Update: If you're looking to race rather than commute, take a look at our guide to cyclocross bikes.
Cyclocross bikes have to cope with pretty specific demands placed on them in their discipline. The dropped handlebars and 700c tyres means they're extremely fast, whilst the knobbly tyres, strong brakes and better frame clearance (preventing mud from stopping play), mean that they can maintain that speed over mixed terrain.
They can go where road bikes can't, and at a speed mountain bikes can only dream of.
Hardly surprising then that they've been picked up by many astute commuters as the perfect cycle to work bike. Able to cope with a daily battering far better than most road bikes and quicker than a mountain bike on all but the most technical terrain (sadly most commutes don't include any rock gardens or sudden drop offs), cyclocross bikes are probably the ideal jack of all trades bike that would suit most cyclists on their ride to work, most of the time.
So in the spirit of the season, we're picking our five favourite cyclocross commuters. Since we want our bikes to be suitable for cycling to work, we're keeping them underneath the magic thousand pound mark (making them available on most cycle to work schemes).
The original mass made cyclocrossin', daily grinding bicycle – the 'Jake' range (so called for Jake Heilbron, one of Kona's founders and a demon on the cyclocross circuit), is a long standing Tredz favourite. Our pick this year is the mid range Jake the Snake. Race ready out of the box, you can be sure it's commute ready too. A higher spec than almost all road bikes at the price (Shimano 105 bits and an Aksium wheelset), on a tougher than hell frame means that if you look after you're Jake, it'll look after you for years.
Top of which, Kona have been making their 'cross bike for years. They are dialled in now in terms of riding position, geometry and build quality. They also provide a massive range of sizes for all you oddly shaped riders out there (looking round the office is all the proof I need to know Kona are doing the right thing).
A little lower in price, the Giant still ticks all the boxes. You can still have a lot of fun in a muddy Belgian field (if you are so inclined) on this thing – checkout the shoulderable top tube, but with bosses for mudguards and racks, you know Giant has one eye firmly on the hardy tourer/cycle to work bike.
Giant make some of the lightest, strongest aluminium frames in the business (they should do, being one of the very few bike manufacturers to control the entire process). Combined with a tough reliable Shimano, SRAM mix of components – this bike is all about reliable, affordable performance.
Spesh' sort of reignited the whole cyclocross bike for commuting thing, realising that there was both a gap in the market and the perfect plug in the 'crosser. The incredibly popular Tricross range has probably done more than any other to take advantage of the suitabaility of the bike for all sorts of riding. They've marketed it from the beginning as not just a cyclocross bike, but a commuter and a tourer too.
Good job, since it's so adept at all three.
Elevating the Specialized Tricross from the crowd, is that massive fork. Odd is an apt description of this carbon, Zertz injected beast. It's a big thing (and surprisingly heavy for carbon), but it does a better job of soaking up bumps than everything else on offer here. It really provides a smooth ride, whether your throwing the bike down steep curbs or smooth singletrack. This is the sort of bike that will see you aiming at potholes rather than avoiding them.
A sure fire way of making your commute more fun!
Probably the raciest selection on here, the Scott CX Comp doesn't cut any corners when it comes to raw speed, from it's double butted stiff aluminium frame (probably the lightest and stiffest here), to the choice of Shimano components, this thing is built to go fast.
However, where you choose to go fast, whether tarmac, grass or just plain old dirt, and whether your racing the competition or the traffic – this is one rapid, tough option.
The wildcard, this is something a little different. You can still race on it, although cyclocrossing on a singlespeed takes a certain sort of masochist (not that there's a shortage of those in the cycling world). This low maintenance, UK designed steel beauty might just be the bargain of the year. Fit for just about everything (except possibly the Alps), it's steel frame will absorb more road vibration and off road dinks than you thought possible without a suspension fork. Put simply, this is the definition of simplicity.
One gear, one speed and a low price.
If you're looking for a simple hack bike, a year round commuter – without breaking the bank, this may well be it.
Of course, if you ever feel the need to get competitive, Cyclocross (or just 'cross'), is probably the easiest of all disciplines in which to get started. Informal and fun, it's as competitive as you want it to be, with pretty much every level of competition at most events. There certainly isn't another discipline where you'll find yourself lining up at the starting line with national champs. Granted you won't finish at the same time as them, but you will find someone of your ability to race against.
