Guerciotti is one of the most established names in European cyclocross. Over 50 years ago, Italo Guerciotti was a cyclist known for his tenacity in cyclocross, and opened a modest bicycle showroom and repair shop with his brother, Paolo, in Milan. Decades later, Guerciotti has a number of world championships and countless victories under its belt, including being the choice ride of two dominant cyclocross riders of the 1980’s: Roland Liboton and Vito Di Tano.
A few decades ago, Guerciotti sold one of the winning-est frames ever made, co-branding a bonded aluminum Alan frame that dominated in Europe and even National Champion Don Myrah piloted for many years and still raced when he returned to racing.
World Champ Daniele Pontoni piloted more modern aluminum Guerciotti bikes to countless victories, while Jonathan Page even spent a season racing Guerciotti bikes in Europe in 2003/2004 (when he was National Champion), before his Cervelo years.
If you were watching last week’s Women’s Elite race at Superprestige Gieten, you might have seen a familiar face making her presence felt in a green Kalas-NNOF kit. American rising superstar Elle Anderson rode to fifth place on a new bike for the season: none other than a carbon Guerciotti Lembeek Disc.
Guerciotti was an early European adopter of disc brakes when they released their Lembeek Disc before the 2013 season. © Emiel Van den Broeck.
Last year, as a CalGiant rider, Anderson rode a Specialized CruX Pro Race bike, which Cyclocross Magazine reviewed in Issue 23. We asked her what the most noticeable changes were from the two frames.
“With the Guerciotti cyclocross bike I feel that the bottom bracket is higher… and it handles great.”
Keeping in line with its European traditions, Guerciotti’s geometry retains the smaller bottom bracket drop from the center of the hubs to the center of the BB-shell, creating a higher center of gravity but better clearance for off-camber pedaling sections, corners and bunnyhopping. While even high bottom bracket brands like Ridley and Giant have recently lowered their bottom bracket height for their cyclocross models, there are still plenty of riders who feel that the demands of Old-World courses, with sand, loose dirt, and punch ascents and descents, call for the traditional geometry. And companies like Focus have decreased their bottom bracket drop (raising the bottom bracket) this year.
Anderson used a 42t chainring last weekend to propel her to 5th place, and uses a Quarq power meter during races and training. © Emiel Van den Broeck.
With the elevation changes in European races, we had to ask Anderson her thoughts on using a CX1 instead of a Red 22 drivetrain system, or any other kind of double-chainring setup.
“For Gieten, it was perfect with the 42 ring,” she replied. “There were many short and steep climbs so the gear ratio was optimal with the 11-32 cassette. Because there was so much sand, it was hard on the equipment and I could hear the sand in my gears for the second half of the race. The great thing about CX1 is it is so reliable even with some sand.”
Helen Wyman admitted to preferring the double up front for the world cup racing ahead. For those paying close attention to this weekend’s UCI-C1 weekend in the United States, you may have noticed that despite having one of the most extreme elevation changes on the USAC Pro CX Calender, Full Moon Vista’s Sunday course had its three podium men all riding SRAM’s CX1 system.
Anderson still rides with some familiar equipment from last year: notably SRAM and Zipp. © Emiel Van den Broeck.
In 2008, Guerciotti began invested heavily into the implementation of carbon fiber of their frames, and produced what they called No Limit Carbon Engineering in 2011, which dove into combining different materials to get the most out of a monocoque frame.
The Guerciotti Lembeek Disc has a few other advantages over the company’s other cyclocross models, including an oversized fork, internally routed cables, and electronic compatibility (as can be seen on the seat tube of Anderson’s bike in the photo of her crankarm above).
Although the fork doesn’t appear to have much room for mud clearance, Anderson said she was impressed by the build during Superprestige Gieten. © Emiel Van den Broeck.
We noticed a few other New-World goodies on Anderson’s ride we had to ask her about, including her Quarq power meter, which likely comes in handy as she works for Strava.
“I always use the Quarq on my training bike, because having the power data is important to analyze my volume during the week,” she told us. “This year, it’s a special treat to also have power available on my race bikes with the CX1 Quarq which is specially calibrated. More data is always better!”
Old World joins New: SRAM’s HydroR system is paired with a frame designed around traditional cyclocross geometry. © Emiel Van den Broeck.
Her race bike is also equipped with a few comforts of home, including Zipp 303 tubular disc wheels, and a Zipp Service Course seatpost, handlebar and stem. The setup is complete with the SRAM Force Hydraulic Brakeset, with 18mm pistons for 2014 and a total weight of 471g per wheel (which includes the lever, rotor, caliper and hose).
2014/15 will mark the second season Guerciotti has implemented SRAM’s hydraulic brakes on their cyclocross bikes. © Emiel Van den Broeck.
Guerciotti Lembeek Disc bikes are not the easiest to find in the United States, but for those wondering what Europeans spend on the full build with Shimano Ultegra Di2 with hydraulic brakes and 4za clincher wheels, you would be looking at the equivalent of just under $5,000.
Specifications:
Frame: Guerciotti Lembeek Disc
Brake Levers: SRAM Force HydroR w/ 11-speed right shifter
Cranks: 42t CX1 with calibrated Quarq
Calipers: SRAM Force Hydraulic Calipers
Pedals: Time ATAC
Wheels: Zipp 303 Firecrest
Tires: Challenge Griffo Tubular
Handlebars: Zipp Service Course SL-70
Stem: Zipp Service Course SL-70
More info:
