Get cross

Down the hill to the first off – road section, it rapidly outstripped riding mate Daves slick shod 29er. all the lead stretching, four paw torque of the T Dog. Braking from the lever hoods or narrow drop tops feels more precarious than conventional bars and we rarely used the supplementary levers except for casual cruising. This meant we took refuge in the hand security of the compact drop bars whenever we were off – road and thats where we stayed.

In greasy conditions the mix of tight twist and turn lines, roots, wet boardwalk bridges, drop – aways, random rock sections and short sharp techy climbs is a challenge on any bike. Theres a purpose to Daves pedalling as we close in on the first drop – down to the river that proves hes determined to leave us for dead as soon as possible. The first smooth berm isnt so bad, but after ricocheting off the first two big roots, just missing the trees of the next chicane and stammering sideways round the left – hander off the first drop hes already opened up a big gap. The slammed landing off the little dirt kicker and wild focus shaking clatter down the next short descent also clearly confirms the absence of suspension.

Crossing the streams

Somehow we slot it between the narrow handrails of the greasy wooden footbridge and with only two small rooty puddle hops on the next section of straight singletrack we can properly open the throttle. It might be slightly heavy in CX race terms, but at 9.88kg its lighter than Daves bling titanium 29er and the fast tyres mean it closes the gap immediately. We barely breathe as we lock onto his wheel on the next narrow curving boardwalk section, but thats a passable front wheel drop off the end. By straight – lining the next corner through the undergrowth and balancing power delivery and traction we luck/skill our way up the first real step/rocks/ root crest climbing challenge, much to Daves surprise.

Were still in contention up the final mud section and slat boarded wooden ramp, and knowing what to expect off the next drop we nose pretty smoothly onto the downslope and flick fast through the gate gap.

Heart in mouth horror show slides round slippery corners that never normally register as scenes of mild peril, nervous tyre nurturing through jagged edge crazy paving slabs, thumping hop and drop boardwalk sections, traction ballet and teeth clenched on off – camber sections string together the next hour and Dave still hasnt dropped us. Admittedly weve taken chicken run singletrack detours rather than steep staccato steps and had to run some muddy banks that the tyres just couldnt cope with, but weve blitzed the few sections of fire road. Most importantly its made an average afternoon on trails weve been riding for over a decade feel as mental as Danny Harts recent legendary World Cup winning run on the Champery DH course.
As we grunt the final climb back up to the pasture, T Dog is looking disturbingly fresh for how shell shocked, back broken and shoulder sore we feel, making it clear that the rest of the test is likely to be a very steep fitness and skill curve.

Crossing the line

What isnt clear is how we are lined up four hours later in a field on the far side of town. One of the great things about cyclo – cross is that theres a thriving scene of cheap, local races. Its no longer just a
winter suffer fest for roadies either, there are summer race series within reach of most people that cater for everyone from seasoned crossers to kids and complete novices without a need for a licence or other red tape. After handing over a tenner to Big Tim and signing up for the local round of the Yorkshire summer series weve still got enough change for a chip butty on the way home. The single line charge of the Light brigade start towards the first taped section makes it obvious that a) cyclo – cross racing is every bit as ferociously fast as folk say and b) that creaking sensation in our legs riding to the start was the hinges completely falling off them after the afternoon ride.

But while wattage might be lacking, frantic fun isnt. The circuit loops round several football pitches, broken up with super tight taped hairpins and chicanes, some short grassy bank climbs and descents and a handful of short singletrack sections. The mix of walking speed taped corners and flat – out field sections creates an interval training inferno thatll cook your legs microwave quick. Desperate to hang on somewhere in the middle of the field, tentative cornering on the first lap soon becomes slithering sideways drifts and “dare we hit this brakes off?” gambling and the Boardman loves it. Its proper shoulder to shoulder, fight every metre mentality too, as we discover when an ambitious undertaking move past two riders gets our nose chopped off by rider number three. By the time were back on the bike the right way round theyre half a field away and its a mostly solo slog to the finish.

Weve asked if its the last lap and been told “oh yes” in sincere Churchill bulldog style three times before the bell actually rings. Having spent all afternoon wondering why the Boardman had a big chainring weve used nothing else for the past 50 minutes and now our kidneys hurt, our lips and fingers are numb and we can barely stand. Its the ultimate on it till you vomit training session. Waking up the next morning our palms are so purple with bruising and our shoulders so painful it feels like weve spent all night doing press – ups in a blackberry patch. Weve loved it though and cant wait to get astride the bikes from Whyte and Kinesis.

The Kinesis is clearly a bike that would have helped on that nights ride. With ?330 more budget to play with and lightweight cantilever brakes its nearly 1kg lighter than the Boardman, which means the uphill drags of the last few laps might have been more of a fly up than a man up situation.

Cross threading semi – compact frame,” he says.
Its a fair point and sizing down is a simple solution if you want something you can throw about and exploit the more sure – footed handling on. Despite a ?300 price difference its no lighter than the Boardman though, and the close ratio rear block and 46/36 chainset limit both top end speed and climbable gradient potential to a noticeable degree.

Crossing boundaries

That tall bottom gear is obvious as the Whyte is the only bike we have had to shoulder and carry rather than crank up the steep starter climb of our last phase of testing. As were a mountain bike mag and youre as likely as we are to want to know where the real ride limits of these bikes are, we turn the technical dial right up on our final group test runs on the Norwood/ Stainburn singletrack trails.
The bigger features, more concentrated rough sections and extended descents mean finding those limits doesnt take long. Alex in particular loves the way the lightweight Evo 4 skims and snaps around the big boulders and injects instant speed on smooth sections and climbs. With both the more expensive bikes struggling for one reason or another, this left the Boardman in first place in terms of a viable second bike. The fact it never gave any hint it was 25% cheaper than the two other bikes is also undeniably impressive.

Cross purposes

There are more cyclo – cross/ crossover bikes available now than ever before, and this test gave us a keyhole view of the bigger capability picture. But as we scrabble and skitter our way back down the final loose, loamy, berm and big log – infested descent in a determined death grip, one thing is clear: if youre skilled/stupid enough you can ride almost anything you can on a mountain bike on a cross bike. In terms of what you can comfortably, confidently ride off – road however, then swooping, flowing, wheels on the ground trail centre blue grade is probably a realistic limit for most riders. Even then itll certainly be a lot more physical, skill intensive and less comfortable experience than on a similarly priced hardtail.

Where cyclo – cross bikes earn their keep is as do it all, dogsbody bikes: road bikes that let you shortcut along bridleway/towpath/ fire road options but can turn easy local trails into a real challenge; bikes for the intense interval hell of cross racing or road training without the morale – sapping buzz of big knobbly tyres; bikes for towing tag – a – long kids trailers, nipping round town for shopping or saving the bus fare. In other words, theyre bikes that are well worth hanging up next to your MTB ready for days when pure dirt isnt on the menu.