Chinertown
Chinese Carbon Road Bikes => Cyclocross Frames, Wheels & Components => Topic started by: final forum on May 12, 2015, 09:03:21 AM
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I am semi interested in getting a cycle-cross bike. With zero road experience, what are some fundamentals you guys would suggest? Group-sets bang for buck. Anyone rocking a full Chinese carbon,handle bar,stem,seat post, combo to keep things cheaper? Any big no-no's.
Brakes seem to be a big debate.
I see you can get pretty nice bikes from giant and with 0 Knowledge wondering if the savings are shown as they are in the Mountain bike side of things.
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Seems like a lot of MTB guys around here are interested in a cyclocross type bike, myself included. I've recently been doing some research into the different groupsets and have decided to most likely go with SRAM rather than Shimano or Campagnolo.
Word seems to be that the Shimano hydraulic brakes (which I've also researched and also sided in favor of) reign as the best much like they do in the MTB world. I was told the SRAM brakes had issues and had a recalls not long ago.. not sure if that's still a concern, but the consensus still seems to be that the Shimano brakes are better. The Shimano groupset also has a rep for being pretty durable whereas the SRAM has the opposite rep with complaints of shifters breaking, internal ratchets failing, etc).
I know.. why in the heck would I choose SRAM then?
On the flip side, the SRAM "crispness" in shifting is preferred by lots of people. Many complain that Shimano is too "light" so to speak, and I understand what they mean from having experience with the same things on my MTBs, of course. The other downside for the Shimano that is pushing me towards SRAM is that Shimano seems to be the most susceptible to getting contaminated from environmental conditions - Which is even more of a concern with a CX bike.
So, to summarize, this is why I've chosen SRAM for a CX build:
-Assuming they have their brake issues sorted (seems to be the case but not sure)
-Crisper shifting
-More reliable drivetrain performance when it gets dirty/muddy
-Even though durability seems questionable, all parts are easily rebuildable and SRAM has a quality warranty service.
All in all, if I built a CX bike I'd go SRAM Apex for a good value, well performing groupset. If I build a road bike I'd go Shimano. The lighter shifting fits better on the smooth road and the issues with performance when it's gets contaminated is not a concern on the road usually. Thing is, if I built a road bike I probably won't be doing a budget build like if I do a CX build; I'd want mechanical shifting and all the other high end components that would do justice to such a cool technology.
Also, I'd most likely do all chiner handle bar, stem, post etc as I'm not concerned at all with failures and I don't want to spend more than I have to. Others may want the "mental security" of some higher end, name brand stem/post/bar though, so to each his own.
Hope that helps. Link to some of the Giant bikes you're considering, I'd be interested to see what you have in mind.
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For a groupset, I'd seriously consider SRAM for a CX bike because I still like the simplicity of a 1x drivetrain. Howver the 1x CX stuff from SRAM won't be out until the July time frame. I believe they will have two 1x CX component levels, Rival and Force with Rival being the lower cost group I'd be interested in if I built a CX bike.
For brakes, I really like hydraulic disc over cable disc on the couple of road bikes I've test ridden so I'd probably end up with SRAM hydraulic brakes even though I'm sure the Shimano brakes are better, just not sure how much mix 'n matching of components you can do on a CX group.
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This the giant bike i would compare a build to...
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-ca/bikes/model/tcx.slr.2/20528/80031/
I would use this bike for the odd ride on the road,training in the basement offseason and take it out when im feeling like a new steed on the xc trails....
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This the giant bike i would compare a build to...
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-ca/bikes/model/tcx.slr.2/20528/80031/
I would use this bike for the odd ride on the road,training in the basement offseason and take it out when im feeling like a new steed on the xc trails....
If you're considering spending $1500 for an aluminum I'd def go the chiner route. I bet if you spent that same $1500 building a chiner you'd have a heck of a lot nicer bike, and it'd be carbon and lighter.
That said, I'm sure you'd be perfectly happy with that Giant. It's a nice bike.