anyone use a cyclocross bike?

[mijome07]

Hello all, I'm new here from Southern California. I have a fairly new 'cross bike that I'd like to use for light-touring and over-nighters. So far I have a Jandd Expedition rear rack,  Mountain Handle Pack 4 and a Mountain Wedge 2. I'm gonna be getting a Jandd Rack Pack 2. For lighting I have a Topeak Whitelite HP 3W on the helmet and two Whitelite HP 1W on the bike. Not sure about which tent, sleeping bag/pad to get. If needed, I have a small cycling backpack for light bulky stuff. Heck, I'm not even sure where I'll be going.     

[mijome07]

Here is a picture of my bike. 

http://flickr.com/photos/9320902@N04/3206744523/

[John G]

For road and light trail touring I use my Quickbeam.  For more rugged trails I'm working on a setup for my Monocog or an as yet to be acquired geared MTB.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/14612032@N00/2732803422

[mijome07]

Hey John G. Nice bike/setup. How much does it weigh in and where do you ride? Damn you must be tall to ride that monster!

[Rob]

I have a Cyclocross bike that I want to do some bikepacking with. I'm also in Southern Ca,  interested in planning a ride? 

Here's mine.

[naked indian]

Matter of Fact, this weekend I am taking the Cross on a little bike packing trip. 

Have a laugh and some fun!

http://singletracksamurai.blogspot.com/

[stevage]

Heh, I just came here to ask the exact same question. Specialized Tricross Sport here. Rob's bike looks like the Comp. Taking it out for its first bikepacking expedition this w/e.

[naked indian]

I LOVE my cross.  Only problem I had was a ton of Flats.  It may have been cause the tires I was using were way old at the time.  BUT, Fixie Dave had the same problem when he did the Tour Divide.

Food for thought...

[ScottyJ]

I rode the GDMBR on my Ventana CX bike in 2006 and having done so would never consider doing it on anything else. I used a BOB trailer so It may not really be considered bikepacking.
Trips with more really rough singletrack might see me on a hardtail 29" but I can't imagine anything that might require full suspension. If it's that rough you'll probably be walking it anyhow.

I got two flats on the GDMBR both were from chunks of retread while on road sections.

Modified 9-21-09 : changed CDT to GDMBR for accuracy

[thelankymanx2]

regarding using a Tricross to do Bikepacking I would be very hesitant to use a a cross bike if it doesnt have rack mounts.  I say this cos I have used my Tricross Sport Triple for heavy overnighters on road.  I had a heap of flex on the rear when loaded.  The sport bike is rated to a 135kg rider and 25kgs luggage.  The comp models arent designed to take luggage and the rider weight is something like 110kg. (sorry for the metric)  So add in rough firetrail or even single track and things look sketchy.  Cross bikes are designed for smooth tracks albeit muddy and snowy tracks.  They arent designed to take big hits like you would accept when riding offroad. The warranty doesn't apply if you arent riding as the 'intended design'

That all said it is horses for courses.  I know guys that do enduros on them, ride mtb marathon.  I would suggest getting a strong wheelset, the thickest tyres you can fit 45mm+ and some cross top brakes, using the hoods can get annoying/painful.  That all said I love my crossie for commuting and cant beleive more people dont use them in Australia due to their ruggedness and larger tyre capacity.

Enjoy it though and let me know how you go with it.

[efuentes]

I have been using a sort of cross bike but running 40mm tires (on an old hybrid frame with drop bars), I am going to try 1.8 tires now (about 47 mm) I think that will be the sweet spot for me.

Its all a compromise, but since I connect singletrack with lots of fireroads and pavement it has worked great.

Saludos

[bdstorer]

Yep. I use a Surly Crosscheck with 1 x 10 drivetrain with MRP 1x chain device, full set of Epic Designs bags and trod with Kenda Small Block Eight 32c tires. Works great. Currently in Southern Tasmania riding the Sthn Forest firetrails, forestry roads and singletrack. Had a few punctures (pinch flats) on some of the more 'extreme' rocky trails. Considering trying tubeless (either Hutchinson Piranha or Bulldog 34c UST tires) or perhaps going even more extreme end of the scale and trying the Panaracer Fire Cross 45c's.

[bmike-vt]

was running a fg / ss crosscheck with 35s, then 42s. was fine on plenty of dirt / gravel and mixed terrain riding - but when i moved to more single track i wanted more tire to deal with rock / roots / wet. i also had a hard time getting comfy on the bike. was running a 14cm stem with the marys, had very little standover, and always felt cramped up, like i was perched on a tall bar stool. moved to a 29r and have been happy thus far. ran it with the 42s for the first 2 weeks then moved to some 2.2s. love the cushion and grip of fat tires... but traded the weight.

[stevage]

I'm just going to repost the photo of my bike from "personal bikepacking setups" for the bikeporn factor.



Soon, the setup will look very different: tarptent sublite instead of that bulky tent on the handlebars, and CDW saddlepack instead of just the sleeping bag like that. While waiting for the saddlepack I might take it for an overnighter using a thermolite 2.0 bivy bag.