more on the titanium single speed cross rig

Warning:  likely only of interest to cyclocross geeks and weight weenies.
Here are the details of the build.  The frame was made in Russia from a cad file that Scott Mares of Sibex Sports came up with from my geometry.  With Sibex I was able to get a custom frame at less then the cost of a typical stock titanium frame.  The goal was pure cyclocross and single-speed from the beginning.  So, for example, horizontal fork ends were used and there is no extraneous cable routing hardware.  The crankset and BB are Campy Record.  I used road cranks with a 42 chainring on the outer position to get the proper chainline for the 135 mm spaced rear fork.  Record headset, with Deda Newton stem and handlebars.

all tubulars all the time

This is my fixed-gear commuter bike (a Surly Cross-Check frame/Reynolds Ouzo pro fork) And when I say commuter I mean everything from riding to the office, to shopping, going to Boulder for meetings or throwing it on a plane for a trip to the East Coast. I've done everything from the Black Hills around Mt. Rushmore, to muddy Vermont single track on this bike. One of the best investments I ever made.

The one thing I want to point out is the Mavic Reflex tubular rims. Tubulars for commuting? I hear you scoff. Yes, in this particular case, Veloflex Roubaix, which are wide, durable and incredibly comfortable. I can't remember the last time I flatted on these. I.e., more than a year ago with daily commuting on normal roads.

7.5 kg custom single-speed cyclocross

When you remove all the mud, this bike weighs 7.5 kg. Some nontraditional features. Single speed. Campy Record crankset (42 chainring), hs, bb, brake levers, etc. Custom Zipp 32h tubular rear wheel with a DT 240 s hub. Training rear wheel is a Mavic Reflex tubular with a Phil Wood ss hub. I worked with Scott Mares of Sibex Sports to design the geometry. He sends the Cad file to Russia where the thing is CNC'd from titanium and presto you have a frameset. It was fun putting together. TRP says not to use road levers with their brakes, but it works fine. The Zipps are really stiff and light. Excel got the custom drilled 303 cyclocross rim from Zipp and built the wheel. The front wheel is a standard road 303. One thing I discovered the hard way: don't use a 3/32 road chain for single speed cross. They break. So I use thick 3/32 cogs like the Surly or a White Industries freewheel. These are much stouter than road cogs and they work with a 1/8 track chain. This chain works fine with the Record chainring.




There is so much clearance, it has been suggested that I could run it with 29er MTB wheels. May try that over the summer.