Quote:
Originally Posted by weisan
One of the most often asked questions around these parts is: please help me find a gravel bike that behaves more like a road bike or I want an all-road bike. Well, here's my answer: get a cyclocross bike that has a bit more tire clearance. 
Thus, the 2014 S-Works Crux which was designed as a cyclocross bike but with a wider tire (650bx42mm), it can also serve dual duty as a gravel bike.
Some may say, 42mm is not wide enough. With that, i always laugh. For a long time, I was just riding 35mm Panaracer Pasala on gravel events such as D2R2 and it was adequate. So to me, 42 is plenty.
And why a 2014 version, not the latest super duper 2024 lightweight Crux that is in the market now....simply because
a) it exceeds my personal price/value ratio as far as how much I am willing to pay for a bike. My limit is about $2k.
and
b) I don't normally chase after the latest and greatest, rather I wait for the trickle down tech or wait until the feeding frenzy is over before I jump in.
I found this 2014 Crux in someone's storage. It was completely new, never been built or ridden. I paid $400 for the frame and fork. With most of the parts I already got in my parts bin, and a few cheapo di2 bits purchased from the classifieds, a 50-bucks campy carbon crankset and lastly a Campagnolo-compatible praxis bottom bracket donated by a generous forum pal, I say the overall investment comes up to about $1000. I am pretty happy with the result. |
Quick update:
Often heard people say something like "I rode my gravel bike with fat tire on the regular group ride and it didn't slow me down, I could keep up no problem...."
And I am thinking...."yeah, right....not the whole truth."
Today, I get to verify the statement myself. Brought the Crux to the regular road ride and I was expecting to work a lot harder to keep up or maybe even getting dropped but to my surprise, none of that happened, and I even took a pull in front on one of the sections where we usually hit speed upwards of 26-30mph. My perceived effort for the entire ride was a lot lower than I expected, in fact, I dare say almost identical to my "A" regular road bike. I say perceived - because I don't use a power meter or a heart rate monitor.
As a speculated guess, I would attribute this to a number of things:
1) The Crux is designed to ride more like a road bike. My position was set up more like my road bike.
2) The Rene Herse tires really do roll very well on the pavement even the wider ones (42mm).
3) I have lost quite a bit of weight and gain flexibility over the last 6 months, improved overall fitness has allowed me to perform better on the bike, regardless of which one I am riding on.
Now I am really curious how the Crux will perform in my regular GRAVEL route. If it performs 90% as good on the gravel as my regular gravel bike, then I have really found the bike that can do it all.
