I haven’t decided if it will be a road bike or a monster-cross bike, but either way, I can use a road group.

Because I have to save for a large future event and couple this summer, I will be left with few dollars to spend (looking at about $1500, tops). A full grouppo from my beloved Sram is out of the question if I go for my normal Thomson cockpit and a wheelset in the ~1500 gram area.

With the ever-climbing prices of premier bicycle parts, it would make sense that a few options should emerge to fill the gap between the cheap mass-market parts and the premier groups. So lately, two options have emerged for reliable, affordable 10-speed shifting:

Option 1:
Microshift

I heard about it first last spring when Team Movistar used it for the Giro. Which, I believe, is the reason for the first color option:

But it’s cheap. It’s even available from WalMart! Reviews exist, and people have put some miles on it…the results have been mostly positive. But I want to see for myself. I would probably flesh the drivetrain of the bike out with a 105 and Sugino.

Option 2,
Retroshift

Retroshift’s ‘About’ page says it all:

Retroshift™ is a new and somewhat unexpected approach to a combined braking and shifting system.

Totally unexpected and with an air of elitism, but obviously functional.

Check the site for the video. It works great. I just hope it feels as great looks like it works…if that makes sense. I don’t know how it will feel for road, but its function will probably be best for a monster-cross bike.

Soon, I will have to make a decision. I’m leaning toward Microshift because of its completeness, but only time will tell.

They’re not a new product, but they’re new to me…and I already love them. Full review to come after I beat the piss out of them for a few weeks.

Take a peep.

Make sure to watch it fullscreen, because it’s shot with Nikon’s new D800.

And…SRAM Red hydraulic disc brake setup. Classy, clean, and probably crazy light.

http://video.mpora.com/ep/5Pgs2slxu/
More Surfing Videos

Disc CX bikes are gaining ground. First, Tim Johnson won a UCI race with a Cannondale Super-X disc. Now, ENVE and 3T have made disc forks. So, there a real options for real racers. I’m even considering having Spooky retrofit a disc tab on my Supertouch.

My TRP CX-9′s are great in the dry, but when it’s really wet, they have trouble (just like any other rim brake). They do alright in the snow, but take a little dragging to get some heat into them. So, they have downsides in performance. Discs have one definite downside: weight. But like any bicycle product, they’re getting lighter. They also have one conditional downside: cost. Depending on your rim brake of choice, you could end up paying more for discs.

I’ll do some actual research (read: simple googling) and compare the two possibilities in two types of price ranges.

Claimed weight per wheel:

Comp:
430 grams – Avid BB5 road mechanical caliper with 160mm Avid G2cs rotor. $49. Cheap! 95 grams of rotating weight (rotor).

157 grams – Avid Shorty 4 cantilevers. $35. I won’t even speak to their performance, but they come stock on “comp” level cyclocross bikes.

Pro:
451 grams – TRP Parabox ‘cross specific parabox disc brakes. $469 for the setup (rotors, calipers, and hydraulic box). And you still have to buy mechanical cables. Such a weird, odd-looking setup for such a high cost. But it probably works incredibly well…I hope. I may drop coin on

128 grams – TRP CX-9 ‘cross specific v-brake (my favorite). $149.

For the “pro” setup, that’s a crazy difference in price and weight. Even if you pop for a set of TRP CR959′s at $349 (and anybody who does is getting the “least braking performance for their money” item on the market), that is still $110 difference in price, and 323 grams per wheel. Still not easily swallowed.

And just as I thought I should not overlook the other possible weight differences between rim and disc, I checked the weights of ENVE’s ‘cross forks…460 grams for both. Nice…but unnerving. Wheels can be lighter with disc setups, but that would be a whole different topic.

In the midst of this wad of info, the economy and sense comes in the shape of the Avid mechanical setup: greatly improved wet-weather braking, without a huge difference in price, and a weight you could overlook.

Without testing the two disc setups, unless you’re doing some crazy hilly races, the mechanical setup should be plenty.

Another upside of discs: ease of use. In pleasant weather, their pads last a good duration of use, as opposed to soft rim-brake pads that would offer close to comparable braking. With pad changes, no alignment is needed. Rim brake adjustments take a mechanical finesse that most people do not possess. With proper setup, quick wheel changes are a breeze, and can be quicker than with canti’s and v-brakes.

Many other topic can be ground out, like rotating weight relocation, carbon rim braking, etc…but those are for another time.

Short story, expect to see some more disc ‘cross bikes in your hood next season.

The enabling forks from ENVE and 3T:

Photo: Salsa Bikes

Salsa is building a fully suspended prototype fatbike! They say it may or may not be built for the public, but if they don’t, you can be sure somebody else will. It’s not really Surly’s thing, but 9:ZERO:7 and others could possibly offer one in the future.

Blog post from Salsa about their prototype: Prototype Talk: Full-Suspension Fatbike

Some of the finer points on this frame: a tapered head tube for front-end strength. A curved seat tube to allow more clearance to bring in the rear tire, in order to keep the wheelbase at a reasonable length for quick handling. A rear suspension linkage design intended to keep the rear stiff, yet still offer compliance. Good stuff. I still haven’t dropped the coin down to buy a Pug or Necromancer, and the way this winter is going here in Chicago is going (no snow) I might wait to see how these pan out.

Also, I totally forgot to take a photo, but I saw a Moonlander at Higher Gear in Highland Park on a ride. The paint is beautiful…a spacy-looking blue-ish black sparkle. And the fatter tires made the Moonlander dwarf the Pugsley next to it. Looks like a blast. The bike I saw was for a higher-up at Sram. XO on a fatbike…good stuff.

I’m what you would consider a fanboy. I love Spooky. I love Electric. I love Sram. I love Mavic…and the latter can get me into trouble sometimes.

Mavic drives me crazy. Their GP4 tubular and clincher wheels from the 70′s and 80′s are still rolling today, some with 20k+ miles on them. My Aksium wheels have been beat to hell in ‘cross, and they’re still true a year and a half later. My Mavic Fury mountain bike shoes are almost unbreakable.

Then, stuff like they’re Altium gear will fall apart. My jersey is in a landfill somewhere. I owned it for 2 weeks, and then trashed it because of ripped seams. My MTB gloves ripped the second time I put them on. My terra grip booties had a ripped zipper seam after putting them on 3 times. But even that stuff felt great for the first few times I put them on. And yet I still buy their stuff. Mavic slays me.

Now, let’s go product by poduct. The good comes in part 1: my Mavic Fury mountain bike shoes. These are the 2011 models. I love them to death. No shoe I have owned has held up like this.

I have worn them for at least an hour a day for the last year (they were a Christmas gift from my parents in 2010), except for the 8 weeks I was out for my broken arms. Literally, every day. Commuting, riding, practicing, and racing. They held through it all. Except for the buckle I broke in a fall, they have operated flawlessly. The ratchets work great even when packed with mud. The velcro straps haven’t stretched, and will hold tight all day.

The fit and the feel are great for my flat, wide feet. The carbon outsole is still stiff as hell. So stiff, I can’t wear my cheaper Specialized MTB shoes and road shoes. They’re just too flimsy. The shoes are crazy light, just like all Mavic stuff. I have been so mean to them. No cleaning, no grease on the spike holes, running dismounts on pavement, soaking wet rides in the summer, salty rides in the winter. Not to mention the two long cyclocross seasons here in Chicago, and a couple brutal falls on the pavement. The sole has held, the knobs have barely worn, and all closures still work perfectly.

They were worth every penny of the $250 I paid from Chain Reaction Cycles. I will be buying the new models sometime during the summer. They look sick:

On to the “feels awesome for one ride then explodes” gear.

This is another thing that gets me buying Mavic, and probably tricks others too: their stuff feels amazing when its brand new. So on the rack in a bike shop, it feels better than sex. Then, after a few rides, the garments start taking a dump.

The quickest to go, were a pair of Mavic Altium mountain bike gloves. The very first time I put them on, I heard seams ripping. About the third time, the wrist seam separated. They feel alright, and again, are crazy light. Seems to be a trend…

Yeah. Frownface.

The same thing happened with the pair of Terra Grip Shoe Covers. Seams went south, zippers popped, ect. They felt great at first, and kept me toasty and dry for the first few rides…then…explosion. The collars stayed up, the zippers didn’t let any water in, then…disintegration.

Unfortunate.

But it looks like Mavic is stepping its bootie game up:

Belge/knit booties

Thermo cover

h2o Covers

They look strongggg!!!

I’ll be buying at least 2 of these three in the next few months, so, hopefully, I can report back with good news.