I am looking to buy my first cyclocross bike to race on and have raced in other disciplines just wondering what people tend to do with frame sizes i am 183cm tall and the calculators say a large frame.
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Just a quick question - do you anticipate racing Gravel also?
I.E a lot of people race a gravel bike although its not the most efficient choice but gives them more use case. My teammate won a CX overall this past weekend on a Giant Revolt and I raced a Specialized Diverge and had top-bottom times.
If you are right at 6’ tall (183cm) depending on your flexibility, age and bike position you are going to be looking at most likely a 56 or 58 (a 56 being super aggressive).
thanks for replying,
i haven’t thought about racing gravel but i tend to prefer to ride more aggressive flickable bikes with my xc mtb bike being a size down so am edging towards a 56 frame if you agree.
I’m 63, about 182 cm, not super flexible, and ride a 55 cm Ibis Hakka MX which has worked out very well for me. Once in a race when I didn’t have a spare bike, I borrowed my wife’s 59 Kona Major Jake with saddle height adjustment and it was less than ideal in terms of handling. If this is going to be mostly cx, would definitely lean towards more aggressive for handling.
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A CX bike is going to be hands down a more flickable bike in terms of geometry. So if low speed super fast turning is what you are after a CX over a traditional Gravel bike is going to be the winner.
Just keep in mind that I think most “true” CX bikes do not have the tire width capacity of a gravel bike so that would be a limiting factor if you ever wanted to gravel race. The CX bike also will be a little less stable at fast downhill/bumpy sections also as they are not as slacked out.
In terms of bike size, you may be a good candidate for a 56ish size bike.
Do you have any brands you are looking at? Where are you located?
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Awesome!! 
Love that you’re buying a CX bike!
If you think you are between sizes then I would encourage you test ride them if you can. If not a 56 should be good to go if you like twitcher handling, and you can put the appropriate stem length depending on the reach you need.
I’ve raced a CX bike as a gravel bike and it’s been more than fine! It’s nice to have one bike that “does both” as you’re able to get super familiar with the bike’s handling and geometry.
The only down side, of course, would be the tire clearance, but honestly you should be able to get a wide enough tire with a good tread to race on for gravel.
I am going to say, a cross bike is better at gravel than a gravel bike is at cross. Doesn’t mean it can’t be done the other way, but that is my thought.
Gravel bikes tend to be hard to flip through tight turns and don’t have as much space in the front triangle for shouldering. The sizes you are looking at, shouldn’t have that problem, but is a big reason my wife is looking to add a proper cross bike to the stable.
Short course gravel (cross) is the best thing going for bike racing if you ask me, can do a couple races in a day, usually a pretty spectator friendly setting, and just dang fun.
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You’d have to look at the specific frame measurements too, not just what they call a “large” or “58”, because it might not mean much these days.
If you’re between sizes, I’d size down - a shorter wheelbase is better for tight turns. But if you’re quite far away from the size down in terms of height etc, it might be better to fo with your proper size so you don’t need an extra long stem and seat post. (Seat post is usually less of a problem with cx bikes, because the tob tube tends to ne quite high).
100% this, and even size doesn’t matter, my wife rides a small Waheela C, a 49 all city nature cross and the closest fit to those was a 52 crux and a 54 R5CX…