[AndrwSwitch]

From time to time, I get into silly internet fights with people on this forum about what a 'cross bike should be used for, whether or not they should have disc brakes, why nobody makes (or at least not for more than a season or two) a race-ready cross bike with disc brakes, etc.

So here's my 'cross bike. I just got done doing a shakedown ride, after changing out some parts to turn it from a girlfriend bike back into a racer. This setup is most likely how it's going to be going to its first race this season.


Kona Jake 008 by Andrew183, on Flickr

It's a bit of a Frankenbike. The saddle is ten years old, the stem and pedals showed up at my shop a few days ago, and the front hub is several years old but I rebuilt the wheel around it about a week ago, after cracking open the previous one for a rebuild and finding pitted cones.

umarth, it currently has the Hutchinson Piranhas I mentioned in your thread about tires. I was surprised at how smoothly they rolled on the road today - I think I was remembering the Bulldog's buzz, not these tires. They also cornered very nicely, although I didn't do any asphalt corners at criterium speeds. I was on hardpack and gravel some too, and climbing, especially out of the saddle, took some finesse, but it was quite doable. Too bad 'cross courses tend to have a barrier in front of the run-up if it's ridable.

To me, this bike always feels a little bit awkward in fully road or off-road roles. When I first bought it, I was beginning to doubt my choice a little bit until I took it racing the first time. It's much better in the weird circumstance that is a 'cross course than on anything else, or than anything else I've owned and have taken 'cross racing. Part of that is setup, but I think that there are some aspects of the frame geometry that are just a little weird on-road.

 

[CommuterBoy]

I would have built a Kona Jake if I could have found one on sale when I built my nashbar X frame commuter. That would be the ideal commuter for my route (if it had disc brakes )

Very cool bikes, and yours is a beaut.

I heard they finally lifted the disc brake rule this year, so maybe we'll start seeing more options in the 'cross world with disc mounts.

 

[rodar y rodar]

Looks nice, Andrew. I`ve never ridden anuthing billed as a cross bike, so really can`t digest all that you comment about, but I do have a strong liking for heavy duty road bikes. I imagine I`d like riding a Jake.

Disc rule lifted, even for UCI events? Doh! So much for the eternal suply of mtb hubs without those stupid mounts! Maybe I`d better order some "future use" stock. 135 rears, at least.

 

[CommuterBoy]

'tis true: http://www.cxmagazine.com/uci-rules-big-season

 

[AndrwSwitch]

I'm predicting that if the rule change changes things, it's not going to be for at least a season. It seems like there's been a disc 'cross bike every few years for the last ten or so, but mainstream models haven't lasted. This time, the majors have the ability to put the full weight of their marketing engines behind a disc 'cross bike - by next Fall they could have international competitors on them, and that would probably change a lot of racers' and wannabes' attitudes about disc bikes. I know I've always thought it a little self-defeating, if only in principal, to buy a bike that I wouldn't be allowed to race at the highest levels if I magically woke up fast enough.

I think that as long as discs were illegal, many of the bike companies didn't want to mess up their lines by having some non-disc competition bikes and also some disc bikes at the same pricepoints, before working down to more stripped-down models. Being able to have the flagship model have all the bells and whistles would change that.

Redline already makes some competitive aluminum frames and a carbon fork that support discs - they've got an article on their site about how the UCI has changed the rules, and go see your dealer.

 

[umarth]

Haha! Fantastic post. I'm planning on picking up those tires. They sound like they'll handle the two roles I need better than about any other tire.

Also, get your shitty cyclocross bike off this forum! UCI says it has to have racks, front and rear light, U lock holster and full fenders. That is not a commuter.

 

[rodar y rodar]

Also, get your shitty cyclocross bike off this forum! UCI says it has to have racks, front and rear light, U lock holster and full fenders. That is not a commuter.

Union Commutiste Internacional?

 

[rodar y rodar]

I think that as long as discs were illegal, many of the bike companies didn't want to mess up their lines by having some non-disc competition bikes and also some disc bikes at the same pricepoints, before working down to more stripped-down models. Being able to have the flagship model have all the bells and whistles would change that.

Maybe- the big boys` marketing plans are way beyond my comprehension. Especially the big S. I`m not a Shimano basher by any means, but the way they decide what to produce, what to abandon, and what to stick up on their websites even when it`s impossible to find at retail is a baffling mystery.

And half on subject, UCI`s method of deciding what goes and what doesn`t is equally baffling. Fortunately, their decisions only affect me in the way I already mentioned, and I really couldn`t care less beyond that. It is kind of amusing, though.

 

[AndrwSwitch]

I think that getting bikes in international competition, and hopefully on a podium, is the key to the big companies' marketing. People want to ride what Lance rides, etc. I think it would be a problem for a marketing department to figure out how to sell a racing-style bike if they can't put a racer on it who will get written up in the magazines, and have articles written about their bike. Until now, that made putting discs on a 'cross bike highly problematic in terms of selling it.

Obviously there are exceptions, mostly from smaller brands. Those guys seem to mostly use a very different model for their marketing, focusing on the bike itself or the experience of riding it. I think the experience of riding a bike with discs, if there's mud getting splattered around or even just rain, is much better than cantilevers. But a lot of people will almost never take their 'cross bikes in the rain and mud.

 

[umarth]

Union Commutiste Internacional?

That made me shiver. Too real....