metal vs carbon cx racing bikes

[sparky33]

Metal bike guy here. Riding a steel Zanc cx, alloy tubs and 1x. Works for my occasional racing and just riding. Planning to go to disc soon, another (aluminum) Zanc likely.

I recently saw a Trek Boone in my LBS. It was nice. There are other nice carbon bikes out there as well. What am I missing out on wrt carbon?
What do people like for carbon cx racing bikes?

Point me to existing threads if they are out there already.

[zennmotion]

Go with your first instinct with Zanc, you know the reasons why, and they have nothing to do with carbon fiber. Pay no attention to those guys whispering nonsense and hiding behind the atomic #6 curtain, they are not your friends...

[r_mutt]

easier to portage (weight). theoretical ability to tune the ride.

[FlashUNC]

Those Colnago cross bikes sure look nice.

[Martygarrison]

I have a 2010 Focus Mares CX1. This thing has been just bombproof. Very solid, responsive and I don't pamper it at all. It's my all winter long bike.

[sparky33]

I have a 2010 Focus Mares CX1. This thing has been just bombproof. Very solid, responsive and I don't pamper it at all. It's my all winter long bike.
A few guys I know have good things to say about their Focus Mares also... I think they managed to get a group buy deal at a friendly shop too.

You know the thing about it is that most people upgrading to these very nice carbon bikes have been riding the same older carbon or older aluminum bike for many years, and then they get on new generally excellent frames of today. It is an instant improvement that is impossible to ignore. It seems hard to go wrong in some ways. But not having any significant time on carbon in recent years, I have no perspective...so thank you for noting a specific bike.

Those Colnago cross bikes sure look nice.
Oh yes. Colnago. Well of course! It would pair nicely with my fantasy C60.

Like Zenmotion said earlier, a metal Zanc is a can't go wrong bike. Mike can put his ride concept into my contact points and built it exactly for my set up...what color is really the only question.

Go to keep an open mind though... any others?

[JayBay]

I started CX racing on a 2012 Specialized Crux, alloy. I thought that was a great bike at the time, excellent handling, felt fast enough on the road, etc. But then I stepped up to the 2014 Crux in carbon. Same size, same geometry, same setup - but carbon and disc brakes. And I was amazed at how much smoother the carbon frame is off road. It really does a lot to soak up the bumps while hammering in the grass and dirt. It's a lot quieter ride, and feels quite a bit faster than the alloy version.

That said... I'd love an aluminum Zanc! Those things look awesome.

[redir]

I didn't like any of the AL cross bikes I used to race on. They were just too stiff and harsh. Then I got a steel bike and it was a huge difference in the level of comfort over a couple hour long cross races for the day. Personally I'll never go back to AL for cross but I've never tried a carbon frame.

[oldpotatoe]

Metal bike guy here. Riding a steel Zanc cx, alloy tubs and 1x. Works for my occasional racing and just riding. Planning to go to disc soon, another (aluminum) Zanc likely.

I recently saw a Trek Boone in my LBS. It was nice. There are other nice carbon bikes out there as well. What am I missing out on wrt carbon?
What do people like for carbon cx racing bikes?

Point me to existing threads if they are out there already.

Carbon cross rigs are cheap and light, some. Like aluminum, some, used to be.

[fogrider]

Metal bike guy here. Riding a steel Zanc cx, alloy tubs and 1x. Works for my occasional racing and just riding. Planning to go to disc soon, another (aluminum) Zanc likely.

I recently saw a Trek Boone in my LBS. It was nice. There are other nice carbon bikes out there as well. What am I missing out on wrt carbon?
What do people like for carbon cx racing bikes?

Point me to existing threads if they are out there already.

So a buddy recently got a Boone with employee discount...it's fully decked out; ultegra mechanical with hydro disc with thru axle front and currently setup for the road (28c slick tires). the bike felt plenty stiff and at the seat tube has their iso speed but I didn't get a chance to really feel it since I just did a short spin on the bike. The one thing that jumped out at me was the brake/shift levers were huge! the bars felt like the old bull horn bars! I know the hydro fluid is in the levers...they just felt really big and will take some getting used to. and yes, the brakes felt plenty strong.

I've been riding my Rocklobster Aluminum cross bike and it's been a really fun bike! the Boone felt solid with all the latest bells and whistles, but since it wasn't setup for dirt and I just rode it int he parking lot, can't really compare. I think the Boone came in right around 19 pounds.

[sandyrs]

This is only tangentially related to your post but I race on a steel cross bike now and really miss the stiffness of my aluminum bike that I'd ridden before it (despite the steel bike's better geometry). If the steel bike didn't have a dent in the chainstay that will significantly reduce its resale value, I would sell it today and buy a Turner Cyclosys.

And no, I don't think the stiffness would make me faster. It's just a matter of how I like the bike to feel when I pedal it.

[ww sunn]

I've been racing cross for a number of years on nice steel frames. First a Steelman and then a really nice, steel custom with Enve fork. Last August I bought a Boone with mech shifting and rim brakes and raced it about 10 times last fall.

The new carbon Boone blew me away last fall how sweet it is to race. It feels like it accelerates so much quicker, really stiff BB and head tube. Also, with that stiff head tube and carbon bars, the steering is so precise. Coming out of slow corner and then into a little dig climb is so much fun on this bike. I love it.

[gavingould]

Started racing cross on a Jamis Supernova (Alu w/carbon seat stays) then moved to a Felt F3x, their first carbon cross bikes. There were some rim/tire/canti clearance issues, but it worked and was ~16lbs in race trim (Rival/Force bits, Thomson post, cheap FSA bars, ~1200g carbon tubulars)

The Felt was a nice race rig but I wanted to change and went with Gaulzetti, disc, di2. That all added a few pounds, but it's a better bike overall. A Boone would be one of the few carbon cx bikes I'd think about getting. In fact I have an eBay alert...

[eBAUMANN]

my first cx bike was a van dessel full tilt boogie...it was great, really great, but it didn't have bottle mounts and in the end, i never really formed a bond with it so off it went.

it was followed by 3 custom steel frames, a burnside forge (made by my cousin) and 2 tomii's. all are awesome bikes that I still ride/race.

out of sheer curiosity this past season I built up a carbon disc rig just to see what all the fuss was about...honestly, i wasn't all that impressed and only raced it a couple times, then it was back to the tomii and mini-motos. Maybe its just me but I didn't really notice a huge difference (carbon v. steel) in the way the bikes felt on the course, the way they handled, soaked up bumps, and accelerated...they were very similar. i also built up a raleigh hodala with a belt drive for SS duty and man...that thing was fun, 14lb cx bike! but again, sold it at the end of the season with plans to build a steel frame for myself.

but, other stuff came up and i ran outta time to build myself something, so I called up the dudes over at squid and had them mail me a frameset, ALUMINIUM disc SS! very curious to see how it compares to the others :D

[ww sunn]

I forgot to mention that even though Sven races on a Boone, I think it is very much Katie Compton's bike. I think she was the one who rode all the prototypes and had a lot of design input. The Boone carves on a cross course and it's fun to simulate Compton in the drops on the descents. I bet the Crockett rips, too on a cross course.