Crux 2021

[AnkitS]

the closest bikes to this i think would be the Ibis or the Santa Cruz, but both are a bit heavier IIRC and probably don't ride as nice. and they both make concessions for the gravel market.

Funnily the three options I am currently considering are Crux, Hakka, and aspero. (Maybe Kanzo Fast?!?!) Having something that I could race eventually is attractive but realistically it will be used for gravel grinding 99% of the time.

[FactoryMatt]

yeah that ridley could be good. the aspero BB is a little low but otherwise probbaly very good (the sunweb guys raced some CX with it using a concentric BB).

hakkas are probably great but a touch heavier.

https://bikerumor.com/2019/11/18/cx-pro ... avel-bike/

[Whipit]

Iono just glad they offer a frameset.

Same carbon build up in then all, so buy a complete bike and sell the extras?

I think I'm going to pull the trigger on a 2020 model since there is nothing too exciting coming.

Does anyone know the actual measurement/spec of the bottom bracket. This OSBB thing is a nightmare. Is it a BB30 with 61mm width?

I have a quarq on a GXP crankset I want to fit

Cheers!

you won't regret it. it's a magical ride and one of the most versatile bikes on the market if you don't care about running mountainbike tires.

42 x 68 with the glued in cups. 46 x 68 if you cut the cups out.

https://www.bbinfinite.com/pages/road-gxp

Thanks!

Pick it up on Monday. Also have a paxis bb30-gxp on the way. I'll give that a try before getting the hack saw out

[niklasp]

I removed my Praxis M30 or something (spindle was not removal... Crap!) And replaced with a rival crank and BB30 bearings. Works like a charm.

[gwerziou]

The Scott Addict 'Gravel' 10 is the same frame as the CX model, very similar to the Crux and a touch lighter. The frame hasn't changed since 2016, so I'm guessing something new will come along shortly. The current frame, however, is a cross bike. i have one; it's pretty nice.

[Whipit]

Same carbon build up in then all, so buy a complete bike and sell the extras?

I think I'm going to pull the trigger on a 2020 model since there is nothing too exciting coming.

Does anyone know the actual measurement/spec of the bottom bracket. This OSBB thing is a nightmare. Is it a BB30 with 61mm width?

I have a quarq on a GXP crankset I want to fit

Cheers!

you won't regret it. it's a magical ride and one of the most versatile bikes on the market if you don't care about running mountainbike tires.

42 x 68 with the glued in cups. 46 x 68 if you cut the cups out.

https://www.bbinfinite.com/pages/road-gxp

Thanks!

Pick it up on Monday. Also have a paxis bb30-gxp on the way. I'll give that a try before getting the hack saw out

Thanks for the help! The ride is dreamy (even if the photo is a bit shit)

120307716_377849583592838_8291460491736311415_n by Sam Garrett, on Flickr

[FactoryMatt]

Looks great! Congrats!

[rothwem]

I just picked up a 2021 base model, it’s right around 8.7kg with Apex1, the stock wheels, a carbon Phenom, and my carbon Sram mtb crank on there. I’m a big guy that needs a wider q-factor, and the SRAM S2200 mtb crank works well with the 42t direct mount ring. I was planning on swapping my Easton EA90s from my last gravel bike onto this one, but I was cleaning and inspecting them as I was moving them over and noticed that I had some cracks around the spoke holes...I guess I just use the stock wheels for now.

I originally thought it was a PF30 BB, but it’s a regular BB30, there are aluminum cups glued into the frame. Saves me some money! Speaking of saving money...I was able to get the praxis BB out unscratched with a set of channel lock pliers and a strip of cardboard between the pliers and the bb cup. Special tools? HA!

For tire clearance, I’ve got a 38mm tracer on the back with a 21mm internal rim, and it’s right at 40mm width and I wouldn’t want to go any bigger. I can pass a 4mm Allen key around the whole tire, but not a 5mm.



Anyways, I really like it. Mine is the “forest green” color, and it really only shows green in direct sunlight—it’s a cool twist on the usual flat black bikes. Handling is excellent, and it ride quality is good too. I’ve used hydraulic brakes on my mountain bikes since 2006ish, but I’ve never used them on a gravel bike. The SRAM Apex hydraulics are pretty damn good, way better than the Spyres on my previous graveller. The Apex1 model feels like a good value too, it’s only $300 more than the frame set! I could see perhaps buying the Apex1 bike and stripping it to sell everything off it I wanted to put a fancy group on there.

[FactoryMatt]

Nice build. Yeah spesh spec of "OSBB" doesnt tell you much. Its technically a PF30 with bb30 cups glued in.

Not to be a stickler but on your stem setup, spesh recommends no spacers above the stem. At the very least you want to make sure the clamp area of the stem is not below the internal expansion plug.

[rothwem]

Nice build. Yeah spesh spec of "OSBB" doesnt tell you much. Its technically a PF30 with bb30 cups glued in.

Not to be a stickler but on your stem setup, spesh recommends no spacers above the stem. At the very least you want to make sure the clamp area of the stem is not below the internal expansion plug.

Hey, thanks for the heads up, don't worry about being a stickler when it comes to potentially having the bar and stem come off the bike in use! The top bolt is definitly overlapping the internal expansion plug but the bottom one probably isn't. I haven't decided where I want the bar position yet so I haven't cut the steerer tube yet. Definitly won't go above what I've got right now though, so maybe I just need to go ahead the cut it before my next ride.

Weirdly though, there's a setup sheet included with the bike that says that there has to be full contact with the steerer tube on the stem clamp, so there's got to be some spacers over the stem. Seems like the steerer tube cut would have to be awful precise then.

[FactoryMatt]

Yeah they dont give you much leeway. From memory i want to say the sheet i had was no more than 2mm above steerer but could be wrong. Probably just lawyer speak to make 110% sure stem isnt below plug in case theres some stem out there with 80mm stack height not sure.

[joesch]

Quick question on the geometry / sizing:
Comparing stack / reach of the 56 Tarmac to a 56 Crux, reach is 7mm shorter (which is what I expect from a CX geometry) but stack is a substantial 17mm higher (which I think is a lot).

The 56 Tarmac is my reference point (181cm, 86cm inseam - 120mm slammed stem) - would the 56 Crux work for modest CX racing and short gravel-like riding or would it be better to downsize to a 54 Crux (but with a substianially shorter reach) instead?

Intuitively, I tend to stick to size 56 despite the increase in stack.

[FactoryMatt]

Quick question on the geometry / sizing:
Comparing stack / reach of the 56 Tarmac to a 56 Crux, reach is 7mm shorter (which is what I expect from a CX geometry) but stack is a substantial 17mm higher (which I think is a lot).

The 56 Tarmac is my reference point (181cm, 86cm inseam - 120mm slammed stem) - would the 56 Crux work for modest CX racing and short gravel-like riding or would it be better to downsize to a 54 Crux (but with a substianially shorter reach) instead?

Intuitively, I tend to stick to size 56 despite the increase in stack.

really depends on alot of things. i run a 54 crux, but 15mm spacers on top of 8mm topcap AND really shallow drop bars (zipp XPLR) because i use the drops ALOT more in cross/gravel than road. like, i'm always in the drops in technical situations and will spend 75% of a cross race there. 17mm stack diff from road to off-road is nothing. get the 56 if thats the reach you're comfrotable with; there's plenty of -17 deg stems out there and you really dont want as much drop off road. your back will hate you.

me, i run a 56 road bike and 54 Crux. same length stem and similar reach bars. im about 186cm (~715mm bb to rail height), but prioritize nimbleness over stability for cross. the 54 is suuper fun and flickable to shred on, but most people would reach for the 56 if youre doing "modest" type stuff and you're already on a 120 stem w/ road bike.

another thing to consider, i run about 10mm more saddle setback off road than on road. this is not uncommon.

[gwerziou]

the closest bikes to this i think would be the Ibis or the Santa Cruz, but both are a bit heavier IIRC and probably don't ride as nice. and they both make concessions for the gravel market.

Funnily the three options I am currently considering are Crux, Hakka, and aspero. (Maybe Kanzo Fast?!?!) Having something that I could race eventually is attractive but realistically it will be used for gravel grinding 99% of the time.

The closest bike to the Crux is the Scott Addict "gravel" (same frame as CX). They ride similarly and the geometry is super close. The Addict is a bit lighter and has BB86. The A2C on the Crux fork is 400mm, a bit longer than the typical which is 395mm. I'd be very interested in a new Crux frame if it had a threaded BB.

[rothwem]

the closest bikes to this i think would be the Ibis or the Santa Cruz, but both are a bit heavier IIRC and probably don't ride as nice. and they both make concessions for the gravel market.

Funnily the three options I am currently considering are Crux, Hakka, and aspero. (Maybe Kanzo Fast?!?!) Having something that I could race eventually is attractive but realistically it will be used for gravel grinding 99% of the time.

The closest bike to the Crux is the Scott Addict "gravel" (same frame as CX). They ride similarly and the geometry is super close. The Addict is a bit lighter and has BB86. The A2C on the Crux fork is 400mm, a bit longer than the typical which is 395mm. I'd be very interested in a new Crux frame if it had a threaded BB.

FWIW, the bike I was closest to buying instead of the Crux I ended up with was an Aspero. The lower BB isn’t a huge deal to me since the Aspero has more tire clearance and a larger tire would just bump the bb up some so the height wouldn’t be that different.

I didn’t end up with the Aspero because I was a bit concerned about the whole BB tolerance thing. It might be overblown, but the Cervelo reaction to people with creaking BB problems is kinda crappy. I’m similarly scared of Scott, they don’t have a great rep in the MTB world for being a helpful with warranty failures either.