#31
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Cyclocross from the 90's holds a dear place in my heart but was some of the worst equipment. I still shudder to think of all these things:
Fun times. If I were building a modern take on an old CX bike, I'd use Avid Shorty Ultimate brakes and a wide range true 1x group like SRAM Force 1x11, tubeless wheels, and the widest tire that gives you 5 mm of clearance to the inner chainstay face. Last edited by Pegoready; 08-14-2024 at 04:22 PM. |
#32
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I raced my first CX race in 2011 so I'm nowhere on the background some of you guys have, but I remember people dropping chains left and right on 1x setups back then. Fortunately Shorty Ultimates were very available by my time, and they worked ok. Carbon rims in the wet seemed to accelerate when you used the brakes, but otherwise they weren't awful. When first sold frames, a lot of people were militant that cx bikes needed eyelets. Still don't really know why. Was at a restaurant on Block Island last week and saw an ultra sweet Colnago from the Sven Nys era parked outside. That looked retro-riffic to me, but the photos on this thread are fantastic. |
#33
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#34
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Wasn't the lever/canti-V-brake issue solved with the Travel Agent? I also believe Shimano made a drop bar lever specifically for cantis or Vs.
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http://hubbardpark.blogspot.com/ |
#35
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There were a couple guys still on Spinergy wheels racing masters up until a few years ago around the NE. Always cool and terrifying to see.
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#36
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Back in the late 90's I raced cross on a Czech-made Fort bike equipped with an old chorus 9sp group and a pair of $25 Avis Shorties. Nothing special.
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BIXXIS Prima Cyfac Fignon Proxidium Legend TX6.5 |
#37
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I always wanted a Fort MiniMax cross bike!
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#38
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It may seem like you're committed with the headset, but I think going for all black components (including a new headset) could make this frame pop in a new way. Just envisioning the blazing blue logos with the shadow details of the crankset, wheels, hubs..seatpost... etc.
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#39
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Determination. Grit. Barely controlled chaos. It's the ethos, not the equipment? Bikes like this allowed riders to take drop bars to new places. Still true today...would be fun to let this build take you in a direction we were only dreaming about in the '90s. Last edited by Radius PNW; 08-14-2024 at 05:59 PM. |
#40
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Considering the era of the frameset, it may be worth checking the distance between canti posts, or mocking it up before committing. Assuming you use modern, wider rims you may benefit from brakes that use post mount pads vs stud mount should the posts be a bit closer together than more modern execution.
My vote: keep it silver and go Suntour XC-Pro cantis with a front Power Hanger. Hands down best canti set-up (and better than most other rim brakes) I've ever used. Last edited by donevwil; 08-14-2024 at 06:22 PM. |
#41
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Somewhere in there I also went through a phase with my 26" Fat Chance converted with drop bars and 1.5" tires... |
#42
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Horrid thing. |
#43
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The cross nats Blizzard of 95 was in Leicester. The cross nats blizzard of 97 was Ft Devens. Both were tons of fun, but wow, the sport and the availability of purpose built equipment in the USA accelerated so quickly in those 3 years.
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#44
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Yes, I Leicester was where I rode the Cannondale. Thanks for the reminder!
You're absolutely right about equipment availability through that era. I went from basically being unable to find a real cross bike in the US in 1994/95 to numerous mainstream offerings by '98. Quote:
That said, braking was always more of a suggestion than a directive until discs came on the scene. But honestly that was par for the course in a sport that was, almost in as many ways as possible, made intentionally difficult. |
#45
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A purist would argue a “real” cross bike doesn’t have water bottle cage fittings but I like to have a bottle at cross races since I don’t have anyone to hand me a bottle. My current modernish but still kinda old Alan doesn’t have cages but I zip tied one on there.
My first cross races were about 2004 and I raced a beautiful Orbea aluminum bike which was probably late 90’s construction. Your Bianchi is interesting Nick with the horizontal dropouts. Anyway I used Avid canti brakes I think and I never could really get effective braking on that bike and a lot of times just resorted to dismounting at a full sprint. Rest of the setup was Ultegra 9 with a compact double crank, which were coming into vogue around that time. |
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