The beginner class is only 30 minutes so I can deal with that, thanks for the encouragement!
I’m doing MFG Cyclocross (race is near Seattle) which is supposed to be super beginner friendly.
Im so bummed im missing DCCX! leaving for vacation on saturday so will start off the MABRA calendar 2 weeks after at Shapsburg. Good luck out there!
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Sharpsburg CX at Kennedy Farm, right? I’ll be there as well (in the beginner class). What category are you racing in?
Planning to try CX for the first time this year, will probably order some CX tires today. Our schedule of CX races isn’t posted yet, planning to give it a try on my alloy gravel bike, which weighed in at 12kg with pedals and bottle cages, so not really expecting to rocket around the courses. Without any skills, don’t expect to do much aside from have fun messing around anyway. Doubt I will be able to hop the barriers so will spend some time practicing mounting, dismounting and running with the bike. If I have fun will perhaps upgrade to something like the Crux in the future that is suitable for CX and gravel and way lighter.
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What gravel tires in size 38mm would make a good CX tire for dry courses? In the local series, CX3, 4, 5 can race with a size 38mm tire. The Elites have to use a 33mm tire I think.
That’s the one! Probably mens 35+ 3/4/5
As for tires, if you’re new to cross, that’s a fancy way of saying your season will be on wet grass, even for the dry races. Look for a wet tire. Challenge Baby Limus and Donnelly PDX are pretty commonly used all around tires and damn good. Careful goin with a 38, as most of these tires will measure larger than advertised. In the lower categories, it really doesn’t matter but would be silly to get a DQ thinking you’re on a legal 38 but it measures out to a 40 or something. Most of my 33s caliper out to closer to 35
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I was thinking the Continental Terra Speed TR Protection…according to bicyclerollingresistance the size 40mm tire measures 38mm. I wasn’t sure how it would grip when cornering on grass or dry dirt.
As someone who uses the Terra Speed as a gravel tire, I would not use it in cx unless it was either super sandy or extremely dry with very few tight corners. It does not do well in any wet condition or tight turns because it has no side knob to get traction. It is a great training tire for technique, I run it often on sandy single track to get used to the bike sliding but would not race it. The Vittoria Terreno Dry/mix are offered in 38 mm or look at the Challenge Chicane in 33, that is what I am running but it measures out at 36 on I25 rims.
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Don’t sweat the bike too much in your first races. In my first race, I rode a steel Peugeot road bike with cx tires, barely cleared the brake calipers but it worked. Got on the podium!
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Here, here. I raced my entire first season on a Cannondale Quick hybrid with V-brakes. Got a couple podiums!
Just curious what everyones opinion is - i’ve raced cross for a long time but never with any care on how I placed and just used what I had.
I for the first time this year am revamping my cross bike because it needs some love and want to know what everyone’s opinion is.
So I have a XG-1195 cassette that I am going to use, its gear ratio is 10-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36-42.
I am a 3.1 watt/kg right now
I am a very good surge/peak power kind of rider, I am a horrible SS rider.
My questions is, what front chainring do you think I should run? I will be doing most of the Chicago races, I was thinking honestly like a 30T or 32T for that cassette.
Any opinions?
Thank you for the suggestion!
I have a 38T wolf tooth Drop-Stop sitting around that I can use, I realistically have been using a 38 - 10/42 for gravel racing and in years past that’s what I just left on the bike for cross. I just wasn’t sure if there was a better range.
I also have a 11-32 cassette that I can use, would a 38 - 11/32 possibly be a better idea?
Maybe this is the place to ask a cross-related, possibly silly mechanical question. I did my first couple cross races last year on my N=1 bike, which is a cross frame with 50/34 crankset and 11 - 32 cassette.
The gearing range is fine, but both of my races were reasonably muddy last year and the front derailleur basically shrugged and gave up after the first lap.
As is about to become obvious, I’m not that mechanically inclined, and I’m interested in the easiest way of converting to 1x for cross season while making it easy to switch back to 2x for road and gravel riding in spring and summer.
Is there any reason I can’t just take my crankset off and replace it with a 38 or 40t single ring (without removing the front derailleur)? I get that I’d basically have a heavy, non-aero chain guide on there, and I might have to fiddle with the limit screws (and should probably use a new, shorter chain), but I think I’d still be in a better position than just having to choose between 50 and 34 and hope for the best. I’m reasonably comfortable playing with limit screws, replacing a crankset, and replacing a chain, but I’m intimidated by the idea of completely removing the front derailleur and then replacing it in the spring.
I’ve never seen anyone do this, and I assume there’s some reason it’s very stupid, but I’m not sure what it is and I’m hoping you folks can enlighten me.
I don’t think I will threaten the podium, I’m not 100% sure but I believe they run them similar to the gravel races here where the 3 classes are under 18, 18-45 and >45. Falling into 18-45, all the Cat A Road guys or Elite MTB guys will leave me in the dust. I think everyone is on the track at once from kids to the pros so you are always riding with other people, getting passed or passing.
Serious question - did you actually use the big ring? In other words, could you just leave it in the little ring and not attempt to shift (if you don’t want to convert to 1x). My CX bike has 46/36 on the front, and we have a mix of dry/fast and wet/slog courses … and even on the fast courses I rarely use the big ring (and because I never shift at the front I never had issues with the front mech). I left it as 2x partly because I couldn’t be bothered to convert to 1x and partly because I occasionally use it on the road.
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Off-topic but I don’t really know if I am better at surging or steady state. How would you tell?
So my gravel bike has 2x GRX 46/30, 11-34 rear. Is it likely my front deraileur will clog up and I will get stuck on one chain ring or the other? I wanted a 2x gravel bike as post CX season I want to slap some 32c road tires on it and use it for long Z2 winter rides here in Canada so I don’t have to take my road race bike out in the salt and slush. The CX equivalent of my bike is 40 x 11-40. I will probably just ride what I have this year other than slapping on some decent CX tires but hoping the gearing doesn’t give me too much trouble.
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Yeah, so a 30t little ring with that cassette is small enough that you will probably lose some top end speed… As to whether your front shifting will be compromised … it really depends what kind of mud you have in your area 
Runny, sloppy mud might be ok, thicker claggy mud (mixed with grass) might mess with shifting. As I said, I run a 2x setup but almost never attempt to change out of the little ring.
I did actually use the big ring on the first lap in both races before it locked up. I probably was not going fast enough to be actually spun out in 34 - 11, and I did just stay in the 34 after the first lap and never felt totally spun out.
I’ve done one race so far this year which was dry. At that race the front derailleur kept working throughout and I shifted into the big ring for one section of each lap (a short single track descent into 300m-ish road section). Fair to ask whether I would have been spun out in 34 - 11, and I just honestly don’t know the answer to that.
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I’d just put it into the little ring and leave it there.
Some people like 2x and swear it helps to keep the chain on. I personally think anything extra on the bike is just a mud collecetion point.
However, if you want to convert to 1x, you’d want a narrow-wide chainring and a rear derrailleur with a clutch, so more than just swaping the chainset.
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