Cyclocross bike is best suitable for varying terrain. It looks like a road bike but it has qualities of a mountain bike. This means that it’s perfect fit for a year round commuting with abilities to withstand all kinds of weather and terrains. Past few years range of cyclocross bikes have grown and these days you can already find some reasonably priced cyclos with good parts.
Cheapest cyclocross bikes cost at around 500 euros but you should always remember that with price comes quality. If bike comes to everyday use it should be quality bike with good frame and parts, this way you can avoid constant repairing and traveling becomes careless and comfortable.
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Special Qualities of Cyclocross Bike
Cyclocross bikes pay semblance to road bikes, frame looks the same but it allows the use of wider tyres and is often built to take some hits if you end up driving in rough terrain. You can choose between aluminium or steel frame. Professionals use carbon fibre parts to make bike lighter, but that also means higher price and weaker durability.
When talking about cyclocross bikes, tyres play big role and make the most difference between cyclos and road bikes. It’s particularly important to have tyres that allow low air pressures: between 1.5 and 2.75 bar. The lower the pressure the better the ability for tyres to take hits from sharp obstacles like rocks and tree roots.
Low air pressure also makes it more comfortable to drive on a rough terrain. Keep in mind that if your cycling is mostly commuting on asphalt or gravel you might not need so low air pressures on tyres. Higher pressure also reduce friction.
Because tyres often are wider than on a road bike, it also means that front and back fork of the bike needs to be wider. On a normal road bike it’s rare to have a fork that allows over 28mm tyre to be installed.
Wider forks give one significant advantage over road bikes: you can install winter tyres. In most parts of the europe winter tyres are not that necessary but for example in scandinavia if you commute with bike all year round, there’s almost every winter 4 months of potential winter tyre time.
Handle bar is on almost every case drop bar that is familiar from road bikes.
Cyclocross Bike Size Guide
Sizes are the same as on road bikes. So this chart is exactly the same as on road bikes.
| Cyclist's height | Frame cm |
|---|---|
| 148-152cm | 47-48cm |
| 152-160cm | 49-50cm |
| 160-168cm | 51-53cm |
| 168-175cm | 54-55cm |
| 175-183cm | 56-58cm |
| 183-191cm | 58-60cm |
| 191-198cm | 61-63cm |
Cyclocross as a Sport
Normally competitions take place on fall and winter. Track is usually few kilometers long and sometimes terrain is so rough that competitor needs to carry the bike. On these kinds of situations it’s important for the bike to be lightweight.
Cyclocross competitions are popular in countries where road biking is a big thing like in netherlands, france and belgium.
