2012 trek cronus cx pro

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Trek Cronus CX review

A first edition carbon cyclo-crosser that rises to the top

Matt Pacocha

Trek may be late to the game of cyclo-cross bikes but the 2012 Cronus CX has been worth the wait.

Carbon cyclo-cross bikes are a tricky subject for a bike manufacturer. They're generally second bikes (to riders) and their sales volume is low, so there's less of an incentive to spend resources developing them. Still, they take considerable effort to engineer properly and the investment manufacturers make is apparent in the end product.

Somehow, Trek have outdone just about all of their competition by producing a frame and fork that are smartly designed to capitalize, completely, on carbon's properties, while also offering component dress worthy professional racing on any continent. Trek have done this at a price that's not cheap by any means but competes with many carbon bikes specced with lower level components.

The new Cronus CX is race ready out of the box

Ride and Handling: not the smoothest, but it's an efficient bike that carves

In our opinion, ultimate stiffness is not the way to go for a cyclo-cross bike. A harsh ride leads to fatigue and fatigue makes you slow - but you still need the bike to be efficient. While Trek's Cronus CX isn't the smoothest carbon bike we've ridden, nor is it the stiffest, it is at the top of the class where the hairs of better and best may be split.

The Cronus CX does an excellent job of mixing attributes of damping rough terrain, and that awesome feeling of carving corners. It balances these handling characteristics with the opposing traits of solid steering stiffness, the fork's ability to resist brake chatter and enough pedaling stiffness to really feel like your power is being efficiently transferred to the rear wheel. Some might accuse the frame of being too muted, which is a possible way to describe it, but in our experience that muted feel also tends to be pretty darn quick, off-road.

The e2 tapered head tube offers plenty of steering stiffness

The geometry of the Cronus CX contributes to the bike's ability to carve. It's an American style bike with neutral angles; our 54cm model sports a 72° head, 73.6° seat angles, a lower bottom bracket (measured: 27.2cm high/6.5cm drop), and 43cm chainstays. It has a taller head tube too, at 145mm, which provides an upright position without using a lot of spacers. The only instances were we struggled with the geometry were bunny hopping and jumping (i.e. table tops and doubles) and it seemed more due to the overall dimensions, versus the geometry and made us think that we might rather be on the size smaller (52cm) bike, since we straddle the two sizes.

We tested the Cronus CX over an eight-month period, but one that fell squarely outside of the cyclo-cross season. In an effort to assess the bike's overall capabilities we rode it in a variety of terrain and situations. We did moderate length road rides up to about three hours, with plenty of climbing and descending. We rode mountain bike trails on it, and we simulated cyclo-cross in city parks. We even raced it, but in a local short track mountain bike race, rather than the intended discipline.

Over all of these scenarios we rode the Cronus CX completely stock, even when racing, and it impressed us with its capabilities. Even the rather narrow 34mm Bontrager CX0 tires performed well on rough and bumpy off road situations.

Excellent clearance for Bontrager's 34mm CX0, and Avid's excellent cantilever

Racing a short track on the bike allowed it to shine in a stressful race fueled situation. There were multiple corners where we achieved that carving feeling and surprisingly we finished in the top third of the field, which was made up completely of mountain bikes.

Frame: capitalizing on carbon for both ride and design features

The ride quality is top-notch for cyclo-cross, but as important may be the carbon frame and fork's feature set. This includes the internal cable routing, which allows the option of partial and full length housing; the bridgeless rear chainstays, which offer and amazing amount of mud clearance due to the wide BB90 bottom bracket shell they sprout from, and a huge benefit over those ’cross bikes that use a standard threaded bottom bracket or those using a BB30 design. The frame also sports a tapered head tube and hidden integrated mounts for Gary Fisher designed fenders.

The tapered carbon fork with an alloy steerer is nearly as impressive. It weighs 458g, offers ample mud clearance, and a decent amount of give, but without a hint of chatter. The fork uses Gary Fisher's FCC (Fisher Control Column) dropout design (large faces on the dropouts), which mate with the oversized 25mm axle end caps and definitely increase the steering stiffness of the system. It's important to note that the wheel itself is not compatible with non-FCC forks but FCC forks are backward compatible with all standard quick-release wheels.

The massive 25mm end-caps on the FCC front hub seemed to add stiffness to the system

The crown mounted brake boss with integrated barrel adjuster undoubtedly helps keep the chatter at bay, but also gives cleaner routing and an additional adjustment point for the cable tension, both of which are useful and appreciated.

The carbon frame is of monocoque construction and Asian made, which doesn't detract from its performance but aids in keeping the price lower than an OCLV road model with comparable components.

Equipment: we could not have spec'd this bike better ourselves

If the Cronus CX frame and fork is in the running for our top three carbon cyclo-cross frames currently available, it's the component specification that really puts this package over the top.

Out of the box the Cronus CX is almost perfectly specced for actually racing ’cross. The SRAM Force group is arguably the best available for the discipline. The shifters hold up in adverse conditions better than the competition and they're fully rebuildable should they fail. The brake levers offer a higher mechanical advantage than others, as to offer better power to weak cantilever brakes.

They included the right brakes too; Avid's Shorty Ultimate is the best cantilever brake currently on the market, if set up properly, of course. We ran both front and rear in the narrow profile, and they offered great power and good rim clearance.

Avid's Shorty Ultimate lives up to its name

While we would have preferred to see the in-line Force crank included as part of the kit, the S900 non-series carbon crank is at least specced with a 130BCD and chainring ratios of 38/46-teeth. A pet peeve of ours is the specification of a compact crank on a cyclo-cross bike. Some project managers don't realize that you run up the steep hills in cyclo-cross thus rendering a 36-tooth chainring useless.

SRAM's S900 crank comes with a 130BCD spider and proper 38/46-tooth cyclo-cross rings

While we might not go out of our way to spec Bontrager's cockpit components on a different bike, Trek got the style and materials right for ’cross: alloy bar and stem and carbon seat post. All performed flawlessly during our testing: the bars and stem weren't too stiff, and the carbon post damped bumps better than an alloy equivalent.

The Bontrager Race Lite FCC wheelset is decidedly workhorse, and serves well as a training or racing wheelset. As we've mentioned, there is a tangible benefit to the 25mm FCC front axle in terms of stiffness. The wheelset proved plenty stiff and with roughly 32psi and 35psi (front/rear) in the Bontrager CX0 tires, which were surprisingly supple, we found the wheels were reasonably comfortable.

The Bontrager tires were, possibly, one of the biggest performance surprises of the bike. They were so supple that we were forced to use a gauge to set pressure as our finger check consistently put us higher than we needed. Traction wise the tires were also impressive, holding a line in everything from dry, loose-over-hard surfaces to serious mud (albeit thin, non-packing mud). They're great all-round tires.

Despite the good performance offered by the tires, a tubular wheelset and tire combo is the one upgrade most will want, and will allow the bike to truly perform to its fullest.

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Trek Cronus CX Pro 2 cyclo cross bike review

Cyclo cross is enjoying a thriving resurgence, and hardy cross machines have become extremely popular as do-it-all steeds.

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Actually, there's not much the CX Pro couldn't turn its hand to, so you can't go far wrong, whether or not you intend to pin on a number in a muddy field.

Do-it-all bike

Functional kit keeps price reasonable

Mudguard eyelets

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

The Cronus CX Pro is one of two new cyclo cross carbon offerings from Trek, based on its now well-established and lightweight 500 Series OCLV carbon - the same platform it uses in its Madone 5 Series road bikes. The Pro plays second fiddle to the Ultimate, but at £2,200 it's far from entry-level and there are plenty of features justifying the price tag.

Trek's super-wide BB90 is at the heart of a very solid-feeling construction that's substantiated further by its E2 tapered head tube. The geometry has been given the necessary tweaks, including a cross-specific Race X-Lite fork, to tease this frameset away from feeling overly ‘road-esque' on the rough stuff, and it's a resounding success.

Arguably, a disproportionate amount of the overall cost is in the frame and forks, but the SRAM Rival kit, Avid brakes plus Bontrager's Race wheelset and finishing kit serve to prevent a sky-high price while still delivering functionality and reliability in abundance.

For my money, Trek has got the CX Pro spot-on. It proved its worth both in and out of competition, on and off-road, while I was getting myself acquainted with it. A very noteworthy feature, illustrative of Trek's more versatile design brief, is the removable mudguard eyes that discreetly thread into the frame, instantly increasing its potential usefulness.

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Trek Cronus CX Pro

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

• Exceptional
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Despite their all-conquering road and mountain bikes Trek have skulked somewhat in the shadows when it comes to cyclo-cross. They've had models kicking around but you'd be hard pushed to spot them either on the shop floor or the race course. The Cronus range could change all that.

Trek have come out their corner punching hard with four new 'cross bikes – a pair of alloy framed Ion monikered machines and two carbon-based life form Cronus models.

This Cronus CX Pro is the junior of the two carbon siblings, with the £3,000 Ultimate being the more expensive version, which isn't to say that the Cronus CX Pro has buck teeth and is dressed in hand-me-downs, it's actually a good looking high-class race-ready machine. It may say Trek in big letters on the downtube but it's part of the Gary Fisher Collection and has his signature on the top-tube to prove it while the bike is decorated with the full spread of Bontrager baubles.

While it has all the features you would expect of a top end frame it would also be safe and in no way impolite to say that the Cronus 500 Series OCLV frame is big-boned. The top-tube is wide enough to frequently conk your knees on. Aside from being wide the top tube features a flattened oval underneath to help make shouldering more comfortable. Fluted on the top side the tube flows either side of the seat-tube directly into the seat-stays that are dead straight, free of any fashionable bends, wiggles or kinks, a simple straight seatstay bridge has a mudguard mount hidden out back.

Moving past the replaceable derailleur hanger the chainstays elegantly curve in and swell up chunky chunky towards the oversize BB90 bottom-bracket with a little indent either side of the tyre for extra mud clearance, of which there's loads anyway. You could get a tractor pulling a trailer of manure through the gap between the tyre and bottom-bracket, something helped by the lack of a chainstay bridge because the stout stays don't need one.

The down-tube is vast, barely faltering from its impressive girth as it tapers only slightly from the full width of the bottom-bracket to the oversize 1.5in lower bearing of the head-tube, like the top-tube it's subtly fluted but both top and bottom and is slightly ovalised horizontally. In comparison the seat-tube looks almost weedy at the top where it flows from spanning the entire BB90 up to surround a 27.2 seatpost.

Keeping with the voluminous theme the front end is host to FCC, or Fisher Control Column. The Bontrager E2 fork tapers from a 1.5" lower bearing to a 1-1/8" upper which is nothing new nowadays, making sure the front end tracks solid and the fork ends are oversized to accept a FCC oversized front hub with 25mm end-caps, although the Bontrager Race wheels on this CX Pro have a standard sized hub so you're missing out a bit of integration there. A front-brake hanger bolted into the crown with a cable-adjuster in, thank you, effectively eliminates any brake-judder that might somehow find its way through that sturdy front end.

The rear brake cable runs internally, as do both gear cables which enter the downtube via ports near the head-tube and exit from a cowl just ahead of the bottom-bracket, it's a bit of a pain to replace cables because it's an unsleeved run, however because they are inside this should make this a less frequent occurrence as they're protected from gritty external influence, and it also keeps cables away from a shoulder flailing rider.

Should you be even more shy of water ingress there's also the option to run a full external gear cable thanks to stops underneath the right-hand chainstay. The front derailleur is direct mounted to the frame and has an in-line cable adjustment up by the bars, a feature shared by the front brake with its integral adjuster in the hanger, while they were thinking about it would have been nice for Trek to include something similar for the back brake for quick finger and thumb brake wear management, because they thought about the integrated seat-clamp and cable-stop, which is neat.

The Cronus isn't a 'cross purists racing frame with two bottle mounts and it gives a secret handshake to further usability with hidden mudguard mounts at the fork-ends and bottom of the seatstays; tiny 2.5mm bolt holes for mudguards adaptors to screw into should you need the bike for Pro-Commuter use on weekdays and something to race at the weekend. Other handy extras include nice thick chainstay protection strips top and bottom and thin metal chainsuck plates on the chainstay and downtube.

SRAM Rival 10 speed takes care of the gears, with SRAM S300 cranks paired with a cross useful 46/38 chainring duet connected to a 11-28 10 speed cassette out back so the bike has the legs for both racing and general mucking about off-road. Shifting is typically SRAM, worky but plasticky most of the time it all works just fine but on occassion the Rival front mech was almost a comical stereotype, some of the front shifts were awkward, especially under speedy panicky gritty load such as you might encounter on a muddy race course where sometimes it could be a lottery as to whether it would shift at all, shift when it wanted or just dump the chain. I'm not a fan of SRAM's front mechs. So it's easy to see why Trek stuck those protective plates behind the chainset, they're a good idea if you like your carbon unmashed. 

As well as providing the go SRAM also supply the stop in the form of their Avid Shorty 6 cantilever brakes. They're pretty good for a cantilever fighting against the first wave of disc-brakes, being chunkily designed and flex free, although they do have the trademark Avid squeal so be prepared to tinker to shut that up.

You might look at the bladed spokes on the Bontrager Race wheels and wonder if you need aero spokes on a cyclo-cross bike. Laced 24 on the rear and radial 20 up front it didn't take long for them to be bounced out of whack, and they'll stay that way as the bladed spokes twisting tendencies make them a pain to tweak true for the home mechanic. Overall they're merely okay, they can get pretty chattery both audibly and in handling when being pushed hard down bumpy stuff and yet are flexy enough to induce brake rub when giving it your all back up the other side. The fitted Bontrager CX0 tyres are more capable than they might appear, a tread lite centre section is bolstered by hearty shoulder knobs definitely helping with the cornering ability without compromising straight line speed and making them less draggy and more spinny on road. Their 700x34c size makes them comfy and whoomphy too.

Bontrager's Race Lite Anatomic-C bars are a bit of a mixed blessing. Pleasingly wide at 44cm (c-to-c) at the hoods they easily spread to 48cm in the drops giving a reassuring amount of control when tackling anything a cross bike shouldn't really be riding down, which is great for those that like their riding somewhat rufty-tufty. Although that extra girth means that if you like riding tight and twisty then things need to be steered round rather than threaded through. Racier types might find that extra breadth annoying too as it takes the sharp edge off the steering and can feel a bit wide-mouth frog when descending or battling in the drops against a sticky headwind across the open tundra of a winter football field. Overall the bars don't help with the general 'rangey' character of the bike. But the width along the tops, especially since the bars take their time before they curve forwards makes cruising a joy, and the drop isn't too scary deep either and surprisingly the ergo wiggle in them actually feels comfortable in the hand.

The Bontrager Evoke 2 saddle seems out of place on a bike of this calibre as it's quite chunky. It's certainly not uncomfortable though, well padded with rear and central divots for those that worry about such things, it just looks a little pedestrian and cheap for the speedy possibilities and cost of the Pro, racier bottoms will probably swap this for their favourite perch anyway.

If you're changing the saddle you might want to throw out the Bontrager Race X Lite seatpost with it, actually don't think about it just do it because the clamp is a waste of metal. Or at least it was for me.

Less than a mile into its first ride the saddle clamp made a strange groink noise and slipped dramatically so the saddle nose was pointing at the sky. No amount of tightening the clamp or swearing at it would stop the saddle auto-adjusting whether that be by large amounts when a whump or bump in the road appeared or just gently adjusting by degrees over time. Even a liberal application of sticky carbon paste didn't help either, well it did a bit, in that the saddle would make a cracking noise and slip every ten minutes instead of every two. To be fair this isn't the first time this kind of problem has been experience with this clam shell design of seatpost though and it does seem to be that some people get on with them and others don't. I didn't.

I found that swapping the saddle for something less bossomy and a seatpost that doesn't threaten to shove that saddle up your jacksie every time you go over a bump totally transformed the feel of the bike, like putting a nasal-strip on it.

With all that oversized tubing going on plus the geometry used the Cronus looks a lot bigger, and feels a lot bigger in the saddle than its vital statistics might imply. The bottom-bracket is maybe a little higher than some are doing it these days, but still lower than other more traditional cross frames, the head tube is longer than usual for the size and the top-tube doesn't slope so much which makes the bike feel tall between the legs, but as the top tube is a little shorter than the norm it's not a correspondingly long bike. That high head-tube and short front end means whippety types might need to slam the stem out of necessity rather than any pro aspirations in order to both keep their position and the front end under control.

The consequence of the bike feeling big between your legs, (easy boys), is that the Cronus also feels a little more unwieldy and less chuckable than it could be. That's fine on tarmac and in straight lines but start throwing it around marker-taped bends and it doesn't feel particularly chipper compared to bikes in a similar size bracket, a characteristic somewhat encouraged by those wide bars. It's a shame because it's a light bike that's easy to pop and hop over stuff but it just seems reluctant to skip as it kinda gets in the way of itself.

Get over that though and be prepared to muscle it around more than you normally would and the Cronus will reward you by being an incredibly solid and reliable platform. That OCLV construction definitely takes the edge off everything bumpy while the oversized front end and cartoon down-tube combine to make it a very assertive beast.

The Cronus will always go where you point it, and at speed with the reassurance that it's not going to be bumped off line. Sometimes the Trek's ability to soften the staccato beneath you lulls you into a false sense of comfort, and flatters its own abilities, and once in a while the friendly compliance of the carbon will suddenly meet the forceful stoutness of the front end head on and stutter hard making for the odd wrist shattering moment. Thankfully the Cronus is solid enough to bounce you on through regardless, and it only happens on paths rough enough to make a mountain bike think a bit and where the Trek is being willfully inappropriate. Because it can be.

The Cronus isolates the trail so well and is so neutrally designed that it doesn't give too much away when it comes to feedback. Jump on the pedals and do your best to smash power through to the rear end and you don't get that instant feedback of snap and ping you might wish for. Of course there's no loss of power, the Cronus just has that somewhat intangible and unemotional transfer of power that carbon can do. If you want a bike that skips and jumps and makes you feel involved in the ride then the Trek might not be for you. If on the other hand you want something that will just keep calm and carry on whatever, forever, something that whatever happens will bring you limping home in one piece at the end of a shitty 60 minutes or some longer more fun hours in the hills - then look no further.

Push the bike hard and get the front end of the Cronus to slide out and it will do so with little drama and you'll be able to pull it back calmly without any histrionics or tell-tale girly squeals. It would be tempting to say that because it does its job so well it's a little boring but it's so much much better than that.

Sling a Trek Cronus CX Pro between your legs on a start line and you've instantly run out of excuses. Although maybe if you're stumping up over £2K for a carbon 'cross bike your results shouldn't need excuses. You're definitely paying for the frame here as there are a few component sacrifices, the saddle and the seatpost most obviously, with the wheels being a bit suspect but workable. Anyway, the Cronus is light enough to not hold you back and the kit on it is designed for going fast but with secret day-to-day persona possibilities, like a reverse Superman, with hidden fender mounts and twin bottle cages. That oversized frame engineering means all your power goes the right way but clever carbonyness ensures that you don't get rattled to death doing it. That comfort, the stoic front end and crucially the overly polite handling mean it isn't going to throw you off when you're tired although the short and tall cockpit might not suit every racer.

Weight - 834kg/18.5 lbs (56cm, without pedals)

road.cc test report

Make and model: Trek Cronus CX Pro

Size tested: 56cm

About the bike

State the frame and fork material and method of construction. List the components used to build up the bike.

Frame - 500 Series OCLV Carbon, E2, BB90, hidden fender mounts, cantilever brake bosses.

Fork - Bontrager Race X Lite Cross, E2

Wheels - Bontrager Race

Tyres - Bontrager CX0, 700x34c

Shifters - SRAM Rival, 10 speed

Front derailleur - SRAM Rival, braze-on

Rear derailleur - SRAM Rival

Crank - SRAM S300, 46/38

Cassette - SRAM PG-1050, 11-28, 10 speed

Saddle - Bontrager Evoke 2, chromoly rails

Seatpost - Bontrager Race X Lite ACC, 27.2mm, 20mm offset

Handlebar - Bontrager Race Lite Anatomic-C

Stem - Bontrager Race Lite, 7 degree, 31.8mm

Headset - Cane Creek IS-2, integrated, cartridge bearings, sealed, alloy, 1-1/8" top, 1.5" bottom

Brakeset - Avid Shorty 6 cantilever brakes

Grips - Bontrager gel cork

Extras - Fender mounts

Tell us what the bike is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about the bike?

Trek say this bike changes the cyclocross landscape, exceeding expectations and delivering unexpected features. Lighter frame, exceptional stiffness, the best handling, and additional race utility.

Yeahhhhh, not so sure about changing the landscape hyperbole there and exceeding expectations might be pushing it a wee bit but it is a nice light bike that can flatter because of it, and it's stiff in that quiet way but not so rigid that it doesn't soften the dirt nicely. The best handling claim is a bold one, and fine if best means neutral and maybe a bit chunky between the thighs, and is 'Race Utility' possibly the new thing for 2012 and is it faster than 'Pro-Commuter'?

Frame and fork

Tell us about the build quality and finish of the frame and fork?

The build, detailing and finish on the Cronus are excellent.

Tell us about the materials used in the frame and fork?

500 Series OCLV Carbon frame with E2 headtube and BB90 bottom bracket. The Bontrager Race X Lite Cross fork has carbon legs and an alloy steerer.

Tell us about the geometry of the frame and fork?

Head angle of 72° and seat angle of 73.4° (on a 56, this changes with size) puts it in the same ballpark as everyone else, but the head tube is tall and the top-tube is short for the size.

How was the bike in terms of height and reach? How did it compare to other bikes of the same stated size?

It was a bit shorter, taller and higher than other bikes in its peer group.

Riding the bike

Was the bike comfortable to ride? Tell us how you felt about the ride quality.

Comfortable in that it muted any bumps underneath it beautifully without being noodly because of it.

Did the bike feel stiff in the right places? Did any part of the bike feel too stiff or too flexible?

With seemingly everything on the bike being oversized it was a very solid feeling ride, not rigid harsh stiff but confident stiff.

How did the bike transfer power? Did it feel efficient?

It didn't feel hyper efficient thanks to the slightly subdued feel of its carbon, but you knew nothing was being wasted.

Was there any toe-clip overlap with the front wheel? If so, was it a problem?

How would you describe the steering? Was it lively, neutral or unresponsive? Neutral, but in a good way, probably encouraged by the wide wide bars.

Tell us some more about the handling. How did the bike feel overall? Did it do particular things well or badly?

The Cronus felt somewhat large and lazy, not necessarily bad but lacking cheeky pep.

Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's comfort? would you recommend any changes?

The lovely wide bars definitely helped with control and comfort off-road and the ergo bend was even in the right place. The fat saddle and useless seatpost meant that the bike got off to a bad start, but once those were binned we got on just fine.

Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's stiffness? would you recommend any changes?

The wheels were a little bit soft under power, but also chattery when challenged from below.

Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's efficiency? would you recommend any changes?

No, it all worked well towards going forwards fast, swapping the saddle to something racier helped though, and some might want a less wind friendly bar.

The drivetrain

Tell us some more about the drivetrain. Anything you particularly did or didn't like? Any components which didn't work well together?

SRAM Rival is as SRAM Rival does, watch that front shift though, especially if the chain's loaded with gunk.

Wheels and tyres

Tell us some more about the wheels and tyres.Did they work well in the conditions you encountered? Would you change the wheels or tyres? If so, what for?

Aero spokes aren't necessarily the first choice for cyclo-cross and as such the wheels held up merely ok, succumbing to wibble pretty quickly. The tyres are great, and fast, in dry conditions and on tarmac, you'll be swapping them for something more mud-capable come the season.

Tell us some more about the controls. Any particularly good or bad components? How would the controls work for larger or smaller riders?

No complaints here about the size and shape of the controls.

Your summary

Did you enjoy riding the bike? Yes.

Would you consider buying the bike? No, just because the fit felt a bit weird for me. Others could find it just right though.

Would you recommend the bike to a friend? Yes.

Anything further to say about the bike in conclusion?

Given the nature of cross riding and the fact that many riders and particularly racers have their own favourite set ups, it seems to me that Trek are missing a trick by not offering the Cronus as a frameset option in the UK too… oh, and a full build in Shimano Ultegra.

Overall rating: 7 /10

About the tester

Age: 42   Height: 180cm   Weight: 73kg

I usually ride: It varies as to the season.   My best bike is: The one I\'m on at the time

I've been riding for: Over 20 years   I ride: Most days   I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, cyclo cross, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, Fun

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Jo Burt has spent the majority of his life riding bikes, drawing bikes and writing about bikes. When he's not scribbling pictures for the whole gamut of cycling media he writes words about them for road.cc and when he's not doing either of those he's pedaling. Then in whatever spare minutes there are in between he's agonizing over getting his socks, cycling cap and bar-tape to coordinate just so. And is quietly disappointed that yours don't He rides and races road bikes a bit, cyclo-cross bikes a lot and mountainbikes a fair bit too. Would rather be up a mountain.

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834kg seems a bit heavy - 8.34 kg perhaps?

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i think saying 'all the boutique bike manufacturers' is exaggerating just a little, in both the 'all' and 'boutique' respects, and at least one of them you could argue was saved by Trek after several years of floundering

i am very harsh on trek to be honest. but it wasnt me who bought up and dissolved all the boutique bike manufacturers in the mid 1990's.... the road.cc reviews are always very good and very indepth. first odd review i have picked out to be honest.

the Trek is a very good bike and most of the minus points are subjective rather than objective. for example some people love SRAM and yet it's just not for me, and others have never had complaint with that style of seatpost, yet i've never found one i get on with, and it's a simple issue that would easily be sorted by the bike shop or Trek should you have problems

there's nothing wrong with the bike as a whole at all, the Cronus is a solid capable performer and marked accordingly

very odd, the review seems to imply the bikes not great, but gets a relatively high rating. i wouldnt buy it 2.2k shouldnt have ass hole tearing seat tendancies etc. maybe trek should give up on cx bikes and just get on with buying brands and burying them 6 months later.

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• Trek Cronus CX Pro 2012

Bike summary

Bike components.

500 Series OCLV Carbon, E2, BB90, hidden fender mounts, cantilever brake bosses

Suspension Fork

Bontrager Race X Lite Cross, E2

Rear Derailleur

Front derailleur.

SRAM Rival, braze-on

Shift Levers

SRAM Rival, 10 speed

SRAM PG-1050, 11-28, 10 speed

SRAM S300, 46/38

Bottom Bracket

BB90, 90.5mm, press-fit

Bontrager Race

Bontrager CX0, 700x34c

Avid Shorty 6 cantilever brakes

Bontrager Race Lite, 7 degree, 31.8mm

Bontrager Race Lite Anatomic-C

Cane Creek IS-2, integrated, cartridge bearings, sealed, alloy, 1-1/8" top, 1.5" bottom

Bontrager Evoke 2, chromoly rails

Bontrager Race X Lite ACC, 27.2mm, 20mm offset

Bike geometry

Model overview.

Cronus CX Pro completes the Trek Cronus model. Trek released 24 bikes variations of this model so far. Check out the entire range from 2012 of this model, by clicking this link .

When you go for a ride, don’t forget to put your helmet on. Moreover, ride with traffic, not against it. This will help you stay visible to drivers and also makes it easier for them to see you.

Average price for Cyclocross bikes

According to our calculations, the average cost of a Cyclocross bike that is reliable is 2012 $ . However, paying less money than this amount doesn’t mean that you couldn’t get a great Cyclocross bike. To make sure you don’t pay a higher amount than normal for your bike, always do some components analysis and read reviews.

Cronus CX Pro components

Fork material.

The fork is made out of carbon, so, it won’t add up to much weight to your bike. However, the price you have to pay for a carbon fork is considerably higher.

When it comes to wheels, the Cronus CX Pro bike is equipped with the 700c aluminum model. These wheels are the most used kind for road bikes in general. However, these wheels don’t perform so well when passing over obstacles.

Nothing is more important on a bike than its ability to brake properly. Trek Cronus CX Pro is equipped with Rim brakes. Rim brakes are cheaper than hydraulic brakes, and also easier to maintain. However, they have problems in wet conditions.

Trek Cronus models from 2014

Trek cronus models from 2013, trek cronus models from 2012, trek cronus models from 2011, trek cronus models from 2010, trek cronus models from 2008, trek cronus models from 2007, trek cronus models from 2006, trek cronus models from 2005.

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Buyer’s Guide: Best Cyclocross Bikes

Focus mares ax 2.0 dics.

Focus Mares

Colnago Prestige Disc Ultegra

Numerous champions have ridden for Colnago : the Lion of Flanders, Fiorenzo Mani; the Cannibal, Eddy Merckx ; and the General, Sven Nys, an eight-time national cyclocross champion of Belgium—and the current world champion. In fact, Nys currently races a Prestige similar to this one. The carbon frame even features a shoulder cradle that Nys helped design. The bike is also outfitted with mechanical Shimano disc brakes, and Ultegra shifters and derailleurs, which work flawlessly in muddy conditions.

     RELATED: Three Awesome, Value Cyclocross Bikes That Cost Less Than $1,600

Colnago Prestige Disc Ultegra, $3499.99, R&A Cycles

At a Glance

• Sven Nys races a bike similar to this one
• Carbon frame features a shoulder cradle for easier carrying
• Mechanical Shimano disc brakes, and Ultegra shifters and derailleur

Felt F2X, $5170.00

• Designed for elite cyclocross competitors
• Built using the same weight-minimizing tech as the company's Pro Tour road bikes
• Shimano Ultegra electronic drivetrain

Ridley X-Ride Disc

Ridley X-Ride 30 Disc 105, $1650.00, Ridley X-Ride 20 $1399 at Competitive Cyclist

Ritchey SwissCross

Ritchey Swiss Cross, $999.95, Performance Bike

• Flared head tube to accomodate 1-1/8 inch headset bearings
• Lightweight, triple-butted steel tubes
• Ritchey carbon WCS fork

Cannondale CAADX Disc Ultegra

Cannondale CAADX Disc Ultegra, $2200.00

• Eyelets for rear rack or fenders
• Slightly upright geometry makes it more versatile for commuting or light touring
• Aluminum frame

Redline Conquest Carbon Team

Redline Conquest Carbon Team, $4800.00

• Upgraded for 2013 with a PF30 bottom bracket
• Derailleur cables run internally with continuous housing

Specialized CruX Comp Carbon

Specialized CruX Comp Carbon, $3000.00

• Plenty of tire clearance to accomodate thick, sticky mud
• Shares some carbon technology with Specialized's high-end road bikes
• Oversize down tube

Stevens Super Prestige

Stevens Super Prestige, $1000.00

• Internal cable routing that's compatible with electronic drivetrains
• Uses a seat mast for a stiffer ride
• Front brake hanger reduces brake shudder

Trek Cronus CX Pro

Trek Cronus CX Pro, $2940.00

.css-1t6om3g:before{width:1.75rem;height:1.75rem;margin:0 0.625rem -0.125rem 0;content:'';display:inline-block;-webkit-background-size:1.25rem;background-size:1.25rem;background-color:#F8D811;color:#000;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-position:center;background-position:center;}.loaded .css-1t6om3g:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/bicycling/static/images/chevron-design-element.c42d609.svg);} Bike Reviews

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Looking at a used and upgraded Trek Cronus CX Pro 2012 from Trek dealer - good deal?

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I upgraded my cx bike to the shorty ultimates. They were definitely better than what was on it. But, I bought some TRP cx 8.4 mini v's to replace them, which I havent got around to installing yet. I sold my avid's on ebay, and made enough money to pick up a barely used set of the TRP's. So, I wouldnt worry too much about the brakes. They can be swapped out if need be.  

I ride a cronus cx ultimate which has those brakes I think they are very good. I have enough confidence in being able to stop that I can rip thru single track without worrying about not having enough brakes ...unlike other set ups I have tried. I have not been on a cross bike with discs as of yet. I have too much fun on this one to give it up yet  

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The trains and stations of the Moscow Metro

2 Comments · Posted by Alex Smirnov in Cities , Travel , Video

The Moscow Metro is the third most intensive subway system in the world after Tokyo and Seoul subways. The first line was opened on May 15, 1935. Since 1955, the metro has the name of V.I. Lenin.

The system consists of 12 lines with a total length of 305.7 km. Forty four stations are recognized cultural heritage. The largest passenger traffic is in rush hours from 8:00 to 9:00 and from 18:00 to 19:00.

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Tomás · August 27, 2012 at 11:34 pm

The Moscow metro stations are the best That I know, cars do not.

Alberto Calvo · September 25, 2016 at 8:57 pm

Great videos! Moscow Metro is just spectacular. I actually visited Moscow myself quite recently and wrote a post about my top 7 stations, please check it out and let me know what you think! :)

http://www.arwtravels.com/blog/moscow-metro-top-7-stations-you-cant-miss

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Title : Active carbons as nanoporous materials for solving of environmental problems

However, up to now, the main carriers of catalytic additives have been mineral sorbents: silica gels, alumogels. This is obviously due to the fact that they consist of pure homogeneous components SiO2 and Al2O3, respectively. It is generally known that impurities, especially the ash elements, are catalytic poisons that reduce the effectiveness of the catalyst. Therefore, carbon sorbents with 5-15% by weight of ash elements in their composition are not used in the above mentioned technologies. However, in such an important field as a gas-mask technique, carbon sorbents (active carbons) are carriers of catalytic additives, providing effective protection of a person against any types of potent poisonous substances (PPS). In ESPE “JSC "Neorganika" there has been developed the technology of unique ashless spherical carbon carrier-catalysts by the method of liquid forming of furfural copolymers with subsequent gas-vapor activation, brand PAC. Active carbons PAC have 100% qualitative characteristics of the three main properties of carbon sorbents: strength - 100%, the proportion of sorbing pores in the pore space – 100%, purity - 100% (ash content is close to zero). A particularly outstanding feature of active PAC carbons is their uniquely high mechanical compressive strength of 740 ± 40 MPa, which is 3-7 times larger than that of  such materials as granite, quartzite, electric coal, and is comparable to the value for cast iron - 400-1000 MPa. This allows the PAC to operate under severe conditions in moving and fluidized beds.  Obviously, it is time to actively develop catalysts based on PAC sorbents for oil refining, petrochemicals, gas processing and various technologies of organic synthesis.

Victor M. Mukhin was born in 1946 in the town of Orsk, Russia. In 1970 he graduated the Technological Institute in Leningrad. Victor M. Mukhin was directed to work to the scientific-industrial organization "Neorganika" (Elektrostal, Moscow region) where he is working during 47 years, at present as the head of the laboratory of carbon sorbents.     Victor M. Mukhin defended a Ph. D. thesis and a doctoral thesis at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (in 1979 and 1997 accordingly). Professor of Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia. Scientific interests: production, investigation and application of active carbons, technological and ecological carbon-adsorptive processes, environmental protection, production of ecologically clean food.   

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Hockey Club Dinamo Elektrostal is a field hockey team from Russia, based in Moscow. The club was founded in 1994.

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2013 Trek Cronus CX Pro

A carbon frame cyclocross bike with upper mid-range components and rim brakes. Compare the full range

For This Bike

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A bike with lower gearing will be easier to ride up steep hills, while a higher top end means it will pedal faster down hills.

Cronus CX Pro

Similar Bikes

(descending)

Add custom gearing

Mar 2013 · Cycling Weekly

The Cronus's lightweight carbon frame features Trek's usual chunky tubing, giving a stiff and responsive ride able to take on even the toughest cyclo cross course.

Read Review

Apr 2012 · VecchioJo

Sure handling cross race bike with secret day-to-day ride personna, may lack 'cheeky pep' but compensates with ride anything dependability

Sept 2011 · Matt Pacocha

Trek have built a top-tier carbon ’cross bike that balances performance and price, perfectly

Aug 2010 · Lennard Zinn

The Cronus CX, part of Trek's Gary Fisher Collection, is a high-end carbon cyclocross bike, with features borrowed from the Madone road line.

Last updated 29 June Not listed for 2,487 days