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Whether you need a lightweight race bike or a comfortable and versatile bike for a weekend of bike packing, Start Fitness have you covered with our range of Cyclocross and Gravel bikes from the likes of Cannondale, Scott, Santa Cruz and Cervelo.
But what is Cyclocross? Cyclocross is a circuit race usually taking place in the autumn and winter with the course being made up of a number of laps, with each lap between 1.5-2 miles. The course takes riders over various terrain both on and off-road, the rider also has to tackle obstacles, this means you need a bike that is fast and robust, able to handle mud, grass, snow and any other terrain that the course throws at you, while being lightweight. Closely resembling a road bike, Cyclocross bikes are made with burlier parts to stand up to the rugged terrain, while keeping the weight to the minimum. The weight of the bike could make the difference between winning and losing, as during a CX race the rider may need to carry and run with their bike during the race.
Gravel bikes are very similar to cyclocross bikes, but they are designed with comfort as a higher priority over performance. While cyclocross bikes have grippy, soft compound knobbly tyres, a gravel bike will typically have a faster rolling, longer wearing and heavier duty tyre. These bike bikes are designed for dirt roads, gravel tracks and bike packing. A gravel bike can be seen as a slimmed down, better performing adventure bike. In other words, it’s designed for similar terrain, but to be used in a more sporting manner – possibly even raced on gravel/dirt roads.
Gravel bikes make the perfect winter bike for an all-season road cyclist, providing more grip and versatility for the cold and wetter months. More gravel bikes are now mudguard compatible making them ideal for whatever the conditions throw at you!
