Quote:
Originally Posted by ski wagen
Cross bikes have a few subtle differences to better deal with mud, like cantilevered brakes and cables routed from above rather than under the bottom bracket (other tricks include reversing the break levers so you can rear brake while doing a dismount on the left side; single front chainring is also fairly common). You could do a race on a road bike if it was a dry, hard packed course; but, any more than a little puddle of mud would probably start to make things even rougher. A mountain bike (preferably stripped of unnecessary weight) would work better if the course is muddy.
That said, its a hoot, so don't let your equipment make you feel like you can't try it. Do practice dismounts, barrier hops and remounts beforehand (there are some how to videos on youtube); its amazing how much you can speed up your laps by doing those with a degree of smoothness.
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Thanks for the explanation. Those are quite a few differences. So is c/f the material of choice with cyclocross or aluminum? I like the bikes actually, because I find mountain bikes too cumbersome in most respects.
I do have a 46/34 or something x-cross crank lurking around. It's a start.