Myshkin0
neil posted in Photos, Neil, 5Dmk2 on May 24th, 2009
At the Ark. In the Dark.
First impressions of the Genesis Croix De Fer13
neil posted in bikes, Neil on May 19th, 2009
Short version: A road bike for mountainbikers, not slow on the tarmac and suprisingly good off it. Seat not for everyone, dual ring gear range a bit tight for epic climbs, chain slap when being ragged.
The Genesis Croix De Fer is’nt a bike that pigeonholes well. It has ‘cross written all over it, but disc brakes are illegal for high level cross racing. Its not an out and out tourer as it does’nt have a triple for slogging up the Pyrenees and the seat is clearly for “race” not “comfort”. It certainly is’nt a thoroughbred road bike and its too bling for a dedicated commuter rig. However to my mind it is better off not sitting in any one of those niches, as this lets it be a fun bike to ride wherever, on whatever.
I was in the market for an adaptable drop bar training/touring/commute bike that could keep up with willing triathletes on road rides and would’nt mind the odd spot of singletrack. I wanted a bike that would take paniers if I fancied a spot of touring and discs for ease of maintenance. As a mountainbiker, I simply don’t understand having to be shy of potholes, staircases and kerbs and a ride without unneccessary bunny-hopping is a ride wasted. So I wanted a bike that will happily take such abuse day in, day out. I presumed I would have to buy a Road Rat or Karate Monkey frame and build from there, but when a bike to work scheme became available and with the help of some most excellent administration staff, I suddenly had a £1k budget for a complete bike. The CDF appealed because it seemed ’sorted’ and ticked all of the right boxes.
The CDF has an external bottom bracket, SPD’s as standard and front and rear cable discs. Its specced as a bike you can wheel out of the shop and ride. Normally I can see the next few upgrades when looking at an off the peg bike, things like grips, pedals or that cheap component a manufacturer might slap on a nice bike to make a price point. In this case I have’nt changed a thing and at first blush I would’nt. The seat won’t be to everyones taste but it is growing on me, it may be replaced ‘just in case’ with something more to my personal taste before a multi-day expedition, but on longer day rides wearing padded shorts it has’nt been an issue.
The transmission is a bit odd at the front, a pulley on the seat tube helps actuate a front mech which takes two clicks in either direction to change rings, I suspect this is a compromise of fitting a normal triple ring shifter with a dual ring transmission. It is’nt a showstopper but is initially a bit distracting. This is compounded by the tight (road) rear cassette which forces you to change front rings relatively often. The chain fitted seems a touch slack, although this could be weaker tensioning springs in a road mech, and gets a bit noisy when being hammered over cobbles or ripped along rocky fire-roads, I will play with this in time but it remains a slight niggle. A better chainstay protector is needed in light of this as the chain happily thins the paint here. If you are’nt sold on disc brakes on a road bike, you probably are’nt a mountainbiker. The brakes are very low maintenance, won’t become worse if I put the rims slightly out of joint and the reliable stopping power is much appreciated.
Not that I am overly worried about the rims, the Alexrims DF23 rims look mean enough to accept my hooliganism and remain straight and true after a month of abusive “testing”. I was suprised and impressed by the Continental Speed King tyres on and off road. On road there is’nt much tyre buzz and I could keep up with roadbikers in an extended “no pedalling” road descent, so they are’nt a particularly noticable performance suck. Off road, and the combination of big wheels and lots of working edges produces a suprising amount of grip. It took a sharp and steep incline covered in slick wet mud before they spat traction in climbing and when descending and contouring provide more grip than you would credit. My only concern is with longevity on road as the knobbles may wear quite quickly, time will tell whether this is justified or not.
The ride is where all of the components and the eyebrow raising steel frame and carbon fork sing in harmony. You can feel the difference in frame when compared to the alloy of a Specialized Tricross. The Tricross I test rode for comparison seemed direct and punchy, almost Langster-like, instantly rewarding power inputs with a surge of adrenaline and a kick of speed. The CDF however seems more refined, but I would wager it was’nt much slower. It does’nt feel like a rocket-launch when pulling away from the lights, you just notice that the cars are a long way behind. There is’nt a feeling of yellow jersey/bike messenger do-or-die speed when riding the CDF, you just notice that things are much closer, you are earlier and that you might want to lie down and let the lactic acid subside before doing anything else. The road bike I previously knew best was a Specialised Langster. In an on-road comparison the CDF is like a good cask-strength malt compared to the Langster’s neat absinthe: Both will get you drunk, but the manner in which they do so is very different. The carbon fork and cromoly frame eat up the little shakes and make Edinburgh’s cobblestones less of a navigational hazard. Landing kerb dropoffs feels better (35mm tyres will be a factor here) and is very addictive. Off-road, short sections of rock or root are easily dealt with and the handling is responsive without being twitchy. It is here that the fork, frame and tyres reward fully. What is refined and genteel on road is suddenly direct and immense fun off road. In terrain normally for the fatter of tyre and flatter of bar it rides like a caffinated collie.The response to power is instant and the ride is on the harsh side but not out of control. It is’nt a mountainbike and you have to stand to pass over roots and rocks, but it will grip and go. On long, steep, loose descents the brakes come into their own, especially with line choice being paramount on any rigid bike. Forest singletrack and fire road with shallower gradients is its home. Steeper climbing does’nt feel like the CDF’s forte, this is where I think an alloy frame comes into its own, but it is’nt heavy or lumpen. The lack of a triple ring means you can’t spin up some of the stuff it will happily come down, a compromise for the ‘cross set, I suppose. Another slight issue is that toe-overlap makes traffic light track standing harder. This is something I can happily live with in a road bike that will play on singletrack.
That is perhaps the best reason to choose the CDF. It brings all of the singletrack around you a bit closer, without closing the door to road rides, touring and commuting.
Recharging0
neil posted in Photos, Neil on May 14th, 2009
Have hardly picked up my camera for the last two weeks, had it with me on a few trips but did’nt feel the normal pull to make images. As a reflex I took it bouldering last night and discovered my pocketwizard transmitter is screwed up (not the worst time to find out, but frustrating nonetheless). When I photographed a machine at work today, I saw a good angle for a self portrait and set up the camera and a light, then two lights, then four different setups, tweaking the light modifiers until I got the image in my mind. Seeing what I wanted on the back of the camera felt like the battery light coming green to say: “Unplug me please. I’m ready to go!”