the CX experiment

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
ok, so i've decided to make this it's own thread. i guess even I need to moderated sometimes. anyway...

i've been looking at CX bikes too. i've also been looking at fixies, bikes with gears, full suspension bikes with gears and even the occasional unicycle. ok, i admit, i have a serious problem and need to see someone. thankfully i also have a wife, two children and one on the way so i get the reality check prior to dropping the coin.

anyway, a question: i have my old rigid trek 970, formerly my road bike, currently my "errand/beer" bike. it's seeing very little time on that duty. could i get drop bars for it, have the cables re-routed for the bars and semi-comfortably run it as a psuedo-CX bike? hell, i even have the 700c rims from the raleigh...i wonder if they'd fit with skinny CX tires?? thoughts?
 
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stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
anyway, a question: i have my old rigid trek 970, formerly my road bike, currently my "errand/beer" bike. it's seeing very little time on that duty. could i get drop bars for it, have the cables re-routed for the bars and semi-comfortably run it as a psuedo-CX bike? hell, i even have the 700c rims from the raleigh...i wonder if they'd fit with skinny CX tires?? thoughts?

aside from geometry differences, it would come down to the clearence between the tires and the brakes and 'stays.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
geometry? bah. i rode the damn thing on the road for nine years. i don't need no stinkin' geometry! :D

seriously though, could this work? really? i guess i'm going to have to pull it apart, do a test run and check. if not i could run 1.5 knobbies on the existing rims (if they exist?) and just do the drop/psuedo road set up. i'm not really digging the mary bars on it anyway. it's too twitchy.
 

BiknBen

Well-Known Member
bonefishFake said:
I have my old rigid trek 970, formerly my road bike, currently my "errand/beer" bike. could i get drop bars for it, have the cables re-routed for the bars and semi-comfortably run it as a psuedo-CX bike? ...i wonder if they'd fit with skinny CX tires?? thoughts?

stb222 said:
aside from geometry differences, it would come down to the clearance between the tires and the brakes and 'stays.

Bzzzz! Try again!

The canti-lever bosses are positioned on the frame for a 26" wheel. They will not reach a 700c rim.

Wheel spacing is off too. The rear dropouts of the MTB are 135mm wide. The 700c wheels are intended for a road bike that is 130mm wide. F'd

Trust me. Countless people have tried to do the Franken-Bike thing and it rarely works. You gotta buy a CX specific frame at a minimum.
 
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bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The canti-lever bosses are positioned on the frame for a 26" wheel. They will not reach a 700c rim.

that is EXACTLY what i just discovered. DAMN! a 700 x 28 specialized touring tire fit with room to spare. how much bigger is a CX tire? would it fit? there's plenty of clearance (clerence).

if i can get this dialed, i may have to recruit my brother in-law the welder to tack on some new tabs.

now this is getting exciting!

edit: damn you and your edit ben. :(
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
is it really that hopeless with the 700c rims? damn. i don't care that much, i'm still going to go to a drop bar set up. i think that'll be fun to rip along the columbia trail (with a stop at the long valley brew pub for a libation or two) this winter.

oh well, i guess that was a quick experiment. and a failed one at that. i hate it when a plan doesn't come together.
 

BiknBen

Well-Known Member
Trust me. Countless people have tried to do the Franken-Bike thing and it rarely works. You gotta buy a CX specific frame at a minimum.

Correction:
In theory, you could use a 29er MTB frame. The wheels are 700c so the brake would line up. You'd have clearance for the CX tire.

Yes, 29er rims are 700c. The MTB crowd just won't admit having something in common with roadies so they call them 29er rims. :hmmm: :rofl:
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
or you could buy my surly 1x1 fork and fit 700/29er wheels up front :D

already been down that road. no good.

well, i think this project is DOA. after looking at some pricing, the tires, bars and a road shifter/brake set up will run me almost $500. for a couple hundy more i could get an actual cross bike. even trying to do this on the cheap it ain't cheap. i'm gonna have to think about this.

anyone have a set of road levers they aren't using that they'd be willing to sell or trade?
 

Ian F

Well-Known Member
Ebay? Old, used 8 spd STI levers seem to sell pretty cheap.

Swap-meet at the Trexlertown Velodrome Oct 11 (Sat): http://www.lvvelo.org/index.php?news_id=310&start=0&category_id=&parent_id=&arcyear=&arcmonth=

Typically, it's road-oriented, although I haven't been there in a few years. (cash is king, obviously, although some of the business vendors take plastic). I imagine with some haggling, you could pick up everything you need for a couple of C-notes.

Also... look at std road levers and bar-end shifters... much cheaper...
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
oh well. small 26" tires and drop bars it is. it'll still be fly.
This will work for a start, certainly. The stem will need to have a good amount of rise and not so much reach, if the frame is properly sized to fit you for mtb-ing.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Ebay? Old, used 8 spd STI levers seem to sell pretty cheap.

Swap-meet at the Trexlertown Velodrome Oct 11 (Sat): http://www.lvvelo.org/index.php?news_id=310&start=0&category_id=&parent_id=&arcyear=&arcmonth=

Typically, it's road-oriented, although I haven't been there in a few years. (cash is king, obviously, although some of the business vendors take plastic). I imagine with some haggling, you could pick up everything you need for a couple of C-notes.

Also... look at std road levers and bar-end shifters... much cheaper...

you would think being a powerful cycling web-czar people would just be throwing stuff at me...well, other than rocks and foul words.

This will work for a start, certainly. The stem will need to have a good amount of rise and not so much reach, if the frame is properly sized to fit you for mtb-ing.

if i do this, i'm thinking for tires the conti cross-country pro and the on-one midge bar. in both cases, they look to be about my only choices.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Is this even worth it??

here is the parts list so far:

tires- continental cross county pro (26 x 1.5): $80
drop bars- on-one midge: $34
shifters- shimano ultegra 8 speed (bar end): $56
tape- local: $15
brakes- tektro 520 (black): $40
shipping (est): $30
est total: $255

is this even worth doing or should i just buy a damn trainer?
 
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stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
I guess it depends how much you hate the cold/time to get in a ride, trainers are mucho boring but I certianly can see there place with another kid on the way. Riding is a fun thing to me with the added bonus of being physically fit as a result. When you take away zipping around corners, going fast, avoiding cars (actually riding) and wearing lime green jerseys, it kind of kills it for me a bit.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I guess it depends how much you hate the cold/time to get in a ride, trainers are mucho boring but I certianly can see there place with another kid on the way. Riding is a fun thing to me with the added bonus of being physically fit as a result. When you take away zipping around corners, going fast, avoiding cars (actually riding) and wearing lime green jerseys, it kind of kills it for me a bit.

i feel the exact same way...the trainer is a DRAG. it blows...but i did get to "ride" a lot more last winter b/c of it. but like you said, i do have another bambio on the way so actually getting out and riding this new contraption may prove difficult. i think for the time being i'm going to table this one. i know what i need now and the bike sure isn't going anywhere.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I wear my lime green jersey on the trainer baby!

Jake - if you need just whatever drop bars from an old roadie, I have 2 sets.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
hey, thanks buddy! i was thinking the same thing (since i had a set just sitting around) so i did some checking: turns out that roadie drops won't work (at least with my set up) b/c of both the bar diameter and the depth of the drop.
 
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