Question from a defacto newb: road vs cyclocross, what the former hasgoing for it?

Aside from vbrakes is there any difference between cross and road
bikes?

I need to find a reason to get a roadbike after having switched to a
vbrake based flatbarred cross
that takes up to about 700x38 tires. I mean, there've got to be some
advantages to offset the inferior brakes,
limited rubber choices for a mainstream user. What are they?

On Dec 3, 5:30*am, Anton Success wrote:
Aside from vbrakes is there any difference between cross and road
bikes?

I need to find a reason to get a roadbike after having switched to a
vbrake based flatbarred cross
that takes up to about 700x38 tires. I mean, there've got to be some
advantages to offset the inferior brakes,
limited rubber choices for a mainstream user. What are they?

Bottom bracket height, top tube length, and clearances for large tires
are your big differences. Most cross bikes use canti brakes, as they
tend to fall further back from the rim for mud clearance. I happen to
really dig v-brakes, as they're powerful and a cinch to set up right.
Depends on how much glop you plan on riding in.

If you want drop bars, a cross bike is far more practical than a road
bike. Many can serve light touring and commuting duty. You can put
fast slicks on them or knobbies. With a road bike, you're usually
limited to 25mm tires, blech.

On 03/12/2010 11:30, Anton Success wrote:
Aside from vbrakes is there any difference between cross and road
bikes?

I need to find a reason to get a roadbike after having switched to a
vbrake based flatbarred cross
that takes up to about 700x38 tires. I mean, there've got to be some
advantages to offset the inferior brakes,
limited rubber choices for a mainstream user. What are they?

The cross bike has some advantages to make up for the inferior brakes -
what are you after?

On Dec 3, 5:30*am, Anton Success wrote:
Aside from vbrakes is there any difference between cross and road
bikes?

I need to find a reason to get a roadbike after having switched to a
vbrake based flatbarred cross
that takes up to about 700x38 tires. I mean, there've got to be some
advantages to offset the inferior brakes,
limited rubber choices for a mainstream user. What are they?

Cyclocross bikes use cantilever brakes, not V-brakes. Cyclocross
bikes have road shifters, STI, Ergo, or whatever SRAM call theirs.
These levers work very poorly with V-brakes. Mountain bike levers
work with V-brakes. The levers pull different amounts of cable.
Adaptors are sold which allow road bike levers to work with V-brakes.
Others can comment on whether they work or not and how much trouble
they are.

Inferior brakes? Road bikes safely make it down mountains at 60+ mph
with those supposedly inferior sidepull brakes. No cyclocross bike
requires anything approaching that for braking.

On Dec 3, 3:30 am, Anton Success wrote:
Aside from vbrakes is there any difference between cross and road
bikes?

I need to find a reason to get a roadbike after having switched to a
vbrake based flatbarred cross
that takes up to about 700x38 tires. I mean, there've got to be some
advantages to offset the inferior brakes,
limited rubber choices for a mainstream user. What are they?

Here's the cool thing about anything except a "road bike": You can
ride most any of them on the road, too. Ride Bike! :-)

On Dec 3, 1:50 pm, "
wrote:
On Dec 3, 5:30 am, Anton Success wrote:

Aside from vbrakes is there any difference between cross and road
bikes?

I need to find a reason to get a roadbike after having switched to a
vbrake based flatbarred cross
that takes up to about 700x38 tires. I mean, there've got to be some
advantages to offset the inferior brakes,
limited rubber choices for a mainstream user. What are they?

Cyclocross bikes use cantilever brakes, not V-brakes. Cyclocross
bikes have road shifters, STI, Ergo, or whatever SRAM call theirs.
These levers work very poorly with V-brakes. Mountain bike levers
work with V-brakes. The levers pull different amounts of cable.
Adaptors are sold which allow road bike levers to work with V-brakes.
Others can comment on whether they work or not and how much trouble
they are.

I have it something like the other way around (spngy) on my wheeljie
bike (I didn't set it up that way myself, and besides...


Inferior brakes? Road bikes safely make it down mountains at 60+ mph
with those supposedly inferior sidepull brakes. No cyclocross bike
requires anything approaching that for braking.

I'm pretty sure I could lock up both wheels even with the spongy
setup. I stood the bike on its nose twice in one day recently.

On Dec 3, 6:30*am, Anton Success wrote:
Aside from vbrakes is there any difference between cross and road
bikes?

I need to find a reason to get a roadbike after having switched to a
vbrake based flatbarred cross
that takes up to about 700x38 tires. I mean, there've got to be some
advantages to offset the inferior brakes,
limited rubber choices for a mainstream user. What are they?

As far as I can tell, most cross bikes are rebadged tourers
with slightly higher bottoms brakets and no rack/fender
holes. I'm not sure but what the BB clearance isn't an
artifact of stuffing larger tires on it, either.

Furthermore, any tourer that can't accept 38mm tires is
probably not worth buying either. Racing bicycles are right
out.

On 04/12/2010 03:08, Norman wrote:

As far as I can tell, most cross bikes are rebadged tourers
with slightly higher bottoms brakets and no rack/fender
holes.

That seems unlikely to me. Is the geometry of most cross bikes closer to
tourer or racing?

In article ,
Clive George wrote:

On 04/12/2010 03:08, Norman wrote:

As far as I can tell, most cross bikes are rebadged tourers
with slightly higher bottoms brakets and no rack/fender
holes.

That seems unlikely to me. Is the geometry of most cross bikes closer to
tourer or racing?

Racing. Modern cross bikes have a lower BB than used to be the case,
because with clipless pedals there's no need to be able to pedal with
the toe clips and straps pointing down. The head tube might be a bit
slacker than a road bike.

My Gunnar Crosshairs also functions quite well as a road bike; I used it
in many road races, crits, training rides, etc. And it worked well for
brevets and I rode it on a tour in the Alps with a Carradice saddle bag.

--
Gotta make it somehow on the dreams you still believe.

On Dec 3, 9:25*am, landotter wrote:
On Dec 3, 5:30*am, Anton Success wrote:

Aside from vbrakes is there any difference between cross and road
bikes?

I need to find a reason to get a roadbike after having switched to a
vbrake based flatbarred cross
that takes up to about 700x38 tires. I mean, there've got to be some
advantages to offset the inferior brakes,
limited rubber choices for a mainstream user. What are they?

Bottom bracket height, top tube length, and clearances for large tires
are your big differences. Most cross bikes use canti brakes, as they
tend to fall further back from the rim for mud clearance. I happen to
really dig v-brakes, as they're powerful and a cinch to set up right.
Depends on how much glop you plan on riding in.

If you want drop bars, a cross bike is far more practical than a road
bike. Many can serve light touring and commuting duty. You can put
fast slicks on them or knobbies. With a road bike, you're usually
limited to 25mm tires, blech.

I agree on the "blech" regarding 25mm tires. And I prefer either V-
brakes or classic cantilevers to close-clearance dual pivots.

But advantages to modern road bikes? Well, with a road bike you're
likely to have a weight savings of maybe a couple percent of the total
bike+rider weight. You can get lots more of its parts made of the
material du jour. The frame is more likely to feature tubes with
trendy, swoopy shapes (which are different from the trendy, swoopy
shapes in the frame tubes of a 1951 Schwinn). It will be easier to
count your spokes, should you get the urge. You won't be tempted to
sully your bike with practical things like racks or bags, so it won't
be disgraced by showing up at a grocery store.

Most important, your bike will more closely match the ads in
Buycycling magazine!

- Frank Krygowski