Back in April, Cyclocross Magazine caught a first glimpse of the new Kona Major Jake at Sea Otter and in August, we traveled to Squamish, British Columbia for the unveiling of Kona's 2018 cyclocross line.
Since seeing the new Super Jake up north, we have been waiting for cyclocross season to see them in action on the ’cross courses of the U.S and Europe under the power of Kerry Werner and Helen Wyman.
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Last month, we looked at Kerry Werner's 2018 Super Jake at the Trek CX Cup in Waterloo. Werner was riding the new 2018 Super Jake frame with the stand-out black, pink and turquoise color scheme, but it featured several modifications worth pointing out.
Kerry Werner's 2017 World Cup Waterloo Kona Super Jake. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine
Late summer cyclocross bike releases can create a tight schedule with start of the season in early September. In the case of Werner's Kona, the schedule for the production of the front fork did not meet the beginning of the ’cross season, so Werner swapped in an after-market TRP carbon CX fork.
Because Werner needed his bike for the start of the cyclocross season, he was running an after-market TRP carbon fork in Waterloo. Werner said he will be switching to the Kona fork soon. Kerry Werner's 2017 World Cup Waterloo Kona Super Jake. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine
Werner is running the new Shimano Dura-Ace groupset, but the TRP fork is post-mount, so he had to adapt by using a post-mount Shimano XTR hydraulic disc brake in the front.
The front brake is a post-mount Shimano XTR hydraulic disc with a 160mm Shimano SLR disc rotor. Kerry Werner's 2017 World Cup Waterloo Kona Super Jake. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine
The new Dura-Ace groupset is geared toward road use and does not have production-level cyclocross gearing for front chain rings. Werner is riding a double up front this season, and similar to what we saw with the Telenet Fidea Trek Boones, he needs custom-made 46/36t rings for the Dura-Ace crankset.
When we saw Werner's bike in Waterloo, he was running an Ultegra crankset with the 46/36t chain rings because his custom Dura-Ace rings were not in yet. We checked in with Werner this week, and he said he has now switched to the new Dura-Ace crankset.
At Waterloo, Werner was using an Ultegra crankset because it has 46/36t chain rings available. He has since switched to a Dura-Ace crankset with custom chain rings. Kerry Werner's 2017 World Cup Waterloo Kona Super Jake. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine
Werner was sponsored by Clement in recent years while the rest of Kona Endurance Team ran Maxxis tires. The Clement brand was discontinued shortly before the start of the ’cross season, thus creating a period of time where athletes still have Clement-branded tires while waiting for the new Donnelly-branded tires to be available.
Werner and his team solved this problem by using a marker to cross off the Clement name. A creative solution to a problem most of us will likely never have to deal with.
Werner's tires in Waterloo were 33mm Donnelly MXP tubulars. The old Clement branding is crossed out. Wheels are Dura-Ace carbon tubulars. Kerry Werner's 2017 World Cup Waterloo Kona Super Jake. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine
See the photo gallery below for a detailed look at Werner's World Cup Waterloo Super Jake.
Kerry Werner's World Cup Waterloo Kona Super Jake Specifications
Frame: Kona Super Jake; Kona Race Lite carbon; 12mm thru-axle
Fork: TRP Full Carbon CX Fork; post-mount; 12mm TA
Brakes: Front: Shimano XTR hydraulic disc, post-mount; Rear: Shimano Dura-Ace BR-9170 hydraulic disc, flat-mount
Rotors: Front: Shimano Ice Tech SLX Center Lock, 160mm; Rear: Shimano Ice Tech Freeza, 140mm
Shifters: Shimano Dura-Ace ST-9170 dual control levels; 2×11-speed
Crankset: Shimano Ultegra FC-6800; 172.5mm crank arms
Chain Rings: Shimano Ultegra 46/36t
Derailleurs: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2; Front – FD-R9150, Rear – RD-R9150
Cassette: Shimano Ultegra CS6800 11-28t 11-speed
Chain: Shimano CN-HG701; HG-X11 asymmetric plate design
Pedals: Crankbrothers Candy 7 alloy
Cockpit: Pro Vibe alloy stem and handlebars; Lizard Skins bar tape
Seat Post: Pro Vibe 7S, alloy
Saddle: WTB Silverado, titanium rails
Wheels: Shimano Dura-Ace WH-R9170-C40-TU carbon tubulars
Tires: Donnelly MXP 33mm tubulars, front and rear; Clement brand name blacked out
Photo Gallery: Kerry Werner's World Cup Waterloo Kona Super Jake
Werner runs Shimano components but opts for Crankbrothers Candy 7 pedals that are very on-brand with the rest of the bike. Kerry Werner’s 2017 World Cup Waterloo Kona Super Jake. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine
