Cyclocross bikes don’t tend to be the most common on this sub, but I’d contend that they’re effectively as good for dilly dallying and tomfoolery as they are for competitive racing. Big tires, capable geo, and—most importantly—fun at low speeds.

I did the reverse of the standard xbiking conversion on this one and swapped out the drops for a riser bar. It is now hands-down, no question the most fun I’ve had riding a bike. It’s nimble and fast and as at home on the river trails as is mashing around the city. It really feels like one of my bikes now, instead of a “new bike.”

10/10 would recommend a flat bar cross bike for any and all who enjoy mellow adventure riding.

by WUMBO_WORKS

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10 Comments

  1. Working-Promotion728 on

    I like the idea. I’ve had a few bonafide CX bikes and I always found the tire clearance to be lacking. for CX racing, 33mm knobbies is often the largest tire the bike needs to have, so you might cram 35mm slick in there before you run out of room. I feel like they should have a lot more clearance for muddy races, but IME, it wasn’t there. riding dirt roads on 35mm tires is great, but as soon as I went into some trails, pinch flats were a regular occurrence—even tubeless. if you’re looking at CX, make certain that the frame has room for tires that are big enough for your terrain.

  2. Metaphoricalsimile on

    idk legit racing bikes tend not to have rack and fender mounting, both of which I find essential for the kind of urban transportation I mainly do via bicycle. It sure does look fun to ride though!

  3. Aww man, I had just about convinced myself to sell my Fuji Cross 2.0… Now I guess I’m shopping for neon accessories instead 😏

  4. JunkMilesDavis on

    That’s almost the exact same setup I moved into at the end of summer on my CX bike. Used some swept bars at first, then replaced them with a wide riser bar. Luckily mine is a pretty low-end one with ample clearance for tires and all of the mount points, so I can go even fatter than the knobby 700x35s I’m running now. Still trying to decide if I’m completely happy with it or not. I’ll probably do the thing and add some MTB bar ends too just for an alternate riding position on smooth trails, since I don’t enjoy the wide grip as much when there’s nothing happening. It’s a big improvement over the drop bars for me at least.

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