[Closed] Gravel/Adventure Bike vs CX - Real World Differences

the Boardman Team CX has caught my eye. Tyre clearance looks decent enough. Seems to have rack and mudguard mounts.

The shiny silver one does not have front mudguard mounts, despite the original description saying it did.

They sneakily changed it on the site after I complained.

It's also a surprisingly heavy beast, other owners have said the same thing on here.

Sorry I can't really address your actual Q though.

🙂

Think a near identical thread was running a couple of days ago?

CX Team is what my wife uses as a road/easy off road bike. The wheels are where all the weight is. They are going after winter, should easily lose a pound or so.
Frame has guard mounts and pretty good clearance with the supplied 35mm tyres, forks have loads of clearance but no guard mounts on legs.
She's got 28mm slicks on hers and and it's good enough on road for distances up to 50 miles so far, was good fun in Forest of Dean earlier in year on stock tyres, mix of off & road.

I also think that it's possibly to be a little over analytical about the whole thing. It's a bike, it'll be fine. I use a Boardman flat barred hybrid frame with drop bars and a mish mash of kit on it, including 29er wheels with 25mm rims. Still capable of doing everything I want it to even though common wisdom would say it is wrong.

I've got a Specialized Crux - the frameset before [url= http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/road/crux/crux-pro-disc-frameset ]this one[/url] but other than the colour, exactly the same.

In theory at least it's a full on CX race frame, in practice it actually builds up to a really good all-rounder. You can slam the stem and run it as a road bike if you wanted or with spacer and a rise on the stem it'll do all-day off-roading without a problem: I've done century rides inc fair stretches of off-road, the Three Peaks CX race, towpath commutes with a rucksack - the bike handles it fine.

It's as you describe, my go-to winter bike of choice. Although that said, I am used to a pretty aggressive position on the bike, comes from years of XC, road and track racing so my idea of what is a good all-rounder may not necessarily match yours...

I'm doing the Dirty Reiver ride too. 🙂

CAADX here perfect as winter road bike/commuter/tourer.

Once you have weight on the front end it's not fast!

Recently bought a Niner RLT - aluminum with 27.2 carbon seat post. It's more forgiving on long rides than my carbon CX bike. I'm doing the Dirty Driver 200 too, and wouldn't want to do it on the CX bike.

Depends I have had a few out and out cx bikes with no bottle mounts and super sharp handling designed explicitly for blasting round a field for an hour. Then I've had a surly cx and a pompino which were much more like a tourer

So I guess it depends on what models you look at some are very samey some are completely different you've realised

I started out on proper cx bikes but moved to more relaxed cx/tourer. Well tourers with fatter tyres if we're being honest as the riding I was doing just wasn't as comfortable / practical on a pure cx

Race cx bikes I've ridden aren't all that aggressive in geometry IME - compared to race XC MTBs, say, where you really can talk about an aggressive, forward position. Race CX bikes need to be shouldered, loads of clearance, high bb etc - could ride my CAADX all day. A regular punter will swing a leg over one and think it feels fine. Get them on a MTB speed machine and they'll be wanting off it in 5 minutes.

The rack, cage mounts etc are a different story, of course, but I wouldn't be expecting gravel bikes to offer anything particularly novel with the geometry / ride.

Think a near identical thread was running a couple of days ago?

Just been looking at this one. I guess it is pretty similar! [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/adventure-gravel-bikes-just-cx-with-marketing-gimmicks ]singletrackworld.com...adventure-gravel-bikes-just-cx-with-marketing-gimmicks[/url]

Still interested in experiences of the Boardman Team though. Particularly geometry. Also, it seems 2014 models had big issues with cracks in the paintwork (and other generally poor quality control), for which they were recalled. Does anyone know if any of this continued into 2015?

I ride a niner rlt9, but it's not in the same price bracket as the Boardman but I did spot something interesting in go outdoors at the weekend

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-dark-peak-adventure-bike-p347153

both my SuperX and Munqe Chicks Focus Mares CX come with 2 bottle cage mounts, more the norm these days.

If you're looking at the Boardman take a look at the bargain Saracens that are getting flogged off at the mo

http://www.billys.co.uk/english/group.php?prod=VARRN8512

http://www.billys.co.uk/english/group.php?prod=varrn9511

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/saracen-hack-2-15

has 2 bottle cage and rack mounts. I bought one over a Boardman CX Comp last year, it's my commuter/winter/hack (see what I did there) bike but has also done the Paris-Roubaix sportif and just finished the Festive 500, and was my CX bike until I got serious and bought the SuperX. Heavy OE wheels (like the Boardman) but otherwise a great bike for the money.

FYI they size weird; I thought I needed the 54, butI bought a 56 as it actually measures 54 (the sticker on the frame even says "54 C-T") so you may need to size up from what you expect.

Good price for those Saracens.

I had a Boardman cx a couple of years ago, pre disc brakes, and it served as a commuter, winter club roadie and oddly a bit of a cx bike depending on the tires fitted. It was fine right till some turd nicked it. Then as a needs must just bought a alu road frame, which obviously did all but the cx bit. This autumn I picked up a GT grade sora for a chunk less than £500, and this does all the above again. Bit more weighty than an outright road bike, but still see's me with the pack on club runs. Odd thing is I guess I just tend to set the bikes up to what feels right for me. The GT has become my go to bike over all my others which cost a hell of a lot more, but I'm just enjoying the GT and have wheels set up with 28mm road tires and a set with cx tires.
I've lost the point of where I was getting to really, but the Boardman cx was good, I like my new GT. But if I had seen the Saracen Hack 1, I would have bought that, it look a right bargain and would do all the riding I want it to 🙂

While these 'all in one' bikes can theoretically be built up in a number of ways, I can't see how one could do as your winter bike, commuter and CX racer all at the same time unless you want to spend two or three hours every weekend of the CX season stripping off and replacing mudguards and racks and changing tyres?

I got myself a Boardman CX Team at the end of 2011 (2012 model) as very not precious commuter. It isn't a true cross bike, but it is a very versatile bike. As above the wheels were changed early on, and I swapped the SRAM drive train for 105 cos I couldn't get on with double tap (personal choice). Out of the box it punches well but needs some money spent on wheels especially.
I've commuted on it in all weathers, bikepacked, toured the length of France, 2x HONCs as well as the Paris-Roubaix Sportive and a 300 km Audax. Of course you could do that on any similar bike, but the Boardman is basically a capable bike. Mines knackered now though - needs some tlc but there's life in the old dog still.

can't see how one could do as your winter bike, commuter and CX racer all at the same time unless you want to spend two or three hours every weekend of the CX season stripping off and replacing mudguards and racks and changing tyres?

Would agree, commuter and winter bike are the same thing to me. A set of race blade longs and a spare set of wheels minimised the time I needed to swap for the odd weekend off road foray and even rarer local CX race. I guess 3 kids and a job working 2 out of 3 weekends put pay to my CX race career, so compromise across bikes is easier for some of us than others. So if you need to tick every stw box for each genre of bike, I will revise my first post and recommend a specific bike for all eventualities.

My old CX bike has become my training bike, I'm not sure whether its now a road bike, Gravel bike or Aadveture Bike.

Its kept me riding through this winter up till now and when the spring comes i'll change the tyres.
If i didnt have this i'd have bought a Cannondale for under a grand, they are pretty well specced or they are compared to my Bike, Plus they are Disc Specific as well.

This is my Boardman CX/Road (all day) Commute/Gravel bike

If someone hadn't started telling me I need a different bike I wouldn't have known any different.

In this pic I was just on a road ride when I decided to go on a rough BW, across a river, all on fat heavy commute tyres, and contrary to recent belief I didn't die horribly.

[img] [/img]

Thats slightly different to mine as i havent got spangly disks for stoppers, apart from that its just like my CX / Road, All day, Commuter, Gravel bike,

ONLY Mines way better, Its a Tourer as well 🙂

Over the last 10+ years I have ridden the following on 50/50 road/off road riding (amongst others);

Surly Steamroller (low BB, road like geometry, wide tyres)
A few SS CX bikes (Felt and Kona Major One) (higher BB, wide tyres)
A few track bikes (high BB, narrow tyres)

The BB height is noticeable (higher centre of gravity), the wider tyres are noticeable (grip and comfort) and the other differences in geometry are not after a few rides.

So if tyre size can be equal between CX race and CX leisure/gravel/all round bike that only leaves the BB height as any real difference to me and although it is noticeable I can't say I really care after a few rides.

For the ares I live in the fastest bike I used was a track bike with 24c tyres. It was also the least comfortable over long distances off road and was not exactly confidence inspiring on fast corners.