12/21/2006 - Shopping for a cyclocross bike (pt 3)

OK, so now I'm looking at some pretty high end cyclocross bikes. These are all going for close to $2000, but have real high end components, carbon fiber forks, and carbon fiber seat stays. I probably shouldn't be spending this much money on a bike, but I'll probably be spending the majority of my riding time on this particular bike, so it might be worth it...alteast thats how I'm justifying it ;-)

Of all the bikes I've looked at so far, I think the one shown above, the Jamis Supernova, is my favorite. Retailing for around $1825, it features a Kinesium Triple butted main frame with carbon fiber seat stays, an Easton EC90X full carbon cross fork, Shimano Ultegra/105 drivetrain, and Easton/Velomax Vista wheelset. Wow, pretty sweet stuff. According to Jamis, the bike weighs a feathery 18.25 lbs. If I decide to spend this much money, I think this will be the bike I go with. Love that orange/white color scheme also!


Another contender is the Kona Major Jake (shown above). At about $1900, it features an Easton Ultralite aluminum frame with Carbon Seat Stays, an Easton EC90X Carbon cross fork, full Shimano 105 drivetrain, and a Ksyrium Equipe Wheelset. Its pretty comparable to the Jamis Supernova and probably weighs about the same. I like the fact that the Jamis has its cables routed along the top tube though, wheras the Kona's are routed on the downtube. I also like the orange/black color scheme on the Kona, but the Jamis is a bit sexier.

One other bike in this price range that I've been looking at is the Van Dessel Gin & Trombones.

12/20/2006 - Shopping for a cyclocross bike (pt 2)

So I'm really getting into these research on cyclocross bikes. Today I decided to look around and see what bikes are available with a STEEL frame. My Ibis Mojo is steel and I really love the feel of that frame. I figure a steel cyclocross frame will be a little heavier than one made of aluminum, but it will probably ride much better. So, this is what I've found...

I remember looking at a LeMond Poprad (shown above) last year at one of my LBS's. These are priced at around $1600, which is a bit higher than what I've been looking at so far. The Poprad has a True Temper OX Platinum (steel) frame, Bontrager Switchblade Elite Carbon fork, and a Shimano 105 drivetrain. In 2006 they offered the bike with both canti brakes AND Avid mechanical discs...but this year they are only offering it with discs. I'm not sure why they did this, but for me this is the biggest drawback on the bike. I have Avid Mechanicals on my Ibis, and love them, but on a cyclocross bike I think they are a bit overkill and add unecessary weight to the bike. Other than that though, this is a very sweet bike... love the red/white paint scheme and the specs on the bike are top notch with all Shimano 105 stuff. I will definitely keep this bike in mind.

Another steel bike I came across is the Jamis Nova (shown above). This bike has a Reynolds 631 air-hardened chromoly frame, carbon fiber fork, and Shimano 105 drivetrain. The bike retails for around $1275 so its VERY well equipped for the price. I can't really find any drawbacks to this bike and its probably the best bang-for-the-buck bike I've found so far. Only problem is that I can't find one locally, so if I were to go with this one, I'd be taking a bit of a chance that I'd like it.

12/16/2006 - Shopping for a cyclocross bike (pt 1)

Since most of the training rides I do are on paved or dirt bike paths and gravel roads, its kind of overkill to ride a mountain bike like my Ibis. That being said, I think a cyclocross bike would make a perfect training bike, so this weekend I started doing a little research and even test rode a few bikes.

The first bike I looked at was the Raleigh RX 1.0 (shown above). One of the local bike shops had one in stock so I stopped in and took it for a test ride. From the short ride I did, it seems like a GREAT bike for the money... $1199. It has a very high end Easton EC90 X Carbon Cross fork and some pretty good components for this pricepoint. My main concern is that it comes with 9 speed Shimano Tiagra shifters which I wasn't too excited about. They seemed to shift OK, but you had to move the levers quite a bit to make them shift...and this was one of the complaints I had heard from people. Not a big deal if you could easily upgrade to Shimano 105 shifters, but since it comes with 9 speed, that wouldn't be too easy now that Shimano is only making 10 speed stuff in the 105 and Ultegra. So, I'd have to look around on eBay for some 9 speed 105 shifters if I ever wanted to upgrade shifters....might be a pain.


My LBS also had a Redline Conquest and Conqest Pro (shown above). I really like the Conquest Pro but only the regular Conquest had pedals, so thats the one I got to test ride. Pretty comparable to the Raleigh, although not as light and the front fork was aluminum so its a little more harsh ride. The Conquest Pro has a carbon fiber fork though, so it probably weighs less and rides better than the standard Conquest. I also really like the component spec on the Conquest Pro... it has 105 derailleurs and Ultegra Shifters...very high quality stuff. Its also decked out with Ritchey and FSA components that push the price up to about $1499.

Stopped by another LBS to look at the cyclocross offerings from Specialized and Trek, but they also had a Felt F1X (shown above) which is really sweet. It was priced at $1449 and had better components than any of the bikes I'd looked at. It had Shimano Ultegra derailleurs, 105 shifters, Mavic wheels, etc. I didn't get to test ride the bike, but read a few reviews from owners who commented that the aluminum frame was pretty stiff and had a harsh ride. It does have a carbon fiber fork, although its not an Easton like the less expensive Raleigh.

Summary:
Overall I'd have to say the Redline is the one I liked the most, followed by the Felt, and then the Raleigh. If the Raleigh had 10 speed components with 105 shifters, i think I'd put it right there with the Redline. I'm sure the 9 speed Tiagra shifters would be fine for me, but I tend to look for higher end components on my bikes so I'm a little leary of the Raleigh only because of how difficult/expensive it might be to upgrade. Its a shame really because Raleigh did a great job with this bike, especially that trick Easton front fork.

I'll be doing some more research this next week, possibly at some more high end bikes in the $2000 price range...

12/09/2006 - Now this is a pump track!!

Hopefully this is what my pump track will look like by middle of next summer! Thanks to LeeLikesBikes.com for the pic.