good cross bike

1) its difficult to find a second hand one at this stage of the season.

2) You can build a franken-bike out of old stuff

3) Or you can buy new. I got a Bianchi Axis for aprox. USD$1,000

Check out:

cyclocrossworld.comcyclocrossworld.comOpen ↗

I've got a good ole' Voodoo Wazoo that a friend built from the ground up. Go with steel! Do they make CF/Al cross frames? I highly recomend the Voodoo frames. So sleek and stylish. Also, be sure to go with cantilever brakes (or discs), triple cranset, and xt-xtr-lx derailleur (or equivilant). Sorry I can't give you a whole bunch of brand names- just focus on the specs. Reviews are nice. -FasterthanU

My perspective is as a commuter, not a racer, so it may not apply to you. But check out the Surly Cross Check. This is my third winter with mine and I love it. It can take 35 Nokkian 106 studded tires with fenders with room to spare. The bar end shifters can be manipulated with mittens.

And it's reasonably fast--in good weather, I can get up to 35 mph for limited bursts on a slightly downhill stretch even with a rack and panniers.

The Cross Check Complete comes with a Tiagra drive train and breaks (but Dura Ace bar end shifters). The only thing I'd upgrade is the rear deraileur. Because I use thick gloves and mittens, STI shifters aren't practical.