Race bike

Greetings Readers!

There’s been some discussion over on the board about what makes the best race bike? All the bling, carbon C-50’s, Dura-Ace, Record, SRAM RED. Reynolds UL DeepV carbon cross wheels, or Zipp 404 Pave’s. I’m here to tell ya, that when it comes to cross, at least here in the PNW, less is more. We get it all in a cross race, pavement, gravel, grass, mud, singletrack, doubletrack, roots, rocks, and more mud.

I’m of the minimulistic approach to racing, If it costs a ton to replace, it’s better left off the cross bike. (unless your a pro and have sponsors) If it can break, it will. 30 mins into a race when your battling the course, your competitors, and your own head, your not going to notice the differance between DA and 105. Or, SRAM Red and Rival. If you can get away with less, all the better. If you think about it, what’s really making the differance in your racing is your contact patch with the ground, grass, mud, gravel, tarmac. Dura-Ace isn’t getting you any traction in the mud, nor is it absorbing impact from bumps, or holding that line on the inside of a corner. It will however, cost you a lot more to replace than 105 after you’ve stuffed it into the dirt in a crash.

You could take Sven Nys’s C-50 in all it’s carbon glory and put some crappy wire bead clinchers on it and what would you have? A very fancy bike that won’t hold a line, nor get you thru the mud. Conversely, put a nice set of Challenge grifo’s on a stock Fuji comp, and you’ve got a racer.

Keep in mind I’m just a novice racer, I’m no elite. This is just my “Da Fodder” opinion, I’ve literally watched more cross races than I’ve raced in, but I’ve talked to many a racer.

I found this pic, it’s my idea of a perfect crosser. Everything you need, and nothing you don’t. The only thing I would change? I’d route the rear derailleur cable on the top tube and remove the cross top levers. It’s a gorgous bike in it’s simplicity and functionality.

Most of the spills I’ve seen (including a bad one I had at Hornings last year) are the result of front tire washout. Trying to hold a line at speed into a corner, or an off camber section with a less than stable substrate (mud). In my mind, a very soft rubber compound with a tread that best complments the conditions, and a super subtle sidewall that allows the tire to flex getting maximum contact patch to the substrate is invaluable in cross.

What’s my point? I’d trade a full Dura-Ace group for a 105, or SRAM Red for Rival, in order to have a quality pair of wheels and some subtle tubulars. That IMHO, along with a proper fit, is what makes the best race bike.