Been riding/racing the woods since 92 and the road since 95. I finally built a CX this winter. I'm stoked about racing come fall, but in the meantime I plan to ride the local trails.

Just wondering how many people here are riding their CX bikes on mtb trails, what level of tech difficulty, any sort of equipment or technique variations you employ, how much it applies to your CX racing experience, and any other comments you might share on your experience with this.

The bike is a Bontrager CX, set up with very similar measurements to my road bikes. I'm running 36/46 with 12-27 out back. Riding central NJ parks. Descending and cornering on singletrack in the drops has been a hoot so far.

Riding the cross bike on trails is a lot like riding a rigid mtn bike on the trails. You hafta be a little more careful about where you put yer tires (less volume) and what lines to take (smooooovvveeee is better!).

Other than that, ride the snot outta the thing. It helps with control on the road, helps you learn to pick the good lines when racing, and it gets you familliar with the way the bike reacts under 'funky' conditions.

I've got a BUNCH of fire roads here in Flagstaff that I need to go explore. Once the snow melts off the mountain next door, that's where I'm headed.

M

Depending on the riding surface and the tires you're running, singletrack is great. Around SoCal, most of what I encounter is decomposed granite or sandstone, and 10.5 months outta the year, it's bone-dry and loose, so I favor the widest, most aggressive tire I have. On fire road rides, where there's mainly an underlying surface of hardpack or rock, with the inevitable overlay of sand and grit, I can get away with a much narrower, faster tire. On either singletrack or fire road, you will have to develop your riding chops, especially scoping out the best line at speed. I also found that working on my bunnyhopping really saved my @ss a lot of times. It's a good way to get back that core skill set that went dormant when it got easy to let MTB suspensions pay for sloppy riding.

I had some issues coming to terms with riding in the drops on the trail, and still prefer the tops of the bars in more technical sections; also prefer the tops (I have top-mount levers on most of my bikes) on steep downhills, because it makes it easier to slide to the back of the saddle. Riding fire roads in the drops is great.

Best thing about riding singletrack or fire roads on a 'crosser is the looks you get from mountain bikers--especially when you smoke 'em on the downhills.

What MShaw said. I primarily ride full rigid MTBs, but when I want to do a long ride that includes a significant amount of pavement I prefer a CX bike.

You have to be more vigilant about where you are aiming your tires. On the plus side, 700C wheels roll over things a little more readily than 26" MTB wheels, which compensates a little for the skinnier tires.

I started out by tracking down the biggest tires that my bike could fit, but ultimately found that the slight volume increase did not justify the weight increase. 37C is about the max size I care to run.

My brother and I ride singeltrack on the crossers once a week, at night, in the wintertime. Nothing helps your handling skills more than riding the cross bike in the trails.

I put a 700x40 tire on the front and a 38 on the rear. I'd go 40 on the rear, but the frame won't accept bigger than the 38...

Love riding my CX on the singletrack.

http://www.thepiker.org/photo/WWS2/WWS2-Pages/Image28.html

that is why I bought the Major Jake....to ride singletrack. I live in Idaho. The cross is a great way to put in a 100 miles of dirt. I just connect the dirt roads with the singletrack. Just heed the warnings of MShaw and Walrus. And smile when you pass people!!!

Yep- me too. We have a couple of 'smoother' parks around where I ride it. I wouldnt take it up the local technical trails (too many rocks) but for the local snowmobile and horse trails, its a blast!

Right on to all the responses. Good to hear people are into it.

My primary mtb of late has been a rigid, SS-ed (by way of ENO) Bontrager Race Lite, so I totally hear you on the need to pick good lines and keep it smooth.

One thing that I've thought of is the effect of "mtb-ish" cross geometry vs. geometry which is closer to that of road bikes. Bonty cross geometry is just one example of this, I believe Kona is another.

I've ridden local mtb trails twice so far, and go right to the drops whenever the going gets fast or the trail goes down. Seems by far the most secure connection to the bars. I have the bars high enough that traversing log piles in the drops feels OK, and I've been able to get behind the saddle for drop-offs as well. Very cool dynamic when compared to the mtb.

Running Kenda Kross Supremes. They are the most aggressive looking cross tire I've encountered that can still fit, as I can't go much bigger than 35 under my fork.

Been riding/racing the woods since 92 and the road since 95. I finally built a CX this winter. I'm stoked about racing come fall, but in the meantime I plan to ride the local trails.

Just wondering how many people here are riding their CX bikes on mtb trails, what level of tech difficulty, any sort of equipment or technique variations you employ, how much it applies to your CX racing experience, and any other comments you might share on your experience with this.

The bike is a Bontrager CX, set up with very similar measurements to my road bikes. I'm running 36/46 with 12-27 out back. Riding central NJ parks. Descending and cornering on singletrack in the drops has been a hoot so far.

Come up to Kittatiny State Park on June 24 and race the Bulldog Rump. See teambulldog.com. I've raced my cross bike at Kittatiny for the Bulldog Rump and the Running of the Dogs for the last two years and also at the Lewis Morris Challenge. Great Fun

I'm going to be hitting the singletrack on my cross bike as soon as the doctor clears me to ride again after breaking my collar bone. I just bought some 42mm tires to try out, but I can't fit that wide of a tire on the back. I think I'm going to leave a 35mm on the rear or maybe try a 38.

I've gone as far as riding "North Shore" style rides in Vancouver (the only difference being that it wasn't physically on the north shore). It is fun to ride out to the trails a good 15+km away, do some really technical stuff and sit at the top of the trail with guys on 8" travel bikes and be the "hard core" ones. It is not about being the fastest, it is about having fun.

'Cross bikes are by far the most versatile, useful, and fun.

-Damon

No more CX bike for me but I ride my Surly LHT on fireroads. Cool thing about the LHT is I can fit some pretty high volume tires on it to soften the blow.

I recently ordered a custom MTB frame and sold my old MTB to finance the custom build. Therefore, I had no choice but to ride my CX on singletrack during the 6-month long build process. Man did I love it! I put some Midge bars on my Surly Cross Check and ran 700x38 tires. Talk about railing the turns! In my humble opinion, nothing is more fun that riding fast in the drops shooting in and out of the trees.

I have since built up my new custom MTB, but honestly miss the feeling of my cross bike and riding in the drops (recently converted my CrossCheck back to commuting duty). Maybe it's as simple as my newly found appreciation for riding off-road in the drops, but I think it's really cool to roll by all those funny looking MTBers with their full-squish bikes and kneepads and all. I love the look on their faces!

And to be perfectly honest, I was actually faster on my CX bike than on my MTB because of the manueverability in the tight and twisty.

Good point about connecting the roads to get in lots of offroad time. I love getting out on country back roads, just wandering, and being able to jump onto some seductive little ribbon of dirt that's snaking back into the trees or over a hill. I once got dragged along on a real death march going over the San Marcos Pass in Santa Barbara Co. (CA) into the Santa Ynez Valley, going up the highway, jumping off to the fire roads on one side, crossing over to some narrow lane climbing for the sky on the other, all the time staying just barely below the redline. I really paid for it the next few days, but during the ride, it was superb. If I could find a minister to perform the ceremony, I'd marry my VooDoo Wazoo.

'Cross bikes are the ultimate exploring bikes....

i have been riding st/fr with my cx quite abit lately.

my ride usually starts/ends with a 7 mile road ride to the trailhead (for you so cal people, from downey to turnbull canyon/whittier area).

from there, i do a big mix of road/fire road climbs and singletrack and fireroad decents. my rides end up being about 35-40 miles with 3-4k of climbing.

bike is set up with 35c tires (kenda cross supreme up front, kwick in the rear) and paul neo/touring cantis with cane creek levers and a generic bar top lever. my bar is an on-one midge. the bartops are kinda level with my saddle, but it is abit of a stretch when in the drops.

also, it is a single speed with 42x18 gearing. good for the road and a grunt uphill....but when is riding an ss uphill easy?

frame....custom steel desalvo with horz drops, fork is a steel kelly (delicious ride!).

i love thios way of riding so much, i think i may jump into the deep end a spring for a full custom ti rig with a steel fork and an eBB.

riding this rig around in the hills has really made me a better mtb'er though. add 29er tires and a 80mm suspendion fork and 32x20 gearing and it just seeems so much easier.

With the exception of a little urban assult, is there anywhere else worthy of riding a cross bike?

I have a Surly CrossCheck decked out w/ disc & V-brakes, bash ring and lots of smiles. Riding in SoCal where it is dry, it is really fun to rail the smooth trails on 23cc slicks, it makes it 2x as fun to pass MTBers. For racing in baja and more technical stuff, I run a 44c Mutano raptor and something random on the rear the 38c variety. By far the best position for nearly all terrain is on the hoods (plan ahead, ride it out and slow down when it is over) or the drops when it is REALLY hairy. I run the exact positioning for PX (psycho cross) as I do for road, which includes century training rides in the Cuyumacas.

Best advice, don't question yourself, the moment you have doubt is the moment you WILL faceplant. keep your weight neutral! too many people try to get too far back and wash the front tire. for quick adjustments shift the bike under you and don't change your center of gravity, it will allow you to deflect the wheels slightly without getting pitched. Always be prepared to manual the front wheel a bit and drag the rear through stuff, it kinda makes up for bad lines. and always plan ahead, braking in the corners eats up traction so slow a little before and accelerate through, practice by riding a tame trail and force yourself to keep your hands OFF the brake levers, you will ride slower at first but after a few rides you will actually be riding WAY faster and wasting less energy (hence riding on the hoods). for cornering with slickery tires, keep the bike vertical and lean the body, this way when the tires slip, the bike wont collapse and ensures that the meat of the tread is in full contact with the ground. for a quicker recovery, when slipping, bend your arms and legs in a quick twitch, it will stop the bike from sliding for the split second it takes for them to grab again.

*warning* hands on hoods means less braking when bouncing but better manuverablility...u pick

oh and extremely important, check your seat height, you should just barely be able to pedal on your heals w/o bobing your hips, if you bob, you'll probably trash your knees and you definitely won't be able to manuever.

Like any skill, you will need to develop your own style. I developed mine as a combination of techniques from friends, trying things contrary to convention and DUMB LUCK. Good luck and happy trails

I've been on several miles of singletrack over the past few days on my Cross Check. It works but it wouldn't be my first choice of bike (obviously). It is my first choice for chip-seal or dirt road rides though. I've been getting into exploring the dirt roads in and around town recently, since I know the local pavement and singletrack pretty well..

i do--the exact same trails i ride my mtb on. however given that i'm in one of the flattest places on earth this is not saying much.

I have a Surly CrossCheck decked out w/ disc & V-brakes, bash ring and lots of smiles.

How did you set up disc brakes? Did you get a different front fork for a disc brake, then leave the rear as a V-Brake? What fork, levers, etc, did you use? Just curious, as I've been looking at getting a cross-check. Wish they came with disc brake options off the line.

How did you set up disc brakes? Did you get a different front fork for a disc brake, then leave the rear as a V-Brake? What fork, levers, etc, did you use? Just curious, as I've been looking at getting a cross-check. Wish they came with disc brake options off the line.:thumbsup:

hehe... I am running an avid BB7 on the front...and wouldn't consider anything else, it is a standard mountain bike version and I have a Problem Solvers Travel Agent (get the one with a barrel adjuster) that I run at a 90 off the tape and down the fork leg. It is probably "better" to run a linear version if you have brake bosses to bolt it to but it is what I had and is super clean. The fork i'm using is a 29'er fork off a Bianchi PUSS, (pink SS frame) the surly fork sucks! I like the bike but I must say the fork sucks, I wore it out by commuting, spread the brake bosses. I replaced it with a generic, (I think that it retailed for about $25-30, i worked in a shop at the time and ordered it from Giant) threadded stem, steel 1 1/8 fork that i used with a threadless stem and it felt more solid AND more compliant...i think it was mainly that it was less chattery. and no, I didn't have ANY problems with my stem slipping!

I had my bike set up with V-brake front and rear but when I got the pink fork, i switched the front out. the rear still has the rim brake but I need to run the travel agent AND a brake arch. w/o the arch, the frame flexes so much that it actually has less braking power than canti's. I run a menagerie of shimano 9spd STI levers, I break them periodically and swap them out with freebee's often enough that I can't remember what is on it. I have found that the 105's last about 4 times as long as Ultegra...havent gotten to try DA....

one of these days I'll get around to posting a pic of it, it is pretty ugly, pea green with a pastel pink fork....a faded 80's bike... but it rocks.:D

one of these days I'll get around to posting a pic of it, it is pretty ugly, pea green with a pastel pink fork....a faded 80's bike... but it rocks.:D


Post a pic when you get the chance - sounds like a blast to ride. Thanks for all the info! Ligers are like my favoritest animals..

I do it all the time. Since my Redline Conquest is an all-purpose machine, I just switch out my pedals to a set of SPDs, change the wheelset and then head to the trails. I love it – I wish I could have a dedicated MTB, but I'm poor, so I don't.