Cyclists in general and cyclocrossers specifically are always looking for upgrades, either to increase speed, improve enjoyment or reduce maintenance. Coach Chris Mayhew and others have previously chimed in and helped with our popular three-bucket guidelines for making meaningful, affordable upgrades. Now for today’s Training Tuesday column, Mayhew is back to opine on how to spend your hard-earned money to get better and faster, not just with physical purchases but with expert services. Get started on your best cyclocross season with his tips below.
Cycling has gotten to be an expensive sport. Part of that is fashion and part of that is the technology involved in bikes today. It can be very hard to figure out where to spend money to maximize your performance and enjoyment of the sport. This column is a list of where I would prioritize spending your money for the best return, in approximate ordinal ranking.
Some caveats to this list: it's performance based. If you're racing to enjoy the scene and drink beer, that's rad. I'd be happy to coach you on the best bourbon for your money, just reach out. If you are just starting to race, don't spend any money at all except on racing fees and gas! You don't even know what you don't know. Spend a year just racing and traveling and after that you'll have a much better sense of what you want or need. But that first year, keep things as inexpensive as possible.
Mayhew's Guide to Spending Money on Cyclocross Upgrades:
Avoid the (Money) Pits
Where not to spend your money? Almost any high-end upgrade. Cyclocross is incredibly hard on parts. I forget where I read the quote but “cyclocross is the only sport where your equipment is expected to last half a lap.” Or, to quote John Verheul “two crappy bikes are faster than one nice bike.” Buy 105 and have an extra rear derailleur in the trunk of your car for emergencies. Don’t race things you can’t replace, because at some point you will end up replacing them, and much sooner than you would in other disciplines (besides mountain biking, perhaps).
We built up this bike of all-new parts for just over $500 and raced it without breaking a thing. © Cyclocross Magazine
This also applies to carbon anything in my mind. It can be fragile, is often expensive and doesn’t hold up well to minor crashes. The weight reduction is of minimal benefit and the aerodynamic gains of carbon wheels are immediately lost when you glue that 33c tire to them. If you’re on cantis then the braking power can be greatly reduced too, especially when wet. Essentially, in my opinion, there’s no advantage to carbon in ’cross and many drawbacks [It’s quite hard to avoid a carbon fork nowadays though -Ed.].
It’s true, as my wife succinctly put it, “It’s hard to show off your coach to your buddies.” There’s a flash factor in having all that new gear, and many high-end bikes come stock with carbon bits. But if you’re actually looking to go faster or lose weight, there are cheaper (or even free!) ways to accomplish that.
