Jesse Anthony's Jamis Supernova. © Cyclocross Magazine
by Jamie Mack
Seven-time cyclocross National Champion Jesse Anthony is living the ‘cross dream. After rising through the ranks as a junior and espoir, the now 24-year-old Anthony spends the year traveling to races that many of us can only read about. After battling illness for part of the early season, Anthony is working on finding his form and looking to close out his season on a positive note in Bend. Through all of it, his Jamis Supernova has been there helping him get out of his own way.
The Jamis Supernova is a multi-material frame, Kinesis Kinesium aluminum up front and carbon seatstays in the rear. Th frame is a down-to-earth design without a lot of radical forming to the tubes. Simple flattening of the top tube for shouldering comfort and stays shaped to add mud clearance are all finessing used on the frame. Bolted to the frame by a 1 1/8″ head tube is the Ritchey Pro Carbon cross fork. The Supernova geometry shows angles similar to some of Jamis’ road offerings, but longer chainstays and wheelbase add some clearance and stability for off-road situations.
Anthony uses a full Red group with a modified front derailleur. As with other bikes that Cyclocross Magazine has reviewed here, Anthony’s Jamis uses a Force cage bolted to a Red clamp. The modification is meant to add strength to the Red part, while being lighter than the Force component. Anthony also eschews the top of the line SRAM Powerdome cassette in favor of the lower level PG-1070 model, as the Powerdomes are prone to clogging with mud under typical ‘cross conditions. The only non-SRAM parts on the drivetrain are the Shimano XTR pedals, another popular choice among the bikes reviewed by CXM.
Anthony runs SRAM Red, with the exception of the Force front derailleur cage. © Cyclocross Magazine
The cockpit and seatpost on Anthony’s bike, and the consumer Supernova’s, are from Ritchey. The stem, handlebars and seatpost are all from the alloy WCS parts collection. The headset is an integrated FSA Orbit CX with a built in cable hanger. The cables that help all the parts work together are part of the sealed system from Gore.
Anthony is one of the lucky riders on the pro scene with a set of the new Avid Shorty Ultimate brakes. Anthony is testing the brakes, which are not yet available to the public. The brakes are designed to give the rider added flexibility through an adjustment that is only available on the Ultimates – they’re designed to be run either wide profile for clearance or in a narrow stance for more power. The extra adjustability gives riders yet another race day decision to dwell on, determining there preference for power vs. clearance based on each course.
Anthony has severe tire options available from Dugast. Whatever treads he chooses to run, they are glued to sets of Mavic’s top-of-the-line Cosmic Carbone Ultimates.
Frame: Jamis Supernova
Fork: Ritchey Carbon Pro
Headset: FSA
Stem: Ritchey WCS
Handlebars: Ritchey WCS
Front brake: Avid Shorty Ultimate
Rear brake: Avid Shorty Ultimate
Brake levers: SRAM Red
Front derailleur: SRAM Red/Force
Rear derailleur: SRAM Red
Shift levers: SRAM Red DoubleTap
Cassette: SRAM PG-1070
Chain: SRAM PC-1090R
Crankset: SRAM Red
Bottom bracket: SRAM Red
Pedals: Shimano XTR
Wheelset: Mavic Cosmic Carbone Ultimate
Front tire: Dugast
Rear tire: Dugast
Saddle: fi’zi:k Aliante
Seat post: Ritchey WCS
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