Cyclocross bike project?

The cold, wet season is approaching here and thoughts of playing in
the wet and mud on a bike are becoming more enticing, as is the idea
for a winter project.

Given that the bank manager will have a coronary if I buy another bike
at the moment, I thought that maybe I could save some money and put
together an off-roader cheap. As the de-rigeur off-road bike around
here is many varieties of double-boinger and folks round here take
their off-road real seriously, I fancied something a little different
and cyclocross sprang to mind.

:-)

So, what makes a cyclocross bike different? Is it just a case of
getting an old road-bike and stripping it of anything not vital,
bunging on a big cassette and prepare to fall off lots, or is there
more to it? Any advice is welcome.
--
Matt K
Dunedin, NZ

Whingin' Pom wrote:
The cold, wet season is approaching here and thoughts of playing in
the wet and mud on a bike are becoming more enticing, as is the idea
for a winter project.

Given that the bank manager will have a coronary if I buy another bike
at the moment, I thought that maybe I could save some money and put
together an off-roader cheap. As the de-rigeur off-road bike around
here is many varieties of double-boinger and folks round here take
their off-road real seriously, I fancied something a little different
and cyclocross sprang to mind.

:-)

So, what makes a cyclocross bike different? Is it just a case of
getting an old road-bike and stripping it of anything not vital,
bunging on a big cassette and prepare to fall off lots, or is there
more to it? Any advice is welcome.

There are cyclocross specific frames, but I've no idea what makes them
different to road frames.

"Doki" wrote in message
...
Whingin' Pom wrote:
So, what makes a cyclocross bike different? Is it just a case of
getting an old road-bike and stripping it of anything not vital,
bunging on a big cassette and prepare to fall off lots, or is there
more to it? Any advice is welcome.

There are cyclocross specific frames, but I've no idea what makes them
different to road frames.

Clearances.

On Wed, 28 Apr 2004 19:54:03 +1200, Whingin' Pom wrote:

The cold, wet season is approaching here and thoughts of playing in
the wet and mud on a bike are becoming more enticing, as is the idea
for a winter project.

Given that the bank manager will have a coronary if I buy another bike
at the moment, I thought that maybe I could save some money and put
together an off-roader cheap. As the de-rigeur off-road bike around
here is many varieties of double-boinger and folks round here take
their off-road real seriously, I fancied something a little different
and cyclocross sprang to mind.

:-)

So, what makes a cyclocross bike different? Is it just a case of
getting an old road-bike and stripping it of anything not vital,
bunging on a big cassette and prepare to fall off lots, or is there
more to it? Any advice is welcome.

This is an informative article. Toe overlap and bottom bracket height seem
to be important.

http://www.kissena.info/cyclocross/n...cylocross.html
--
Michael MacClancy
Random putdown - "His mother should have thrown him away and kept the
stork." - Mae West
www.macclancy.demon.co.uk
www.macclancy.co.uk

"Whingin' Pom" wrote in message
...

So, what makes a cyclocross bike different? Is it just a case of
getting an old road-bike and stripping it of anything not vital,
bunging on a big cassette and prepare to fall off lots, or is there
more to it? Any advice is welcome.

Needs greater clearances than road bikes, and canti bosses for mud
clearance. See Fort frames url:http://www.fortframes.cz/ -- nasty site but
the info is there for buying in NZ/Aus. The owner of one of the LBS's round
here is cyclo-x mad and he raves about these frames -- v. cheap. Probably
best not to set up with Dura Ace as it'll get pretty mucky pretty quickly --
MTB kit should be good. I hear some cyclo-x riders are using MTBs.

Whingin' Pom wrote:

The cold, wet season is approaching here and thoughts of playing in
the wet and mud on a bike are becoming more enticing, as is the idea
for a winter project.

Given that the bank manager will have a coronary if I buy another bike
at the moment, I thought that maybe I could save some money and put
together an off-roader cheap. As the de-rigeur off-road bike around
here is many varieties of double-boinger and folks round here take
their off-road real seriously, I fancied something a little different
and cyclocross sprang to mind.

:-)

So, what makes a cyclocross bike different? Is it just a case of
getting an old road-bike and stripping it of anything not vital,
bunging on a big cassette and prepare to fall off lots, or is there
more to it? Any advice is welcome.

Given the way I feel about banks, I'd buy a new bike and then keep an
eye on the bank manager, rubbing my hands in anticipation

--
Chris

"Mark South" wrote in message ...
There are cyclocross specific frames, but I've no idea what makes them
different to road frames.

Clearances.

And cantilever brake bosses. 'Cross frames are also different from
tourers, although they use the same style of brake, as the BB is
higher, there's no provision for guards, and usually no bottle bosses.
Tourers, on the other hand, have a lower BB to give a nice low centre
of gravity when fully-laden. Having said that, an old touring frame
can make a reasonable beginner's bike for someone just starting out in
'cross (an article in Cycling Plus a few years back suggested just
that).

David E. Belcher