Starting Out

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Permalink Reply by Hamilton on June 21, 2010 at 6:55am

The Motobecanes are pretty good bikes for the price, I own one. There is a nice discussion single speed riding in another thread http://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/forum/topics/cx-singlespeed-pro

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Permalink Reply by ZenNMotion on July 6, 2010 at 10:40pm

As much fun as single speed is, you might be a little frustrated just getting in to cross racing for the first time with a single speed, unless you're in the Northwest where there's dedicated SS racing. Budget shouldn't be the deciding factor, because the cost difference is really minimal, really just a right shifter (for a single front ring, a popular setup) and a derailleur- Ebay is your friend. By the time you have a few different cogs from the inevitable experiments or maybe even a couple of different rear wheels set up with different cogs, the equipment cost gets very close to a geared bike that is arguably less fussy to set up for a novice mechanic. The Motos are popular decent no-frills frames, or find something used. The Performance house brand Scattantes are similar and often on sale, check those out as well. If you've got some basic bike repair knowledge and time on your hands you can build something up from NOS or used parts and end up with a good cross bike pretty cheap. One hint is to consider 8 speed or 9 speed drivetrains- all you need for cyclocross, better in the mud than 10 speed and a fraction of the cost, especially if you already have some old parts that can be put back into service.

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