Plus One Lap

Retroshift

2012-01-04T10:25:00.000-08:00

These are pretty cool...though I don't know about $140 without the actual shifters, $220 with.

http://www.bikerumor.com/2011/11/28/first-look-retroshift-brake-shift-levers-for-cyclocross/

http://retroshift.com/

Richard Sachs on eBay

2011-12-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

Saw this Richard Sachs cyclocross bike on eBay ---- but the seller has 0 feedback. So I posted the question to the Slowtwitch.com forum ---- asking if people thought it was a scam.

e-Richie (Richard Sachs' online pseudonym) responded: it's not a scam atmo. the woman's late husband bought it used back in 2002 or so.

So bid away people...

Singlespeed Cyclocross: How to

2011-12-16T15:28:00.000-08:00

There are a few great reasons to ride singlespeed cyclocross:

you like simplicity
you're tired of mud and gunk jamming up your drivetrain
you're cheap and don't want to break $300 STI shifters
you win too often and want to make it fair on the rest of the pack
you're a sucker for pain

Honestly, though, the first three make up the reasons why most people ride a singlespeed cyclocross bike. If any of the above reasons appeal to you, but you're not exactly sure how to build your bike to ride singlespeed cyclocross (here on out abbreviated SSCX) this is your DIY or how to guide. Below, I've saved eBay searches for you, by clicking the link it will take you to eBay and perform the search for the item you just read about.

First, you need a cyclocross bike or frame. You can basically convert any cyclocross bike into a SSCX bike. Even a bike with vertical dropouts (most bikes now days) can easily be converted to SSCX.

You'll need new brake levers (that don't have shifters integrated). Just regular brake levers. The cheap kind. These Tektro R200 levers can be picked up pretty cheap on eBay like around $20 LINK

Congratulations, you can now brake! Next, you'll need to make some changes to your drivetrain (front chainring, rear cassette) Regarding the front chainring, you'll need to change the ring first. Most cyclocross bikes come with 48 and 39 teeth. Neither of those will really work as a single ring. Most racers use either a 44 tooth or 42 tooth front ring. So you'll need to buy one of those (click here to search eBay for one). Make sure you get a new ring that will fit your current cranks. Most likely, your cranks will either use 130 BCD or 110 BCD rings.

Now, you need to keep the chain on the ring, to do this you have a few options:

Double chainring guard (more expensive, little more bombproof)
Outer chainring guard with a chain catcher on the inside (little cheaper)
No guards or guides and take your chances of your chain coming off as you pull away from the pack and you curse bloody hell. (free)

Okay, next, you'll need to set up your rear gearing and again you have some options:

If you currently have a cassette on the rear wheel, you can remove the cassette, and use a spacer kit with a cog that slides onto the rear hub. This works great. Search eBay for a singlespeed kit

Your other option which can be a bit cheaper is to take an old rear wheel with one of those old school freewheels (the kind where the gears screw on ---- these are typically 5 or 6 speed cassettes made before 1985). Next, you buy a singlespeed freewheel typically designed for BMX riders. One of the advantages of this set up is that you can buy an old set of tubular racing wheels with a freewheel and get a very light set of race wheels that are tubular and that you can run a single speed freewheel on. Search eBay for a freewheel

Either way, you'll need to determine the size cog to buy. This largely depends on your fitness, amount of hills where you're riding and racing cyclocross and desired pedal cadence. A good way to determine the cog size is to determine what feels comfortable with a 42 tooth front chainring using the cassette you currently have. Find a rear cog in your current cassette where you can get up the hills and also get up a decently high speed for the flats and pavement sections of the course.

Lastly, you're going to need some sort of chain tensioner. This little bit of technology allows you to use that bike/frame with vertical dropouts. Notice the first picture in this post, there is no chain tensioner, that is because I had semi-horizontal dropouts (the frame was a vintage 1980's Nishiki). There are a lot of different types of tensioners, buy the best you can afford. Paul Components makes a pretty nice looking one too, and who can argue with made in the USA? Though it is $82. Search eBay for a chain tensioner

Surly

Paul Components "Melvin"

You're set, all of these modifications can be done by you at home with minimal tools. One of the advantages of doing you're own wrenching is that when it falls apart you can only blame yourself.

In conclusion, nearly any cyclocross bike can be converted into a singlespeed cyclocross bike. All you'll need is:

Brake levers
Front chainring
Rear spacer kit or BMX freewheel depending on the wheels being used
Chain Tensioner

Let me know in the comments if I missed something.

a temporary return

2011-12-15T16:33:00.000-08:00

Six years ago, November 2005, I started this little personal blog devoted to my experience with cyclocross. Readership increased and Google started ranking me higher and higher up the results page.

While, I'm not nearly as devoted to updating the site as I once was, I know you all forgive me. For those that were some of the original fans (and are still here to appreciate it), I've returned the colors back to the original black/white/red theme. Temporarily at least.

Not sure I should even admit this, but I, as the creator of the #1 cyclocross blog...

...don't currently even own a cyclocross bike. I hear your gasps of horror and they shame me. Through three major moves (Sacramento to Portland Oregon to Boston and then back to Sacramento), the herd has thinned. You'll be happy to know that I do still own bikes and I still ride the Raleigh conversion cyclocross beast for transportation purposes here and there. Though even that has thinned lately as well, with purchasing our first home and expecting a baby girl in February, I've been busy.

Back to the content and lack of updating --- I need your help with that. We'd all like to see your awesome cross rig, but to do that you need to email it to me at plusonelap at gmail dot com.

Also, are there any ladies reading this? I'm not sure if I remember receiving one reader ride from a female, that's you're fault cross-chicas, not mine. You know, I'll start an entire "gallery" of women's cyclocross bikes so long as someone sends me one. And it doesn't even have to be under 18 pounds or handmade. It could even be submitted by a doting hubby or boyfriend who does read this. One last thing, due to the lack of posts on my part, I recommend subscribing to the site via Google Reader or the like.

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Scott's Rocky Mountain

2011-12-15T15:51:00.000-08:00

First Rocky Mountain for +1lap? Looks great:

Hi, love your site. Best way to waste time is looking at bikes, when you aren't riding them.

Here's my submission for the sub-18lb 'cross bike gallery. I wanted a bike from a Canadian company, and liked the colour scheme on this model. As I am primarily a duathlete and TTer, this is also my road bike. With decent road wheels and tires it gives up little to my road bike and consequently I ended up selling the road bike. I use standard compact gearing as I need the 50T on the road.
It comes in at 17.2 lbs.

Frame: Rocky Mountain Solo CXR, 7005 Triple butted alloy
Fork: Alpha-Q CX20
Headset: FSA
'Cross Wheels: Custom, 38mm unbranded carbon rims, DT competition spokes, White Industries H2 hubs
Road wheels: Pro-Lite Stelvio w/Michelin ProRace3 tires
Tires: Vittoria Cross Evo XG Tubular, 32mm
Crank: Controltech Shield carbon, standard compact (50/34T)
BB: Controtech
Shifters: SRAM Red
Front Derailleur: 105 5600 (will change to Red)
Rear Derailleur: SRAM Red
Chain: SRAM 1090R
Cassette: SRAM 1070, 12-27
Pedals: Crank Bros. Candy SL
Brakes: TRP Euro-X Carbon
Brake pads: Swisstop Yellow
Bars: Ritchey WCS Carbon
Stem: Ritchey WCS
Seat Post: Ritchey WCS Carbon
Saddle: Fizik Arione

Urban bike contest

2011-09-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

Results are in for the Oregon Manifest, a contest to design an urban bike that would get people to stop driving and start riding.

via: ecovelo

Vintage Gios Cyclocross bike

2011-09-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is about vintage Cyclocross bikes, but I'm a fan. Heck, vintage in general is making a big comeback in America right now, and I think that's a good thing. Anyway back to bikes and this awesome Gios Cyclocross bike:

I've posted a vintage Gios cross bike on here in the past but this bike is seriously cool.

I'd probably put cross pedals on it and hook up the front brake! but otherwise she's perfect. Anyone ever own one, ride one?

Source: Flickr

Toot toot

2011-09-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

Because I'm a marketing nerd, I've been tracking cyclocross related keywords and documenting where Plus One Lap ranks in Google search results.

Search term	Google result
lightweight cyclocross	1
cyclocross faq	1
best cyclocross pedals	1
cyclocross blog	2
how to buy cyclocross bike	2
best cyclocross brakes	3
handmade cyclocross	3
best cyclocross wheels	6
colnago cyclocross	6
convert road bike cyclocross	7
cyclocross barriers	9
cyclocross pedals	12
convert mountain bike cyclocross	21
cheap cyclocross	31
cyclocross bike	54
cyclocross bikes	56
cyclocross	not in top 64
cyclocross brakes	not in top 64

What I find a little curious, is that "cyclocross brakes" I don't rank in the top 64 results, but "best cyclocross brakes" I'm third. Anyway, that's all for now. BTW --- the title refers to me tooting my own horn.

9/30/2011 edit: in the last week, usurped Mud and Cowbells for the #1 "cyclocross blog":

How to convert a road bike to a cyclocross bike

2011-06-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

This comes up a lot on the cyclocross forums. You want to try out cyclocross but aren’t ready to spend $600 or more on a “real” cyclocross bike. Don’t worry, before about 10 years ago, “real” cyclocross bikes didn’t exist. Or if they did, they were in very limited quantities.

To convert a road bike to a cyclocross bike you’ll need the following:

Frame:
You CAN use a road bike frame for cyclocross riding! The main issue here is tire clearance. Look for an old steel road bike, ideally one with 27” wheels. 27” wheels are larger than 700c’s and thus you’ll have more room for cyclocross tires. Tip: older Nishiki and Raleigh frames have plenty of clearance for cyclocross (I’ve done it).

Fork:
If you lucked out, the frame you got has a fork big enough to fit a cyclocross tire in it too! If not, you can simply buy a cyclocross fork. You can even buy a disc front fork if you want!

Brakes:
Use centerpull brakes. They stop really well, are easy to set up, have good mud/tire clearance and are pretty cheap.

Pedals:
Crank Brothers Candy pedals are very popular as are Time ATACs. If you have a mountain bike and like the pedals on it, use the same ones on your cyclocross bike.

Wheels:
Any road wheels will do. If the frame you bought above came with wheels, they will work fine.

Cyclocross Tires:
Get a set of cyclocross tires. You’ll probably need something around 30mm to fit in the frame. Some people are staunch supporters of one brand or another, I’ve never been able to tell the difference.

Shifters:
Integrated shifters like on a modern road bike work great. Though, they are expensive and can break easily. A cheaper and more durable option is bar end shifters. Suntour barends or “barcons” are some of the best.

There you go, hopefully I've demystified the mystery a bit. Let me know by leaving a comment or sending me an email at plusonelap at gmail dot com

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Brian's Salsa

2011-06-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

Brian sent in his Salsa CX bike:

Hello and thanks for putting together a great blog for a great sport.

Below are the details on the build. I did this on the cheap using lots of old Dura Ace parts. The Dura Ace shifters were bashed up pretty good in a crash so I opted to try out the Campy-Shimano solution and so far I like the notchy feel of the shifts and love that the brake levers are only used to brake; it gets rid of the sloppy feel of the Shimano STI shifters. CX Magazine did a great write up on the details: http://www.cxmagazine.com/shimano-campagnolo-ergopower-compatibility

Frame: Salsa Chili Con Crosso – it was the “Cliff Bar” team edition but was stripped and powder coated.

Fork: Alpha Q CX
Headset: Chris King
Cables/Housing: Gore Ride on for the derailleurs, nothing special for the brakes
Wheels: American Classic Carbon 58 tubular (decals removed)
Tires: Tufo Prestige 32mm
Crank: Shimano Dura Ace 7700 Crank with 46t 39t
Bottom Bracket: Dura Ace 7700
Shifters/Brake Levers: Campy Centaur QS Ergopower 10 speed
Rear Derailleur: Dura Ace 7700
Front Derailleur: Dura Ace 7700
Chain: Sram hollow pin
Cassette: Dura Ace 7700 12-27 9 speed
Pedals: Crank Brothers Egg Beater SL with Ti spindles
Brakes: Origin 8 with TRP Inplace adjust pads
Bars: 3T Ergonova (aluminum)
Stem: 3T aluminum
Seat Post: FSA carbon
Saddle: Cutter (cheap and light 205 grams)

Total weight: 16.75 lbs

Contour HD cams?

2011-06-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Thinking about getting a handsfree HD camera to mount on my bike --- might be cool. Looking at the Contour HD cameras, has anyone used one?

link

Miir bottles?

2011-06-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

They have a ton of color options, anyone ever tried one of these things? Better than a Klean Kanteen?

Says they give back to help keep clean water to African kids, pretty cool.

link

Fastest rolling resistance road tires

2011-06-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

So there's this guy named "AFM" that measures the rolling resistance of tires and posts his results to Biketechreview.com and other bike forums.

I took his list and made an eBay search tool out of it, so you can search for these quick tires on eBay.

Link to spreadsheet: Google Spreadsheet
Fastest road clincher tires: http://tinyurl.com/3oezmky
Fastest road tubular tires: http://tinyurl.com/3dwxg6x

Usedbicyclefinder.com

2011-06-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

I created a website to help people find their next used bicycle: www.usedbicyclefinder.com

I get a lot of questions from people just entering the world of cycling, the site has just the basics up now, but my goal is to add a page a day ---- I have a long list of items to cover!

Check it out: www.usedbicyclefinder.com

Were Back!

2011-04-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

For some reason, Google thought +1Lap was a "malicious site". Probably because it saw some comment as having a virus? No idea.

Well, looks like it's gone and were up and running. Anyone have a cool cross bike or cyclocross related project they've been working on?

$129 for V brakes?

2011-01-18T07:07:00.000-08:00

All hail the latest in cyclocross brake technology.....V brakes?

James Huang takes TRP's latest on a test ride and gives them 4 out of 5 sweaty jerseys. link

Folks, if you want V brakes, head over to eBay:

here's a set for $28 shipped link

Sven to race

2010-12-27T15:19:00.000-08:00

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/nys-back-in-shape-for-evening-superprestige-race?ns_campaign=news&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=cyclingnews&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0

Don't drop a chain, buy one of these

2010-12-20T15:49:00.000-08:00

Don’t want to drop a chain?

Check this out these custom chain catchers made by a friend of mine: link

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Eric's Cannondale

2010-12-15T13:33:00.000-08:00

Got an email from Eric, who's Plus One Lap alumni:

Hi,

You posted my lightweight (and custom) Merlin a back in 2007.

I just got a new 2011 Cannondale SuperX from QuadCycles in Arlington, MA.

Frame: 2011 Cannondale SuperX Hi-MOD Carbon BB30
Fork: 2011 Cannondale SuperX Hi-MOD 1.5–1.125" Tapered Steerer
Wheels: Mavic Ksyrium ES
Tires: Challenge Grifo 32
Crank: FSA SL-K Light BB30 DA-79 Compact 46/36
Bottom Bracket: FSA
Shifters/Brake Levers: Ultegra 6700
Rear Derailleur: Ultegra 6700
Front Derailleur: Ultegra 6700
Chain: Dura Ace 7800
Cassette: Ultegra 6700 11-28
Pedals: Crank Brothers Egg Beater SL
Brakes: FSA SL-K
Brake Pads: SwissStop RX GHP
Bars: Ritchey WCS Logic II
Stem: Ritchey WCS 4Axis
Bar Tape: Deda

It weighs 15-16 lbs.

Vintage Cyclocross video

2010-10-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9_Fs1QtsOY&feature=

via Roadbikereview

Raleigh

2010-10-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

Got both "new" brake levers installed last night as well retro-awesome Suntour barcons. Brake cables are the same color now, yea!

Bar tape is a little chunkier than I like, but better than cloth tape as far as comfort goes.

Raleigh: Downtube painted

2010-10-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do a full repaint before cross season, but seeing as I need to ride this bike daily, a full repaint is tricky.

The downtube on the Raleigh was heavily rusted, so after work yesterday, I sanded the downtube to bare metal, primed it and sprayed it black. It actually came out really nice (never underestimate a new coat of paint). I’m considering powdercoating, but don’t want to pay $100 to have it done. I have about $250 into the bike as it is now.

Will probably just ride it as is, will build up another bike that I can ride home from work and do the full bike at some point.

Also mounted the “New” pedals last night.

Before:

This weekend's plan:

2010-10-26T10:16:00.001-07:00

Swap wheelset with Dura Ace wheels

New SRAM 8 speed 11/28 cassette

Install new SRAM chain
Swap 53 tooth ring with 46 tooth large ring

~~Install Suntour Bar end shifters~~

~~Install Dura Ace non-aero brake levers~~

~~All new shift and brake cables/housing~~

~~Sand/Polish stripped saddle~~
~~Sand/Paint downtube which is rusty~~

~~Install Time ATAC pedals~~

Bryan's Bianchi Cyclocross conversion

2010-10-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

Bryan sent me some photos of his Bianchi conversion which started out as a road bike. He powdercoated a Salsa stem to match. For anyone out there considering such a conversion, maybe this will you push you over the edge.

Howdy,

Love your site and your Colnago and Raleigh builds. I thought maybe you'd like to see my bike of a similar nature. It started life as a Bianchi Nuovo Racer with a nice wide flat fork crown that I stripped down, brazed on canti studs and powdercoated. It's got a full build of 9-speed Dura Ace with XT brakes. Don’t worry, I’ve got other wheels, I just liked the looks of these for the photo! It’s a reasonable weight of an honest 21 pounds ready to ride.

It’s not my regular race bike, but does see use in our weekly series. It also has full fenders and a rack colored to match for commuting and some good randonneur style. It’s pretty much a perfect multi-use bike!

Thanks,

Bryan

Frugal Tip: 110 BCD's are your friend

2010-10-25T17:12:00.000-07:00

130 BCD cranks are the norm in road bikes. However, finding cyclocross friendly chainrings (44, 46, 48) are not so easy in this size.

If you think $35 for a single chainring is reasonable, stop reading. LEAVE!

Personally, I think $10-$15 is a better price for a ring. You can find 110 BCD rings in the cross friendly size of 44, 46, 48 much easier. Many of these are "BMX" rings which is bonus because they often come in cool anodized colors. Many mountain bike cranks are 110 BCD too.

Cross bikes are supposed to be frankensteins, so go find that old mtb crank at the LBS or bike co-op and pair it with a BMX ring. You'll save some dollars.

Here are a bunch of 46 tooth rings in the 110 BCD pattern: link

Feeling Nostalgic: Nishiki Singlespeed

2010-10-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

I miss that old bike. link

Sold it 3 years ago, emailed the owner today out of the blue and she said:

Yes, my husband uses it almost daily (depending on the weather). He loves it. He actually rode it to work today.

That makes me feel a little better.

Press release: Garmin and MetriGear

2010-09-27T08:07:00.001-07:00

Pretty big news:

First, our apologies for the extended quiet period. For those of you who have been following us over the past year, you know that it's not like us to be so quiet for so long. Well, earlier this week some great news was announced that will hopefully help explain our silence:

Garmin® acquires MetriGear, adding cycling power to fitness portfolio.You can access Garmin's press release here.

The decision to join the Garmin team was not a difficult one for us. Garmin brings incredible capabilities to the table and ensures that Vector will be delivered to market as we originally conceived: an easy-to-own and accurate power meter with the capability to offer unique insights to cyclists.

And while this path is clearly different than our original startup intent of building a company from the ground up, we now know that Vector has the ability to reach cyclists throughout the world in a way that we could never have achieved on our own. There was a moment of pause as we took in the gravity of the decision, but then smiles and whiteboard sessions quickly took over as we began to imagine all of the possibilities and long-term potential with the Vector platform as part of Garmin's fitness portfolio.

If you're reading this, chances are you've been supporting us from the sidelines for some time. It would be difficult to overstate our gratitude for your encouragement and enthusiasm. The emails and inquiries are often hilarious (intentionally, we believe!). They get passed around our team and offer great amusement as well as that extra boost of confidence that we sometimes need. Many of you know that this is a pretty complex product. We won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that it rivals the most complex stuff we (and some of our technology partners) have ever worked on. One of our favorite coded phrases that we use when we're wrestling with a particularly vexing issue is: "If it was easy...", meaning that if it was, it would have been launched a long time ago by another company, so just get on with it. But Vector is measuring forces as we expect, and when delivered by Garmin, it is going to be a solution that we all want to ride/race/train with and we'll have the confidence that a world-class company stands behind the product.

We just arrived back in the Bay Area from Interbike, where we spent a few days in our new employer's booth. We joked that the MetriGear Interbike booth this year was a "micro booth" - a small plastic box that fits nicely in our pocket and displays the multiple versions of improvements that we've made in our sensor system over the past year. Prep for a micro booth is a dream - all we had to do was wait for the glue gun to heat up! The response to a Garmin Vector at Interbike helped confirm that it will fit seamlessly into the Garmin fitness product portfolio.

We honestly wouldn't be sharing this news today if you hadn't raised your voice, typed that email, sent that Tweet, and told us that we were working on something that you were interested in checking out. Thank you. While it's too early to talk about the timing of a release for Vector, you can be sure that we are working as hard as ever to deliver with an expanded and amazingly capable group of people.

We hope to continue the dialogue and keep you updated along the way. How and in what way, we haven't quite figured out yet. But for now, it's time to get back to work on the Garmin Vector!

Thanks again.

Formerly, the MetriGear Team, and now proud members of the Garmin Team

Waiting for stickers

2010-08-31T20:45:00.000-07:00

Ordered some decals for the Raleigh project, had some coming from Thailand, they arrived, were the wrong type. So now waiting for the right type to arrive.

The good news is that the wrong versions I can use on another Raleigh project.

Patience is tough.

Belgium booked!

2010-08-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

Any good websites on the dates for the Spring Classic races in 2011? Will be there from 4/19-4/26.

Anyone out there have any viewing tips?

i want that: drilliumed Stronglight cranks

2010-08-20T22:29:00.000-07:00

They even are set up with Cyclocross gears: 46/34.

Some of those Stronglight's used their own threading for the crank removal which is a pain.

link

Cobbles in April

2010-08-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/donncha/158540367/

I might be in Belgium in April of next year!

Capricorn cyclocross bike

2010-08-18T08:51:00.001-07:00

Found this picture of a Capricorn cyclocross bike on the blog bikejerks

And here's a photo album: link

Pretty cool, here’s a link to the Capricorn website, any Minneapolis readers have one?

Wordle

2010-08-16T16:37:00.000-07:00

Found this website called Wordle: "Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text."

As you can see, Shimano and Ultegra are well used words here on +1lap. Kinda cool.What's interesting is that cyclocross isn't one of the major words, hmmm.......

http://www.wordle.net/

i want that: Belgian handlebar tape

2010-08-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

I think this Benotto Belgian tape looks awesome in the package.

But I can't imagine a bike it would actually look cool on.

Anyone?

link

Raleigh spreadsheet

2010-08-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd post this build list with prices and sources for the Raleigh Grand Prix I'm working on.

I create a spreadsheet like this every time I build a bike. It helps to know what you spent on something when it comes to selling it. Also, having a break down of the specs is nice. I use Google Docs.

The blue bar means I haven't bought that part yet. You could also make a column for part weights and weigh everything beforehand. I'm not tracking individual part weights for this build, but am keeping a tally of total weight changed.

Handmade Cyclocross Bike: Josh's Marinoni

2010-08-13T03:16:00.000-07:00

Hey, really enjoy your site. Just built up a 2010 custom Marinoni Fango cross bike. Thought I would send you the details and some pics to maybe include in your site. Cheers, Josh.

Frame: Marinoni Fango cyclo-cross, Columbus Nivacrom steel tubing
Fork: Evo carbon cyclo-cross
Headset: FSA Orbit-MX Orbit-1
Stem: FSA OS-99 3.0 AL 7050 -6 degrees
Handlebars: FSA Wing Pro Compact 44cm
Front brake: Tektro CR720
Rear brake: Tektro CR720
Brake levers: Shimano Ultegra ST-6700
Front derailleur: Shimano Ultegra FD-6700
Rear derailleur: Shimano Ultegra RD-6700
Shift levers: Shimano Ultegra ST-6700
Cassette: Shimano Ultegra CS-6700, 11-25T
Chain: Shimano Ultegra CN-6700
Crankset: Shimano Ultegra FC-6750 compact, 175mm, 34/50T
Bottom bracket: Shimano Ultegra BB-6700
Pedals: Shimano Deore XT 25th Anniversary Edition
Wheelset: Shimano Ultegra 6700 Road Tubeless
Front tyre: Hutchinson Piranha 34 tubeless
Rear tyre: Hutchinson Piranha 34 tubeless
Saddle: Selle Italia SLK SE
Seat post: Cadence PPK
Carbon Bottle cages: n/a
Computer: n/a

Critical measurements
Rider's height: 1.83m (6' 0")
Rider's weight: 75.5kg (166lb)
Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 810mm
Saddle setback: 50mm
Seat tube length, c-t: 560mm
Seat tube length, c-c: 545mm
Tip of saddle nose to C of bars (next to stem): 550mm
Saddle-to-bar drop (vertical): 45mm
Head tube length: 165mm
Top tube length: 560mm

Total bicycle weight: 9.04kg (19.93lb)

flickr

2010-08-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11699055@N03/3085283856/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/ex_magician/4027923388/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/optimieron/3053916897/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scurvyknaves/4087990085/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpotstra/2416964563/

Crank Bros Candy SL's on sale!

2010-08-12T00:51:00.000-07:00

Just grabbed a pair of Candy Sl's in blue for $46.20 plus $4 shipping.

Link

Tough to find a pair used at that price. Going to look pretty cool on my blue bike.

Raleigh Restoration

2010-08-12T00:08:00.000-07:00

For the doubters/haters out there, check out the tire clearance! These are 700 x 35 tires, but in your defense they actually only measure 30mm wide. But this is CX not mountain bike racing.

Can someone remind me why centerpull brakes aren't more prevalent? They stop really well after putting new pads on and a hell of a lot easier to set up than cantilevers.

Also just ordered:

Still hunting for a pair of bar end shifters, will probably use SunTour's. Need an 8 speed cassette and a chain and a set of mtb pedals and I'll be set.

Getting ready for the season

2010-08-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

Great article by CrossJunkie about getting ready for cyclocross. As well as some suggested workouts:

A few times a week, ride off road to work and back, instead of on the road (luckily I have the environment to do this). Need. Upper. Body. Conditioning. Plus the double training dose of Human Growth Hormone, or whatever my own legal and natural product is, won't go amiss.

http://crossjunkie.blogspot.com/2010/08/its-nearly-time.html

I’m planning on heading up to Folsom Lake this weekend, to putz around on some of the trails and fire roads up there, maybe practice some dismounts too.

PDX School of Cross

2010-08-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

SSCXWC

2010-08-06T14:11:00.001-07:00

Seattle, WA - August 6, 2010 -- Low Pressure Promotions, LLC and Washington
Unified Single Speeders, LLC (WUSS) are excited to announce that the winner
of the Raleigh Bicycles Single Speed race at StarCrossed p/b Stanley - A
brand of PMI will automatically qualify for the final at the Single Speed
Cyclocross World Championships (SSCXWC). Seattle will be hosting SSCXWC on
October 23rd and 24th with qualifying for the championship held on Saturday,
October 24th.

Zac Daab, co-promoter of StarCrossed, boasted, "We now host the second most
important single speed cyclocross race in the world. Avoiding the riggers
of the qualifying process for the final at SSCXWC could be quite an
advantage for the winner of StarCrossed (Single Speed)."

A limited number of riders will be given the privilege to race in the
championship race on Sunday, October 24th. Currently over 225 riders are
pre-register for the weekend's festivities so the qualifier is mandatory in
order to secure a spot in the race on Sunday, October 24th. SSCXWC will be
offering "repechage" opportunities during the many events planned on
Saturday. Winning the MFG Cyclocross SS race earlier on Sunday will be the
final qualifier. The winner of StarCrossed Raleigh Bicycles Single Speed
race will avoid the stress and possible humiliation of the qualify process
set forward by WUSS. The winner will also be the new owner of a Raleigh
single speed frame.

For more information on StarCrossed: www.starcrossedcx.com
For more information on Single Speed Cyclocross Worlds: www.sscxwc.org

i want that: track dropouts with RD hanger

2010-08-05T22:42:00.000-07:00

Saw these on eBay today, now I want to build a CX bike-----could be geared or SS.

link

Dear Velo-Orange,

2010-08-02T06:57:00.000-07:00

Velo-Orange has some really interesting parts and can be a great place to find unique new parts for a bike thats being restored.

I've bought a number of parts from them in the past for various builds, and even put their square taper BB on my Cervelo P3 triathlon/time trial bike.

With that said, their prices and products can be ridiculous. Take this centerpull brake for example (image above): link $150 for a pair? This looks identical (as I'm sure it's supposed to) to a Mafac Racer brake. This is all well and good (this isnt a rant on copyright infringement) but $150??

This set of Mafac Racers just sold on eBay for $30 shipped.

These brakes sell all the time on eBay and at your local bike co-op. While Paul components may have started the trend of tweaking a tested design (of another Mafac brake) and tripling the price, at least Paul improved upon the design in a major way allowing for more adjustment.

I understand that having parts made and importing them can be an expensive process, but why recreate parts that are easily accessible and thus not too expensive?

Dura Ace / Open Pro wheelset

2010-08-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

A pair of 700c Dura Ace/Open Pro wheels are now mine!

This is possibly one of the best sets of wheels out there. The wheelset is at home in a group ride or a cross course.

Because they are 700c (smaller than the 27" wheels that the Raleigh came with) I'll have more clearance for wider tires. While I think 32mm is a wide enough tire for cyclocross, I'll be doing some MTB duathlons on this thing too so I'm planning on getting either 700x34 or 700x35's.

The best part is I paid $60.

Reader Rig: 1979 Centurion Super Lemans

2010-07-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

Jason saw my posts about the Raleigh cyclocross project, and sent me some info/pics of his Centurion cyclocross bike.

The message here is that for budget conscious riders, a cheap cyclocross bike isnt hard to do. Plus, don't forget cyclocross designed bikes are a rather new concept within the last fifteen years. Prior, guys like Jason and I were taking these old road bikes and retrofitting them to go offroad.

Excerpts from Jason's email: "It's set up for running around town now, but come Sept I'm gonna throw some knobbies on it and use it for my backup race bike. The MAFAC racers are dope, can't really make out what's on your Raleigh, but let's be honest all center pulls are decent enough for cross or commuting."

Jason's Blog: Het Malen

Vintage Cyclocross Poster

2010-07-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

Just thought this was cool. link

Raleigh wrenching

2010-07-28T23:27:00.000-07:00

Worked on the bike after work today:

It had old rusted cheap cottered cranks previously. What's worse is that I'm sure the previous owner didnt know or take the time to service them, because they wiggled like crazy in the BB. I initially tried tightening the BB cups without taking off the cranks, this didnt solve the problem.

I bought a set of Sugino VP cranks with a 130BCD pattern, and they had a gunmetal color paint over the top of them, not anodized. Using some paint remover, steel wool, scraper, soft rag and some metal polish I sparkled them up pretty well.Will get a 48t big ring when the season gets closer.

Getting off the cottered cranks was a chore, using Sheldon's tutorial was vital. . I ended up breaking off the threaded portion, drilling out the cotter pin, heating everything up with a torch and then driving it out with a punch. Then I removed the other side's BB cup so that I didnt have to remove both cotters.

Installed the old school Stronglight Competition BB that I bought for $2 and everything looks pretty good.

Cannot find a photo of the Sugino VP cranks online in the 130bcd pattern with the gunmetal paint, but they were hideous. Now, I think they look a lot like one of my most favorite cranks the Dura Ace 7400's.

Had the alloy pedals sitting in a box so decided to throw them on, will get some clipless in the near future.

Lastly, snapped a photo of the Wright's leather saddle I got off of eBay for $20 shipped. I'll use this saddle and seatpost for general cruising, but will switch back to the plastic/leather Turbo for cyclocross racing as I'll feel more comfortable abusing that one.

Raleigh Cyclocross

2010-07-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some before pics of the Raleigh Grand Prix. Accumulating parts as we speak, I'm currently riding this bike everyday commuting to work, so cant have any downtime due to rebuilding.

Thus, I'm planning on amassing my parts, polishing what needs to be polished.

btw---have spent $122 thus far.

Pair of custom frames

2010-07-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hardcore CX racers will always have at least two bikes built up alike so that they can swap bikes midrace and not miss a beat.

A pair of custom cyclocross frames are for sale, with such a purpose in mind.

Pretty cool.

Cyclocross FAQ

2010-07-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

The most popular page on this little blog is also one of my first posts: the Cyclocross FAQ

Written in September of 2005, most of the content is still fairly accurate, though on my list is to make revisions.

Check it out and let me know what needs to be added or changed.

"Vintage" Cyclocross bike build

2010-07-02T22:37:00.000-07:00

Moved back to Sacramento, got a job 3 miles from my house and thought I'd get a bike that I could ride to work that would double as a cross bike if I decide to do a few races this year.

I want to call it my "vintage cx bike" but "ghetto cx bike" probably explains my budget a little better.

Got it off of Craigslist for $60, needs new tires, and I'll probably paint it too cause I always like that.

It's a 1976 Raleigh Grand Prix. Pictures shortly.

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Dustin's Kona

2010-05-07T05:17:00.000-07:00

Hi Jeremy,

Dig your site...

I scored a cheap 2001 Kona Jake the Snake frame a few years back on craigslist, built it up, started racing, and got hooked! When I bought my 1st new 'cross frame last year, I stuck with Kona - this time the Major Jake. This year I rebuilt it, and switched to tubulars - can't say enough good things about revolution wheelworks tubulars - great value! I don't have a digital scale, so part weights are estimated from weight weenies and other online sources, but I'm pretty sure she's at or under 17 lbs.

Cheers,

Dustin

Total Weight ~ 7700g

Frame = Kona Major Jake 54cm = 1400g

Fork = Easton EC90X = 480g

Drivetrain:

Levers = Dura Ace 7800 = 420g

FD = Dura Ace 7800 = 83g

RD = Dura Ace 7800 = 180g

Cassette = Ultegra 12-27 = 256g

Chain = Ultegra = 280g

Crankset = Dura Ace 7800 39/46 (Truvativ Outer Ring) = 760g

BB = Dura Ace 7800 (weight included in crankset weight)

Controls:

Brakes = Avid Shorty 6 with Kool Stop pads = 360g

Saddle = Selle Italia Flight = 240g

Seatpost = Thompson 27.2mm cut to length = 220g

Headset = Chris King = 120g

Bar = Ritchey WCS Classic 42cm = 210g

Stem = Ritchey WCS 90mm = 125g

Pedals = Crank Brothers Eggbeater SL = 266g

Wheels:

Wheelset = Revolution Wheelworks REV-25X = 1460

Tires = Vittoria Evo XG 290 = 400g

Skewers = Revolution Wheelworks = 130g

Small Parts:

Bar Tape = Bontrager = 40g

Cables/Housing/Ferrules = 190g

Tubular Glue = Vittoria Mastik One = 50g

Generic Front Cable Guide = 30g

Generic Carbon Headset Spacers = 10g

Vintage Cantilever Brakes

2010-02-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

Came across this photo online here filed in 1939

Notice that the brake mounts via a clamp, pretty cool.

Shedding weight: Drilling the crap out of your saddle

2010-01-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

This is a routine mod for weight weenies. But Rasmus has taken it a step further. I've done this mod myself, and never noticed it being less comfortable than the standard SLR.

Here are some SLR's if you'd like to do this mod yourself:
Link
Link

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Joe's Yeti

2010-01-11T06:26:00.000-08:00

I Love the website and find myself checking it all the time to see the new bikes. Finally decided to send mine over and see if it makes the website. I think it might be the first Yeti but not sure. On my
semi-accurate and hanging from the doorframe scale it comes in at just over 17.5 pounds. This is as clean as she's been in about a year so I thought I better send in the pictures before the next weekly race.

The Build:
Frame/Fork - Yeti Arc-X (size small) and Easton EC-90x
Drivetrain - All Sram Force except for FSA SL-K Cranks (going to be moving to smaller Thorne chainrings shortly. Some days I think I'm the only amateur that can admit they cannot comfortably race a 46T)
Cassette - Sram 1070
Wheels - Ksyrium SL SSC
Brakes - TRP Euro X with Swiss Stop pads
Stem/Seatpost - Ritchey WCS wet black finish
Handlebars - FSA Wing Pro (Compact) - white
Saddle - Selle Italia SLR-xp
Tires - Ritchey Speedmax 700x32 (swapped with Kenda SB8's when need more traction)
Pedals - Had been running Crank Brothers 2Ti, but now switching over to to Look Quartz

Guess that's about it. She's not near as light as all the carbon frame/wheel bikes but she can take an insane pounding without a hiccup. Plus I'm not in fear of having to drop $200 for new carbon bars should I eat in a race...which is always a 50/50 proposition for me.

Best,
Joe

1988 Cyclocross World Champ Video

2010-01-04T21:09:00.000-08:00

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The rest of the parts can be found on Youtube...

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Nik's BMC CrossMachine

2010-01-04T20:22:00.000-08:00

Nik's BMC CrossMachine is a pretty sick ride. But of course it is, crap doesnt make it to +1lap. :) The bike has a good mix of components which means the bike looks to be built with racing (rather than for wall displaying) in mind but still brings the weight under 17 pounds (7.7 kilos for the metrically inclined). All without carbon wheels = impressive.

08 bmc aluminum w/ carbon seat stays

Easton ec 90 bars

Easton ea 90 stem

Easton ea 90 seatpost

Sella italia flight w/ ti rails

SRAM rival shift/brake hoods

SRAM force front/rear derailers

Paul brakes

Mavic ksyrium sl elite

Salsa ti skewers

Kenda small block 8's

SRAM red 10spd cassette

SRAM 10spd chain

Durace cranks

Time attack aluminum pedals

If you have a sub 18 lb cross bike email it to me at plusonelap at gmail dot com

Cyclocross Christmas Money Spree

2010-01-02T21:53:00.000-08:00

Have some Christmas cash? Checkout these cyclocross deals

Scott CX bike Ultegra

Steel Lemond Poprad

CX Gruppo

Interesting Pinarello "cyclocross" bike

Paul Neo-Retro Deal

2009-12-15T06:33:00.000-08:00

Saw these on Ebay and thought someone might want to pull the trigger on them.

$60 for a full bike's worth and only 5 hours left.

Link

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Ty's Moots

2009-12-12T04:59:00.000-08:00

Hey Jeremy,

Finally finished the moots, also check out my friends revised website, www.belgiumkneewarmers.com. I am a contributer in pictures and stories. Thanks for having a great Website!

Moots Psychlo X Titanium 53.5

weight 16.8 pounds

Campagnolo Chorus Groupset 11 speed

Cassette: Campagnolo Super Record 12-25

Crank: Campagnolo Compact 34-50, with option of FSA 46 tooth 11 speed ring

Rear Deral.: Campagnolo Chorus

Front Deraluer: Campagnol Chorus

Mavic Ksyrium SL SSC tubular wheels

Tires: Tufo Elite Diamond Tubular 30 mm

Brakes: Spooky Alum. with TRP adjustable barrels

Brake Pads: Swiss Stop Rat

Pedals: Crank Bros. Titanium

Fork: Easton EC90X carbon

Headset: Chris King Threadless

Seatpost: Deda Zero 100

Saddle: Selle Italia SLR 165g

Stem: Deda Newton 100cm

Handlebar: Deda Newton Italian short drop 44cm

Cork: Specailzed RoubaixComputer: Garmin 705

VeloNews: Cross Tire Shootout

2009-12-03T09:38:00.000-08:00

Good article on cyclocross tires over at VeloNews.

"a set of new or gently used box section (tubular) rims laced three-cross that you found at VeloSwap, EBay or your local shop will afford 90-percent of the advantage for less than $200"

2009 Bend Nationals Course Preview Video

2009-11-25T03:53:00.000-08:00

2009 Nationals, whoop!

Budget Bikes Gallery?

2009-11-24T20:28:00.000-08:00

Hey there everyone, recently got a suggestion that +1lap should host a gallery for budget/frankenbikes. If anyone has a great frankenbike/parts bin special, send it to plusonelap at gmail dot com. If I think it and you are awesome, it'll go up on the site.

Please write a short story of where/how you sourced the parts and how much you spent as well. Now go to it!

Handmade Cyclocross Bike: Curtis' Magpie

2009-11-23T07:01:00.000-08:00

I've been checking out your blog for a while, lots of fun. Please keep it going.

Here is a photo of my handbuilt cx "magpie cycles" for your handmade/custom gallery.

This is the build:

Frame: 2009 magpie cycles custom (Columbus Zona)

Fork: Custom Columbus

Drivetrain: SRAM Force with TA Chainrings

Wheels: Stealth Version DT Swiss 240 hubs, Mavic Open Pro CD Ceramic Rims, Sapim CX ray Spokes, Handbuilt

Headset: Cane Creek 110

Stem: Deda Zero 100

Bars: Deda Zero 100

Saddle: Selle San Marco Regal

Seatpost: Campagnolo Record Titanium

Pedals: Shimano XTR

Brakes: TRP Euro x Carbon

Weight: 20.0 lbs

Hope you like.

Curtis

Durham, NC

Gios Retro Cross Ride

2009-11-21T12:57:00.000-08:00

This bike isnt light and isnt custom, but its cool:

Here is my retroish Gios cyclocross bike, the frame is made of gios pro tubing, setup with a mix of Shimano and Paul components:

The headset, the box, the crank and the "barend" shifter are shimano duraace or 600.
The brakes are Paul Neo-Retro w/ Salsa hanger, Paul Chainkeeper, and Paul Thumbie pod
The wheels is Shimano 105 to open pro w. michelin "sprint" tyres
Flight Ti saddle, Ritchey pro post, Salsa stem, 3ttt formula SL handelbar, Canecreek and Salsa brake levers. The rear mech is a suntour XC pro, it shifts great but I will like the index to work, so I will change it to an XTR.

It's 10.5 kilo (23lbs) on my fish scale.

Thanks for a great blog,
Stinus

Handmade Cyclocross Bike: Greg's Pereira

2009-11-20T05:39:00.000-08:00

Here’s my submission to the handmade cross bike gallery:

Frame: 2007 Pereira Cycles

Fork: Edge Composites Cross Fork 335mm

Drivetrain: Campy Centaur 10 Speed Group

50/34 Centaur Compact

Wheels: Cane Creek Volos XL

Headset: Chris King

Stem: Thomson Elite

Bars: Salsa Bell Lap

Saddle: Terry Fly Titanium

Seatpost: Thomson Elite Setback

Brakes: Paul’s Touring & Neo Retro

Tires: Ritchey Alfa Bite Trail Mix

Pedals: Shimano XTR M970

Other: Problem Solvers FD Clamp & Cable Hanger

Check out the RD cable routing

20.03 lbs

Dual Gallery Bike: Jeff's True North

2009-11-19T19:21:00.000-08:00

Here's one for both galleries, as it's under 18 lb and handmade/custom. True North Cycles is a local builder who does super work and has built me steel mtb and road frames before I got the cross bike.

The ride is fantastic, with a stiff rear end for putting the power down but enough compliance to pop out of corners like only Ti can. I went for a very low BB (70mm BB drop) and though I clipped a pedal a few times in practice at first, the cornering benefits are very worthwhile in my mind.

See the attached *.xls for the parts list. The frame comes in at 1596 g, not bad for being a 60 cm x 57 cm, and not your average scandium or monocoque carbon. Total build weight is 17.2 lbs with the Hope Pro3/Velocity Escape wheels. I've got a few wheel options depending on the conditions. I wanted to get it sub 17 lbs, and still can with the right wheels but I'm happy with just over anyway.

Non weight-weenie sacrifices were made for functional (preference) reasons in the Q-ring and Bontrager bar, and for cost cutting in crank and brake selection. That said I'm quite pleased with the weight as is, and don't see many changes ahead. Maybe the BB, since the Race Face was just what I had on hand.

Build:
Frame TN Custom Ti/Carbon
Fork Alpha Q CX20
Headset Chris King nothreadset
Stem Alpha Q Prolite 90mm x 8° w/Ti bolts
Bars Bontrager Race Lite VR 44cm
Tape OCTTO Professional grade
Seatpost Eriksen "Sweetpost" Ti layback
Post binder Token Carbon/Ti
Saddle Selle Italia SLR XP
Pedals LOOK Quartz Carbon
Crankset Ultegra SL 175mm
Chainring Rotor Q-ring 40t
Guard Aluminum outer guard
Chainring bolts a2z alloy chainring bolts
Chain retention N-Gear Jump Stop
BB Race Face Cadence w/Enduro bearings
R Derailleur SRAM Rival
Shifters SRAM Rival '08 (no left internals)
Cassette SRAM PG-1070 11-28
Chain KMC X10-SL TiN
Housing SRAM generic
Cables generic stainless
Brakes Velo Orange Grand Cru
Pads SwissStop Flash GHP
F Wheel Hope Pro3/Velocity Escape 28h
R Wheel Hope Pro3/Velocity Escape 32h
Skewers KCNC
Tires FMB SSC 34c coton (2)

Jeremy Powers' Cyclocrossworld.com Bike

2009-11-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

Cool stuff!

Jeremy Powers' Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale Cyclocross | Cyclingnews.com

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Mark's Salsa

2009-11-19T07:54:00.000-08:00

I've been considering posting my bike for a while now, and Josh's recent post of his Salsa was the final push to get the proverbial ball rolling. I bought the frame and fork last year and moved parts over from my road bike (I decided a sweet cross rig that I would ride all year was better than two mediocre bikes, since I don't race on the road). I then upgraded parts throughout the cross season and this Spring. By far the best upgrades were the wheels. I would say it doesn't matter so much if you get tubulars, tubeless, or tubed, but definitely get the lightest wheels that will be durable for your weight. I noticed the reduced rotational weight right away, by far more than any other upgrade (most which you don't notice at all except in the pocketbook). The next upgrade from a performance level would be the TRP brakes. A distinct difference from my old Avid Shorty 6's. To make lighter I tried a USE seat post, but could never tighten it enough to avoid the dreaded prostate massage by the end of a race, and a Tune Gum Gum only held the front end stable for about 1/4 of a dirt road training ride.

Sorry, I don't have individual weights. I am able to run some lightweight components that others couldn't, because I only weight about 130lbs (I am hard on components, witness two cracked Zipp 303 rims, broken USE seatpost) Consider this bike did 16 cross races last year, plus year round training in this configuration without a part fail.

Frame: Salsa Chili con Crosso 44cm
Fork: Alpha Q CX20
Headset: Crank Brothers Iodine
Stem: Ritchey WCS 4Axis 100mm
Handlebars: FSA K-Force Carbon 42cm
Levers: SRAM Red
Brakes: TRP Euro Cross Magnesium
Front Derailleur: SRAM Red
Rear Derrailleur SRAM Red
Cranks: FSA K-Force Compact 46-34T
Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace 12-25T
Chain: KMC X10SL-Ti
Chain Watcher: Redline
Seat: Specialized Toupe Team
Seat Post: Easton EC90
Seat Post Clamp: KCNC
Wheels: Edge 1.38 Tubular w/DT Swiss 240s hubs
Tires: Challenge Grifo 32 or Grifo XS white
Pedals: Crank Brothers Egg Beater 4ti
Extras: Extralite Ultrastar Expander with carbon cap, Deda bar tape, Polar wireless sensor

Handmade Cyclocross Bike: Gary's Sycip

2009-11-18T07:23:00.000-08:00

Ok here is a pic of my second Custom Sycip submitted to this site. It is made of lite weight Columbus Tubing, ovalized at the headtube, then to round then back to ovalized at the Seatube, for the down-tube, it is ovalized at the Bottom-bracket as well as the seat-tube at the bottom bracket.

I really wanted to use the New Niner EBB (Biocentric) bottom bracket (Shell) for this frame and at the time it was only available in steel which is now available in Al as well. The frame weight is 3.5 lb. in what would be about at 51cm frame. It weights the same as the tricross frame that it replaced that was clubbed together into a single speed setup.

The complete bike as shown in the pics weights 15.8 which is awesome, my first CX Geared frame by Jeremy weighted 2.6 lb. which would have been crazy lite if we built this one in that manner. I raced the bike twice since it was built once in the CrossCrusades SS race then later that same day in the SSCXWC and truly loved the geometry and handling of the bike. Thanks for posting this bike.

Cyclocross Goodies from Interbike #2

2009-11-17T13:12:00.005-08:00

Source: Cyclocross Goodies from Interbike Outdoor Demo West

Can you say Neo Retro front and Touring rear?

Posted using ShareThis

Cyclocross Goodies from Interbike

2009-11-17T13:12:00.003-08:00

Source: Cyclocross Goodies from Interbike Outdoor Demo West

Was Interbike a while ago? Yes. But cool stuff is still cool 2 months later.

Posted using ShareThis

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Brandon's Lynskey

2009-11-17T11:39:00.000-08:00

Lynskey ProCross, ML. 2010 SRAM Force, Easton EC90 cranks, TRP Euro X Mags, DT Swiss RRC 425F and RRC525R wheels, Dugast Rhino 34 front 32 rear tires, Crank brothers 4ti pedals, Fizik Antares carbon saddle. Set up 1x10.

This is a team bike for Iron Cycles in Chicago. They are the largest Lynskey dealer in Chicago and a really cool shop in the city.

Photos were taken after a FULL dis-assembly because of a SERIOUSLY muddy race. She cleans up real nice.

15.48 lbs.

Subscribe to Plus One Lap

2009-11-16T08:41:00.000-08:00

Go to the link below to subscribe to Plus One Lap to view in your favorite RSS reader.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/plus1lap

Handmade Cyclocross Bike: James' Wilkins

2009-11-10T09:43:00.000-08:00

A retro rig, I like it.

I bought this old "Brian Wilkins" Reynolds 531 tourer second-hand nearly two years ago with the idea of doing it up into some sort of all-purpose, early '70s-style, mean machine: not a pure cyclocross bike as such, but more like one than anything else. I started the upgrade / part-replacement at the start of 2009 and finished in the summer - and I have enjoyed taking inspiration from your website throughout the process... Thanks P.O.L.!

I have tried to keep to vintage parts by-and-large, but without getting too hung up about it and without spending too much money.

SPEC.
Frame: Brian Wilkins, London circa 1973 vintage. Cantilever mounts added - 2008. Resprayed - 2009.
Wheels: Mavic Open Pro (new)
Tyres: Normally Specialized Borough 32s (for daily commute). Here race-ready Schwalbe CX Pro 32s.
Brakes: Shimano Altus (I think - new)
Levers: Weinmann (original with NOS e-bay hoods)
Saddle: Iscaselle Tornado (NOS e-bay)
Seatpost: Kalloy (NOS e-bay)
Handlebars / Stem: Cinelli Campione del Mundo / Cinelli (both NOS)
Rear derailleur: Shimano 600 (NOS e-bay)
Gear levers: ditto but with Arabesque styling (NOS e-bay)
Front derailleur: Suntour Superbe Pro (NOS e-bay)
Cranks & Chainset: Sakae SR (original)

Weight: unknown but around 21lb? Total cost including re-spraying approx GB £700. I take part in my first cyclocross race tomorrow ("Muddy Hell" at the 'cross track around Herne Hill Velodrome, London, UK). It's in the dark and the course goes through the beer tent... Hopefully the forecast rain will have stopped by the evening!

Thanks again. Hope you like the photos - and keep up the good work!

Regards,
James W.
London, UK

Handmade Cyclocross Bike: Ross' Speedvagen

2009-11-08T08:33:00.000-08:00

Vanilla Speedvagen 2009
Oval concepts Bars 44 c-c

Syntace F139 stem

IRD cable hangar

Chris King headset

Fizik Arione saddle

Paul neo-retro front, touring canti rear

10 spd Campy Centaur groupo w/ Parlee front derailleur clamp

Campy record chain and BB cups

39t campy record inner chainring, 46t TA outer chainring

Shimano M970 pedals

Campy record hubs laced to mavic ceramic open pro clincher rims, Challenge Grifo XS tires
The cassette is a 13-29 that I turned into a 12-26, but since the pic has been taken I have gone back to the 13-29.

19.5 lbs as pictured

Handmade Cyclocross Bike: Jeremy's Skagen

2009-10-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a bike submission for your Handmade CX gallery.

It's handmade by my good friend and co-worker, Larry Skagen up in the land of the frozen tundra, Fargo, North Dakota. He's been building bicycle frames for a number of years, mostly as a hobby. This is only his second lugged frame - fillet brazing is his specialty. We have a Quint that he built over one of the winters here hanging in our shop at the Great Northern Bicycle Company.

The tubing is 953 Reynolds with stainless lugs from Llewellyn. The rear stays were left polished, as were the lugs, but I wanted the frame and fork to look uniform, so I painted the main triangle. She ain't the lightest, but boy, ain't she pretty.

Alpha Q forkChris King headset
Campy Centaur shiftersDeda Newton shallow barsBrooks tape
Thomson X2 stemDt Swiss 240 hubs laced to Mavic Reflex tubular rimsPaul Neo Retro brakes front, Touring cantis rear (high polish finish)Campy Centaur Crank/BB, BBG bashguard, 40t Surly SS ringXTR pedalsThomson Masterpiece seatpostSpecialized Phenom SL saddleCampy Centaur R/DCampy Centaur 13-29 cassetteChallenge Grifo XS 34mm tubulars (also a set of Fangos glued to identical wheels)
19.5 lbs.

Reader Question: 1x9 dual bash guard setup

2009-08-18T15:35:00.000-07:00

Does anyone have an answer to this +1lap reader's question?

Hello. First off let me say I really like your website. Now I have a question. I have a stock Truvativ Touro 50/36 compact crankset with a 68x108mm BB and a 45.5mm chain line (?). And a 12-26T 9-speed cassette. I'm leaning towards a 40T chainring.

I'm trying to get the straightest chain line for this setup. Should I get a 68x107mm and run the chain ring on the outside (I'm adding 2 bash guards) or get the 68x113mm and run the chain ring on the inside?

Also, assuming I'll need chain ring bolts for a triple crankset, what size spacers? I'll be getting 2 42T BBG Super lights. Do people normally get bash guards 2T bigger? Obviously this is all new to me. I bought a 54cm Moto' Fantom CX for my introduction to cyclo-cross. Thanks for your time and expertise.

Lightweight Cross Bike: Brandon's Salsa

2009-08-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

This is my 44cm 2008 Salsa Chili Con Crosso custom cross build. I attempted to build the lightest possible bike that my budget would allow. Many parts I had previously on my Ridley and just swapped them over to this cross project. Once the bike was complete the project weighed in at 16.36 pounds. I could take some weight off, putting this bike into the 15-pound weight class by switching out the Shimano Ultegra Cranks and changing the ZIPP clinchers to a tubular set.

Cross Bike Setup:

Salsa Chili Con Crosso Frame Set		$1,350
Cane Creek 110 Headset		$162
Campagnolo Record Derailleur		$550
Campagnolo Record Right Brake/Shift Lever		$290
Campagnolo Record 10 Speed Cassette		$550
Salsa Titanium Skewers		$76
Salsa Seat Clamp		$20
Ritchey WCS Handlebar		$90
Ritchey WCS 4-Axis Stem		$98
Shimano Left Brake R400 Lever		$44
Campagnolo Record 10 Speed Chain		$90
TRP Eurox Carbon Cantilever Brakes		300
ZIPP 404 Clinchers		$2,098
Fizi:k Arione Saddle		$140
USE Alien Carbon Seat Post		$160
Kenda Small Block 8 Tires		$88
Handle Bar Tap		$15
Shimano Ultegra Cranks		$240
Shimano BB		$55
Crank Brothers Candy SL		$120
FSA Cyclocross Carbon Fiber Chainguard		$95
3rd Eye Chain Watcher Chain Deflector		$10
Cables and Housing		$20

Total: $6,661.00

Special thanks to the guys at NRC in Kyle, Texas for helping me get the project race ready!

Thanks,
Brandon

Guess the sale price

2009-06-04T08:12:00.000-07:00

Retro celeste Bianchi Axis cyclocross bike with SunTour components on eBay. What's your guess on the final price?

Mine is $337

Link: Celeste Bianchi Axis

It sold for $406.

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Neal's Voodoo

2009-06-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

I've been looking at your blog for a bit now after being introduced via a friend, and thought I'd share my first 'cross bike with you.

Frame: Voodoo Limba scandium 52cm

Fork: Generic carbon (looks a lot like a Winwood)

Headset: Crank Bros. Cobalt

Shifters: SRAM Rival

Crankset/BB: SRAM Rival with 38/46 rings

Derailleurs: SRAM Rival

Brakes: TRP EuroX Carbon Adjust

Stem: Thomson X2 Road

Bars: FSA K-Force carbon

Seatpost: FSA SL-K 27.2

Saddle: Selle Italia Flite TT
Pedals: Crank Bros. Eggbeater SL's

Rims: Taiwanese 58mm carbon tubular

Hubs: White Industries H2 (24 rear, 20 front)

Spokes: Sapim CX-Rays in black

Tires: NOS Clement 27mm tubulars

Chain: KMC X10SL with that lovely, and dorky, gold finish

Bar tape: Stella Azzurra chrome tape (heavy and a huge PITA)

All told weighs in at 17lbs 14oz, or just hovering around 8.1 kilos. Future replacements (the fork will be the first thing replaced) will definitely make it lighter. Thanks!

-Neal

Orbit CX Headset for $21.27

2009-05-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

Found this on sale for $21.27 and thought I'd post it up. In general, Niagara Cycles is a great online bike store with very good prices.

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Moshe's Serotta

2009-04-09T03:06:00.000-07:00

All the bikes in this gallery are cool, but this one is very cool, take a look:

So here's my new rig, freshly built about 2 weeks ago. Honestly, I did not have "too many" weight restrictions in mind while building this, however they were always lingering around, like any other bike nerd. Also, when it came time to weigh in, I was pleased to see the results of 18 lbs. (flickering between a tenth), so I could contribute to this site without any scrutiny. Anyways, this is my second cross bike, first was an carbon/Al Alan, and the Serrota Legend just has no comparison. I hope I don't get bashed for have flats on bike, I come from a long history of mt. bike racing. I must say, I prefer it better.

Parts go as follow:

Frame: 56cm Serrota Legend Ti

Fork: Serrota steel

Headset: Chris King 1 1/8"

Stem: Titec Ti

Bar: Titec Ti flat

Brake Lever: NOS Kooka Rancha Canti

Grip: Titec Hellcat

Seat Post: Campy Record Ti

Seat: Selle Italia (striped)

Brakes: Paul Canti (f) Touring (r)

Crankset: Race Face turbine

Rear Derr: XT 9spd

Shift: XT 9 spd

Cass.: XT 9spd

Wheels: Mavic Ksyrium SL

Tires: Vittoria Cross XN Pro

Chain: SRAM PC-??

Bottle cage: King

The bike is rad. Between riding through the streets of San Francisco and crossing the bridge into Marin County; this bike performs phenomenally.

Cyclocross 1965

2009-03-16T19:00:00.001-07:00

This is an awesome website for vintage bikes, but take a look at this 1965 cyclocross race machine.

LINK

Lighten up: Bolt on skewers

2009-03-10T04:07:00.000-07:00

So, funds are low? Economy in the toilet? Grab a set of bolt on skewers to drop some weight off your rig. Riding around they are very secure, probably more so than quick releases. Also, unless you have a set of spare wheels in the pit, it doesnt really matter anyway----race them.

Steel shaft bolt ons are cheap. And only weigh 66 grams (about half the weight of Dura Ace skewers) pictured above.

And titanium shafted ones are around 45 grams (for twice the price).

Lastly, search the + 1 lap archives. Cheap weight tips are a plenty.

VeloResto

2009-03-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

Because Plus One Lap is all things cyclocross, I began another blog called Velo Resto. There I'll post what I'm currently up to regarding restoring and refurbishing bicycles that aren't CX related.

http://veloresto.blogspot.com/

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Ali's Ridley

2009-03-06T07:13:00.000-08:00

Ali sent in his Ridley which he calls "light-ish". Ali, any cross bike under 16 pounds is just plain light in my book even if it is small. Nice rig.

"I just switched my drive train to Sram Rival from Ultegra/DA mix, the bikes weight dropped to 15.82. Almost .5 of a pound, it was somewhere over 16lbs with the Shimano. 34c mud tire setup brings weight to 15.85lbs.

Frame- Ridley X-Fire 48cm
Fork- X-fire
Wheels- Easton EC-90 Aero carbon tubulars
Tires-Challenge Grifo XS 32c/optionalGrifo32/Fango34
Sealant- Stan's
Cranks- Easton EC-90/ 42 RotorRing, Carbon chain gaurd sandwich (FSA)
BB- Easton ceramic bearings
Bar- Easton EC-90 SLX Equipe
Stem- Easton EA-90 90mm
Seatpost- Easton EA-70
Pedals- Crank Brothers Candy 4-ti
Brakes- 4ZA Canti/ Jagwire cross canti post/FSA carbon pads
Shifters- Sram Force/ left shifter gutted
Front Der.- NA- single ring setup
Rear Der.- Sram force
Chain- Sram 10spd hollow pin (red level?)
Saddle- SLR"

Homemade Tensioner

2009-03-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

I made this chain tensioner awhile back. It worked great on smooth roads but not so hot on rough trails (maybe it needed a design tweak?) The reason I just didnt shorten the chain was I liked to switch cogs based on race terrain and conditions.

Took some flat aluminum, drilled some holes as shown below. Then stole a derailleurs wheel and screwed that onto the plate. The trick is to bend the plate the right amount.

Lightweight Cyclocross: Shawn's High Five

2009-02-08T06:06:00.000-08:00

Shawn sent me his cross rig:

"This is my new build, it weighs in just around 17.45 lbs and I can still drop bout 5/8 of a lb by changing out the OEM seatpost alone

High-Five Cycles frame and fork and wheelsFSA-SLK cranks with a 42t with custom Ruckus Components chainguard

Ruckus Components brakes

Grifo challenges 34

Ritchey WCS stem

Bontrager race lite bars

Shimano Ultegra 9 speed brifters

XT Shadow rear derailleur, look how clean the housing routes to it

I still need to switch out my pedals to my egg beaters (drops about 60 grams)

OEM seatpost"

Lightweight Cyclocross: Steve's Redline

2009-02-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

Here's my new cross ride for this season. Currently, it weighs in @ 17.5 #. Still have some tuning to do. The KCNC skewers I bought from you look pretty sweet.

Redline Conquest Team Frame scandium 56cm
Ritchey WCS carbon fork
Ritchey WCS stem 110/26.0
Easton EC 90 carbon bar 42
Cane Creek S3 headset
KCNC Pro Lite scandium seatpost
Fizik Aliante saddle carbon/ti
KCNC seat collar
Mavic Kysrium SL tubular
Tufo Elite tubular 32
KCNC skewers
Ultegra 9 speed rear
Dura Ace 12-27 cassette
Ultegra STI right/Shimano aero left
FSA Pro Team carbon crankset 172.5 w/42T
FSA Pro Ti bottom bracket
Time ATAC carbon pedals
4ZA canti brakes
Deda bar tape

17.5#

Handmade Cyclocross Bike: Adam's Miles Cycle

2009-01-24T15:33:00.000-08:00

This is cool, some posh components on a rusty custom made frame! Check out below...

"Hello! Wanted to submit my cyclocross bike to your gallery.

Handmade by my good friend Joshua Thayer in the sketchiest part of San Francisco: Hunters Point! He works under the name Miles Cycles but has never had any proper decals on his bikes. Its just a long time hobby.

Mix of Columbus tubing, fillet brazed. It was never painted as I was too impatient to get out and ride the thing, and havent been able to part with it long enough to strip it down and have it taken care of. Hence the rusty finish (note how my legs keep the top tube nice and shiny!)

Wound up CX fork
Chris King cross hubs laced to Ceramic Open Pro's
Paul Neo Retro brakes front, Touring canti rear.
Paul CX levers
Paul Moon unit hangers
FSA SLK Pro carbon crank, cyclocrossworld.com bashguard and TA 42t ring
Campy Record 9 spd shifters
Deda Newton Shallow bars
Deda Newton stem
XTR Shadow mid cage rear derailleur
XT 11-32 Cassette
Jtek shiftmate
Thomson Post
TI Rolls saddle
Time ATAC XS Pedals
WTB 700x38 Interwolf front
WTB 700x32 Crosswolf rear
Crank Bros Cobalt SL direct set

20.5 lbs"

KCNC Skewers still available

2009-01-15T12:31:00.000-08:00

If you saw on Nathan's Stigmata he was running the KCNC skewers which weigh a scant 45 grams for the pair (about 80 grams lighter than Dura-Ace for the WW's among us).

taken by Nathan

julmtb.com

Plus, if you're in the market for a new pair of top of the line skewers, Salsa Ti's will set you back $70, or the USE SpinStix for $75 both without shipping.

I still have a few sets of the KCNC skewers for sale they are $65 shipped to the Continental USA.* They are titanium axles and aluminum levers.

Road:
Red
Gold

MTB:
Black

*International orders will pay a few more dollars for shipping depending on the country.

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Bill's October

2009-01-09T19:52:00.000-08:00

Well here's a contribution for both the lightweight and hand made galleries. This wonderful custom Ti frame was created by my good friend Andrew at October Hand Made in Lynn, MA (www.rideoctober.com)

It weighs less than 18 pounds but I can't remember exactly how much. This bike really rocks! It has just the right balance of stiffness and flexibility to make even the toughest courses comfortable. It's very agile yet stable in tricky situations. I was fortunate enough that Andrew let me have a lot input on the bike. He humored me through the process.

Specs:
Frame - 3-2.5 Titanium frame with integrated seatmast
Fork - Alpha Q CX
Headset - Chris King Devolution
Bars - FSA Wing Pro compact
Stem - FSA OS-115
Saddle - SLR
Cranks set - Dura-Ace 42T with ring guard and 3rd eye watcher
Bottom Bracket - Dura-Ace
Shifters - Campagnolo Centaur 10 spd
Chain - Campagnolo Chorus
Cassette - Campagnolo Chorus 13-26
Rear Derailleur - Campagnolo Centaur
Wheels - ROL D'Huez
Tires - Depending on conditions
Brakes - Paul
Pedals - Shimano SPD

Thanks,
Bill

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Nathan's Stigmata

2008-12-30T19:26:00.000-08:00

I got this email from Nathan and a submission about his very cool bike:

Jeremy,
Here is my cyclocross WW project for this season. Here is the build list:


Frame	Santa Cruz Stigmata	1208
Rear derailleur hanger	Santa Cruz	14
BB Guide	Nylon bolt cut	0
Rear brake adjuster	Shimano	4
Rear brake studs	Alloy	8
Fork	Alpha Q CX20 (475 uncut w/ race)	446
Headset	Crank Bros Cobalt 1 1/8	67
Expander/Noodle	CXW hanger	28
Headset Cap+ Bolt	Carbon Ti	4
Water Cage Bolts	Nylon	1
Spacer	Carbon 10mm	4
Seatpost	3T Doric LTD 31.6 (154 uncut)	134
Saddle	Arione	241
Seatclamp	Woodman	11
Brakes	TRP Euro Carbon w/SS yellow	219
Shifters	Force (remove guts 30gr)	272
Shift Clamps	Force	30
Cables Shift and Brake	SRAM Flak Jacket	140
Rear Derailleur	Force	178
Cranks	Zipp 300	330
Chainring bolts	FSA triple Torx	16
Guards	FSA carbon 42	44
Chainrings	SRAM 39	31
BB	Crank Bros Cyan Ti	173
Pedals	Shimano XTR M970 (325gr) Ti spindle	291
Chain	KMC	254
Handlebars	Easton SLX3	199
Bar Tape	Deda Cork	50
Stem	Rotor S1 10cm	103
Wheels	Shimano DA 7801c (F-567gr) Enduro ceramic	1325
Tires	Challenge Grifo XS	835
Glue	Mastik One	15
QR	KCNC	45
Cassette+ Lock Ring	SRAM 11 - 26	164

TOTAL GRAMS		6884
TOTAL LBS		15.17922

It can still lose another 90 grams by removing the front shifter guts (30 grams), going to an Arione CX Kium saddle (40 grams) and Front cable hanger (22 grams). Any other suggestions?

I just want to say that this is the perfect example of what to send to Plus One Lap! A lot of photos and a very cool laid out table of parts and individual weights. Thanks Nathan!

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Steven's Lapierre

2008-12-30T19:11:00.000-08:00

Here's one from the Race.cx headquarters. It's really light at 15.5lbs and it's been dependable week in and week out at the races. The stem modification is new for this year and is working
great to keep the front brake really smooth. Enjoy!

Lapierre alloy frame w/ Ritchey WCS fork
Dura Ace carbon tubular wheels
Tufo Flexus tires
Ritchey WCS seatpost and stem
PRO compact handlebar
Selle Italia SLR saddle
Chris King headset
Spooky brakes with swiss stop yellow pads
Campagnolo Record shifters (left one is gutted)
Campagnolo Chorus rear derailleur
Record Chain
Stronglight Pulsion cranks and BB
Single ring setup with 42t chain ring, carbon guard, and Third Eye
Wheels Mfg 11-27 conversion cassette (dura-ace re-spaced for campy shifting)

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Eldon's Bianchi

2008-12-30T19:09:00.000-08:00

2007 Bianchi Cross Concept Ultegra 57cm
Ultegra Derailleurs
FSA Team Cranks
Paul Brakes
Easton EC90 Bars
Fizik Arione Saddle
Salsa Post
ITM Stem
Token T38 Tubular wheels 1320 grams
Challenge Tubulars
Token Ceramic Coated cassette 10spd 120 grams
XTR SPD Pedals

total 17.9 lbs Race Ready
More light parts coming soon!!! The goal is a weight in 16's!

After Effects of a cyclocross race

2008-09-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

Saw this on SpectaSport website: pretty cool before and after photos from a cyclocross race.

LINK (PDF)

Ebay Game: Lemond 5 hours away

2008-09-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

The Lemond Poprad has only 5 hours left and its at $1055. My guess of $1103 might not be too far off.

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Ben's Redline

2008-09-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

Ben sent in photos of his Redline cross bike:

"This is my size 60cm 17.6lb Redline Conquest Pro. The frame and fork are not super light but with a full dose of Dura Ace and Zipp 303 tubulars, it still ends up pretty light.

Conquest Pro frame/fork 60cm, 12cm stem
Dura Ace drivetrain with, XT BB, XTR pedals
46/39 front, 12-25 rear
Zipp 303 tubulars
Challenge Griffos 32
King headset
Specialized Sworks Carbon H.B.
EA70 carbon post
Old Deore front / Avid Tri-Align rear brakes

17.6lbs

I tried to like Eggbeater pedals because they are so light, but in the end, I switched back to SPD’s.

I built it from the ground up with the frame I got from Ross at Sun Country Bikes in TX. It has some touches I really like.

Ben's Bike Blog