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From time to time, I get into silly internet fights with people on this forum about what a 'cross bike should be used for, whether or not they should have disc brakes, why nobody makes (or at least not for more than a season or two) a race-ready cross bike with disc brakes, etc.
So here's my 'cross bike. I just got done doing a shakedown ride, after changing out some parts to turn it from a girlfriend bike back into a racer. This setup is most likely how it's going to be going to its first race this season.

Kona Jake 008 by Andrew183, on Flickr
It's a bit of a Frankenbike. The saddle is ten years old, the stem and pedals showed up at my shop a few days ago, and the front hub is several years old but I rebuilt the wheel around it about a week ago, after cracking open the previous one for a rebuild and finding pitted cones.
umarth, it currently has the Hutchinson Piranhas I mentioned in your thread about tires. I was surprised at how smoothly they rolled on the road today - I think I was remembering the Bulldog's buzz, not these tires. They also cornered very nicely, although I didn't do any asphalt corners at criterium speeds. I was on hardpack and gravel some too, and climbing, especially out of the saddle, took some finesse, but it was quite doable. Too bad 'cross courses tend to have a barrier in front of the run-up if it's ridable.
To me, this bike always feels a little bit awkward in fully road or off-road roles. When I first bought it, I was beginning to doubt my choice a little bit until I took it racing the first time. It's much better in the weird circumstance that is a 'cross course than on anything else, or than anything else I've owned and have taken 'cross racing. Part of that is setup, but I think that there are some aspects of the frame geometry that are just a little weird on-road.
So here's my 'cross bike. I just got done doing a shakedown ride, after changing out some parts to turn it from a girlfriend bike back into a racer. This setup is most likely how it's going to be going to its first race this season.

Kona Jake 008 by Andrew183, on Flickr
It's a bit of a Frankenbike. The saddle is ten years old, the stem and pedals showed up at my shop a few days ago, and the front hub is several years old but I rebuilt the wheel around it about a week ago, after cracking open the previous one for a rebuild and finding pitted cones.
umarth, it currently has the Hutchinson Piranhas I mentioned in your thread about tires. I was surprised at how smoothly they rolled on the road today - I think I was remembering the Bulldog's buzz, not these tires. They also cornered very nicely, although I didn't do any asphalt corners at criterium speeds. I was on hardpack and gravel some too, and climbing, especially out of the saddle, took some finesse, but it was quite doable. Too bad 'cross courses tend to have a barrier in front of the run-up if it's ridable.
To me, this bike always feels a little bit awkward in fully road or off-road roles. When I first bought it, I was beginning to doubt my choice a little bit until I took it racing the first time. It's much better in the weird circumstance that is a 'cross course than on anything else, or than anything else I've owned and have taken 'cross racing. Part of that is setup, but I think that there are some aspects of the frame geometry that are just a little weird on-road.