Flat bar cx bike

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garyhgaryh
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Sep 11, 2015 12:20 am

by garyhgaryh

So I'm building a flat bar cx bike with a carbon ac095 frame I bought from a Chinese vendor on eBay. I noticed a lot of cx bikes here have tradition road bike handles vs flat bar. Why is that? I assume one reason is due to the fact that (if you're building a bike) the groupset for the road bike sets include shifters for the drop bars. I'm also sure the reason why is that most people prefer the drop bars.

Is it cheaper to buy the groupset individually if I decide to go the flatbar route?

At first I was going to buy a flatbar bike from bikes direct then transfer the parts over but I realize since I am building the bike for weight I'm not going to come out ahead financially since I'll be replacing most of the heavy parts anyways. The two bikes I had in mind is the cafe turino pro and the cafe century pro dx:

Turino -
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mot ... adbike.htm

Century -
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mot ... brakes.htm

The wheel set for the turino seem to be heavy. I did some research and it appears to be a double wall rim that weighs 2500 grams w/o tube and tires.

Someone is going to ask the purpose of my new bike. It will be for two purposes: fire roads and road rides. Both will be focused for climbing that's why I'm focused on weight. It's basically to replace my 25 lb Santa Cruz xtr superlight and my 16 lb 2005 Fuji SL on the right trails and it's also time for me to get another bike. I also want to break some of my strava records so a lighter bike will help in some cases although I know losing weight is a bigger factor (I lost as much as I can so far).

So far for this project I have the frame, fork, ~100gram carbon seat, and ~200gram pedals w Ti spindle. I'm about to order a pair of carbon fiber rims for the road and am looking for aluminum rims for the gravel or mtb trails.

Looking fwd to hearing from those who have built their own bikes esp the flat bar variety.

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the_marsbar
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by the_marsbar

I assume you're talking about buying a CX frame (and not an MTB frame) and putting flat handlebars on it.

I'd say a cross bike is closer to a road bike than a mountain bike in terms of geometry. If you look at the top tube length or reach, it is quite short compared to mountain bikes. Therefore, if you build a CX bike with flat handlebars, it's going to ride a bit strange I'd say. You're also limited to quite narrow bars (50-something cm as far as I recall).

If you really want flat bars, I'd choose a 29er XC frame instead of a cross frame.

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mattr
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by mattr

Cross bikes have drop bars cos that's what makes them cross bikes. Nothing to do with shifters.
Flat bars makes it a hybrid, or a 29er.
Can't race with flat bars either (think they took the 50cm rule out last year? Someone else can look it up if they care)

And FWIW, road riding on flat bars, unless its solo rolling at your own pace, is a relative pain. Drop bars give you far more options.

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rasmussloth
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Location: Denmark

by rasmussloth

garyhgaryh wrote: I noticed a lot of cx bikes here have tradition road bike handles vs flat bar. Why is that?

It will be for two purposes: fire roads and road rides. .


Why do you want flatbar?

garyhgaryh
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Sep 11, 2015 12:20 am

by garyhgaryh

Thanks for the input. I do mainly hill climbs and the flat bar is more comfy. In fact I'm rarely in the drop unless I descend or going all out but I prefer the comfort of a flat bar but that's just me.

Marin
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Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

A CX frame will have too short a top tube for a flat bar, you'll be sitting up like a monkey on a grinding stone, as we say here.

Use a drop bar please, especially if you are going climbing.

Check out the current gravel bike trend, it sounds like you are going in a similar direction.

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eliflap-scalpel
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by eliflap-scalpel

the_marsbar wrote:I assume you're talking about buying a CX frame (and not an MTB frame) and putting flat handlebars on it.

I'd say a cross bike is closer to a road bike than a mountain bike in terms of geometry. If you look at the top tube length or reach, it is quite short compared to mountain bikes. Therefore, if you build a CX bike with flat handlebars, it's going to ride a bit strange I'd say. You're also limited to quite narrow bars (50-something cm as far as I recall).

If you really want flat bars, I'd choose a 29er XC frame instead of a cross frame.



there are bars of 70-75 cm , for 29er
http://eliflap.it/

kulivontot
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Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 7:28 pm

by kulivontot

Sounds like more of a gravel grinder than a cross bike. What's the difference?
Cross bikes are used for racing cross. If you race cross, then you'll understand.

kulivontot
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by kulivontot

double post
Last edited by kulivontot on Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Zachariah
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by Zachariah

I like it myself. Here is my 19.4 pound/8.79kg flatbar CX:

Image

Build specs are as follows:
Frame: 2002 Cannondale F3000SL CAAD5 Mountain
Fork: Cannondale Headshok Ultra Fatty DL 2.75" travel, with lockout
Stem: Cannondale XC3 100mm x 25.4mm clamp
Brakes: Magura Marta SL Hydraulic Disc 160mm rotors
Pedals: Crank Brothers Eggbeater 4Ti
Wheels: Mavic C29ssmax UST Disc
Skewers: Mavic Titanium quick release
Tires: Clement LAS 700c x 33 Cyclocross
Cranks: FSA Energy 46-36
Front Derailluer: FSA Energy 10-speed Double
Rear Derailleur: SRAM X0 9-speed
Shifters: SRAM X0 9-speed Gripshift
Chain: Avid PC-1091R Hollowpin
Cassette: Shimano XTR CS-M960 11-34
Bottom Bracket: Shimano XTR BB-M960
Handlebars: Easton CT2 580mm Carbon flat 25.4mm clamp
Seatpost: Easton CT2 27.2mm x 350mm Carbon 25mm setback
Saddle: Selle Italia SLR Gel Flow Vanox rails
Seat Clamp: Token Titanium 31.8mm
Grips: ODI/Yeti Shorty Lock-on for Gripshift
Bolts: Assorted Titanium
Size: Medium(18")
Color: Volvo Team Replica Blue/White fade

Bike weight, with pedals = 19.4 pounds/8.79kg(CX Version)
Bike weight, with pedals = 23.0 pounds/10.43kg(OEM Original)
Due to the urging of all the ladies...I do NOT shave my legs!

Marin
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Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

Ummm how's that a CX? It's a normal mountain bike.

Wouldn't want to ride it in the mud with this kind of tire clearance.

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the_marsbar
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by the_marsbar

eliflap-scalpel wrote:there are bars of 70-75 cm , for 29er


Sorry, but that was a rather stupid comment. Of course I know there are wider bars, don't you see the links in my signature? :lol:

I was talked about the UCI rules, where flatbars of max length 50 cm was once allowed.

Zachariah
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by Zachariah

It's only a grass and gravel bike.....no mud.
Due to the urging of all the ladies...I do NOT shave my legs!

JackWalk
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Joined: Fri Jul 12, 2013 10:29 am

by JackWalk

Yeah but it's not a CX bike. It's a mtb with skinny tires


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