Mountain Bike Vs Cyclocross Bike – What's Really The Difference?!

Cyclocross bike or mountain bike hardtail... What's the difference on MTB trails and should you buy a cyclo-cross bike?

As mountain bikers and cyclists, what's the ultimate bike for a winter blast?

Neil loves cyclocross, and he loves mountain biking. Scott has never ridden a cyclocross bike but he does have a very nice Canyon mtb hardtail.

We set up a test loop featuring a few of our local mountain bike trails. It was a varied loop and meant to push the cyclocross bike to its limits.

So, what would come out on top: mountain bike and baggies or cyclocross bike and lycra?

And, where is a cyclocross (dare we say it) better than a mountain bike and vice versa?

Neil and Scott have a blast on their bikes and find out.

Are you a mountain biker who rides cyclocross? A road cyclist who rides a mountain bikes? Chip in with your thoughts on this debate down in the comments, hit LIKE, hit SHARE and join the GMBN Notification Squad!

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[grimoire]

I use my MTB on road because the road in my country is so bad that I don't even need to go to a trail 😂

[hairypaulmmwab]

XC or CX call it what ya like as long as we are having fun on 2 wheels its all good :-)

[MrHuddy]

The good thing about a Cross bike is that it makes areas that would be too easy on an MTB really fun. So it makes some areas more technical, but then it makes the boring bits inbetween a lot faster (eg on a fire trail or gravel road) on the CX bike. On my local MTB course, the 'easy' course is a lot of fun on a CX bike, so if that's the sort of terrain you have locally, you may enjoy it more with drop bars.

[Liofa]

If you have to ride to the place where you're going to ride off road, then a CX bike is great for the roads in between. CX is an "ancient" discipline from a time before proper mountain bikes were around, it's just stubbornly kept going, keeping roughly the same technology (shape of frame and drop bars), which is a good thing as having more cycling variety is great. More types of bikes to own.

[davidnicholson]

I continue to enjoy your perception of "winter".

[vancel]

I've raced one CX race, and it was this past August. I don't have a CX bike, so I used my Orbea Rallon (FS Enduro Bike). I won my category by over a minute. Granted, I'm C4 in CX, but I'm C1 in XC.... so there's that.

I say this because a heavy bike can be fast... but I'm sure I could've been faster (won by over 2 minutes?) on a CX bike.

[trancerider]

I own both types. A giant trance 29er and a giant revolt gravel bike. Both are great but it really comes down to WHERE you want to ride. If its mostly trails go mountain bike, if mostly road but some trails go gravel. Nice video!

[braydendaunt]

I did cyclocross with a XC bike and it worked well for what it was. It's good fitness for mountain biking.

[whenhen]

This should have been a GCN vs GMBN video.

[DavidFregoli]

Where I recently moved to the trails are pretty tame and I have to ride 15kms of flat to get there and back so I got a Cross bike and I've been having loads of fun with it, I'm not really into CX as a sport (I just find barriers, running and group racing lame) but I use it as a super light mtb and it holds up pretty nicely.

[TheProjectX]

"winter" - not found in this video

[Nando_]

the forward body position may be terrifying on steep descents

[ionceateapinecone]

I actually really love cyclocross bikes for urban riding, since they are a little more forgiving on the rough streets and alleyways

[HipHoppieGaming]

Having raced both disciplines I know the difference of course, but the way the video was presented, it would seem to someone who didn't know, as if they're interchangeable which to an extent they are but not that much. I think it was like this because they both raced a more MTB orientated track. I think you should've shown some CX footage as they are completely different. Good video though.

[MrLmtpaul]

Rode a 29 XC hardtail that I bought with aggressive cross tires. Had planned on swapping them out much sooner than I eventually did, they are addictively quick and you can really thread a line.

[jadebroughton]

I asked for a video like this and it's finally here. I'm now looking at cyclocross bikes.

[TheGuyWho]

I want to see a modern geometry rigid bike with 650+ tires, wide bars short stem ect.

[thenorcorider]

Not a fair comparison as the guy on the CX was not familiar with CX riding, while MTB guy is an experienced MTB rider, you should of used Simon Richardson or Lasty on the CX.

[MatadorCE]

CX is really good training for mountain biking. I hadn't been able to make such noticeable gains in cardio and power on my mountain bikes as before I started racing cross. You can also take cross bikes on mellow single track, which is fun!

[cjt]

I really enjoyed this video, the editing.was spot on and there were some really great shots. The transitions were cool and the whole drag race sprint was great to watch!