slowdad

Cyclocross Bike Options - Too much choice

  Since asking for opinions on cross bikes, I've received quite a few links and recommendations.  Via email, facebook, twitter, and here in the comments section.  I truly appreciate the insights and commentary.

Before I go on, I should say that I liked my previous frame, which was the 54cm version here. I was using a 6 deg 110mm stem, turned down for road riding, and up for cross.  The seat-post was very extended, the stem not quite slammed.  I felt ok on the hoods, but could have used handlebars with a bit less reach.  All in all I'm looking for a 55-56 cm effective top tube and at least 145mm HT.

So below are virtually all the frames/bikes that have been recommended.  There are loads of options, at least theoretically, and it's very difficult to sort out all the differences.  I'll do my best here to give an outline of what I've found on the web so far and I'll continue to post as I narrow down my decision.

So what are my criteria?  Here's how I am going to decide, in order of priority.

• Fit - Considering this is going to be THE ride for the foreseeable future, it's going to have to fit.  Pretty much a no compromise criteria.  I don't necessarily have to ride it first, but I'll be careful as much as I can.  I'm definitely not going less than 550mm top tube and 145 HT.
• Price - I'd like to say I'm a rich bastard, and have achieved my goal of being independently wealthy but that's not the case.  A few unexpected events have meant that I've got to stick to a budget.
• Value - Given the above, I'm deal hunting.  Considering the options out there I'm not going to pay list price.  Within my budget I'm going to find the best value, and then blog the hell out of it and make sure everyone knows. Maybe I'll find something on ebay.  Maybe I'll find someone who wants to have their logo tattooed on my blog, and my skinny legs.  I'm for sale, although I doubt anyone is buying.
• Components - I really, really liked the SRAM Rival I had recently put on the Scattante.  It's my preference to build up the bike with that, and with a compact crank so I can go between road and cross by changing the big ring.  Tektro CR720's are my brake of choice, and I'd love a carbon bar after having one.  Given these, my seat and wheel prefs, it's likely better if I get a frame and fork and go from there, but OEM bikes are good value after being built up so maybe I'll just do some swaps.
• Engagement - Ideally I'd like to buy this bike from a human.  Preferably someone who goes the extra mile to communicate. Surprisingly, not everyone in the service industry does that, so I'm not holding my breath.  A bike shop who spends 5 minutes with you is about as good as buying online.  I'll be sending out some emails about the options below and will see who actually responds.  I'll let you know how that goes.
• Availability - It obviously doesn't help if it's out of stock, or if I have to call bike store after bike store to see if they actually have any since they don't show stock levels online.  I went into a store the other day, and out of 300 bikes, they had 1 CX frame.  I can't wait months for a bike to come in.  I'd like to have a frame picked by end of June, and in my hands by the end of July.
• Looks - No pink, or florescent green, sorry Jeff.
• Weight - Lighter is a bit better.  I'm not out to win a world cup race but it'd be nice to have something that doesn't compare itself to an armoured vehicle.

My next steps are to gather a bit more data on the bikes below, and, where appropriate, send out some emails to see what can be done regarding my criteria above.  I'll be whittling down my options and then keeping my eyes open for opportunity.

Here's what I've got so far.

 

 
Stevens Carbon Team

This looks like a very sexy ride.  I first took notice when Vicky showed last years version off at CX nationals and promoted it on twitter.  I also saw some some nice shots last year of Katie Compton's bike.  I love women who ride CX.

The size 56 seems reasonable, although perhaps the headtube is a bit short.  It also seems to be on the pricey side, although a few people have recommended I look at it. I'd love to build this one up.

I've been told it's expensive but they occasionally show up at good prices.

 

Jamis SuperNova

The Jamis reminds me a bit of the Stevens.  The 56 size has a 560mm Top Tube and the proper headtube height so the fit seems like it's there.  It's aluminum so the price might be a bit better.

I have no idea where I could get this bike in Toronto.  The dealer search for Jamis is US only which is stupid.  I will hunt around however and see what I can find.  I really like the black and white paint and it's available as a frame/fork only.

    Giant TCX1

This was recommended in the comments below by @KFsportsjoey so +1 for engagement.  It's also built up with Rival albiet with a cross specific crank.  I need to figure out if that's the same as a compact BCD.  

As a complete build it seems no too overly priced so it's in the running from that perspective.  The geometry seems fairly "Compact" so I'm not sure which size I'd fit on.  The M or the M/L.

Cannondale SuperX

One of the Lapdogs had one of these last year.  A fine looking machine and it's been recommended a couple of times.  That or the CAAD X.  Both come in Rival builds that looked to be specced appropriately.  No idea on price here. But I don't think they'll fit in the budget.

The SuperX 54 looks like it might fit perfectly whereas the CAAD X looks somewhat more relaxed and maybe the 56 would be better there. It's hard to say.

Ridley X-Ride

The 56 X-Ride might be about right size wise.  I'd consider the fancier X-Fire as well but the X-Ride is likely better priced. Very classic looking if you ask me.  Again, no idea where to get this one at the moment.

Redline Conquest

The picture here is of the Redline Conquest Carbon.  The headtube seems too short for the TT length. I'm not sure what is going on there.  I need to do more research here but their website and dealer locater are crap.

Cutter CX Bike off BonkTown

This is the price winner for now. Something like $800 at random times online. That's less than most frames.  Now, at the time I saw it, they didn't have my size so that was a non-starter.  But this price would let me invest in some fancier wheels.

Marinoni Fango

This is interesting.  A great looking steel, or Ti bike. Even with regular wheels it'd look good.  I wonder how much these go for. They advertise a good Rival build and even have the option of ordering custom geometry and paint.  I'll definitely be looking into this closely.

It's got a shorter head tube but I really want to like this one.

Kona Jake the Snake

Frame and Fork are available online. The size 56 might be a good option.  You see a lot of these around so there's likely good value in them.

   Soma DoubleCross DC

Steel is real apparently.  I'd love to build this up with disk brakes.  The Frame seems a bit heavy obviously, and the head tube is very short but it's decent value and would last forever.  I tried to convince my wife this is what she wanted but she doesn't want steel.

Bianchi Cavaria

Who doesn't like Celeste?  This or the Zurigo would look great on the top of my car. Really great.  Unfortunately I think the Cavaria would bankrupt me and the Zurigo would be pricey for what you get. The geometry seems a bit too aggressive for me so it's probably out of the running.

The steel Bianchi next to me right now is weeping, begging to be put back on the road.

 

So that's what's been running through my head these past few days.  Next step is to fill in the damn insurance forms that have been sitting on my desk for 24 hours, after work of course.

If you've got comments or suggestions I'd love to hear 'em.

 

 

Looking for Recommendations - CX bikes

So the hunt is on.  Time to get a new or new used cx bike for both wife and I.  I'm looking for recommendations on models and or places to get some value for money.

My preference is to get a frame and fork, and build it up from there.  I like that option for two reasons.  First, if I built it, I know I can fix it.  Second, I don't have to deal with poorly speced parts put on a bike to keep build in more profit margin.

I get it.  Bike shops need to make money.  I just don't have as much as I'd like.  I will put out the call to the club shop and see if there are any options and give them a shot.

I'm thinking I'd like a carbon frame and fork, and can scrap together the extra dough for that.  I really liked the SRAM Rival on my previous bike, so I'd like to get a full groupset.

I'll put Rival or Apex on my wifes bike.  But she'll get aluminum.  Hopefully on a frame that is designed to fit a woman properly.  She'll use the bike for commuting, and hopefully for a CX race or two.

So, what are your value for money recommendations?  Know anybody that wants to sponsor this blog?  ;-) I'm cheap.

Leave your reccomendations in the comments and I'll check it out.

Send me links to used frames or parts on twitter.

Stolen Bikes - A New Beginning

Well it's gone.  I've patrolled the neighbourhood, called the cops, reported to the insurance company.  I doubt i'll see it again.

I'm sad.

This past Saturday my wife woke me up at 6am to tell me that the bikes were gone. My bike, hers, and my commuter.  It was very solemn. 

We found the commuter up the street, abandoned by the kids who stole it as the chain was off and it wasn't ridable. 

It's funny, I wasn't angry.  Just very sad.  The picture above is from that bikes first race, for me anyway, amost 2 years ago.  After replacing bits and pieces, getting it fit just right, getting comfortable, I had a relationship with it.

The same holds true for my wife's bike, that I don't have a picture of.  She liked the fit, the pedals, and her new seat. She liked having the panniers and lugging her crap up the hill to her work.

So now I've got to see if I can recreate the magic, with, again, a somewhat limited budget.  More surfing the web looking for reviews and looking at how much bang I can get for my buck.

At least I'll have something to blog about.

There's a few things I regret.

Not recording the serial numbers.  Stupid I know.

Not keeping ALL the reciepts.  Again, stupid

Not recording all the measurements of the bikes for fitting purposes.

Not keeping my bike in the basement, like I normally do, every night, except for last Friday night.

Ah, Bike Racing

 

Random Flickr Shot of the day

Zancanoto Steel #Bikeporn

via http://www.zanconato.com

I've been admiring this bike for a while now.  Take off the wheel decals and it'd be perfect.

But then, I've got a steel frame in the garage that's 20 years old that should get back on the road.

Great Video about always riding in bike lanes

via www.youtube.com

Review - Serfas Stinger RS

Recently, after a ride on one, I went ahead and purchased a Serfas Stinger RS from JensonUSA.com.  I really like it so will post this quick review for those people, and there are some, who visit this site and look at my gear reviews.

Previously I was riding on a Sella Italia with no specific branding on it. I think it was a Sella Italia XO model.  I had it on my road and cyclocross bike.

Not that it was a bad saddle.  I really liked the two I had for the first couple years of riding.  They had a bit of cushion on them, and with the shape and center cutout I had no issues... down there.

There was that, and it was affordable.  I got my second Sella Italia for $15.  A good deal for a saddle the fits.

Unfortunately, with the bumping and jostling of CX, the saddles both began to crack on the sides, up from the bottom, near the middle where the flex was the greatest.

Not wanting to break through the saddle mid-way through Paris to Ancaster, and having the seat grab my bits like a dog with a chew toy, I decided to check out some new saddles.

As well, over time, I began to get more and more soreness in my butt while riding, and tenderness in the tendons that join the upper hamstring. 

I tried the Fizik, or should I say, Fi'zi:k, Arione and Antares.  I wanted to like them, as they sponsor the club, but my perineum didn't like them, although they seemed like the right width.  I don't appreciate penile numbness.  Really.

After spending a few hours on those saddles, Tom loaned me a Stinger for a ride.  It felt pretty good.  Good enough that I ordered one.

For the sake of full disclosure, I must say that my sitbones are roughly 11-12 cm, or maybe 4.25 inches apart, center to center.  At Jenson they say the width is 13 cm, and it weighs in a 190g.  I'm pretty sure it's close to that, as I stuck it on the scale when it arrived just because, mainly, I opened the box in the kitchen.

It turns out that the cross sectional profile of this saddle is basically identical to the Sella Italia.  Perhaps I'll take a comparison picture later.  The real difference is that the Serfas has less padding, looks a bit nicer and is a bit narrower perhaps.  Oh, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than most other saddles out there.

This isn't some kind of revolutionary, unobtainium, super-pro, piece of kit.  Perhaps it's a knockoff, but to me it's good value and after having put 100+ hours on it I have no complaints.

For $80 MSRP it fits the budget.

 

 

Training - I'm doing it Wrong

This evening I finally made it through most of the Cyclist's Training Bible by Joe Friel.  That is to say, I skimmed it, progressivly reading less and less of each chapter until I was flipping back and forth just to make any sense of it at all.

It's good book. It better be considering how many people swear by it.

Last year, I was a committed Time Crunched devotee, following that plan prior to CX Season, and this spring before P2A.  It worked well for me, but I've got a bit more time than the 6-8 hours a week it calls for and have felt like it's missing something for me.

Reading through the CTB gave me a few insights that, I'm pretty sure, a couple people have been telling me for more than a few months.  Mainly:

• Super long rides are fine, but not tremendously valuable
• I suck at sprinting and small hills
• I have no power in the flats
• I suck at turning a big gear

Basically up until now I've been doing long rides.  The Time Crunched Plan of course includes lots of intervals, at and above threshold.  But, in hindsight, it doesn't prepare me very well for coming out of a corner and sprinting to the next one.  It does't help me turn a low rpm gear up a short bump like in the image above where, about 1 second later, I came to a complete stop.

So I've taken this to heart, and have re-planned out the rest of my year accordingly.  There are lots of long rides planned, but I'll be working on some of the things I suck at along the way. I'll even be doing the Time Crunched Plan, just modified to suit my skinny legs.

In doing so I'm super pumped about the upcoming CX season.  We'll see how it goes.

Long Weekend

This weekend I had the fortune of the weekend coming together to make it chock full of cycling.  The stars, moon, and my wife's plans all aligned for lots of riding and race watching.

This weekend I did two back to back long rides for a total of 242 km, and I even feel pretty good this morning.  Not like last weekend where my Sunday ride was not much more than spinning the legs for a couple of hours.

Admittedly, I wasn't going super hard for those 9 hours, and there are lots of other people who rode more, faster, and looked better doing it than I, but it's still a milestone of sorts.  I hope to get a couple more long weeks in over the next while to build some base for the coming cross season, and in July and August really start building the intensity.

At this point in the year, I'm only up on my training by about 30 hours over the same point last year.  Almost halfway through and at 178 hours or so. And to think that at one point, years and years ago, I planned on doing a 1000 hour year.  

The kids enjoyed watching the bike race, but, unfortunately they didn't get outside nearly as much as they should have.  I only have my selfish self to blame for that.  Next year they're planning to run/walk their first adult running race, probably a trail 5 km, so too much Wii is something to watch.

St Lawrence Criterium Toronto

The family and I went down to the St Lawrence Criterium in Toronto yesterday.  Fun times were had by all.  All except for my club-mate who snapped his carbon frame in half after being hit from behind by another rider.  

Crashes, cheering, and nice weather.  Kinda like Nascar without the rednecks.