Hi guys. My first post and topic on this forum...hoping to get some WW advice. Really admire a lot of the bikes posted here, so hoping I can build a WW bike of my own.

I'm looking to build myself a light, fast and comfortable cyclocross bike. It will be ridden on the road, gravel, fireroad and compact mud. At first it is unlikely to be raced...but I have already eyed up a few events later in the year - so it needs to be pretty stiff and as race ready as possible. It will also need to be comfortable enough for long rides on and off road too. Not sure if I can have the best of both worlds? If I had to sacrifice one, it would be the comfort.

I have a maximum of a £3,000 budget, but hoping I can come in under that if possible. At present I ride a 58cm Cannondale CAAD10 105 (2012); however this is being sold to fund this project. Will it be best to buy a frame and build up from there? Or is it going to be better to buy a complete build, and change out parts?

> Carbon, aluminium, or steel frame?
I am looking for a lightweight frame, so that kind of rules out steel already. Is carbon worth the extra expense? I know it will be the lightest, but it is also a lot more expensive than aluminium. Is carbon going to be worth the extra expense for comfort over long periods of riding off road? My CAAD10 is aluminium and I can feel pretty much every little bump in the road. I'm guessing this is going to be a lot worse off road, and won't be comfortable for long periods of time?

> Discs or cantilever?
So discs are still relatively new in professional cyclocross. However it seems a lot of pros are still choosing cantilever over them. For the sort of riding I will be doing I presume discs are going to be the better choice? Especially with the English weather!

> What manufacturer groupset is considered to be the best?
Every article/forum post I read brings up different answers here. It appears to be SRAM or Campagnolo over Shimano?

> When will the new cyclocross builds be coming onto the market?
I see that the 2013/14 Ridley X-Night is coming onto the market around June time. Will other manufacturers release their new cyclocross bikes at a similar time? The main reason I ask this, is so that I can work out when the 2012/2013 models will be going on sale, so I can hopefully save some money.

> Any bikes or frames that you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance for any help

For 3000 gbp I'd take a close look at Cannondale SuperX disc (a bit over your budget, but I think they'll have cheaper options for next season), Specialized Crux Expert Carbon disc (should be within your 3k price range) and maybe the Ibis Hakkalügi disc.

I've only had one cross bike, a Kona Major jake frame from 2008 (aluminium/scandium frame), which I built a bike up around, in 2010. I've been happy with it, but I'll definately be looking at one of the three above-mentioned bikes when I'm upgrading next time.

If you'll be racing a lot (which it doesn't sound like at the moment), you'd like to have at least one pair of tubular wheels. Otherwise tubeless is the way to go. Avoid tubes if you can...

I have a factory direct Fuji cross disc bike and love it. The all carbon frame set cost about 700 USD shipped and then all the other parts would not add that much. Stan's cross wheels are about 600 usd and a SRAM force group would be about 800 usd