slowdad

Cross Season - It's started

via www.youtube.com

I'm looking forward to watching more CX races on youtube instead of going to bed.

SRSLY - Another funny cycling vid that strikes a bit too close

via www.youtube.com

I don't have a personality and I'm on my bike pretty much every day. I think I'm this guy.

One week

I've been training.

I've got a snappy third hand carbon bike and some carbon wheels for the dry and grassy races.  

I've got the toolbox re-organized, my diet dialed in, and hundreds of people in my twitter feed raving about CX.

And I'm moderately nervous.

Last year was about the unknown, my first year of racing a bike.  This year there are far less unknowns, and more expectations. I'm not really sure I'm in better shape than last year, but I have much higher expectations.

I keep remembering last year in Kelso, sitting in third, and ripping my rear derailleur off.  I want to get a couple podiums and move up to M2, where my fancy wheels will just blend in.

Pro-Tip, never do any hardcore gardening the week before the seasons first race.  My hamstrings are about to snap.

I'll be posting more, likely, as the season gets more interesting.  Hopefully there'll be some fun tales to tell. 

Time to clean up the bike, do some more intervals, and get through the first couple of races this weekend without breaking anything.

 

What goes on when there's no snow

This video makes me want to break out the roller skis and put in some miles. 

Nothing makes a good race season than lots of hard slogging in the rain. And mountains.

 

First Cyclocross Clinic of the year.

via www.youtube.com

Gotta work on the technique and the grimace.

Gratuitous Mud

Turns out my kid has started reading my blog, and he needs more pictures.  Here you go kid.

Help me with Wheel/Tire Combo Selection for CX

I've got a conundrum.  I'll keep it short and sweet.

I've got 3 Wheelsets for CX.  I've got 3 Tires to be glued up.  What tires should go on what wheels given the following observations.

• The races around here seem very grassy
• There didn't seem to be a ton of muddy races, maybe 1 in 10
• I weigh 152ish on race day
• I liked running low pressures last year. 25-28 psi

Wheelset 1

Shimano XT 737 hubs laced to Sun Vista Cruiser box rims (tubular) with DT competition spokes. 32 hole. Probably the heaviest set, but not by all that much.  Raced every race on these last year.

Wheelset 2 

Easton EA70x.  24/28 Hole.  Weigh about 1650g total according to the 'tubes. Seem a lighter than the above but I'm too lazy to actually compare them on the scale without cassettes etc.  Slightly deeper profile on the rims, maybe another 10mm?

Wheelset 3

Affordable 50mm carbon tubulars. 1500g?  20/24 Hole.  No they won't have stickers.  Yes they're Neuvations.  

 

 

Tires. Challange Fango (Allround), Challange Grifo XS (Fast), Challange Limus (Mud)

 

So, what'll it be CX experts?  Let me know in the comments. I appreciate the help.

Feeling Flat

Yeah, this week's a writeoff.

Got the new/used bike.  The bottom bracket needs replacing.  I'm certain the bearings went in the first ride I took it on.  Could have happened any time. But try finding a god damn replacement part in Ontario. Fucking bikes.

Training has been lousy.  I haven't been able to get my heart rate up all week, after taking an easy week last week.

Hopefully a couple longish rides this weekend sort me out.

 

 

New CX Bike - 3rd Hand Affordability

Late last night I picked up a replacement ride for my stolen CX bike.  While I would have loved to get a new bike, or a new frame and fork to be built up, this opportunity presented itself.

This bike can only be described as a Good Deal.  The price I paid for it, with a full carbon frame and Dura-Ace 7800, and some tubeless ready wheels, was less than almost every other option I was looking at.

While it's well used, and a bit of an unusual setup, the pocketbook ruled. With some modifications it'll work out nicely for the next season or two.

One bike ordered, One to go

Well I've ordered my lovely wife a new ride.

I checked out a couple shops, on the sly, and no CX frames were to be found. And for those shops I didn't go to I checked them out online.

I still, for the love of Indurain, don't understand why bike shops need to have such terrible websites, but I digress.

We've ordered up a Neuvation cross bike, downgraded a smidge from the Rival build.  Basically it fulfilled the price, and fit criteria, as well as being reasonably available.

I'd like to add that the bike is assembled to order.  Being able to pick all the components after pondering the options is certainly useful.  Not having to pay MSRP to do a replacement is also good on the pocketbook.

Yes I'd have preferred to shop at the LBS, but they don't make it easy for me.  I don't have hours and hours to spend hunting for something specific in person.

I'm becoming increasingly frustrated in my own hunt, which I'll document a little later.  Basically my experiences in buying a bike have been reinforced.