Loading ...New Product Spotlight: Ellsworth Roots Cyclocross Frame and Fork
June 17th, 2008 Filed Under cyclocross technology, new products
As manufacturers start to shift their focus to the cyclocross season, we’ve been getting a bunch of new product in for review. One item that we’re about to test is the Ellsworth Roots ‘cross frame. Ellsworth is known mostly as a mountain bike company, but it has had a ‘cross frame since the mid-90’s, well before most manufacturers hopped on the bandwagon. That version of the Roots was a very unique $2200 TIG-welded purple-anodized aluminum, Sachs New Success Ergolever-equipped and Rock Shox Paris Roubaix steered ride that showed off the company’s mountain bike “roots.”
After a seven year hiatus, Ellsworth re-introduced their Roots model last Interbike, and we’ve received a production model to ride.
The version of the frame is also TIG welded aluminum, but with a classy [More…]
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The Disc Brake Debate
June 2nd, 2008 Filed Under cyclocross technology, editorial
Our own Josh Patterson has been testing a disc brake equipped Salsa La Cruz, and so disc brakes have been on his mind. And while the brakes that now dominate the mountain bike market are banned from UCI cyclocross events, he weighs in on the future of the brakes in our beloved sport:
Disc brakes banned from cross? Well kinda. Depends on who you are and the sanctioning body under which you race.
Discussions of the pros and cons of disc brakes generally ignite heated debates among members of the cyclocross community
Many of the reasons given for not using disc brakes - weight penalty, overkill for road and cyclocross racing - have less to do with using disc brakes than using brakes designed for mountain bikes.
There’s no way around it, discs will always weigh more than canti’s. But they don’t have to weigh as much as they do now. When it comes to using disc brakes with road levers there’s very little selection. Last time I checked the number of mechanical disc brakes designed for use with road levers was two: the road version of the venerable Avid BB-7 and Tektro’s Lyra.
Per wheel the road BB-7’s weigh in at 361 grams. The Lyra has a published weight of 148 grams per wheel. These weights include caliper, rotor and mounting hardware. The Lyra is sign of things to come; 140mm rotors instead of the traditional 160mm sizing reduce weight as well as stopping power. The reduction in braking power is not necessarily [More…]
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Oregon Manifest Weekend Announced - Hand-Made Bikes, Cyclocross, and Culture
May 23rd, 2008 Filed Under Industry, cyclocross news, cyclocross technology
It seems like NAHMBS was just a few weeks ago, but the bike-crazy folks in Portland just can’t get enough. Perhaps already bumming that NAHMBS is moving to Indianapolis next year, the community has created the Oregon Manifest, a new hand-made bike show scheduled for October 10-12th. The boutique-bike show will be run in conjunction with a Cross Crusade race the same weekend, and the two events are teaming up to plan a weekend filled with bike love. Hand-made bikes and cyclocross? Sounds like a great time.
Read more about it below:
Set within the heart of Portland’s legendary cyclocross scene, OREGON MANIFEST will feature an unconquerable mix of custom framebuilders, bike-centric vendors, bike culture squads, and a Sunday cross race to bring home the glory. Oregon Manifest is the collective vision of Portland, Oregon’s cycling and creative communities coming together to dream up and develop the most original, spirited, and spectacle-laden boutique bike show in the nation.
This is no mere bike show. [More…]
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Notubes.com to Offer Raven Tubeless Cyclocross Tire
May 21st, 2008 Filed Under cyclocross news, cyclocross technology
Not many folks are running tubeless for ‘cross yet. Our recent poll indicated only 4% of our readers are racing with tubeless setups, with the majority (55%) of folks running clinchers. Stan over at NoTubes.com is hoping to convert more ‘cross racers to tubeless, and offers a 29er rim, conversion rim strips, rim tape, and valve stems to provide ‘cross racers multiple options to try tubeless, either through converting existing clincher wheelsets or using his rims or wheels. While our upcoming Issue 3 will look at these options in-depth, we’ve just received a new product that Stan will be adding to his product list: The Raven cyclocross tire.
We got our hands on a nearly-final prototype pictured above/left. The tire offers a downsized, modified version of their Crow 29er tire tread, with the same low-profile center knobs, but taller, squared off shoulder knobs sandwiching a file tread. When inflated on the Stan’s rim, which is a about 4mm wider than a typical road rim, the tire has a pretty square profile as pictured. The theory is with the lower pressures [More…]
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How much is an old cyclocross tire worth?
May 14th, 2008 Filed Under cyclocross technology, editorial
How much would you pay for a tire over five years old?? The original green Michelin Mud cyclocross tires will always have a fond place in our hearts here at CXM. A slightly more open design than the Mud 2 but with a more fragile sidewall (especially the original tan sidewalled ones), the tire was wide, comfortable, shed mud very well and was good enough for pros like Tim Johnson. They were THE clincher to race on. But perhaps best of all, they were a loud green.
Well, since they stopped making them about six years ago, we’ve collected our share over the years at swaps, and it seems like we’re not alone in our affection for the green tire. We spied this eBay auction for ONE NOS Michelin Mud Cyclocross tire that ends Thursday afternoon and it’s already at $53.00 plus $6.00 shipping. Any guesses what it’ll go for? Drop a comment below. We’ve seen USED pairs sell for $90+. [Update: it sold for $66, but as of 5/19, there is a new one listed here]
Thankfully, as our upcoming tires tests in Issue 3 will show, there are a lot of good clincher tire options out there nowadays…just nothing in green. Have a favorite tire? Tell folks about it over in Cyclocross Magazine’s Pits.
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Sea Otter Has Cyclocross!
April 19th, 2008 Filed Under Industry, cyclocross technology, photography
Well, the event, despite offering almost every type of cycling event, does not have an official cyclocross event. But there’s no shortage of ‘cross love and eye-candy at the event, with numerous vendors at its festival, and ‘cross riders everywhere disguised by their off-season road and mountain bike vehicles.
Cyclocross Magazine, continuing it’s tradition of bringing you the latest in cyclocross gear (see our past Interbike and NAHMBS reports), scoped out all the new ‘cross stuff companies have been working on for this season. Check out our gallery below or watch it as a slideshow. [More…]
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Manufacturer Recalls - ‘Crossers Beware
April 1st, 2008 Filed Under Industry, cyclocross news, cyclocross technology
Note: This was one of three April Fools stories, posted on April 1, 2008. Alan and Guerciotti make fine ‘cross bikes and have not recalled any of them.
Following last month’s recall of cyclocross cranksets by Ritchey Design, cycloross racers have more reason to be careful of what they ride. Alan bicycles and Guerciotti have recalled their “glued and screwed” cyclocross framesets. The recall however only applies to frames made prior to 1992, and is not expected to impact many serious cyclocross racers. The recall is due to the older frame’s tendency to inadvertently upshift several cogs during any hard effort. Guerciotti president Paolo Guerciotti says the blame really is with Alan. “They built the bonded aluminum frames for us for years,” he explains. “They promised us they’d last for at least two seasons of racing before getting really soft. I knew they’d get soft after a little use, but not soft like a wet noodle. Upshifting by simply standing [More…]
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Trade In Your Dirty Bike for a Euro Bike, Take Our Poll
March 7th, 2008 Filed Under cyclocross technology
Well, based on our last poll, it seems like over half of you haven’t bothered to clean and lube your ‘cross bikes since the season ended, let alone overhaul them. Does that mean you’re gonna pass on that crusty heap to some unlucky buyer via craigslist or ebay, and get yourself something new? Maybe now’s the perfect time to do just that. Thanks to Mark Legg, from one of his many Euro trips, we’ve got some photos of a few dreamy Euro cyclocross bikes seldom seen here in the U.S. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill Ridleys. Perhaps it’s time to be the first in your area to own one of these babies?
Johan Museeuw probably wished for a cyclocross bike while riding the Belgian cobbles. So after retiring, he built himself one.
Willier has some fancy, superlight road bikes. They've got a 'cross bike too, but it's rare in the U.S.
Kuota Kross, in all Karbon. Kool. Looks really light, and really expensive.
After wiping off that drool, why not take our new poll. Remember that Issue 1? Tell us what you liked best about it.
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CX Highlights from the North American Handmade Bicycle Show
February 9th, 2008 Filed Under cyclocross news, cyclocross technology
CXM correspondent Brooke Hoyer combed the 5th annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHMBS) in Portland Oregon to find the latest ‘cross offerings from our continent’s best builders. His initial report is below. We’ll have expanded coverage in our print mag.
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I spent a good chunk of the day on Friday ogling the eye candy and the 2008 North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show at the Portland Oregon Convention Center. In it’s fifth year, the show hosts a who’s who of custom bicycle builders. As a dedicated bike geek, I was overwhelmed but the sheer volume of beautiful bicycles. Since I was visiting the show on the press and industry day as a representative of Cyclocross Magazine, I did my best to stick to the script — check out the cross bikes.
Cyclocross’ growing popularity is evident in the show offerings with more than twenty builders bringing a cross bike to the show. The show didn’t offer anything as exciting as Vanilla’s Speedvagen from last year’s event in San Jose, but there were some very interesting new entries to the custom market. The two that stuck out were Courage Cycles based in Portland, OR and Triple-3 Fab from Seattle, WA. Courage offers well thought out steel bikes with very cool custom made dropouts and Triple-3 Fab combines high-end steel or titanium with carbon rears to deliver light and responsive bikes.
Speedvagen was back at the show this year. Sacha White of Vanilla and Mike DeSalvo are again combining their talents to deliver 30 cyclocross Speedvagens to excited buyers for 2008. The big news is that Speedvagen will also deliver 15 road bikes as well. Richard Sachs had a huge booth that featured one of his Sachs team cross bikes as well as a host of Sachs lugs, clothing, and merchandise. Oh yeah, and a bunch of totally free “atmo” (according to my opinion) buttons. I snagged a handful. Paul Sadoff of Rock Lobster was under the weather but still in good spirits and talked enthusiatically about his history with cross.
Richard Sach's distinctive lugs and red/white paint.
Courage has a neat seat tube badge and clean cable routing
Just your standard-issue Portland 'cross bike - Sacha White's coveted Vanilla
Rock Lobster builds some superlight Scandium racers, in addition to his steel and aluminum offerings
333 fab is a new comer to the market, from Seattle, with steel and ti creations, and carbon options.
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Beloved Bike Expert Sheldon Brown Passes
February 5th, 2008 Filed Under cyclocross news, cyclocross technology
Sheldon Brown, the world-renowned resource for all things bike-related, passed away on Sunday night. He was 63. Brown authored the highly popular website http://sheldonbrown.com, was the tech guru of Harris Cyclery in greater Boston, and often helped out many cyclists via helpful answers to tech questions on message boards. Brown touched many ‘crossers lives, via his vast knowledge and articles on topics such as cantilever brake setup, gear ratios, and wheel building, and also by supplying hard-to-find parts for the garage ‘cross project. He was truly passionate about all things bikes, and always had the biggest smile at bike swaps.
We’ll miss you Sheldon!
If you wish, drop a comment below, and we’ll pass it along to his family.
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