Smithers MINNEAPOLIS

Single speed 42×16 one break on the front wheel, no top mounts. clinchers,

-two rings. you ain’t a racer. we all know this is a fancy “rain bike”.

-top mounts. easier to brake while drinking your coffee. (or chai).

-clincher. unless you like carrying you spare cx tub with you as you tool around lake calhoun.

-campy. my gears will not go to 11.
that is just dumb.

42 single with a 12×27….

NO top mount levers…i had them on one season and only used them for the Dis coffee routine, otherwise never used them

Tubulars for racing, clinch for training. Nothing sweeter then a tubie. You can’t run the pressure you need to run on a clinch being a dude of your stature, you’ll flat.

“Cyclocross setup debate….” the debate should be “who” you setup on that sweet bike of yours. JRoy or (dis) would be a good setup for that frame.

Easy;

42 w/ 11-28 (Shimano will have one for ‘09)

I thought those cute little levers on top were just for the kiddies….

Race on tubs w/ 1100 gram carbo wheelset, ride on clinchers w/ 1600 gram 3X 14 ga wheelset.

Fine, fixed. More traction in the mud. Don’t buy the claims that chain tensioners won’t work, or cantis are better than centerpull calipers. I just assume you’re going with the Brooks saddle and Power Grips.

Of course I’m being just as serious about this as the notion that anybody would bother with an 11 speed drivetrain. 10 speed chains that don’t get many compliments for durability, and you’d need something even thinner for 11 speed without some radical changes to the drivetrain and/or frame — but if you’re going that far, why stop at 11?

Well, we know the answer to that — so you can sell the 12 speed group in 2010.

I use the top lever all the time dismounting. Just one on the left for the rear wheel. One ring is enough and there isn’t anything wrong with a chain guard. Nothing more frustrating than getting a chain back on when you’re deep into anaerobea.

I listen when Bill talks about bikes…and pastries.

Would someone please remind me why people cyclocross?
And why think about it in May?

It’s been a while since I rode a cross bike in competition. Okay, a long while. Bush was in office. The other Bush. But from what I remember is that by the end of the race you were lucky to have one or two gears that weren’t completely goobed up with mud.

Does index shifting and the new styled cogs and chains help resolve this problem or make it worse?

I kind of like the single speed option, but for my use I ride a cross bike on the pavement — I like the extra room for fenders.

oh c’mon, you’re not going to ride cx, so what>?… go with 90 fixed inches. that’s yo0ur bag, n’est pas \?

how about 36-46 with chain guard (plastic thing that attaches to seat tube so the chain can’t fall off on the inside) and 12-27 in rear?
Have you considered compact cranks?
Tubulars if your rides are riddled with lots of opportunities to pinchflat and if you don’t mind carrying a spare tube, making sure the pre-glued section remains completely uncontaminated.
Campagnolo is good for people who have incredibly large hands, are not racing or are paid a pretty penny (or euro considering any who would be paid for campa would be based over here in europe) to spec them.
Do let us know how your bike setup turns out.

What about the debate on running your brakes motorcycle style?

I rock motorcycle style brakes (left rear, right front). I find that running them this way let’s me go a lot hotter into a high-speed barrier keeping the rear wheel from wanting to come up vs. if I was pulling the front brake coming in hot.

Carbon tubies.. I use them - call me a poser if you want, they rock

I’m with Baba - moto style brakes with a single topmount lever on the left (rear wheel) for modulating your speed as you come into a high-speed barrier dismount. When you have only one hand on the bars, it’s much easier to control when you’re holding the top of the bar rather than the hood or the drop.

methinks Christine knows what she’s talking about as well….

I ran a single 42T ring with outer chain guard and Third Eye chain watcher last year and it worked flawlessly. You’ve got to make sure you set up the Third Eye correctly though, i.e. close enough to the chain and not too low such that a chain jump will get wedged or sucked down below the chain watcher.

I like the moto-style setup too for modulating the rear brake on those high speed dismounts. No top mount levers necessary IMO.

I’m running Campy 9-speed too. In 30 or so CX races in the last 4 years I’ve never had a mechanical or even shifting problems. I’m running clinchers too, and have only once had a flat, but I rarely run them less than 40 PSI.

I’m a lowly ‘B’ racer, but everyone I’ve given advice to ends up beating me eventually. Good luck!

40 psi is jack hammer

Dan I, I’ll let you roll with my carbon tubies at 25-30 and you’ll be in heaven

Yeah those carbon tubies would be a sweet improvement over the Campy Electron wheels I picked up on EBay for $200. Alas, rider on a tight budget.

22 comments.. Smither’s blogs is crossy now

Just to weigh in on the “moto-style”, I’d like to add that when I was a kid this set up was considered “Italian style”. It’s how Coppi rode. It’s a cleaner set up and I rode like this too.

I could be wrong on this, but I remember somewhere learning that selling a bike set up like this was illegal in the US since a customer would not expect this and would get hurt going over the bars.

“selling a bike set up like this was illegal”
(DISCLAIMER)
Do not by any bike that Baba owns.