Course pre-ride reports indicate that normal cross gearing is completely inappropriate. This sounds like the sort of terrain that we handle best here at BikeCX. For VT we tend to build up the cross bikes with gearing to handle the mountainous terrain and long distances of our gravel rides. Your hardtail mountain bike, preferably a 29er, would probably be a good choice for the Southern Cross. Throw on some fast rolling tires like the WTB Vulpine and some toasty wool socks and get ready to suffer.

I’ll be traveling down from VT for SX, attempting some sort of racing or at least making an attempt to keep hands and feet warm for that sort of distance. Hope to see some fans of BikeCX and Bike29 down there.

Luckily things are beginning to come together. Check this out:

Vassago Fisticuff

The third Fisti that we’ve built up. What we have is a singlespeed, moustache bared, canti braked, fat tired cross bike. The wheels are White Industries laced Mavic Open Pros, 2x front, 3x rear. The cranks are White Eno also. The tires (tubed no less) are 38c WTB Interwolfs, which is an awesome multi surface tire. King headset, Ritchey Pro stem and seatpost, Nitto moustache bars, Cane Creek brake levers and TRP carbon brakes. I just had to get my carbon fix in somehow…

hole shot

Pre-build shot. Next post - ride review.

As usual, I’m freaking out about details the night before.  How long have I been doing this?  How many races have I done?  The big issue here is twofold- the forecast is for an inch of rain and I’m not sure of my race-ready condition.  Considering the Verge NE series starts at my home course I need to be there to do it, even if I’m not as ready as I’d like.  I had been experimenting with a tubeless tire setup that failed miserably at my training race earlier this week so I’m back to good old clinchers with tubes.  So much for being high-tech with low rolling resistance. 

So the race bike is OK, but I can’t help but wonder if my single 42 up front is going to be low enough for the muddy uphill slogs that litter the course.  The second bike has a double of course, so worst case scenario I end up on that.  But it’s not as new and cool as my race bike with the swoopy 1.5” tapered head tube and doesn’t have a sweet white panel paintjob. 

What I’ve learned from 10 years of racing is that you should do as little mechanical work as possible the night before.  The all fastener check and some chain lube are about it.  Given that the gearing is pretty good and the tubes are holding air I should leave well enough alone.  The good news is that the wet weather will make it easier for a seasoned mountain biker like me to keep up with ultra fit roadies as they slip and slide around.  And lest I forget, it’s about having fun and all about finding that place where I’m pushing for my best and living in the moment.  My problem is that I’ve defined fun in very narrow cycling specific-terms.  Somehow the pure love of the sport gets lost for me in competition. 

The other great thing about racing for 10 years is having plenty of spare sets of toe spikes kicking around.  I’ll probably need them when I’m running up the muddy hills pushing my over-geared single ring race bike. 

M2

Got to the shop, cue the sad music. It had been a busy day of shipping out orders and my new bike was sitting in the stand with cables everywhere, no chain, no hope of getting it ready to ride in 15 minutes.

So last night i stood by and watched again. There were a few more newbies there last night and everyone looked to be suffering together in good form. Eric set up the second course, so it was different from last week. It included some tricky little twisty bits, a jaunt into the woods and some fun with logs.

Sorry no photos from last night, I was too busy lamenting my inability to ride. Next week should be interesting. George is off to Las Vegas for interbike so that leaves Zach and I to watch over the shop. If I can get a babysitter - next week I’ll be racing too.

9/10 Catamount Cyclocross Race start

Approximately 50 racers lined up for the start. The course, which will be one on the Green Mountain Cyclocross weekend, was a little longer than normal. Everything was super dry and running fast and smooth. This section had a couple  of barriers followed by a steep hill that most were running. I had the kiddo and we didn’t walk the entire course - but will try to check all of it out next week.

Racers by Camels Hump

There was a great vibe going on, lots of friendly banter and just overall enthusiasm for the start of our local cross season. We’ll be at all five of these Wednesday night races with our tools and a couple of fun bikes for folks to check out before and after.

It is however a pretty serious machine, bred for the rigors of ‘cross racing. The frame features a redesigned front end, using a 1.5″ lower bearing for increased strength, stiffness and lighter weight, and the regular old 1,1/8″ top bearing.  This radical idea is pretty new, but it is finding its way  on more and more bikes these days, mostly on road, but also mountain too. The tapered carbon steerer tube still allows you to use your favorite stem. The Gin & Trombones is the first CX bike to feature this new set up. The new and improved fork has a ton of mud clearance, and you can actually remove the front wheel with ease - something the previous model lacked adequate clearance for.

The carbon seatstay remains, as does the top mounted rear brake and rear derailleur cable routing. Shouldering the bike is easy and comfortable. The front shift cable runs along the down tube.

$999 gets you a classy pearl white frame with black panels, or black frame with pearl white panels. in even sizes from 50-60cm. Carbon steerer tubed fork and headset are included.

Look for a detailed ride review coming soon.

Here is one of the first custom builds to roll out of the shop. It is the new Soma Double Cross, featuring a rear disc brake mount. Even though the all powerful UCI does not recognize disc brakes for “legal” race use, they sure are handy to have, especially if you are riding in inclement weather, or have the bike loaded down for bear.

Not everyone wants a race hotrod, some folks need a bike that can wear many hats, and this is the perfect rig for it. Soma has done a good job of designing a do-it-all frame that not only races if you want to, but can also bring home the beer (or groceries), or even be set up as a commuter. The frame is a time tested Tange Prestige tubeset that replaces the slightly more expensive Reynolds 631. The price of the frame comes down, and you still get the buttery smooth ride of premium steel.

With this build we tried to accomplish a couple of goals, not cut any corners, attain maximum versatility, balance tech with comfort, and keep the price somewhat reasonable. We were able to do this by using the 08 SRAM Rival group, which gets a cosmetic face lift for 09 and is on closeout. The functionality of the group remains the same however, and this was the biggest savings on the overall cost of the bike. Keeping things versatile, we opted for a compact drivetrain, 34-50 up front with an 11-27t cassette.

The brakes are the new Avid Shorty 4s, which have an all new construction that so far has proven to be a huge improvement over the old design. The old ones would howl something fierce, and there would be very little you could do to keep them quiet. The new design has plenty of power and tons of mud clearance.

New Shorty 4's

The wheels are the economical Bontrager Race, with Michelin Cyclocross Jet tires. While not the best tires for muddy race courses, they are perfect for riding on mixed surfaces. The rest of the build is rounded out with Ritchey Comp components (including carbon fork), super comfy Cinelli gel cork tape and a Brooks B-17 saddle that should provide a lifetime of service.

Although I have a great new basement (i.e. man zone) at our new house, everything is still in boxes and even the most basic mechanical work is a hassle. In a few short weeks things will calm down again and the whirlwind will be over- the house will be settled, the wedding will be over and we’ll be back from our 2 week honeymoon in Hawaii. These are all good things yet I find a small part of myself feeling like I’ve somehow let too much of life get in the way of cycling. Anyone with a job, significant other and a serious passion for their sport can relate. It’s been a difficult balance to keep it all going as I care deeply about all three of those things. In the long run, a chunk of one cycling season traded to be the solid foundation of being a good partner is a no-brainer if you want to actually stay married. I love my future wife, I’m very excited about our house and the Hawaiian honeymoon is really going to kick ass. Still, I know the potential effects of the stress and not riding and am not looking forward to the frustration of trying to build form after such a situation.

This is the part where I can’t tell if I have a good plan or a bad one. My grand hope is that I can get all of this stuff done before ‘cross season so that I will have my ducks in a row when I get back from Hawaii in mid-September and start training. More than any other discipline, cyclocross is my favorite. Since my first ‘cross race almost ten years ago I’ve been hooked. At first it was cool because I could take it less seriously than summertime races. Now it’s become more important than summer races and I consider myself a cyclocrosser first, and everything else second.

But enough about the why of ‘cross, this post is about the how of ‘cross. Specifically how am I going to get it together this ‘cross season and get some results that I can feel good about? The super-fit roadies/fair-weather ‘crossers usually smoke me until mid-October, but I want to be ready to turn the tables once their fitness starts to wane.

This season has been somewhat of a washout. I never did get to any road races, and my limited mountain bike outings were hit-and-miss. I had some great days in the saddle, but have also really struggled at times. On top of that, the weather has been terrible and I’ve been distracted. All of the books I’ve read about cycling performance don’t expressly say not to search for a house, get married and sell your car at the same time, but it must be somehow implied. My hope is getting it all out of the way will make for a better fall season. If it doesn’t, please don’t burst my bubble. If it doesn’t work out this year there’s always next October.

M2

Redline Conquest

We’re really doing it. BikeCX is here and we’re addicted.

An overview so you know who we are. BikeCX is part of Five Hills Bikes in Waterbury Center, VT. At our core is a community bike shop, dedicated to having fun on two wheels. We’ve been really focused on 29ers over the past few years - establishing ourselves with Bike29.com to bring 29ers to the world.

It’s been a blast so far. We’ve met people who’ve traveled from far and wide to check out our bikes and wheels. Now, we’re geared up to do the same with cyclocross.

Cyclocross bikes are perfect for VT and we want to help grow the whole cross scene in New England. Not just racing, cross bikes make great all-purpose bikes here where roads are just as likely to be dirt as they are paved. Cross is a great way for us to extend the season, perfect for commuting in not so perfect conditions.

cross bikes in the shop

Watch this space as we roll out the new bikes and frames, review tires and components, report on races and events. We have some great contributors who are totally amped on our new efforts and I can’t wait to see how this all comes together.

Mandy