Trying cyclocross- would this bike be OK?

blorg

OK, thinking of trying cyclocross as I have this bike just sitting around doing nothing at the moment, my former tourer and then commuter that has been bumped out of both roles by its role by my new tourer and fixie.

It's a Specialized Sirrus Elite converted to drops, triple drivetrain, 52-42-30, 12-25 on the back, mostly 105 components.

Thinking of getting these WTB CrossWolf tyres as they seem like a good deal and have seen a few good comments about them on the internet. Is 700x32c enough? I had 700x35 Schwalbe Marathons (not a knobbly tyre, but a bit of tread) on before on this bike doing some light off-road on trails and reckon the frame would take up to 700x38c without difficulty. STI levers and cantilever brakes, Sean suggested before I would be OK without in-line cross brake levers?

At the moment it doesn't really change into the granny ring, probably needs a new FD if that was going to be sorted- in cyclocross I get the impression though you would generally be OK with 42-25 as your lowest gear, is this right?

Obviously the rack and panniers would be coming off

Any advice would be appreciated.

psycholist

you could try it, wouldnt advise using it on any day that there is any kind of rain in the weeks before you use it, doesnt look like you have enough clearance for any kind of muck,
tried using something like that myself a while back ,after a while it was like cycling around the middle of a bog witht he bike clogged up with muck

Morgan

Mud clearance will be the biggest issue. Don't get the largest tyres that will fit - leave as much room as possible. You can always try it - an new set of tyres and you're good to go.

blorg

OK, thanks for that tip. Sounds like those 32s are the best plan then. Here are some more photos of the bike as it is now, to give you maybe a better idea of the clearance (mudguards and rack would be coming off of course):



My tourer has a cross-specific fork and I don't think the clearance seems that different?:



However the Tricross for example does seem to have a fair bit more

psycholist

blorg wrote: »

OK, thanks for that tip. Sounds like those 32s are the best plan then. Here are some more photos of the bike as it is now, to give you maybe a better idea of the clearance (mudguards and rack would be coming off of course):



My tourer has a cross-specific fork and I don't think the clearance seems that different?:



However the Tricross for example does seem to have a fair bit more

the clearance at the fork doesnt look too bad, but its at the rear triangle where the big difference is , the thing just fills up with muck grass or whatever ****e your cycling through that egt s flicked up , then starts clogging up your brakes and mechs, looks like it wouldnt ba the worst on a dry day anyway.

but sure cyclo cross is all about the fun of it!
i wouldnt let that put you off most have a mtb event on before so give it a bash either way!

sean_d

You might need a lower gear than 42-25 too - most bikes will run 36-25 or thereabouts...

blorg

Thanks for the tips guys, rear clearance is similar to the front, it is a lot more room than a racer but not perhaps as much as a dedicated cross bike. Ideally I want to give it a go on this bike before getting into buying any new bikes I'd have a 30-25 in any case if I can just get the FD fixed.

rflynnr

Sorry for moving off-point but I'm intrigued by Blorg's original conversion of the Sirrus from hybrid to what seems to be a tourer. Till now I've been limited in what I can do with my own Sirrus because the presence of a child on the cross bar has more or less forced me to use wide handlebars. However, I'm going to acquiring another bike in the coming months which will take over commute duties (the famed bakfiets cargobike). This means I can start remoulding the Sirrus. Can I ask whether the conversion to tourer was successful both in financial terms and in terms of "feel"? I can see you acquired new bars and shifters but did you also change the rest of the groupset and did you need to buy a new stem? I ask because I've been looking at the Trek 520 (based on Barrabus's recommendation) and some of Cannondales but it would great if I could repurpose the existing Sirrus, which has already served pretty effectively as a tourer.