[Closed] Cyclocross bikes for around a grand

Looking at this myself. If bike2work then Boardman at halfords probably your best bet for a grand. Kinesis crosslight ones seem to be the most recommended on here but may be a bit expensive as a full build.

Edit: Crosslight PRO6 build for £1400 looks a good bet if you could stretch to that.

I was looking at the Boardman, are they at least as good as the genesis?

I have a Vapour disc and really like it, I've only done about 500miles on it so far but it seems to be top do-it-all type bike as you describe. Have even done some routes on it which I'd consider proper mountain biking. Bags of fun. by the by, contrary to what the Genesis website say, my Vapour Disc came with BB7s not BB5s.

The Lapierre is good value, but also Stevens have a cracking range

Planet X CX bikes are also good value.

steve_b77 - Member

...I've looked at the Genesis Vapour Disc, Croix de Fer & the CdF.

I'd have to add a bit of cash for the vapour disc of the posh Croix.

Is the Reynolds 725 steel frame "better" than the alloy one?

Is a carbon fork better than the steel one?

Obviously BB7's are better than BB5's

The bike will be used for larking about in the woods, bridle ways, river paths etc and the odd commute. Might even venture into the Clwyds at some point too.

Any opinions & recommendations. I'm rather keen on having discs btw

the Croix de fer isn't really a 'cross' bike, it's a bit too heavy for racing.

but you don't mention racing, you DO mention

larking about in the woods, bridle ways, river paths etc and the odd commute. Might even venture into the Clwyds at some point too

for which the Croix de Fer is ideal, it's tough, and surprisingly capable, disc brakes are fantastic.

fwiw: i've got the Cdf, it's great, but the wheels are a bit heavy. I think they're the SAME wheels as the 'posh-cross', so... buy the Cdf, and treat it to some nice wheels with the money you've saved..?

as for the steel vs ally vs carbon question, the answer is... it's open for debate?

I've got a kenesis crosslight 5t, cost 999. I am really pleased with it, very comfortable ride.

I've a Croix de Fer - the Reynolds 725 version, apparently it is a fair bit lighter than the CDF blue one. This review at least says so: http://road.cc/content/review/73063-genesis-croix-de-fer
(It also says that a Tortec Ultralite rack will fit which as I discovered isn't true!).

I bought the frame and built it up lighter with 105 triple and Mavic wheels. It is incredibly comfortable compared to my road bike but how much that is down to the 'zingy' steel frame is hard to tell. It certainly isn't that light though at 24.5 lbs but I'm using it as a tourer/winter bike and used MTB 29'er wheels on Hopes. If you are bothered about the weight, I'd get something lighter like a Kinesis 5T or the Boardman which looks a bargain but prob not as comfy or reassuringly strong as steel.

+1 for Croix de Fer being dead comfy

Not sure its cyclocross (as in for racing) more like a road bike built for the sad state of our roads.

My croix is 22.03 lbs, but it could be lighter. 105, BB7s and stans iron cross on hope pro 2 evo with dt supercomp.

There is a guy on ebay that does stans iron cross on novatech for about 300, and I think they weigh about the same as mine (1610g).

Run tubeless at 35lbs and it is good fun.

That is only 2lbs heavier than my Equilibrium.

whyte charing cross for racing

charge filter hi for road work

yup, as mentioned above, find another £300 and get a PX carbon one 🙂

I recently paid £600 for an as new Boardman CX. Brilliant bike, beautifully finished. Great handling, fast on road but surprisingly comfy off road.

Haven't Boardman still got money off at the minute? And you can get at least 10% off as well.

i have a charge filter hi, used mainly for road work, i bought it because the croix de fer was over the max budget on the scheme.
go figure.

EDIT: the tektro lyra brakes are utter crap.

Whilst the cycle to work scheme still has some extra value attached to it, after much searching I am finding it hard not to go for the On One Dirty Disco at £1299.
And yes we are on the Halfords scheme! Doh!

Some Croix De Fers are out of stock until the end of July now. Madison have run out. I know because I tried to order a 56cm one a couple of weeks ago.
We've had 2 Trek Crossrips (one standard, one elite) in the shop and that's where my money would go. Both seriously classy bikes for the money. We all rode both of them and we all agreed that they are fantastic bikes.

Not sure what size you are really needing - I have just posted mine on the For Sale posts.

It is less than a year old - very low mileage, am asking £700. It is a 58cm with a shortened stem (I am generally somewhere between the two - fits me perfectly!)

I have a Genesis Vapour, which i use pretty much for what you describe. Mine is the nondisc version, discs would be nice but the cantis are fine once you are used to them. Very good allrounder, I use it for the ride to work, messing around in the local woods and rides on the local bridleways etc. I chucked a set of road tyres on it and did the London Brighton as well.

lizzyb - this thread is 2 weeks old

Not sure its cyclocross (as in for racing) more like a road bike built for the sad state of our roads.

Get a road bike then, I did 70 miles on Sunday which included Berkshires [i][s]finest[/s] worst[/i] back lanes and a few BOATS/RUPPS, all on 23mm Ultremo's and conti supersonic tubes, and I'm 200 (and a bit) lb!

If you've not already got one, don't discount road bikes, they're tougher than you imagine. I've even taken mine down (dry, hardpacked) singletrack looking for a palce to bivi whilst light touring.