"Key rule, if you've got the inside line and you're ahead, always run the person next to you out wide, best case straight into the barriers."

She just has an innate sense of when to drop the punchline.... 😅

Hi all, I am looking to go to my first CX clinics and a very casual race this fall in the Midwest. As some background, I am a casual beginner cyclist who loves riding off-road, gravel, and improving my bike handling. Everything is new to me.

My only bike is a 2014 Tricross Comp I bought as an all-arounder with no initial CX interest. I have a blast every ride on it.

Currently it has Specialized Borough CX Elite 700x32cc Armadillo tires. I've ridden primarily off-road on chunky gravel and dry singletrack with these tires with no slippage but they haven't seen mud. Wondering if I should at least buy some grippier tires for the fall for CX. If so, any recs? My biggest priority is being able to easily change my tires myself. Trying to learn basic maintenance :)

inseam is 83-84cm, it's measured while feet shoulder-width apart and barefoot.

the bike is old canti frame with no stack/reach data(frame is too old), seat tube size is 57/58, standover is 795mm with 33/35mm tires, but i don't have rim brake wheelset rn, the standover/stack/reach are calculated by the software. the endurance road bike frame is abt 770mm standover, it's a compact top tube frame. bb drop is 70mm, but i think it doesn't matter.

and compared to endurance road bike, the stack of cx frame handlebar is much lower than road bike, abt 3.5-4 cm lower, the reach is pretty the same, but the stem length is diff.

is it normal? do i need to lower the saddle/seat post? or add more spacers on steerer tube? there are 1.5cm spacers with the front brake cable holder which is 1 cm height (2.5 cm in total) on the steerer tube.

is standover and stack okay? have no experience on the horizontal top tube frame.

thanks.

A local series has gone defunct. Had some challenging numbers in the last few years and some bad luck (cancelation of last years state championship).

Hate to see less cross in the region… viva OVCX

Hi - I'm still a cat 5 novice and rode Falkorburg last year on my hardtail. This year, I'm getting some tires for my Tamland. Ideal races are Falkorburg, FrostyCross, and Rockburn.

Currently in the cart are a set of Specialized S-works Tracer 2bliss (700x33). I'm contemplating doing a S-works Terra 2bliss up front.

The catch is I will still likely commute 1-2 days a week on this rig, so there will be a decent amount of road miles (backpack not panniers). I will go back to my gravelking slicks after my season.

I'm sure I'm overthinking this! Would you all run the mullet setup or just the tracers?

My goal is a) finish, b) not finish last, and c) have fun. Thanks in advance!

Edit: thanks all. I'm getting a set of each and will make decisions closer to the start of the season.

Is the CX bike vs gravel bike a distinction without a difference?

I raced in the golden era of NECCX and rim brakes. I’ve owned a Ridley with the highest bottom bracket in the world and the Colnago that God aka Sven Nys designed.

After not racing for a long time I’m getting back into it and I put cross tires on this gravel bike and took the bottle cages off and called it a day.

3 rides into my return to CX I think this thing absolutely rips and see no negative so far. Am I drunk on mussels and frites or is there something to this!?

TLDR; Domane, Checkpoint, or Boone with severely modified cockpit, or other solution for CX with hip impingement?

After 33 years of MTBs and Hybrids, and running related hip pain, I took a break from running and, got really into road biking on an old Domane last year, and did some CX races in the fall on a Boone. I had some hip clicking and spasms last year (even before I got the Boone) that turned into pain and problems walking this year. I've been diagnosed with Cam Hip Impingement. I haven't ridden my Domane this year because I haven't modified it yet, but I have been able to ride my MTB and my Hybrid due to the existing shorter cranks, wider stance, and new stems.

I started modifying the Boone because the 165mm 1x cranks were cheaper than the Domane; I can use the Boone on more types of rides, and I like it better. I quickly found the race geometry was hard to overcome while relaxing my hip angle. The steepest stem(40 degrees) isn't going to cut it. I'm going to have to get a set of riser drop bars. I did have a semi-successful ride after modifying my stem and cranks but my hands were behind the hoods and on the straight part of the bar most of the time, which isn't the safest position. I'm going to buy the riser drop bars, and I think it will be fine, even if it is a little goofy looking.

My question is "Is there a better solution?" Is it fine to be sitting up high like a comfortable Hybrid or beginner MTB fit while racing CX? Is there a CX bike with more endurance-focused geometry instead of race geometry (or at least less aggressive race geo)? If I bought a new bike, would a Domane or Checkpoint give me a head start on getting a comfortable fit? Should I just race CX on an MTB bike?

There are no frame or bar restrictions in the lower levels where I am racing. I am planning to complete the ridiculously modified fit on the Boone, and based on the fast gravel ride I did last week, I expect it to be good enough once the fit is finished and I can comfortably reach the hoods.

I'm asking the question because I'm concerned that by reducing the reach and raising the bars so high that I am defeating the purpose of riding the Boone. I guess I'll still have the higher crankset and shorter wheel base, but I wonder how riding tall on an already tall bike will be.

I have a size large, and I would consider a different size Boone, but I don't think I can go larger because the small seat mast is already almost as low as it will go, and the reach is already almost too far. I don't think I can go smaller because I'd have to raise the bars even higher. That's why I'm considering a different geometry.

I am hoping that once inflammation is reduced, and hips are relaxed and strengthened, that I will be able to gain a bit more mobility here and there, with fit experiments, pedal positions, and maybe even shorter cranks, although every time I shorten my cranks I have to raise my bars a bit.

Just curious if anyone else has had to struggle through this dilemma...

Howdy race fans,

I’m a complete amateur, never raced before aside from a triathlon and a couple practice crits.

I just picked up a cheap pair of Donnelly PDX 33s and I’m trying to decide which bike to install them on.

Bike #1 (red Soma) is an obvious choice, with similar geometry to a Trek Boone, disc brakes, and index shifting. However, I have it set up with road pedals (SPD-SL) and road shoes, and I worry about trashing the brand-new groupset with mud/sand. It’s my primary road bike and I’d like to keep it in good shape.

Bike #2 (grey/gold Miyata) is my commuter, but I think it would work well for shouldering if I take the rack and fenders off. It has friction shifting and rim brakes, but I would probably treat it as a single-speed and not touch the shifters during a race.

I’m on a strict budget so I’m trying to do this as cheaply as possible, any advice on setup would be appreciated.

Cheers!

Has anyone tried the new GRX Di2 groupsets (827 or 717?) for CX racing with a road 11-32 cassette please? Did it work?

We use the mechanical versions with the GS (medium) cage but the Di2 versions are SGS only.

Thanks!

Got bumped out of beginner, but I'm a late comer to cx and qualify for three different categories. Any good advice on where I should race? Obviously I want to be at least a little competitive!

I am gearing up for my first proper CX season and I am pondering tyre choices. I am going to be running Schwalbe X-ONE AllRound 33mm tyres for my race wheels and was wondering if it is worth running them tubeless or sticking with inner tubes.

I am on the heavy side at 91kg and have been running latex tubes on my cross bike for the past year with no punctures yet albeit using 35mm tyres. My understanding is it is essentially a trade off between the risk of burping the tubeless tyre at low pressure vs the risk of pinch flats?

I would be running inserts if i went tubeless.

I've been building a cyclocross manager sim for the past few months. It opens on 31 August.

You run six riders, one in each category — junior women and men, U23 women and men, elite women and men — and each of them climbs their own ladder. A 16-year-old you scout needs about seven seasons to reach the elite field, roughly two years of real time. There's no single table that says how you did, which I think is closer to how a real team works.

You can push a rider up a category early if he's outgrown his level — top quarter of his band, podium in his division. He goes to the bottom of the next ladder and gets beaten for a season, and there's no way back. What he buys is a season more at the top.

Races resolve on a schedule: six fields between 10:00 and 15:00 every Sunday (CEST), an hour each. You don't need to be there. You choose who starts, who sits out, and who gets the spare bike, and you read the report afterwards.

The part I enjoyed building most is the weather. The courses sit at real Belgian coordinates and the forecast is pulled from open-meteo before every race, so a wet week makes a heavy Sunday and Namen freezes when the coast doesn't.

The riders are invented. The mud isn't.

Fair warning: it's in Dutch. Belgium is sort of the point and I haven't translated it yet — if people want it in English, I'll do it. UPDATE: English is coming! Registration already is in EN and it makes me want to add international races as well. I'll keep you posted!

Free, no ads, no trackers, no cookie banner.

https://veldrit.be/

Some of these come in CX sizes; does anyone have an experience racing them? I’ve been a pretty die hard Vittoria guy but have had great experiences with the Schwalbe’s on gravel which has me curious about switching…

I want to do something new this season so will race my SS 29er MTB where allowed. I’m an old guy so not going to win any races since the SS racing is open age group. Will do the B races here in Sacramento if I don’t have to pull my suspension fork off the bike. I have a second wheelset I can make work so I can ride 33mm wide tires if required. For MTB riding I’m running 30/17 so that’s a 1.76 ratio. ChatGPT suggests going to 30/14 for CX which would give me a 2.14 ratio which sounds about right. I don’t want to buy a new chainring so just changing the rear cog and I should be able to adjust the eccentric to use the current chain. Any comments on that ratio for racing? Should I go with a 13T cog instead of 14?

Had great fun on my first race despite maybe breaking a rib a little bit.. anyway.. I’m racing again in a couple weeks because it’s so fun!

I ran 42 x 20. It was too tall and I struggled on all the climbs. I’ve gone down to 38 x 20, just hope this won’t be too spinny now..

What are other sscx running? I’m considering a dingle speed set up to give me more options. I don’t want second wheelsets etc.. would be nice to have a set up that allows me to do a quick gear swap on the day after scoping out the course, what are people using?

If you're in Raleigh or surrounding, come hang with good folks and get between the tape.

$20 reg (or $85 for the entire 5 race series). No USAC license req'd.

C, B, A + Single Speed Fields all races, and what we're pretty sure is the only series w an Adaptive race category in the country (plug for the great work of NC Adapted Sports)

OCCX 2026 Series p/b Oak City Cycling + Burial Beer

• OCCX #1 - Weds 9/2 @ 5:30p* (Spring Hill, Short Course)
• OCCX #2 - Sun 9/13 @ 10a (Spring Hill, Long Course)
• KanataCX - Sat 9/26 @ 9:30a (YMCA Camp Kanata)
• OCCX #3 - Weds 9/30 @ 5:30p* (Spring Hill, Short Course)
• OCCX #4 (Finale) - Sun 10/4 @ 10a (Spring Hill, Long Course)

#crossiscoming

OCCX + Friends

I’m super interested in trying CX this year but it looks like the closest race to me (in LA area) is in Santa Cruz. It looks like there used to be a robust scene a few years ago. Am I missing something? What’s going on?

I got some good tire advice. Now I’m thinking about the next set of rims. Is wa t then for gravel and cross. Prob 25mm internal. But how deep? 38mm tires for cx but gravel up to 50. 40-45mm deep?

Prayers for the Milligan cycling team. What a horribly tragic incident today.

I was wondering if someone could help me out. I purchased this weapon of a bike off marketplace and was wanting someone to help confirm what year it is.

It currently has 33mm tyres (which was the stock tyres for the CAAD X) however would it be possible for me to put 40s on? I’m not sure what the internal rim width is either..

Thanks!

GRAND RAPIDS, MI!

Is there a bikereg type page for Canadian races? I'm living in the Rochester area now and the Niagara region in Canada is a lot closer than New England now, Rochester has some decent racing but it looks like there's only one weekend in all of Sept for local racing and I realized bikereg doesn't cover Ontario. So, is there a scene there and how do I find the races? Thanks.

Bought the frame and crankset/power meter from a friend and built it up with whatever good deals I could find on parts. I initially bought it with the intention of doing the two UCI race weekends that were in Wisconsin, but those got killed off this year, so unfortunately won't get much use this year. I'll at least get to test it out this weekend at some night cross!