Cyclocross Bikes Are Now Gravel Bikes, But Can Gravel Bikes Race Cross? | Bicycling

We’re being told that modern cyclocross bikes are gravel bikes, but is the opposite true, too? Dan and Trevor hit the local cross course with a classic Richard Sachs cyclocross race machine, a modern cyclocross bike, and the “as much bike as you can get” Canyon Grizl gravel bike to see if a ready-for-everything gravel bike can keep up between the tape.
READ
"Dead: Aluminum Road Bikes with Mechanical Shifting and Rim Brakes": bit.ly/3W9CeCh
Canyon Grizl Review: bit.ly/3Bnf8QE
Cannondale SuperSix EVO CX Review: bit.ly/3FEjWU1
Specialized Crux Review: bit.ly/3VN1IFA
Everything You Need to Know to Master Gravel: bit.ly/2K4cNBT
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[@mister_ray]

A Trek Domane, Boone and Checkpoint can all be used for road, gravel and CX.

[@danchabanov]

Totally. But the industry will tell us that each is optimized for a particular use.

[@cycling_plurality]

One bike quiver? Heck no - MORE bikes! N+1 is the answer :) Gravel bike and a CX bike! Plus, I like my CX bike single speed.

[@danchabanov4481]

I'll second your N+1 sentiment.

[@lokerola]

Cyclocross is fun! I'm still running an old rim brake Redline Conquest. Whoo hoo!

[@Chungleas]

I got back to trying CX again for the first time in a while this winter and my default solution was to put some Skinnier tyres on my gravel bike. It was fine, but I found myself wanting a dedicated CX machine which I've just finished putting together. Geometry and layout wise they're very similar, but I made a conscious decision to build the CX bike that bit lighter and opt for parts that are simpler/easier to replace when racing breaks them, it's got spares bin 9 speed but lighter wheels and uses Sti shifters where I've got gevenalle on the gravel bike. The things I notice most from the CX bike, less wheel weight and snappier acceleration, handling is similar but helped by having less mass. I did start wondering if putting road tyres and a bigger chainring on during summer might allow it to be used for crit racing, but I think a proper road bike is still the tool for that job. But yeah the main difference for me is in the build of a CX Vs Gravel bike now, strip as much back as you can, less weight, narrower gear range no concessions for comfort, a proper race machine...

[@SvenfromKiel]

I still ride my old OCCP Team Issue CX from 2007 1x 9 with 32 + 11/28 also on races and changed to 40mm and and put some spacer under the stem, to get it work for longer trips. Stevens Super Prestige, Speci Crux and Giant TCX are my candidates for next level CX with disc :-)....Gravel is nice but I love more to ride CX on trails.

[@brandonsouba]

Those Sachs cross bikes are so so sick.

[@Scottslookingabout]

you have to be able to shoulder a cyclocross bike, your course behind you seems to lack that feature. I run my cyclocross bike with 38mm rear 42mm front for gravel rides. It seems lot of gravel bike manufactures like to use a low top tube so when the rider dismounts he doesn't have to drape one leg over the tube or lean the bike over making the inner triangle small and difficult to shoulder. I first tried a road bike and a hard tail MTB for gravel rides, but the cyclocross was so much better. I was thinking the gravel bike is just the reinvention of the original mountain bike with modern tech and a drop bar, it would just be time before someone made a full suspension gravel bike, but specialized already did that. I also have a fully rigid carbon frame/fork 20 pound mountain bike with 2.3 rear and 2.4 front tire I use for single track strava leader board attacks and also good for gravel rides. We just witnessed a complete circle. The technology was so needed in a narrower market between cyclocross and fully ridged carbon MTB's.

[@photorockbar471]

I did bike packing on a rigid hard tail MTB. Worked great. My bike could be too heavy for a cross race though. Ha. Ha. BTW 20 pounds is not heavy for an off road bike. All my hard tail MTBs are around 24 lbs. Having one bike for all disciplines is doable. Note that if you crash the bike to the point of needing a new bike, you have no bike to ride until you get a new bike.

[@danchabanov4481]

I think we were trying to explore the blurred marketing lines currently in the industry between cx and gravel bikes. Although trying to come up with a bike for the "one bike quiver" would be a fun video.

[@photorockbar471]

@@danchabanov4481 Yeah it's definitely marketing. My first bike that I used for off road with when I was a teen was just a touring bike with cyclocross tires put on. Today it would be called a gravel bike. Back then we called it riding off road or hitting the trails.

[@keepingtherubberdown5715]

I think the biggest difference is BB Height. I compare my Trek Boone (2014) to my Giant Revolt (2023) and Geo is very close. The biggest difference is BB height. They feel the same on the road with snappyness but on CX the Revolt is definitely a tad slower. Would I race it in CX for sure as my back up bike just because the Boone handles better in the turns and out of them. Thanks for the review.

[@khemsuthiwan7916]

I use my cyclocross bike for short gravel races (under 40 miles). Otherwise, the bike geometry is way too aggressive for longer rides/races. My back was killing me, especially on hilly terrain. Plus, it would've been nice to have the gearing of a gravel bike, compared to my 1x 40T, 11-34. It was brutal going up anything over 6% grade. Another excuse to add a gravel bike to my collection, n+1!

[@danchabanov4481]

All good reasons to set up a bike for the particular riding you do. Just out of curiosity, where are you based?

[@khemsuthiwan7916]

@@danchabanov4481 Indeed. No different than bastardizing a road bike by putting aerobars on it. I'm based out of Colorado, USA, where bikes should outnumber the number of people.

[@SvenfromKiel]

we still have races here in Europa and CX is not dead...I saw here a lot of brands like Canyon, Stevens, Cube, Orbea, Gunsha...I personally ride an old CX from 2008 but to be true it is hard to find a suitable successor...the Speci Crux is my actual favorite as its in the meantime a good do it all bike for me with a similar geometry.

[@manfrommontreal]

I didn't think in the core Cyclocross countries in Europe that CX bikes won't be produced and sold.

[@danchabanov4481]

It's unlikely that cyclocross bikes will ever go away. The smaller euro brands like Cube, Stevens, and Ridley will keep making cx bikes. But right now, whether or not a larger brand is making a cross specific bike feels entirely dependent on if they are supporting a big team or stars. Trek has Baloise Trek Lions, Cervelo has Vos and Van Aert, Canyon has Van der Poel, Alvarado, and Puck. All make dedicated cross bikes. But if you look at brands like Cannondale or Specialized, both are marketing their cross bikes to gravel racers. I'm thinking out loud here, but there's an interesting push/pull happening in the segment between the bikes that customers want, the bikes that pros want, and what companies want to sell or make.

[@danchabanov4481]

@diesel fair enough, I meant small, as in lesser known in NA. They certainly are not small globally for sure.

[@dodginglions5163]

Surly Straggler, it’s probably not going to win but it will do it all, great video!…😎