At a glance A nippy cyclocross bike ideal for commuting, training, adventures and cyclo-cross racing with excellent value components and judder-free, responsive forks
Tested by
Gav McDonald, tester for The Bike List
Performance
I think cross bikes rock, and if they’re not already biking’s new black, they soon will be.
Buying my first cyclocross bike two years ago (a Scott CX) has completely revolutionised and reinvigorated my winter training. My commuting and training rides now take in a mixture of tarmac, trails, forest roads, bridleways and the odd hike-a-bike section too. Fully rigid riding increases your off-road skills and helps you to build your bike and general fitness levels. I love the lightweight “go anywhere” options that a cross bike opens up - my only regret is that I didn’t discover the world of cyclocross bikes years ago.
So how does Dutch brand BeOne’s entry level Chase shape up?
Firstly, the Chase has an impressive spec list for a £1,100 bike. A nicely finished 7005 alloy frame with an oversized, chunky downtube is mated to a pair of Easton EC70X carbon / alloy cross specific forks. The Shimano 105 front and rear mechs, levers, hubs and cassette are all super reliable, well functioning pieces of kit and the Mavic CXP22 rims are a quality, hardwearing choice. Tektro brakes, an FSA Vero Cross chainset (with an old school square tapered cartridge bottom bracket) and a Ritchey Pro finishing kit and a Selle Italia XO saddle completes the package.
Living in the Lake District I’m fortunate to have a great variety of cross bike terrain on my doorstep, so the minute the bike arrived it was built up double quick - full marks to Chain Reaction Cycles for delivering a boxed and very well pre-delivery inspected (PDI’d) bike that requires very little work to get it on the road/trail – and taken out for a spin.
My first ride highlighted many of the Chase’s strengths – good power transfer for climbing, pin point steering and judder-free braking both delivered courtesy of those excellent Easton forks, the raised stem makes braking from the drops less of a neck ache than with many cyclocross bikes and the 105 levers offer a range of comfortable hand positions and provide spot on braking. Being a sunny day this first ride also showcased the bike’s pearlized black finish in all its sparkly, spangly glory – a subtle bit of bling.
The first ride also highlighted that the 59cm model that I was testing suffers from significant toe overlap with the front wheel, even with the shortish 172.5mm cranks that come with this size of bike. This may, or may not, be an issue for individual riders. I was aware of it but it did not compromise my enjoyment of riding the bike.
Personally, I found the carbon wrapped alloy bars to be just too rigid on the trails and the lack of a rear brake barrel adjuster is an oversight. However, both of these points are relatively minor and are easily rectifiable.
A quick word about those Easton EC70X forks – sublime! Cross bikes, especially larger framed ones with front brake cable stops at headset top race level, often suffer from brake judder. The Easton’s don’t. This coupled with their handing characteristics make them a great choice.
Further adventures on the BeOne had me growing very fond of the bike and, especially, its super sharp steering. I was genuinely very sad to see the Chase go back when the test time was up – my last ride out on it was a full bore, big ring blatt over the Old Coach Road near Keswick and this just showcased how good cyclocross bikes can be over “their” terrain.
Aside from the toe overlap this is a very fine entry level cross bike. It’s good enough to start cyclo-cross racing on and it makes a solid all day adventure crosser, training or commuting bike with an excellent spec for your money. The paint finish coped admirably with everything I put it through over four intense weeks and the wheel package didn’t need to be touched or trued.
If BeOne sort the overlap issue, change the bars to quality alloy ones, add a barrel adjuster to the rear brake cable stop/hanger and keep to the same spec and price point, this bike will take a lot to beat. Ten years ago you wouldn’t have got anywhere near this type of performance and durability at a comparable price point. The Chase shows how good bikes can be now and how much top end development, durability and functionality has filtered down to quality entry level bikes.
