Can one frame be both for cross and road?

[jwb96]

So I've never done cross, but am interested in trying and was thinking about getting a cross bike. Even if I don't race, it would be a good bike to have in Maine as I try to bike all year. Strong Frames are having their annual fall sale and at first I was thinking I'd get a road bike, but now I'm thinking cross. What I don't know is how fit changes between road and cross, and what other changes are made to make the bike cross friendly. More tire clearance, canti break bosses . . . anything else? Does it make sense to try to do two things with one frame, or is a cross bike just good for cross?

Thanks,
Jim

[Smiley]

add to your list higher BB and faster front ends and mud clearance for bigger tires . They are different and I would go with a cross if you were looking to commute on the bike.

[Dekonick]

Surley Cross Check - Wonderful, adaptable frame. Heavy, but cross, fixxie, commuter, it does em all. Spacing is 132.5 so it works with normal 130 hubs, as well as mountain hubs (135) - quite nice!

Drawback? Cheap paint - but what do you expect for $400 frame and fork?

It makes a great commuter bike. (and at this price, you can have your cake and eat it too!)

[Dekonick]

heh - this way you can have your nice strong frame, and a surly cross check to trash.

I forgot to mention that the frame has everything - fender /panier mounts, wide rear for tires up to 35+mm, etc...

[pale scotsman]

Originally Posted by Dekonick

Drawback? Cheap paint - but what do you expect for $400 frame and fork?

Sir Deko - If by cheap you mean not too fancy then I agree, but it's not a bad paintjob if you mean cheap by not being durable. They are powdercoated and it's done quite well... for powdercoat.

I had a black crosscheck and it saw some really rough gravel road riding, flying rocks, dumps, etc., and looked great when I eventually sold it. The only paint damage was on the dropouts, and at that barely.

Surly's are tools. Nothing pretty, but straight, functional, and solid bikes that are meant to be ridden.

[dirtdigger88]

Terraplane- MRB option

Jason

If you're honestly thinking of purchasing a bike for the dual purpose of
'cross and road riding, AND it's possibly gonna be a custom Strong because of the attractive deal, then ask Carl Strong to design it with dimensions BETWEEN both disciplines. Problem solved.

[shinomaster]

If I could only choose one bike to ride with me into the after life, it would be a cross bike. I would also like to be mumified in my Pryramid with a small scale model of Uma Thurman.

[itsalldark]

You should check out a Gunnar Crosshair! Much nicer paint and finish then the Surly. I think they are made in the Waterford factory!

[dbrk]

Most contemporary cross bikes have a bb that is just too high and unnecessarily so. Clipless pedals render the clearance issue now irrelevant (we used to drag our clips and that is the real/only clearance issue. If you look at someone who has a better idea like, say, Richard Sachs, you find that the bb on the 'cross bikes matches or close to matches road bikes. There's no particular reason why a cross bike can't be made to ride nicely on the road: cantis, tire heights, those are easy but there's no real reason to mess with the geos much. Back Then we rode "regular" road frames with braze-ons added for fat tire clearances.

dbrk

[Doc Hollywood]

http://www.ifbikes.com/frames2/steelindependence.shtml.

I know a guy who races road on one. It is also equipped with Canti Bosses and wider rear triangle for fenders so it can handle a wider 700X30/32 cross tire.

To make it REALLY versatile, buy two forks, a cross fork and a road fork.

A Lemond Popard would work too for a cross/road frame.

Litespeed use to make the Appalachain (sp?) that could function as both also. I don't know if they still make it.

Surly is okay for a cross frame, but it is a PIG to accelerate and not really set up to be a good road race frame.

Doc

[93legendti]

You will love your Strong. Talk to Carl, he will have great suggestions. I think I took every one of his suggestions when he made my bike last year.

[Orin]

Where's e-Richie when we need him?

Seriously, whatever he is building for his sponsored riders would do just fine. Pity about the wait.

Orin.

[Ray]

[QUOTE Doc Hollywood

A Lemond Popard would work too for a cross/road frame.

Litespeed use to make the Appalachain (sp?) that could function as both also. I don't know if they still make it.

Surly is okay for a cross frame, but it is a PIG to accelerate and not really set up to be a good road race frame.

Doc[/QUOTE]

Yeah, the Poprad is a great (and inexpensive) frame for both cross and road. It's geometry is essentially identical to my favorite sport touring road bike, but it has clearance for much fatter tires (I've run 700x38 on it without issue). It's bb drop is 74, which is lower than Lemond's road bikes. The bike is great at everything I've ever tried with it.

Litespeed's Appalachian was a very similar bike to the Poprad and I know some people who have them and really like them. They discontinued it and changed the Blue Ridge (which had been the identical frame) to more of a traditional touring bike - I wouldn't buy one for cross OR road at this point.

-Ray

...cross bike a good few years ago to race cross, commute and do chain gangs doing the winter and it was great.
It was a real winter hacker that worked ...change the tyres if you want something chunky and want to go off road or put slicker tyres on for road work.

I really loved it and would buy another one but I really do prefer north European weather conditions for going off road as I have a tendency to fall of quite a bit....there is some great off road near me but the ground is just to bloody hard!

Unless you have money burning a whole in your pocket and you are sold on something expensive I would go bargain basement and enjoy it.
A