it all for me ... plus the fixie.


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## atpjunkie

*my point*

the superiority of a hard tail over a CX bike offroad
is less than
the superiority of a cx bike to a hard tail on road


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## Pablo

atpjunkie said:


> the superiority of a hard tail over a CX bike offroad
> is less than
> the superiority of a cx bike to a hard tail on road


... but that depends on how much you ride off road and what type of off road terrain you ride.


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## mozami

atpjunkie said:


> the superiority of a hard tail over a CX bike offroad
> is less than
> the superiority of a cx bike to a hard tail on road


You'd be surprised what a hardtail allows you to do off road that just isnt 'safe' on a cx bike... On the road with the hardtail the only thing I really miss are the drop bars to be honest (and the gearing maybe)... bar ends just don't cut it vs drops. 

Reason why I asked this question is because I really 'need' to cut down on my fleet of bikes and I've realized that I'd be happier with 2 than just one. I need to decide on keeping a roadie and hardtail (either my 26er or 29er) or cx and dual suspension ( i want to cover as many uses as possible).


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## buck-50

mozami said:


> You'd be surprised what a hardtail allows you to do off road that just isnt 'safe' on a cx bike... On the road with the hardtail the only thing I really miss are the drop bars to be honest (and the gearing maybe)... bar ends just don't cut it vs drops.
> 
> Reason why I asked this question is because I really 'need' to cut down on my fleet of bikes and I've realized that I'd be happier with 2 than just one. I need to decide on keeping a roadie and hardtail (either my 26er or 29er) or cx and dual suspension ( i want to cover as many uses as possible).


CX+Dual suspension covers the bulk of the ridable surfaces of the world, Especially if your DS is a lighter weight XC type bike. 

Most CX bikes (assuming they at least have bottle cages) are perfectly fine on the road.


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## m_s

atpjunkie said:


> the superiority of a hard tail over a CX bike offroad
> is less than
> the superiority of a cx bike to a hard tail on road


I disagree with this as an overarching statement. Anyways, only the OP can decide. My priorities are off road and dirt roads (as well as XC and cross racing) so I have a ss and geared cross bikes and a 29er hardtail. That covers all of my bases very well, but I only spend much time on the road in the spring before the trails dry out, and commuting.


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## Pablo

buck-50 said:


> CX+Dual suspension covers the bulk of the ridable surfaces of the world, Especially if your DS is a lighter weight XC type bike.
> 
> Most CX bikes (assuming they at least have bottle cages) are perfectly fine on the road.


I agree completely, except that you could replace a DS with a rigid mtb plus skills.


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## davemess

Cross bikes are fairly useless for almost everything but Cross racing. For almost any situation there is a better bike for it than a cross bike. Good singletrack- a mountain bike is better. Road- a road bike is better. Even dirt roads- a road bike is better. Commuting- a road bike is still better.

The only thing a cross bike is good for is tooling around on the grass in your local park, with the occasional jaunt onto relatively sterile trails. 

I think once you start really mountain biking (especially anywhere with rocks, roots, and steeper hills) you start to realize how limited a cyclocross bike really is.


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## atpjunkie

*I owned a hard tail for years*



mozami said:


> You'd be surprised what a hardtail allows you to do off road that just isnt 'safe' on a cx bike... On the road with the hardtail the only thing I really miss are the drop bars to be honest (and the gearing maybe)... bar ends just don't cut it vs drops.
> 
> Reason why I asked this question is because I really 'need' to cut down on my fleet of bikes and I've realized that I'd be happier with 2 than just one. I need to decide on keeping a roadie and hardtail (either my 26er or 29er) or cx and dual suspension ( i want to cover as many uses as possible).


so no I would not be surprised. heck I started MTBing on hard fronts (1980)
you may be surprised at how much a cx bike can actually handle off road, and what isn't safe you can always portage

cx and dual suspension covers more terrain better FWIW


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## pretender

davemess said:


> For almost any situation there is a better bike for it than a cross bike.


The OP was asking about all-purpose bikes, not single-purpose bikes.

And you are wrong about road bikes vs. cross bikes. A (modern, racing-style) road bike is marginally better than a cross bike on nicely paved roads. On all other surfaces, a bike which has room for 28mm to 32mm tires will be better. That's why (for example) many teams choose to use cross frames for the spring cobbled classics.

If you want the smallest viable quiver of bikes, choosing a modern racing-style road bike over a cross bike would be a waste, unless you were a cat 2 (or higher) road racer.


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## CaptainAhab

Nice thread. I rode a rigid steel 29'er with a 1x9 gear setup for 2.5 years. I commuted on it, rode singletrack, and did a fair amount of road riding on it, too. It was set up with a hybrid dirt/street tire from specialized called the "borough XC pro," http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=56874 . I started getting repetitive stress injuries from riding it, though. Shoulder pain, arm pain, knee pain, etc from bombing stairs, curbs, rocks, drops, etc. So I put a front shock onto it. That fixed the problem... for a little while. Now, I find myself doing 3-5 hour adventure-style rides on it, and need to go clipless and get more speed on the road. Enter the CX bike. I started a thread on building one up in this forum... you may have seen it http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=236020 . 

Right now, I'm on the fence about whether I actually need the bike, or not. But like I said, I want more speed on the road, and want to be able to do longer road rides (60+ miles) while still having the ability to go through the dirt, if need be. The slack geometry of a CX bike would make it suited to all day rides on the road, but also let it roll through some fire roads and sweepy singletrack. That's where I'm at with this whole thing. And oh yeah, hipsters on fixies are always trying to race me. I don't really know why. They always lose, though  It's pretty fast on the road, too, especially in the hills. I haven't been passed by anyone yet going uphill.


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## Crank-a-Roo

all purpose bike = Salsa Fargo


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## dot

atpjunkie said:


> the superiority of a hard tail over a CX bike offroad
> is less than
> the superiority of a cx bike to a hard tail on road


I do think otherwise. HT on wider tyres is superior to cx due to wider bars, front suspension and greater traction.

HT on the road: replace the stem with something 2cm longer and swap it and you get a decent road machine that only looks ugly with narrow slicks (most narrowest are 27-28mm wide) and you'll hardly see the difference with cx bikes, because both kinds are inferior to true road bikes.

The only major drawback of the HT on the road is the bars and looks. When I'm home I post a pic how ridiculous I looked between roadies


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## Doba

I've had my eye on this. More or less just a 29er on cross wheels/tires.
https://fisherbikes.com/bike/model/montare
700c, disc brakes, front suspension, flat bars.


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## atpjunkie

*it's okay but I disagree*



dot said:


> I do think otherwise. HT on wider tyres is superior to cx due to wider bars, front suspension and greater traction.
> 
> HT on the road: replace the stem with something 2cm longer and swap it and you get a decent road machine that only looks ugly with narrow slicks (most narrowest are 27-28mm wide) and you'll hardly see the difference with cx bikes, because both kinds are inferior to true road bikes.
> 
> The only major drawback of the HT on the road is the bars and looks. When I'm home I post a pic how ridiculous I looked between roadies


I myself and some friends have and do do fast group rides (27-30+ mph) on cross bikes (typically we switch to our crossers during season for keeping tuned with the fit of the bike) with road wheels and tires. I couldn't do that on a hard tail with 28 skinnies

you missed some other draw backs 26" wheels with most likely largest gear 46 x12, front suspension and weight. All not conducive to road riding. Last is the bars, you have one hand position on an MTB, 2 with bar ends, that sucks on long rides. Plus you are talking about swapping out stems to make the bike work in both applications, that to me is a minus.

I agree crossers aren't as good as a hardtail MTB but in many conditions (because I ride my crosser with MTBs often) they are actually superior. Only when the terrain gets particularly rutty, rooty or rocky do I wish I had my MTB. On clean single track and fireroad I rarely miss the MTB. The crosser is typically faster until the stuff gets gnarly, it climbs faster, it hammers flats faster, it can flow single track almost as fast. 

again this is my opinion but what I find is a cx is better than a MTB on the road and better than a roadie on the dirt, that makes it a better all arounder


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## ac/bc

You are going to get a CX bias in here.


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## atpjunkie

*I have s simple idea*

get 3 equally fit riders of similar skills
work out a course that is equal parts on road and off road (say 30 miles road, 20 miles off road) . Where the 2 terrains change allow a pit stop so riders could swap wheels only

then have a race

who would you bet on?


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## m_s

ATP, cross bikes are great but in general they are much more road biased in geometry, gearing, and especially tire size. I love mine, but for any real mountian biking, including XC, they are instantly outclassed by any sort of real mountain bike. On the other hand, the differences between them and road bikes are much more slim with a change of tires and maybe gearing. So cross bikes make way better road bikes than mountain bikes.

A silly argument I suppose, but it's what I've found.

EDIT: for the above hypothetical race I would choose a hardtail or rigid mountain bike with fast rolling XC tires no question unless you're talking about dirt roads or otherwise non-technical riding.


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## atpjunkie

*Oh I agree*



m_s said:


> ATP, cross bikes are great but in general they are much more road biased in geometry, gearing, and especially tire size. I love mine, but for any real mountian biking, including XC, they are instantly outclassed by any sort of real mountain bike. On the other hand, the differences between them and road bikes are much more slim with a change of tires and maybe gearing. So cross bikes make way better road bikes than mountain bikes.
> 
> A silly argument I suppose, but it's what I've found.
> 
> EDIT: for the above hypothetical race I would choose a hardtail or rigid mountain bike with fast rolling XC tires no question unless you're talking about dirt roads or otherwise non-technical riding.


they pale in dirt compared to a hard tail
then again I take my cx bike where plenty of folks consider it 'real mountain biking'

as far as the theoretical race, you think you could stay close enough on a 30 mile road ride to overtake the crosser? My guess is the crosser would have enough of a gap that even with portaging technical sections it would still wind up ahead by some time. 

I think a crosser would hold onto the roadie on the road and drop it in the dirt
I think the hardtail would be sufficiently behind but may catch the roadie depending on dirt/mud conditions. I don't think it would catch the crosser unless the 20 milers was all rock garden, but I'm talking typical MTB ride, single track, double track, small amounts of fire road and some technical sections dispersed through out


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## Crank-a-Roo

it depends on the kind of XC riding that you are talking about. I often ride my 'crosser at a park with a bunch of mountain bikers. I have no problem in hanging with them. I even drop them on the climbs. Mind you, I have 32mm tires and 52/39 with 13-26 at the back.

If the trails are well groomed, a CX will perform just as well as a HT XC.


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## mozami

CaptainAhab said:


> Nice thread. I rode a rigid steel 29'er with a 1x9 gear setup for 2.5 years. I commuted on it, rode singletrack, and did a fair amount of road riding on it, too. It was set up with a hybrid dirt/street tire from specialized called the "borough XC pro," http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=56874 . I started getting repetitive stress injuries from riding it, though. Shoulder pain, arm pain, knee pain, etc from bombing stairs, curbs, rocks, drops, etc. So I put a front shock onto it. That fixed the problem... for a little while. Now, I find myself doing 3-5 hour adventure-style rides on it, and need to go clipless and get more speed on the road. Enter the CX bike. I started a thread on building one up in this forum... you may have seen it http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=236020 .
> 
> Right now, I'm on the fence about whether I actually need the bike, or not. But like I said, I want more speed on the road, and want to be able to do longer road rides (60+ miles) while still having the ability to go through the dirt, if need be. The slack geometry of a CX bike would make it suited to all day rides on the road, but also let it roll through some fire roads and sweepy singletrack. That's where I'm at with this whole thing. And oh yeah, hipsters on fixies are always trying to race me. I don't really know why. They always lose, though  It's pretty fast on the road, too, especially in the hills. I haven't been passed by anyone yet going uphill.



I really like that tyre you mentioned above, its sort of a 29er-lite semi slick that just Rolls...
Crossers are a great bike, possibly the best type of hybrid available but why start building one if you were getting pain in your arms, shoulders etc. Isnt that why front suspension is so much more important than rear?

For the theoretical race (which would be brilliant if it happened) i vote for the hardtail too. The comfort afforded by front suspension will prevent really helps overcome fatigue. Besides, technical sections usually the bottleneck in a race.


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## dot

atpjunkie said:


> I myself and some friends have and do do fast group rides (27-30+ mph) on cross bikes (typically we switch to our crossers during season for keeping tuned with the fit of the bike) with road wheels and tires. I couldn't do that on a hard tail with 28 skinnies


why not? 44x11 is the largest gear I've got, with my regular 36mm slicks I can spin comfortably up to 48 kmh (30 mph) on flats. On descents my hardtail gains speed faster :-O than any road bike. Proved that in a race.



> you missed some other draw backs 26" wheels with most likely largest gear 46 x12, front suspension and weight. All not conducive to road riding. Last is the bars, you have one hand position on an MTB, 2 with bar ends, that sucks on long rides. Plus you are talking about swapping out stems to make the bike work in both applications, that to me is a minus


the largest gear is 44x11. Front suspension is quite evolved now. Weight is ... weight. I cannot agree more.



> Only when the terrain gets particularly rutty, rooty or rocky do I wish I had my MTB. On clean single track and fireroad I rarely miss the MTB. The crosser is typically faster until the stuff gets gnarly, it climbs faster, it hammers flats faster, it can flow single track almost as fast.


Pity, I like steep descents which I, I'm afraid, won't be able to tackle on a cross bike  and if a descent is flattish I like to go as fast as possible. Not too conducive for a xc bike too. 

When I think of a cross bike as an all-purpose bike, I try to ride in my mind my favourite course and my training loop and every time I understand that a crosser would be no go or too slow at my level, I'm no Absalon.

I raced twice on my MTB in a club road races (both over 4 hours long) and fared quite well. 

this April:


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## laffeaux

dot said:


> I raced twice on my MTB in a club road races (both over 4 hours long) and fared quite well.
> 
> this April:


If you're doing that well on a MTB, you;d do even better on a road or CX bike. In your picture you're not in a riding position that is as aero as the roadies around you, and likely would have difficulty getting into one while pedaling. Tucked behind someone you'd be fine. But riding alone or at the front of the pack would be more work for you since you'll need to expend more energy to go the same speed due to wind resistance.


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## dot

laffeaux said:


> If you're doing that well on a MTB, you;d do even better on a road or CX bike. In your picture you're not in a riding position that is as aero as the roadies around you, and likely would have difficulty getting into one while pedaling. Tucked behind someone you'd be fine. But riding alone or at the front of the pack would be more work for you since you'll need to expend more energy to go the same speed due to wind resistance.


I only wanted to say that for training/(club) riding MTB on the road is just fine and in the dirt MTB is superior.

I actually bought a road bike but I don't fare that well on it like I do on MTB. I think that I'm an inveterate and intractable MTB-er and that's it.

On the position: it's quite possible to cringe on an MTB practically as low as if one's in the drops: a swapped and a bit longer stem to keep arms between knees and the bars. The bike I used in the picture was my regular bike with the position set for dirt.


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## albert owen

pretender said:


> A light XC hardtail is pretty well suited for cross. But instead of weighing yourself down with a suspension fork, run a 29er with rigid fork. The bigger wheels will roll better over the chattery stuff without hardly any weight penalty. Ideally, find a 29er frame whose geometry matches a rigid fork (no need for "suspension-corrected") and which has main triangle that's large enough for shouldering. Mountain gearing is way overkill for cross, so run road gearing, which means you could run road wheels with 130mm spacing.
> 
> If only such a bike existed.


Kona Smoke. Nice butted cromo frame with P2 Fork - old school loveliness. Cheap as Chips components can be upgraded as they wear out to turn it into a very nice bike. For sale in the UK for less than £200 on eBay.


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## CaptainAhab

mozami said:


> I really like that tyre you mentioned above, its sort of a 29er-lite semi slick that just Rolls...
> Crossers are a great bike, possibly the best type of hybrid available but why start building one if you were getting pain in your arms, shoulders etc. Isnt that why front suspension is so much more important than rear?
> 
> For the theoretical race (which would be brilliant if it happened) i vote for the hardtail too. The comfort afforded by front suspension will prevent really helps overcome fatigue. Besides, technical sections usually the bottleneck in a race.


Yeah, the tire is great. I changed it out this week, coincidentally. The rear tread was starting to show threads. Check this out, though: I was riding the borough xc 29'er in a 1.9 inch width, then moved to the new 45 mm, that's significantly smaller, and can run at higher pressure. 

Specialized stopped making the 29'er version, otherwise, I would have bought it again. But, I think that I go too fast, now, with this new tire. With the higher PSI that I'm running (60 front and rear), and smaller footprint, I'm really flying. Definitely a noticeable difference. I keep spinning out where I didn't use to, and make it home on way less energy... enough so that I stayed out for 3.5 hours, yesterday, because I wasn't happy with 2.5. 

About the repetitive stress thing, on the CX bike I'm building I'm not going to do the same things that aggravated my pain. Namely, curbs, stairs, and shooting urban obstacles. Commuting on that bike, and riding that way, really laid into me. Maybe I'm just getting old? 

I put a burly build on the CX bike, though, w/ stans no tubes arch wheels and king hubs, thomson x4 stem and seatpost, steel fork, mountain rear derailleur (XTR), and disc brakes. So I'm sure that I'll get into some trouble on it, too


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## mozami

CaptainAhab said:


> Yeah, the tire is great. I changed it out this week, coincidentally. The rear tread was starting to show threads. Check this out, though: I was riding the borough xc 29'er in a 1.9 inch width, then moved to the new 45 mm, that's significantly smaller, and can run at higher pressure.
> 
> Specialized stopped making the 29'er version, otherwise, I would have bought it again. But, I think that I go too fast, now, with this new tire. With the higher PSI that I'm running (60 front and rear), and smaller footprint, I'm really flying. Definitely a noticeable difference. I keep spinning out where I didn't use to, and make it home on way less energy... enough so that I stayed out for 3.5 hours, yesterday, because I wasn't happy with 2.5.
> 
> About the repetitive stress thing, on the CX bike I'm building I'm not going to do the same things that aggravated my pain. Namely, curbs, stairs, and shooting urban obstacles. Commuting on that bike, and riding that way, really laid into me. Maybe I'm just getting old?
> 
> I put a burly build on the CX bike, though, w/ stans no tubes arch wheels and king hubs, thomson x4 stem and seatpost, steel fork, mountain rear derailleur (XTR), and disc brakes. So I'm sure that I'll get into some trouble on it, too


Do you think a burly carbon fork (and a fat front tyre), like the one on the spesh tricross is at least half a substitute for suspension?


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## CaptainAhab

mozami said:


> Do you think a burly carbon fork (and a fat front tyre), like the one on the spesh tricross is at least half a substitute for suspension?


No, I don't. But, it's as close as you're going to get on a CX bike. Specialized has the zertz inserts that dampen vibrations and chatter, now that I think about it. I've ridden 2 different Specialized carbon forks on road bikes, and think that they're pretty good. I would have put a carbon fork (with disk mounts) on my build if I had the cash, but 400-500 for a fork is a lot when I can get a burly steel fork (with disk mounts) color matched to my bike (special order through Ventana) for less than half of that.


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## mozami

take the drop bars off your cx bike and all your left is a hybrid! How ghastly is that ;p


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## d2p

this pot of stew got stale so youre trying to stir it? 
how boring.


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