Cross Crusade #1

We're not much for race reports, so we won't go on and on about Ryan Trebon taking to the front of the Men's A Race a few turns in and never looking back.  We won't talk about Molly Cameron battling for the podium.  We won't talk about how all morning temperatures hovered in the high-60's to mid-70's until the A Race came around and the rain rolled in.  It wasn't torrential, but it certainly made the few paved sections of the course a concern, but we don't cover that either.

The crowd was huge, people were everywhere, tons of teams and vendors, it's a great atmosphere.  How so many people in Portland own Sprinters I will never know, but they rival Subaru and VW TDIs in the lot.

What we loved to see was all of the hand-made steel on the front row.  Speedvagen and Breadwinner went head-to-head for the most handmade bikes in the field, they were only narrowly beaten out by Focus and Kona for highest total bike count.  Keep an eye on the site in the coming days as we'll try to feature a few of these stunning purpose-built race bikes.

For now, peruse the gallery above.  Know that Alpenrose is the place to be tomorrow as Cross Crusade heads into race #2 and the true Portland CX season hits it's stride.

A couple of years ago, shortly after moving to Seattle I was riding around Lake Washington, somewhat hungover and feeling like shit but determined to get in a solid 50 miles. It was around mile 20, noon-ish, I decided to stop at a Subway sandwich shop hoping it would make me feel better.

As I sat and ate, a guy in a white polo and jeans respectfully ends his chat on his cell phone saying something like "ok, I'm just going to eat and then I'll be right over", he orders his food and sits across the isle from me. I hardly pay attention until he asks me about my ride. He asks the typical questions you get when you're stopped and in your kit, "where you going, nice weather, interesting shoes" etc...

Then he mentions he has a bike.

I just wanted to eat, so I nod. He goes on to mention that he wants to sell his bike. He complains saying he bought it about a year or two ago but never rides it, he tried but its just too uncomfortable, so he sticks with motorcycles. I continue to nod and chew, I say its really easy to sell and Craigslist is free. He patronizes my suggestion but then says, "its just a pain in the butt to deal with randoms on the internet, scheduling time, and so on...".

Then he asks if I'd be interested in checking it out.

Alarm bells go off in my mind. "No, I just bought my bike, my wife would kill me." I respond, politely.

"Yeah, that sounds about right, but its a nice bike, I paid a lot for it when I bought it..."

I didn't even want to ask, I just assumed it was an entry level Trek or at worst a Wal-Mart bike (but if it was something nice to me, I might be tempted). So, I recommended craigslist or ebay again and emphasized that its pretty easy. He nods and gets what I'm trying to say, we finish our meals and wish each other a nice day.

As I'm rolling out of the parking lot, we meet one last time. He rolls down his SUV window and in a very non-assuming and civil way invites me to at least have a look at the bike, and that he's just a few blocks down and make a left. At this point, I cave. My rational mind giving in to the emotional. I was a bit curious and he was persistent. He invites me to follow and says he'll drive slow.

A few blocks down, I see him pull into a very long and well manicured driveway, I roll up and shake hands outside of his 3 car garage. He tells me to wait a second as he disappears through a doorway, next to the Ducati on rollers and a random arcade game cabinet.

At this point I'm standing in a complete strangers very clean garage in my cycling kit complete with no-grip road shoes. I felt like I could be in Patrick Batemans domain.

He reemerges with a Cervelo R3 on deflated 23c tires and explains, "I do pretty well for myself, I don't have any kids, I buy nice stuff. My girlfriend wanted to ride bikes so I went to the bike shop and asked for the nicest, lightest bike they had, but I rode it twice and it killed my ass and my back. So I never touched it again, and here it is. I don't know what to ask for it and I don't really want to take the time to schedule appointments with strangers coming to my house and deal with haggling."

It's very difficult to explain how surreal and suspicious the situation was at this moment. I tell him, I agree that its a great bike, but reiterate that I can't just buy a bike right now. I contemplate offering to help sell it but I keep my mouth shut and try to encourage him to try riding it some more and give it another chance.

Then he offers to give it to me. No strings attached. "You're obviously someone who loves bikes, year round, someone who knows a lot about them, so I feel like you'd get better use out of this, and you're already here. Take it."

At this point, I oblige. Still cautious, waiting for the catch, waiting for the box-cutter to my neck. Turns out the was no catch. I had no way to get two bikes home, but we realized my apartment was in the same direction he was headed for the afternoon and we loaded up his SUV. He dropped me off at my apartment 20 minutes later. Shook hands and parted ways. Never to meet again.

And thats how I got a free Cervelo with full Dura-Ace from a guy who went to a bike shop and asked for the best bike they sell - not the best bike for his needs.

And that is my segue introducing you to Taylor Sizemore.

You may have heard of him, or he might be one of the nicest and most genuine young craftsmen in the custom bike industry that you've never heard of. Working with steel in various little rented garages across King County as rent skyrocketted over the last 8 years. In 2014 he won the Oregon Manifest / Bike Design Project with The Denny a project he teamed collaborated with TEAGUE, an interactive design agency, to design and engineer together.

And then he sort of... "retired" from bikes, similar to Jerry Seinfeld or a Pro-Athlete at the top of his game.

That is to say, he decided he wanted to be known for more than building bikes. If he no longer labels himself as just a bike builder, he's free to do anything. A sign of wisdom, especially once you've had a glimpse behind the curtain in the bike industry theater.

Aside from the inexcusable help, shouts out, favors and general kindness of my friends and loving wife, Sizemore Bicycle was all me. I ran the shop, answered the phone, ordered materials, drew up my advertisements, ran a decent instagram, and took all the photos. But really it wouldn't be possible without everyone that helped me, and of course all my amazing clients.

These duties are selling points for a custom made bike. When you call or email the builder, they're usually the ones answering. Even if you just bullshit about everything besides your body geometry, that all becomes part of the recipe for your project. It's very difficult to get this service and human touch by walking into the average local bike shop chain and asking "give me whatever Lance would ride, I want the best" even with a $10,000 budget.

The bike industry is one that is run with passion and passionate people. Many niche industries are. Passion does not always promise success or comfort - for either the consumer or the seller. In America, we're placing a lot of value on metrics, automation, optimization, efficiency, minimalism, science, engineering and math. It's become a great place to work if you're a "nerd" and thanks to the "global economy" its a great place and time if you want high quality goods for very cheap - if you don't think about the sustainability and labor ethics.

The downside to great design and craftsmanship is that the artist becomes invisible. Craftsmanship, which can have a high perceived value, is a luxury and that's unfortunate. It's unbalanced and its unfair for the artists. No, the world is not a fair place. But when only the tech nerds draw big salaries, the designers suffer, the company suffers and so the consumer suffers.

Without thoughtful design, products are unapproachable, difficult to understand, and intimidating. They're void of personality and warmth or they're merely tools to get the job done. One of my favorite things about bikes and bike culture - even with racing - is that it values panache. I'll be the first to admit the main reason I shave my legs is that is adds definition to my muscles, but yes, it helps with road rash and yeah I guess its a little more aerodynamic.

This particular Sizemore was built for my friend Andrew, who is also a working artist. Like Taylor, he's hustlin' and theone answering the phone. Winning awards with his production studio Pigeon Road. I can't think of a better bike than a Sizemore for a client like Andrew, and I can't wait to see what Taylor accomplishes outside of the bike arena.

We've heard some whispers of a new CX rim coming from ENVE, but details have been hard to come by...that is, until about an hour ago.  ENVE just announced their newest rim, aptly named "CX", and it looks to be ready to ship.

Up until now, if you wanted a tubular disc rim from ENVE for 'cross, you were actually nabbing their XC rim.  Yeah, yeah, CX - XC, I get it, confusing.  But the 29er tubular rim was 285g of lightweight and exceptionally stiff goodness for your 60 min red zone ride.

So, what's changed?  Well, depth remains at 31mm, width remains at 28mm, weight stays at a rated 275g per rim, and they are still only available in 28h.  Has anything changed?  According to the press release "the tire bed has been developed for use with 33mm tires and is capable of withstanding frequent tire installations and removals." 

OK, you have my attention there, what else? 

"One of the great benefits of developing a rim for disc brake specific use is that the engineering team is no longer bound by the constraints caused by braking on the rim. The result is a rim that is substantially lighter and more compliant without sacrificing the strength or impact resistance of the rim."

I'll buy that.  That's what we've been promised from the start with rims and disc brakes.

Is this new CX rim enough to get you to drop your current XC 29er rims from ENVE?  I doubt it.  But a rim designed around 33mm tires rather than 23-25mm or 50mm can lead us to believe we'll have the best surface for gluing possible reducing the risk of rolling a tire.  A few grams saved at the rim won't win you a race, but a rolled tire sure will lose it.

Take a good hard look at what we raced in over the weekend.  Pouring rain, in a field, with plenty of mud.  Now, it wasn't the massively-destructive peanut buttery mud, but it was a bit sandy and the intense rain meant that the mud didn't pack up, rather it was washed straight into your drivetrain.  Enter Maintenance Monday.

Hopefully many of you are like me and after a race like that, you get home, wash yourself up, then start the tear-down on your bike.  Regardless of whether or not your race bike heads out for rides on Monday, you're going to be kicking yourself if you wait to clean it up.

Here are some simple tips we use to prolong the life of our drivetrains, make sure we aren't eating through chains, and keep our bike functioning after such a race.

1. Hose it down.  Don't go hit the local car wash and hit it with 200psi, but a simple garden hose will do it.  Spin the cranks while spraying water into the pulley wheels and chainrings.  I like to use the big chainring because: pro.  Also, it allows the best sprayline.  The water will help some of the nastiness that has worked its way into the links out of there.

2. Soap and water to clean.  Dawn dishsoap works great here for us, but if you want to get fancy Morgan Blue makes some excellent Mud Off.  Mud Off works great if you're busy as you just apply, let it sit, then rinse.  I prefer a good brush here as well to scrub a bit, but make sure it's pretty soft so you don't scratch your bike.

3. My secret weapon, Pro Towels.  No, ProGold didn't pay me to write this, and I even PAY for the towels.  They have a soft side and a rough side, and have ProGold's degreaser on them.  Scrub the chain, go to town, then rinse.  They are magic.

4. Check around your chain.  Remove your cassette if needed and scrub it.  You'll thank yourself later.  Same for chainrings, take 10 minutes to remove them and clean, your shifting is worth it.  With chainrings removed you have a great chance to check the BB bearings.  Don't forget to check your pulleys, I know mine were in bad shape after this weekend (and 2 years of riding) so I'll be looking into something new this week.

5. Re-lube.  Stick to your favorite, there are merits to many lubes, everyone has an opinion.  I've become fond of the new-ish WD-40 line of bike lubes, but you can make that call for yourself.

Once you get good at this you're looking at 20-30 min on Sunday evening.  I follow these steps after any foul-weather ride and I routinely see great mileage from my chains, upwards of 3000mi or more before my chain checker says it's time.

When Jeremy Powers speaks, you should listen.  Most of the time he's probably cracking a joke and making the scene that much more fun, but sometimes he takes on some pretty serious issues.  Today was one such time where Jeremy is taking a stance, advocating for the health and safety of himself and his fellow competitors.

Jeremy is addressing an issue of hydrating during early-season races, races were we see riders going deep into the red in temperatures that can get over 100*.  The issue peaked yesterday when riders were facing fines for taking bidons, bidons that are not just helping them to perform, but keep safe.

See what Jeremy had to say:

Frustration with our sport is not a new issue, and really not one to get worked up over. Normally, I don't use energy to debate these points on my social channels because it takes away from my racing, so often, I have opinions of these mini-dramas but to avoid the time that goes into them, I walk away. When it impacts the health and, truthfully, common sense, I get frustrated and want to write, but I want it to be impactful and worth the energy to debate publically.

As fans of any sport, there is always some drama. Right now, it's motor bikes hitting riders and unsafe courses in road racing. In cyclocross, it's u-turns being banned and not allowing feeds during the races. *(De)Hydration* is an issue I want to stomp out. I'm upset about it. I feel banning feeds was the wrong decision and would like actions to clarify the rules, but also I want the elite cyclocross community (who this impacts) to voice their opinion for a rule change.

In my opinion, the only real solution for this is a fully dedicated bottle pit, a lane designated only for bottle hand-ups. After having spoken to a slew of riders, mechanics & managers at the last two weekends of racing, it seems like that's the right action step moving forward if feeding in the bike pit isn't going to work anymore.

Feeding is only an issue for about 45 days of the cross season. Rarely do we need to feed through October, but as the world continues to warm & the race season starts earlier each year, it's only gotten worse, which is why the rule needed to be put in place to begin with.

The fact is that cross races are in open fields with low air flow, direct sun, 100 degree heat / humidity. Races now touching the 70 minute mark. I don't think the outcome of the races should be based on whether one rider can dehydrate less than another and skip bike changes: that's just dangerous and irresponsible. Bike changes are slower and in cyclocross, races are won by seconds.

When I see riders with goosebumps, chills, headaches, vomiting after races, that's not right. We need to fix this in a constructive way and voice our opinion on this. I would say to the folks who say 'just put a bottle on your bike,' that's an option, but thats not the answer. Several riders lost bottles yesterday because we're riding bikes without suspension and the courses are technical, this is not road racing. Smaller frame sets can't be picked up with a bottle. No frame can be carried properly with a bottle on it. To add to that, fines were being issued to riders taking bikes with bottles on them in the women's race, which I strongly disagree with.

The races can't be decided by which riders can ride better in high heat. It should be based purely on sport and sporting achievement. We have so much information and technology at our fingertips, I know we can find a way to get riders the fluids they need to have their optimal performance, insure the safety of everyone racing and put this to bed. Thanks for reading,

Jeremy

This Field x ENVE Eurobike Build should pretty much blow you away.  Built specifically for the ENVE booth at Eurobike, here's the real kicker: it's for sale!

£7348 isn't cheap, but everything about this is top-notch, from the component spec (Dura-Ace mechanical Dura-Ace/Ultegra mix - BE), the rolling stock (ENVE 4.5), cockpit (ENVE aero dop bar, seatpost, and stem).  But don't stop at the spec, look at the finish!  Field is known for their incredible paint, and this one stays perfectly in line with their past.  A departure though is a slightly more conservative palette that still amazes.

Here is a bit from Field about the build:

After recently being included on the ENVE builders page - we’re very happy to get the nod of approval from ENVE and extremely proud to be the only UK brand included in the who’s who directory of some of the most exciting independent bicycle companies in the world.

There’s not many better ways for follow that up than sharing the ENVE show stand at Eurobike 2015, with our Field X ENVE Race Bike providing a welcome deflection from the sea of mass produced big brand models, we were told by the ENVE guys that it was the most photographed bike at Eurobike!

The Frameset is a mixture of tubes from various manufacturers. Not restricting ourselves to one tube set allows the freedom to build frames that exploit the unique ‘zingy’ ride of a steel bicycle frame.

A Columbus Spirit HSS down tube sits at the heart of the frame - it’s a massive oversized tube in steel terms but the weight is kept very low because of the extremely thin wall. A super robust and dent resistant oval profiled Reynolds 853 top tube gives us room to indulge ourselves in the paint. Custom re-shaped Dedacciai Adamantis chain stays give us a little more clearance and compatibility with our unique CNC machined dropouts, their elegant shape translates into a satisfying and responsive ride. We custom shape our seat stays between dies to produce a flattened / oval profile, which provides vertical compliance and increases the lateral stiffness of the rear triangle to counteract pedalling forces and adds to the elegant nature of the frameset.

The paint designed as always by our own Tom Smith, features a crisp motif on the top tube reminiscent of the cobble stones of the spring classics, picked out in vibrant turquoise that really pops against the stealthy black and metallic grey of the frameset - immaculately rendered in paint with a perfectly smooth luscious final layer of clear coat.

The eagle eyed will have noticed the unsightly stack of spacers above the stem - this is not an oversight, this show bike is available for sale as a frameset or complete bike. We thought it was a good idea to leave a bit of movement in stem height!

Head over to Field Cycles if you're interested in this thing.

ENVE Announces New Road Hubs

We don't "know" much yet, but we know a few things.  Claimed weight of 232g for the set (74g front and 158g rear) compared to 283g for the set of DT Swiss 180 (100g front and 183g rear) or 326g for the set of Chris King R45 (102g front and 224g rear).  Pretty safe to say we're looking at DT Swiss internals based on end caps and freehub body.

Word is we're looking at carbon hub shells, which I have to assume is handing over much of the weight savings.

What do I take from the first few photos?  Using DT Swiss internals is the smart and safe move, if not a bit conservative.  But can you fault them?  I can't, the Star Ratchet System has been around for a long time, is easily serviced, and parts are readily available.  You also get the ability to easily swap from Campagnolo to Shimano freehub bodies.

The hero photo above came from ENVE here, while the photo on the scale comes from Field Cycles here.

More when we get it, but we're wondering when the disc hub will follow.  I can't help but to assume ENVE's M-Series lineup is an enormous portion of their sales, and if they can pull something like this out of their hat for disc, especially with Centerock compatibility, ENVE will have one hell of a road disc wheelset.

In my admittedly limited garage sale experience, the pickins are slim.  I know the saying about "one man's trash...", maybe I wasn't going to the right sales?

Last weekend I saw the error in my ways when I stumbled into the parking lot at 1711 SE Powell.  The Vanilla Workshop, Breadwinner Cycles, and Sugar Wheelworks came together to create something that was a bit surreal.  Ever stumbled across a box full of ENVE rims?  Me either.  What about box after box of complete ENVE wheelsets with custom decals?  Same here.  Custom frames, handmade tubulars, hell, even a set of Dura-Ace 9070 levers mounted to ENVE bars tossed onto a table as though it was a 15-year-old snow globe.

True to form, beer was on tap, obviously no bike event would be complete without it.  Next level, burgers were on the grill.

So what was this garage sale?  Part NAHBS, part industry party, part backyard barbeque.  I'm not sure how much was actually sold, coming from the bike industry I don't really roll with $3000 in my pocket for bargain-bin finds.  Someone with the means could have left the party with some pretty amazing gear.  Someone prepared for this show that could ride bikes in the 53cm-56cm range had their pick of Breadwinner and Speedvagen frames; road, CX, or touring, your choice.

I guess it's about time to start saving for the 2016 edition.

Originally created by and posted on CycleEXIF, we had to share this gem.

Geekhouse x Cuppow CX

No doubt you've seen the Geekhouse squad rolling around the CX circuit all fall, but this article dives a bit into what's happening behind the scenes. Cuppow may or may not be a new name to you, but is one worth checking out.

Check out this article/interview to learn more about the team:

Marty Walsh’s Geekhouse Bikes may very well be the funnest custom bike brand out there. Instantly recognisable by their eye-searing paint schemes, they can be spotted on terrains all over the world but they are perhaps most prolific on the cyclocross circuits.

Geekhouse are based in Boston, MA, which is also home to Cuppow, an innovative lid that turns a canning jar into a travel mug. Dedicated to promoting a low-impact life, Cuppow were drawn to Geekhouse through similar values and have since developed the Geekhouse x Cuppow CX team.

The Cuppow lid was designed by Joshua Resnikoff and Aaron Panone — whose name might not be familiar but you’ll definitely recognise another of his products: his 44RN chainrings have been installed on some pretty high-profile bikes, and their high level of engineering blew us all away.

Cycle EXIF caught up with Cuppow’s Greg Ralich to find out more about the colourfully collaborative Geekhouse x Cuppow CX team:

How long has the Team been running now?
3 Years. This Fall will be our fourth year sponsoring the team.

How did the Team come about, what did the original conversations consist of?
Looking for alternatives to traditional advertising. Wanting to support another small business. We’ve been friends with Geekhouse since way back when.

We thought that displaying support of a sport, and a lifestyle, was way more effective for conveying what we’re about than any traditional marketing avenue. Luckily, it worked!

The Team kits are a graphic explosion of stripes, patterns and colours, and are some of the most noticeable in the world. What drew you to the work of Adria Klora?
Definitely her work on the Golden Saddle Cyclery kits. Those are just legendary. Everything she has done is so original.

Why did Cuppow decide to sponsor a team?
We always wanted to do things differently – this was just another step down that road.

You’ve long been supporters of the custom scene. Which have been your favourite builds?
SUCH a good question. Gotta give it up to the obvious – Firefly and Geekhouse, but to me – the shining star in the Boston custom cycling scene is Royal H Cycles. No instagram account, no problem. (Bryan Hollingsworth has very recently, however, joined Instagram — Ed)

Cuppow co-founder Aaron owns a Tomii townie, a 02143 Indy Fab, and has a new Geekhouse. My personal favorite ride these days has been my fat bike but I have a few builds in process this spring that will surely yield a very fun summer.

What do you like about the Mudville?
Geekhouse made something really special with the Mudville. I remember the first blue Team Mudvilles, and the team was a very different shape then, but the ability to recognize them anywhere on the course is the thing that’s has stayed the same all these years.

What’s funny is – it’s actually only gotten harder as big brands have noticed that the exciting colour schemes were doing well and fun and popular in the custom scene and you see things like Trek and Specialized frames using very similar colour schemes.

I mean – all of this really goes back to Fat City but Geekhouse and the Mudville specifically really put that scheme in front of a new generation of riders. Those who picked up city riding in the late 2000’s – that’s who is filling up the CX fields now and it’s a really cool evolution.

What’s in store for Cuppow and the Geekhouse team?
For the past few years we’ve moved towards sponsoring elite riders, so in New England that’s Cat 1/2. These guys can shred. They’ve been riding bikes in New England for years and by teaming up with the B2C2 cycling squad our support can go a lot further.

Cuppow is a small business so we’re not in it to micro-manage anything, we’ve got full plates. But we want to see those who are great ambassadors of the sport have everything they need to race and excel. We’ve got some special plans this year (top secret per Captain Walsh’s orders) that I think people will love to see debuted come the end of summer.

With those bold kits and hot bikes, it will be hard not to keep an eye on the team this season. Special thanks to Greg from Cuppow for his time. Team Mudville photo credit: Blue Lug

Geekhouse Website | Facebook | Instagram
Cuppow Website | Facebook | Instagram

This one just came to us from our friends at Field Cycles, based in Sheffield.  We've been fans from a distance for a few years, and more recently up close and personal as they've sent us some of their builds for our Bespoke Builds.

Sit back and enjoy the process.

On the Course - Gorge Roubaix

A bit spur of the moment, we loaded up the car and departed Portland on Sunday morning headed toward The Dalles to ride Gorge Roubaix.  With no desire to race, we followed along the short Gorge Gravel Grinder route, which ended up being the right choice.

Starting in downtown The Dalles we were welcomed with 70* and sun.  We rolled east for a few miles before heading south on the small loop.  The first 15 miles or so were rolling and on chip seal roads that were virtually traffic-free.  Passing farms, cattle, and a number of chasing dogs who just wanted to say hello, we meandered south toward the start of the gravel.

At this point the road pointed up, though not excessively steep.  5-8% seemed to go on forever, and only a couple of miles in the climb turned to gravel.  Further up we went, and at roughly mile 25 we hit the top and were rewarded with views of Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens.

After all of that work, climbing nearly 3000', down we went.  For approximately 7 miles we descended, much of that also on gravel.  Though slightly loose, the gravel didn't lead to feelings of being out of control, and only slight braking was needed on the tightest of turns.  Otherwise, it was all out, tucked in, eye-watering fun.

The final few miles wound along the Columbia River back into The Dalles dropped down a few hundred more feet of gorgeous views.

Fortunately we were welcomed with some amazing tacos in The Dalles to wrap up an incredible ride.

You can find the route here and here, my Garmin died part way through.  Womp, womp.