I used to not really
get 'cross. As a mountain biker, I didn't understand why you would want to reduce your off-road stability with narrow tyres and bars. As a road cyclist, I couldn't grasp why you would want to make autumn and winter even wetter, muddier and plagued with mechanicals, than it was already. Things have changed...
Back in the summer, I test rode the
Verenti Substance CX (
review link). For a month, I switched out my usual commuting steed, a 1997 steel touring bike, for this knobbly tyre machine. It was a whole load of fun!
No longer was I confined to the lanes and cycle tracks on my commute. Before long, I had added dozens of new routes home; linking up bridleways, farm tracks and unmade roads. At every opportunity, I was jumping off curbs, tearing down tracks and thoroughly enjoying kicking up some dust and dirt.
The Verenti went back, all too soon; but it left me yearning for a bit more excitement on my daily rides to and from work. I tried riding my mountain bike in for a week or two, but as a fair portion of the ride is unavoidably on tarmac (the Portsmouth part), it made things rather hard going. It clicked, I realised quite why cyclocross bikes are so much fun. A cross bike lets you link up the best trails and tracks in an area, without having to slog it down roads on fat knobbly tyres to get between 'sectors'.
I also quickly realised that a CX bike was in fact a lot more comfortable for commuting. Although the Verenti CX was a little weighty, it was bombproof. I was blasting down broken roads and bouncing out of potholes, without the fear of punctures and pinch-flats. The disc brakes were a revelation as well. Having previously only really ridden disc on mountain bikes, I hadn't realised quite how much better they were for wet roads; coupled with the semi slick tyres, they provided a lot more confidence on leaf strewn corners and poor road surfaces.
Although I might still need a bit of convincing before I sign up to a cyclocross race, I can now see that cyclocross bikes are incredibly versatile, and a lot of fun. For me, they probably make the ultimate commuting steed.
I now "
get" 'cross. My search for a CX bike has begun...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFx5u6lf6qAD8NsaCHBOz4OKnoMW3Nb9sf4-tJaoJUlLpq-EZQJNgCvyiufImnGLYwLfwNmDboIOE6ksxyIc-YfFSwdL7mSJORHiMVl8bUAGuSAy0Jdf-REFSN0F-03ePfd6lODVPqVZ0/s640/cyclocross-commute.jpg) |
My month of commuting on the Verenti opened up some great new routes home. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJGxIvhXo_wXF8WLjqwGnM-jBa8EZUHaVE9rP69MnVCszBP5_-fEpH5qtG55Gx8yWNMNT4wTlL9sKfrumRZ2IoBtP38Ilvwa99zVllb_YRWEr9oTXa9DszeYmfDvxaR-NuB_tsuuSAIqw/s640/cyclocross-commuting.jpg) |
No traffic commuting. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5b7zEjEqJPmI1RRM5ULYgtOJ9IHHf-tJGIySc7mr0UQynmkMWLVm0Ibs4mWGC3h60eAuM9G3i3gaxjnLrqyXiYlTzkfh8VUhTEVqSLZGOGZB1-70QFzL0uBVpMf28R2lc7EJC7gu0Qks/s640/Peugeot-Tourer1.jpg) |
The steel tourer, my usual commuting steed, was laid up to rest for a month. Replaced by the Verenti Substance. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid4dide49p09_f5KQQ6di117NrAkrxGzd5_38KdpRtSHYCWD6Vmg0mXFTS352NGOG3MxLtAkNfHVIhP-vXyZ_s82bA3ZvrGMKZF9nCJz0cROIWMgRu70_cSigx6z35dehZfLVMXzmw228/s640/Verenti-Substance-CX1-1+-+15.jpg) |
Knobbly tyres, mud clearance and disc brakes. Confidence. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQpq1jNPFBXybH4G-z90zpNnIBrSEIg30wyS8oRgyPiiItfQxzBKVsKzHjllko0DuBL3dP5bx0TPgLaXYiLAgPeNC-45iAE5XaffjMVQKSLCnYgdp8VkTRu9zgM3hzUyhh3a4lm6UDLOg/s640/Verenti-Substance-CX1-1+-+5.jpg) |
Maybe not the prettiest or lightest bike, but a bombproof commuting steed. |
It would take an enternity for me to feel stable of a drop handlebars bike on a muddy path like that!
ReplyDeleteI love how a cyclo cross route to work in the morning leaves me feeling so much more refreshed when I get to my desk than commuting solely on the road. I think the combination of the extra wildlife I see and hear plus the fact I have to worry less about dodgy drivers in a rush as my road time is reduced really makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the cross racing Tim but if you can find an old school course with a bit of everything in the parcours rather than just a muddy field you'll probably be surprised how much fun it is blasting around at maximum heart rate for an hour!