Cyclcross season hits primetime

As summer turns to fall and the road racing season winds down, for many racers the next season is one that not many recreational cyclists have heard of…it’s known as “cyclocross”. This type of racing, which involves what looks to most like a somewhat normal road bike, is arguably one of the most exciting and spectator friendly types of racing anywhere. The races are short, from 30 to 60 minutes. The courses are also short, laps are usually between 6 and 10 minutes, so the crowd gets to see lots of action.

The sport of cyclocross, or “cross” as it’s known, began around the turn of the century in France. It was developed to give road racers some fall/winter training, and since the courses incorporate both pavement and dirt or grass, as well as barriers and running sections, their handling skills got a workout as well. In a few short years other northern European countries got in on the game, and now Belgium, Holland, and Czech are cross powerhouses. The international governing body of bicycle racing, the UCI, officially recognized cyclocross in 1950, and world championships have been held around the end of January ever since. It’s not unusual for 15,000 beer-fueled Belgian or Dutch fans to show up at races every weekend from October thru January, with 10 or 12 high caliber races taking place in the 2 week period around Christmas and New Years. The pro racers have fan clubs numbering in the thousands, and these rabid supporters will follow their favorites all over northern Europe during the fall months.

The cyclocross bicycle is very similar to a normal road bike, with drop handlebars and narrow rimmed wheels. The tires are somewhat larger, usually around 32mm wide compared to the normal road bike tire that is 23mm wide. There are many different tread designs for varying course conditions. To fit around the bigger tires, and to provide extra clearance for mud and grass, cross bikes use cantilever brakes, much like the original mountain bikes. This season, the UCI has legalized disc brakes for cross, it will be interesting to see how many racers make the switch. Gearing is similar to a road bike, w/ a double chainring up front, usually 39/46, and depending on the course, an 11/23 or 25 cassette in the back. Most pro and elite racers will use mid or deep section carbon rims just like a road racing bike, with tubular tires inflated to only 25 psi…traction and a smooth ride are very important. A top lever cross bike will weigh virtually the same as a road racing bike, many are right at the UCI weight limit of 6.8 kilos, or 14.9 pounds.

There are many hotbeds of cross racing in the United States. In the northwest, Seattle and Portland have historically had some of the largest and most well attended series in the country, if not the world. The bay area has also been cross-crazy for many years, in fact the first US national championships were held in Berkeley in 1975. There are currently series held in the bay area, Sacramento and Santa Cruz/Monterey, with other races held all over northern California from October thru December. Our US Nationals were just last weekend in Bend, OR. Colorado’s Katie Compton won her seventh consecutive womens elite national title. Another Colorado resident, Todd Wells, won the elite mens title, he won 2 mountain bike national titles earlier in the year. The best American racers are now preparing to head to Europe for various World Cup races, and then World Championships. One of our former local high school racers, Bjorn Fox, is heading to Belgium with US National Jr Team for a couple weeks of racing this month, then back for World Championships in January. If you’re interested in trying a race, or just getting to see some of the best racing around, check out the Northern California CX calendar at http://ncncacx.blogspot.com/p/calendar.html . If you decide you want to try out CX, stop by Paradigm Cycles in San Anselmo or City Cycle in San Francisco, we can take care of all your cycling needs! http://paradigmcycles.com/

2011 Ibis Mojo HD

We’ve been doing really well with the Ibis Mojo and Mojo SL at Paradigm for the last 3 years. They are really fun riding bikes with 140mm (5.5”) of travel front and rear. The patented DW link rear suspension is very plush, but still efficient. Combined w/ a 140mm travel front fork you can build a carbon-framed trail bike for as little as $3299.00. They can be built as light as 23 or 24 pounds as well. But there are always folks out there looking for a little more…a little more travel, a little more speed on the downhills. Back in ’09 we started hearing rumors about a longer travel Ibis. Brian Lopes, the Ibis factory team DH racer was riding something new…what was this new creation? Late in the year we got official word, the new bike was known as the Mojo HD.

We didn’t receive our first HD until a couple of months ago, but it was well worth the wait! 160mm (6.5”) of travel, stable 67° head angle, and a stiffer frame construction. The headtube now uses a tapered 1 1/8” – 1.5” construction for greater front end stiffness and precision. All of the pivot bearings have been upgraded to handle the increased travel. The rear end utilizes a 12 x 135mm Maxle rear axle set-up for greater stiffness. Fork options include the Rock Shox Lyric RC 160mm travel w/ Maxle Light axle, and the Fox Talas 36 RLC w/ 160/120mm of adjustable travel and the 20mm QR axle system. The rear shock mounting points can also be swapped for a mount that allows the frame to be set up with the same 140mm travel as the Mojo SL. Mount a 32mm Fox fork and you’ve got a 140mm travel bike w/ a 68° headtube angle and a stronger, stiffer frame than the SL, with a very small weight penalty.

The HD comes standard w/ the Fox RP23 air shock, but can be upgraded to the DHX Air or the RC4 coil spring shock. Entry level pricing for the full bike with a Shimano SLX group, Fox fork and Crank Brothers wheels is $3791.00!

Keep an eye on the store website for a possible Mojo HD demo opportunity coming up.

Check out the pictures!

Cervelo R5 and R5ca

The new year is quickly approaching and the new ’11 model bikes are starting to roll in at both City Cycle and Paradigm Cycles. Two of the most exciting new models are the R5 and R5CA from Cervelo. Building on the success of the “R” model Squoval tubed frames like the R3 and

R3SL, the R5 frames take performance and light weight to the next level. Some small but significant changes have been made to geometry as well, benefitting both the racer and the sport rider.

The geometry changes are primarily to the front of the bike. The head tubes have been made slightly taller to provide a more comfortable fit for sport riders, while not being too tall for racer-types. The head tube and fork steerer tube are tapered, being 1 1/8” at the top and 1 3/8” at the bottom. This increases the stiffness of the front end of the bike, making the handling just that much better. On the smaller sizes, the head tube and fork rake have been adjusted to reduce toe overlap that smaller riders have experienced in the past.

The R5CA is the new flagship model, the lightest frame that Cervelo has ever made, and it is produced in their Southern California engineering facility at the rate of approximately 1 frame per day. The materials and lay-up schedule have been optimized for light weight and performance. We recently received the first frame at City Cycles, and the 54cm size including bottom bracket bearings and seat collar weighed in at a scant 750g! The bottom bracket on the new R frames have been updated as well. Cervelo has developed a new bottom bracket standard called “BBright” that both reduces weight and increases efficiency. The R5CA frameset will include a superlight 280g fork, integrated/tapered headset w/ NORGLIDE bottom bracket bearings, Rotor crankset and chainrings. The whole package will retail for $9600.00

The R5 frame will be produced in Cervelo’s overseas facility, and utilize a slightly less labor intensive carbon lay-up. The ride quality will be virtually identical to the CA, just slightly heavier, although still lighter than the previous R3 models. The ‘normal’ R5 frameset will include the superlight fork, the tapered headset, bottom bracket bearings and the 3T Dorico LTD seatpost. It will retail for $4900.00.

All R5 frames will be black, the CA being unpainted for lieghtweight, the R5 will be gloss black w/ either green or yellow highlights.

If you’re looking for a new frame or complete bike and lightweight is at the top of your must-have list, check out these new frames from Cervelo!