Some Off Season Reviews: CX Bike Edition

Now that winter is here and we are battening down the hatches for another Snowball Earth, Im going to review X (where X = how much snow we get divided by how much trainer time I cant blow off) products I have used, borrowed, broken or have otherwise had experience with this season.

CX Equipment review, bike:

Bike: CruX Comp, 54cm. Retail: 1750

I bought my new cross bike as a complete setup with the intention of replacing most of the parts, but I rode it for a bit as it came.

Frame: Awesome. Almost flawless - the one (very minor) issue is the weight. She isnt quite "fat girl at Tim Hortons" territory, but could probably lay off the ho-hos and go for a run. The handling, however, more than makes up for it. Combined with a decent, no-frills paint job, bulletproof construction and a solid effort at trying to make the carpet match the curtains - 9/10.

Part spec: A little underwhelming, actually. Other companies have bikes spec'd with Rival at this price point, though the Apex performed adequately. The Roval wheels, while heavy, are apparently indestructable. I regularly take this bike on mountain bike rides (with people on mountain bikes), bunnyhop barricades like I was J-Pows retarded younger brother and crash like its my job. I have yet to need to true either wheel. 7/10

Brakes: Front - passable, but not exceptional. Rear - Dreadful (indeed, it is the dreaded Tektro Oryx of Infinite Malajustment). However, that magic brake finger attached to the fork COMPLETELY eliminates chatter and is a definite improvement to any set of cantis. - 4/10 (2 of those points for the magic brake finger)

Drivetrain: Like I said, I was initially underwhelmed by the appearance of an Apex group on a bike approaching 2000 dollars, but i have to say the shifters performed well. I was puzzled by the long cage rear derailleur and seemingly endless gear selection through the cassette - this is a cross bike, a cross RACING bike - no one needs a 34/36 gear combination. Specialized has a bike line that would merit such a range, and its called the Tricross. Fixing the gear selection issue would add up to 150 dollars to the cost, when a simple 105 level 12-25 cassette and short cage rear mech should have been factored into the initial price of the bike. The FSA Gossamer crank is apparently THE entry level BB30 crank - its fine, just (like so much else on this bike) kind of heavy. Also, the rings were kind of cheap. - 6/10

Other bits: I like the handlebar. With a shallow drop and short throw, it is a marked improvement over my old Control Tech bars I tossed on my CAAD9 last season. The seatpost, saddle and stem were all decent. - 8/10

Overall value: This bike rides better than the sum of its parts, largely due to how well the frame is designed. Everything works together well - even that goofy dinner plate 34 tooth ride-the-run-up big cog. It tracks flawlessly, turns with confidence and suits my riding style (which I think is somewhere between "angry retard" and "excited monkey"). - 8/10

RACE SETUP: And now, the bike I spent almost all season on.

Frame: CruX (seriously guys, we GET that its a CX bike. Drop the capS) alloy. -(9/10)

Cranks: Last years FSA SLKs, 46/36. Light and stiff, my only gripe was the fact that the bearings kept failing after last years slopfest. This year: no issues. Other than that, Unnoticeable. Which is what I like. - 9/10

Slightly-used.

Shifters: SRAM Force from last year. Except for lever damage sustained through extensive Hopengartening, I have been happy with these. My only issue is a weird front ring mis-shift that is as intermittant as it is infuriating, though I cant say if that is a shifter issue or some kind of actual curse. - 8/10

Shopengarten'd

Brakes: Avid Shorty Ultimates. Best. Brakes. Ever. Those 2 hours I spent filing down the brake bosses were totally worth it. - 10/10

Shiny-ish

Wheels: Last years Mavic Ksyrium SL tubulars. Some people love 'em, some hate 'em. Two seasons of abuse and lack of maintenance in, and I think its the best wheelset I have ever owned. Not only do they work well in almost any conditions, the support you can get at races is second to none - my freehub was a little sticky at Gloucester and those guys completely took it apart, cleaned and rebuilt it for free. Honestly, if that is the kind of service you get when you buy one of their products, sign me up for a replacement pair next year. - 9/10

Satisfactory.

Tires: Challenge Grifo 32mm. Awful in almost every way. Ok, that was a bit harsh - they ride fine, handle well in most conditions - but holy crap are they shoddily made. Both of my tires arrived unable to hold air (flat in hours from full inflation). 3 weeks and 2 cans of pit stop later, I notice that the tread is pulling free from the tire. Awesome. Glue it back on. A week and a half later, 2 laps in at DECX and my front tire goes flat. Thinking it was a pinch, I filled it with pit stop after the race. Nothing. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the valve stem just spun freely in the tire. Fail. - 3/10.

Peely.

Pedals: Shimano XT. I have been riding Time ATACs for years, and they are expensive. The XTs work about as well and are half the cost. Plus, you can more easily dial in your cleat postion (and those cleats are a little cheaper). Done. - 9/10

You dont really need a picture of SPD pedals, do you...


All in all, a great bike. The one great failure were the tires - a mistake I will not make again next year. The lesson: buy cheap shit and you will end up spending more that you would have if you just paid a bit more for higher quality. Lesson learned.

OHILTRAB...part deux!

I'll finish updating one day...

NBX Review - Make way for the heat cannon!
By this point I was feeling pretty beat up and was relieved to have made it to the final Verge race weekend. I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to live up to the previous weekend's success @ Sterling, but I was also psyched that it was the LAST WEEKEND EVER that I'd have to struggle to get a ride to an early race. Colin Reuter of crossresults.com generously stepped up on Saturday to get me to my race since he was headed there early anyway, which was awesome. I thought we had a really nice heart-to-heart on the way there, but apparently he just thought I talked a lot. Oops.

So I get there, and oh yeah. Who wouldn't want to go to a race on the waterfront the first weekend in December? Brr. Luckily, registration and other fun stuff was indoors with these glorious propane-fueled heat cannons of love, so that part was at least warm! I get my # and head out on the course. Rooty, pretty fast and fun. There's a ride-up that's totally rideable but I was worried how it would pan out in traffic. I practiced a few different lines just in case right before staging, and nearly missed my spot again. Go me. I pull up behind a crowd of spectators, cub juniors, and women to hear Mr. Reuter announcing, "...and the last spot in the front row is Lauren Kling." What?! Hell yes! I somehow parted the sea of people and made it to my FRONT ROW VERGE START. And then remembered I was still wearing my jeans, and that I ought to take them off. Iamsopro.

The start is paved and uphill and we take off. Dana Prey of the crossresults.com team is off for the hole shot, and I make sure to stay on her wheel as series leader Emma White is there too. I forgot how soon the turn onto grass came up and nearly swung too wide. Good thing I wasn't leading! It was fast, there was some sand running, and there was definitely some wind. Emma, Cathy Sarvary of Blue Steel, and Kate Lysakowski of Bike Barn got off of the front a little bit and I ended up sliding back a few spots to about sixth due to misfortune and sadness every time I went up the ride-up in a crowd like I had feared. Feet were going down in front of me and I missed it on two laps in a row, which meant that I was chasing a lot. I clawed my way back to the front of the two women I had been riding around and, as I passed by the pit, I hear Colin shout at me to open it up "and not just drag them around!" This seemed like reasonable advice, so I took it and started trying to put down watts or burn some matches or whatever it is you're supposed to do. I ended up riding by myself for a bit, pushed it as hard as I could, made it up the ride-up incident free for the remaining laps and, although unable to catch the leaders, came in third behind Kate and Emma. I was psyched.


Day 2 was a similar course, more sand and still lots of cold, wind, turns and roots. I got a ride to the race with Dan of Threshold, if it weren't for him I would have missed the second day! Thanks, Dan. In the attempt to not be a total chatterbox I ended up falling asleep instead. No wonder it's so difficult for me to find rides! I'm at least 75% sure that I did not drool on myself while sleeping, though. I got there EARLY, before reg even opened up. I missed your warm embrace, heat cannon. As I was forced to ride to stay warm I got lots of pre-riding in. I also made it to my start on time. Just barely, though. Nick and Roger of Newbury Comics witnessed an embarrassing display as I realized shortly before my race that I had to use the portapotty and didn't want to NoHo another start. I tried to take my jacket off, which got stuck on my gloves that were still on, and as they walked by I was stepping on my jacket and tugging with all of my might to free myself. Again. Sopro. Anyway, Nick collected the layers I didn't need while I rushed into the bathroom and then ran to the start, where I had moved to a mid-row position!

I was at the front again after the hole shot, but I had opted to not really sleep at all the night before and I was HURTING. There was some back and forth but Kate got away and I thought I had a comfortable gap over 3rd/4th so I was just trying to maintain that. Cary Fridrich of Embrocation kept yelling at me to not settle and go for the win, etc etc. Damn him. Me and my sad legs were clinging onto second for dear life and he's telling me to go harder?! I tried to rally but I was exhausted and getting bogged down in turns and really just was happy to stay where I was instead of sliding back. On the last lap I took what was maybe my first ever beer feed, which I didn't know what to do with, and came in second. Whee!
Then I took my tired self and hung out by my precious heat cannon for most of the rest of the day and was relieved to be done with full race weekends.

Ice Weasels Review - Payouts and flyovers and cupcake feeds!!!
My parents decided that they needed to see what all the cyclocross hype was about, and fast since the season was rapidly coming to a close. They're awesome and instead of spending the weekend hanging lights and doing other things that needed to get done around the house in South Jersey, they headed up to Boston for the debauchery that Ice Weasels promised to be. I spent Friday smashing things at the race venue (aka helping to put stakes in the frozen ground). I was powered by doughnuts that Chip of Hup provided and hyperactivity due to a lack of sleep after spending the night watching Russian vampire movies and making a bazillion cupcakes for Tasha of Pedal Power Photography's photo exhibit. I was very excited! Also, I witnessed the raising of the flyover by the Goguen clan, which was impressive and I got the virgin ride on the new, stair-free configuration. Then, after the course was set and the sugar high started to wear off, I went back to Boston for a lovely dinner with my parents.

Saturday I was racing in the 1/2/3's and had a gloriously late start. I needed it, because by the time I got myself together, my parents together, my dog together, and dealt with the fact that my 6'1" bearded dad scared the piss out of my dog (all over the kitchen) and then the dog stepped in my bowl of oatmeal while being loaded into the car, I had used up all the spare time I had. Ugh. We got there mid-single speed race and I realized what a wonderfully balmy day it was! I stripped down to my bibs and jersey, cheered the ss race, pinned my #, got a few pre-ride laps in, and was ready to go!

The course was a blast. Dana went for the hole shot again before taking a beer feed or two and then retiring. She told me this was her plan, beer in hand, at the start line. She succeeded. After she came off the front a little, Cathy Sterling of Bikeman.com peeled off the front and was never really seen again. I raced with Hope Strode of Wheelworks all race, making sure to stay ahead of her because I was turning like crap and I knew she'd be faster than me in the tape maze if I let her get ahead. Greg and Hopengarten were great announcers and made my parents very flattered to receive a shout out for trekking up to watch me race. Mid-race I thought I could leave Hope on the power sections and was trying hard to open a gap and break her a little bit. Then she suddenly launched an attack and I realized I was very very wrong. I kept trying to ditch her on the long flats with no luck, and on the start of the last lap she got around me on a gravelly turn before the barriers by taking the inside line when I slid out a little. Crap! She started to get away from me in the turns and I tried to will myself turning being smoother while the gap was growing. As we hit the straightaway under the flyover I stood up and hauled. I caught up to her by the left turn around the field, and as we made another immediate left along the pine trees we were coming up on a lapped rider. Bigger crap! I stayed on Hope's wheel and the minute I came alongside the lapped rider I let her know I was coming over and shot between the two of them, pulling ahead of Hope again. We hit the bumpy off-camber section pretty much immediately after I made that move, so I was relieved and tried to just not mess up any turns for the rest of the race. We came up the run up in the back and it was a fairly straight shot to the finish, so I stood up and sprinted to take second place. I would have a really good shot of this finish, but apparently my teammate Mike jumped in front of my mom and her camera right as I was approaching in his excitement. Now I just have a really good shot of Mike's arm, but as he was still dressed then it's at least evidence that he wore clothing at some point during the day. I ended up second and in the payout, which was super exciting. My parents loved the race, the kegs, the cupcakes, and the ridiculousness and are already planning to come up for Gloucester next year. NECX, thanks for making my parents feel welcome!