Cyclo-cross bike

[1miss]

What exactly is a cyclo-cross bike? I think I may have found a frame for one pretty cheap. Would this type frame make a good road bike?
thanks James

[DaveM]

Poorly explained, cyclocross is kind of like off road on a road bike. Search around for more info. I believe cyclocross bikes tend to be be a little heavier duty than a standard road bike, use cantilever brakes, have more clearance for wider tires, may have slightly different geometry.

If you're looking for something super light to start going to road races on, probably not the best thing to start with. But for a solid road bike to ride around on, should be great.

[Joe_W]

If you plan to have one all-purpose bike: go for a cyclocross. The wider, knobby tyres that can fit in that frame make riding through the forests enjoyable and even some easy single trails accessible. I recently bought a road bike and will convert my old steel clunker to a cyclocross-ish bike fo winter and off-road use. Unfortunately I can only fit 30mm tyres, the smallest spiked tyres come in 35mm...

Using a cyclocross frame to build a road bike is ok (though I'd get a second wheelset with wider tyres for off-road and winter, cause it's fun to ride on snow). The position will not be as aero as on a road bike, since usually the top tube is a bit shorter and the seat angle is slightly more relaxed (at least those cc bikes I know). A colleague has a Nox cyclocross frame set up as a road bike and he is happy with that.