Coming out...

Parts have been procured to convert my cross bike into single speed. Im hoping that this is the first step towards a shiny new race bike for cross this fall. This first spiritual step, sacrificing the ability to shift. Once I dont "have a cross bike anymore" it will be easier to justify to myself that i need to buy a new one. Igleheart even offered to start me on a payment plan for next fall.

Ive been thinking for a while i needed a better race bike. I've been riding on a Mudhoney that I got while I was working at Seven Cycles. Its a nice bike, and I cant complain about it being Ti. But I agreed to some things in the design that Now that ive been racing a while, I shouln't have. The most annoying one is the sloping top tube. It closes up the front triangle enough that I cant cleanly shoulder the bike. Its something I notice every race and Ive had to learn how to shoulder the bike "wrong" to deal with it. Second is toe overlap. It hasnt happened every race, but it has happened enough that ive gone down several times. Slow speed manuevering + toe strike on tire = me on the ground, annoyed. I really only have myself to blame. No-one at Seven has really designed a proper race bike for cross. Their system is aimed at high end race bikes and almost race bikes. So all of their bikes are pretty close in terms of lengths and angles. If that the bike you want, your in good shape. But I definitely noticed that "track frames" that came though the system were basically crit geometry with track drops. So when the design came back and I had yet to race cross, i didnt think that having toe overlap on a cross bike would be any worse than having it on my track frame. My Track bike is basicly a crit bike and it works for me, so why not just lengthen the chain stays for cross, right?

Well now I know better, and luckily the rack mounts I speced on my seven means i have a very nice touring bike. Although at the moment there is a single-ator and some studed tires in that frames future.

Ive already started the list for the new igleheart, in addition to toe overlap and level top tube. Ive taken a real shine to the Break-away system, after flying with the seven to the west coast and racing out there, I think a foldable bike could be a hot ticket!