What I have always loved about Mountain Biking is the immersion into the woods; the sense of solitude that comes in the wilderness that is lost entirely in the convenience and hustle of the cities I’ve always lived in. What I always hated about Mountain Biking is that my mountain bike never feels enough like my road bike.
I was but a budding Velominatus when I discovered Cyclocross, and from the start it seemed like an incredible sport that offered all kinds of opportunity. My dad came home from a trip to Europe with an aluminum ALAN under his arm and from that moment on I was hooked on the idea of a road bike that could go off and have fun in the dirt. At the time, CX bikes were a rarity in the US market; the closest thing I’d seen to a CX bike at that time were John Tomac’s bitchin’ drop bar mountain bikes and the frankenstein Bontrager MTB that a buddy converted into some sort of zombie with a touring bike’s fork and 700c front wheel mounted on the rig and a 26 inch rear wheel with a weird skinny tire.
Nevertheless, my limited budget historically poured into the road bikes where my heart has always been rooted and a CX bike always seemed to fall just into the s-1 range of Rule #12 compliance; whether s in this case happened to be my pursuit of the sensation of rhythm, harmony, and flight to be found only on smooth tarmac or, currently, the chair of the Budget and Planning Committee – on which I hold an influential but non-controlling vote.
But Fate, the Velominati Community, and @Cyclops’ lifelong dream to learn to braze a bike frame changed all that one day last January when a box appeared on my doorstep containing a custom-made steel Cyclocross frame. The dust was blown off the brain cogs which get remarkably little use these days, and Il Progetto for my CX bike started in earnest. Marko took up the role of Graveur Sensei and PNW CX Legend Josh Liberles of Veloforma took up the role of CX Sensei. Parts were shuffled from bike to bike, various components were aggregated from odd corners to fill in the gaps and make substitutions where necessary, and slowly but surely the Nederaap came to life.
My old Dura Ace 7700 nine-speed group-san was immediately selected as the ideal mud-clearing drivetrain; somehow Campagnolo seems much better suited to the civility offered by the road (even in Rule #9 conditions) than the neanderthal environment of Cyclocross. In the Velominatus Budgetatus conditions we find ourselves in, this meant the Record 10 group was moved from the TSX to the rain bike, and the TSX the current target of Progetto Old-School and has donned downtube shifters and lies in wait for some period-appropriate brakes. Old wheels were repurposed from the commuter bike (which now temporarily lies in wait of new bits and pieces) and a secret project for new racing wheels for the CX-V waits to bear fruit. (Some of you who are paying attention may already be onto the source of these wheels.)
All this was done with the knowledge that @Cyclops, however obsessive-compulsive, built this frame in a spare bedroom and my expectations were set accordingly. This would be be a rideable frame that held a huge amount of sentimental value and would be fun to take out to the local races and inelegantly beat people with and say things like, “Yeah, this bike was built by a crazy person. And I beat you with it. And I suck at Cyclocross. Feeling good about that?”
But last week, as the last part for the build arrived (a pair of top-mount brake levers which I understand will cost me massive Look Pro points which I hope to make up for with Not Crashing As Often As I Otherwise Would points) I put the thing together and took it for a spin.
First pedal stroke, hey this feels OK. Next pedal stroke, yeah, this is not bad at all. A few hundred meters later, I realized I felt like I was riding one of my bikes. I half expected the frame to fall apart first with the introduction of my hefty arse and second with the unleashing of my considerable artillery, but this bike doesn’t just ride like a home-made bike, it rides like a real professional, great bike. Emboldened, I collected my kit and headed out to the local park to play around and see how it faired on its native terrain.
Riding it down to the park and the singletrack that is strewn throughout it, I was compelled to determine if it could survive some manner of trauma. Armed with my incompetence as a Cyclocrosser, I had no alternative but to crash-test the frame by bunny-hopping a curb at about 45kph. My plan worked flawlessly; I jumped at an oblique angle, went a little short, landed the back wheel sideways on the curb and became the lead character in my own stop-action animation film as I dumped hip-first into the cement sidewalk like a sack of potatoes. Ancillary observation: I’m amazed at how resilient the V-Kit is, this being my first crash in it.
Test completed and satisfied that the frame was unharmed despite crashing hard enough to require some serious wheel-truing upon my return home, I headed into the singletrack with the confidence that the frame was both smarter and stronger that I am. You can’t put a price on that kind of knowledge.
As for the top-mount levers which I’m sure to be berated for, I’ll make you a deal. As long as I’m too inexperienced to know better and as long as you can’t crush Katie Compton, I’ll happily disregard your advice. As soon as one of those two factors changes, I’m all ears. And for those of you planning the “Cyclocross is about minimalism” argument, I expect you to post photos of your single speed CX rig to support your case; anyone making this claim and riding a rig with gears will be disregarded wholesale as a poseur.
Footnote:
This frame was built as a first attempt at what @Cyclops plans to become his own frame-building company. At the time of building, the company lacked a brand, but he has since settled on Deacon Bikes and he will be opening his doors to business for the 2013 season. Thanks @Cyclops, this thing is amazingly awesome.
[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/CX-V/”/]
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View Comments
@Ron
Julien Absalon...
@frank
So far off the mark...
The bike looks amazing. Cyclops, you've got us standing in a long, long line. My graduation present might just go towards your kid's college fund, when the time comes. Love the details - amazing.
@Ron
And the typical cyclist isn't a midlife-crisis office/middle-management type? With the cost of cycling equipment and the time requirements, cycling isn't as accessible to younger folks. Might be different in elsewhere, but the majority of customers I get at the shop are above 40 years old, and our best-selling sizes are L and XL. That majority also brags that they "need" the fanciest bib because they ride "long hours" - that usually means 3 hours - and they believe they deserve a discount because they'll "advertise the brand" among their even slower, fatter buddies. Pretty much the only cyclists my age that I know are competitive riders like myself, either sponsored, parent-sponsored or, in my case, self-sponsored. And the decision to delay studies by another few months to get a decent bike was a painful one which the weekend-warrior office guy doesn't have to make. At 21, you'd rather sleep in on Sunday after a night out rather than wake up at the crack of dawn to beat the heat and the picnic traffic - at 41, you relish the chance to escape the kids. While they're out on a Saturday enjoying clear roads and company, I work a second job at a restaurant. While they sit in their aircon offices, I suffer through traffic and heat to escape the city during the week - and that's far too much to ask of the general young population.
Running, for that matter, is significantly cheaper - I just got a pair of top-level CX racing flats for $65, which would buy my a single Vittoria Open Corsa (they're equals in their respective sports, after all - fast, light and fragile contact points with the road). Cushioned trainers cost a bit more, but even then: $100 shoes, $20 shorts, $15 shirt and you're done. Even the insanely overbuilt (and shit) Mizuno Prophecy is $200 - less than my cycling kicks - and even the fanciest shorts (if Nike ever makes cycling bibs with their newest Swift fabric, I'm buying the entire factory!), compression socks and shirt won't run more than $50 each. You can run properly in a city park, whereas cycling in the park is about as lame as it gets.
Fact is, even after this rant against middle-aged slowpokes, I'd rather have people try to get athletic again in their forties than resign and stay fat. The half-marathon sticker makes me snicker every time I see one, but that's not because a half-marathon is a joke.
@Buck Rogers
A hole? I'm confused. Like for a rear road brake? Canti bosses are posts, not holes.
@Buck Rogers
These are what you need to run cantis or mini-v's: check out the fork and seatstays:
@VeloVita
Che bel mezzo -- you have one of them?
@VeloVita
simply put, if you are going to race cx, unless you have 2 sets of cx wheels (one for the pit in case one flats), there will not be another wheel for you from neutral support. rim brake wheels are the order of the day unless you bring a pit bike or wheel set of your own. or just call it done when u flat, you'll have one hell of a set of stoppers to be sure!
another plastic cx rig; obviously not ready for race day that day with the cage on there; don't worry it was removed so I could abuse the rig properly
The blue and orange scheme is very striking. I've noticed that a lot recently with a more muted blue, such as Baum:
Or BMC used light blue even more prominently:
Where did it come from? The most classic example is Steve McQueen's Ford GT40:
I've decided that my next bike will use this color scheme (I don't know when). Light blue frame, Orange Chris King hubs, orange spokes too.
@Nate
Sadly, no - but I wasn't about to post a crap bike as an example. We've got a guy in our local CX series with one though - its absolutely gorgeous - he races in full Zanconato kit and passes out cupcakes adorned with the Zanconato 'Z'. Not at all affiliated with Mike, just a happy customer. To me that says a lot. The HUP United bike on the Zank homepage is, in my opinion, one of the two most beautiful CX bikes ever (the other being the red/cream Richard Sachs)