Specialized Crux Pro: Why Buy Anything Else?

Cycling is getting a dentists sport.

7k bike..... I'd rather spend 4.5k on road bike and 2.5 on a gravel/XC bike. This bike is on sale at J's cycles currently for under 4 and a half grand, bargain

I've recently gone the one-bike-do-it-all route, selling an Argon 18 road bike and a Scott Addict gravel while keeping my S-Works crux (2018). It's been given a complete refresh with new paint a Shimano DI2 groupset and an extra carbon wheel set. So far I'm loving it both for road rides and gravel and I love the simplicity of owning just one bike 🙂

I can see why the Vitus won bike of the year. I think you really need a 2x bike if you want to replace a road bike. The Vitus has that and you could buy dedicated road and gravel wheelsets with the money you saved

That's extremely light

Why, it's carbon fibre...

One of those half arsed bikes designed by 'Disney' and priced by 'Apple'.

Because Specialized carbon cracks, and has a poor warranty record?

€6,400.00 LOL. It's a bicycle for sake! To be onest this is hilarious. This is modern capitalism at its finest. The fun, the pleasure of biking doesn't come from bike's prize. It's amazing how incredibly bikes are overpriced this day's. It's sad that there are people who tray to convince everyone that they need such a bike.

Why buy anything else? Maybe because you don't feel like supporting a company with a lengthy history of being a trash company. Maybe because you believe in worker's rights -- something the Big S seems to not care about. Maybe because you don't want to support a company that acts like a bully. There are many many reasons.

I’ve had two Crux bikes over the years and used both for gravel, xc, and road. Great bike and put many miles on them, BUT the new price point is way too high.

Specialized are just so ridiculously priced, they're out of competition. But hey, most MAMILS have loads of cash and not much use

I have had a Crux comp and love it, sold my ten year old road bike for this and it’s a blast. Still have a full suspension mountain bike for the big stuff.

Prefer road riding thanks.... Think I'll pass!

Agree 100% – love my golden S-Works Crux

not the best by any means but i absolutely love the colors! please manufacturers, grow some balls and paint the bikes with like this. enough of stealth black one color rides. icwant some color in my life

I own one, and it immediately became my go-to bike for everything that wasn't mountainbiking. Given the gnarly roads in the part of the Netherlands where I live, I prefer the Crux over my dedicated road bikes (that can't fit anything wider than ~27mm), even with 38mm tyres. I've ridden it on smooth tarmac, in mud, on all kinds of gravel, took it bikepacking, and even took it across the Carrefour de l'Arbre. It's a great bike and if I could only have one bike, this would be it.

However.. there's one area where the Crux fell short for me: being a slow bike. For (very) long rides at Z2, I just don't completely gel with the Crux. It's fine for 3-4 hours, but anything beyond that... not really. I recently got a Standert Pfadfinder for that purpose and it's brilliant. Being a steel bike, it's obviously significantly heavier than the Crux, but even though my riding position is nearly identical I can spend hours and hours on the Pfadfinder without any fatigue issues. The difference in comfort, especially absorbing road buzz, is quite striking. It's still plenty fast if I want it to be, though.

But the Crux is 100% the faster bike.

I got myself a scott addict gravel (custom build) and i feel more or less the same + bikepacking capabilities. I do not know the weight yet. Cheers from italy🎉

It's a nice enough bike, but grotesquely overpriced. Lightweight carbon off road, beyond a 'cross course? Hmmm, 3 years of solid use at best. So many nicer options for the money - Reilly Reflex?

Can we just point out how he's riding a multi-thousand dollar bike, with the entry level shimano m520 pedals?
Those pedals are absurdly good for their price, they punch way above their weight. 😂
On the topic: I got a Kona Jake as my one-bike-for-all-things for a couple of years until I got a proper MTB. CX Bikes are absurdly capable. It doesn't have to be a Spesh, look into other brands' CX bikes if you want a reliable workhorse.

It's only a set mudguards eyelets away from being the perfect bike.

I couldn't agree more! I've got two S-Works versions, 2016 (dreaded SCS) and 2018, they do everything so well. I can run 42mm tires for gnarly gravel races, but I wish I could fit a Rockshox Rudy on one of them. Sadly, that won't work.

This and the Aethos are really beautiful bikes. Love the color scheme on this one, so bold

My plan is to replace my Aethos with a Crux Pro and change to AXS 2x derailleurs setup with 2 sets of wheels on 10-36 force cassettes

VITUS SUCK!

You might as well just get a Pegoretti duende rock and roll at that price and have a bike you can actually be proud of.

Steel is what people need. Roadies are ruining gravel.

emm its not Steel, thats why!

these channels are really shills for this companies on normalizing this absurd pricing

I think the Diverge is a far better all rounder. The Crux its a weekend fair weather racer. You can't add mud guards, bike pack (properly) or use it to go to work everyday. It a recreational racer. I love it. I've ridden it. It's fast and the ride position is aggressive. But it is not as comfortable as the Diverge. The Diverge is also a lot cheaper and more flexible for multiple setups.

A well designed gravel bike really is all you need. UK roads don't exactly resemble velodromes when it comes to the surfaces, so having more resilience on the road while being able to slip off down a singletrack extends what you can do on a ride. Since I started gravel 3-4 years ago I haven't looked at road bikes at all.

Have an SW Crux built up on Sram Force 1X XPLR with Zipp 303s and 40mm Schwalbe G1 Zeros. Can do absolutely everything relatively well. Totally agree with this quite balanced review.

LOL why buy anything else ? Cause for the money u can get another bike and life long supply of parts.

A Giant Revolt Advanced Pro 0 is a better bike all round, and cheaper by about £1,500 in my view

Nice bike! What color is it?

What frame size do you recommend for 175cm height?

Prefer the Diverge for all around riding. Internal storage, head set shock, mounting brackets. Unless you’re racing.

You always pay too much at Specialized. Nice bike, though

@bikeradar is it the carbon frame you had repaired on the chain stay by Rob?

Because I need 2X. Why on earth don’t they offer it with a 2X option?

I still enjoy my cheap CAADX 105. It goes anywhere too.

Get a mountain bike. Gravel is becoming like fixed gear MTB - a sport for masochists. ALL gravel is "for faster riding and smooth trails." Otherwise, get a mountain bike!

bike is 5-6K,that's why I'd buy anything else. This advertorial horseshit is out of control.

bike is 5-6K,that's why I'd buy anything else. This advertorial horseshit is out of control.

Someone is copying Marques Brownlee, though we didn't notice, but we did. 😁

The fly in the ointment for me is the lack of clearance for a 2by.

It’s a pity they don’t offer a double chainring in this . Would be so versatile with 2 wheelsets mixing up road and trail

What do you think is the best gravel bike available today? 👇