2022 Specialized Crux + Rene Herse: (Us(Al)l) Road Bliss

[proletariandan]

After avoiding big brand bikes for a long time, I bit the bullet and picked up a Crux a couple of months back because it seemed to tick all of the boxes (except for price).

I took it on a short tour up Usal Rd and back down Hwy 101 (the latter in a freak Monsoon rain storm) in Northern California the week after I built it up and it handled fully-light jeep road touring quite well.

I have been making the rounds on all of my favorite Bay Area fire roads and after switching from RH Oracle Ridge to Snoqualmie Pass, I have to say it doubles as a road bike quite nicely while still letting me tackle any fire road.

If you haven't tried Rene Herse tires and like to underbike on rougher roads/trails, give them a shot. So much more comfortable than any other tire I've ridden and with Panaracer sealant I haven't had any issues with flats or holding air.

I haven't been able to get AXS shifting perfectly dialed but it is good enough not to go back to mechanical. A 40T front with 10-50T in the rear seems like the perfect combo for me.

Thanks to the PL'ers who helped me find the frame and put together the build!

Edit: Here is the Google Photos link, I wish it was worth a damn for posting photos here

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mFKifjVMe7wagwKr7

[fourflys]

that looks super nice!

[fa63]

I can't see the images for some reason.

Also, what issue are you having with the shifting?

[adamhell]

photos aren't working for me either. this is cool to hear. my version is going to be my Aethos with bon jon pass (700x35). excited to see how it rides with more volume and tubeless.

[d_douglas]

Where is your photographic evidence?

[mhespenheide]

Photos didn't work for me last night, but do this morning. Not sure why...

Looks great!

Was that your capacity for a light overnight?

[proletariandan]

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

Photos didn't work for me last night, but do this morning. Not sure why...

Looks great!

Was that your capacity for a light overnight?

Was gonna be 3 nights but after the monsoon we got a hotel room for night 3.

[lavi]

Very nice!!! And, pretty much exactly how I build mine (Rival mullet)(same frame color). I also run RH tires.

What wheels you running? I have Levantes on mine.

I dig the bike for sure!

[d_douglas]

That is a very stylish looking bike no doubt. As a fellow Rock Lobsterer, how does it differ from that bike? A deep and repressed part of me wants to try a bike like a Crux, but my heart is in riding heavy old-school steel frames

[jpritchet74]

Wow - this build looks fantastic! Makes me want to go bikepacking too...

[proletariandan]

I actually can't say I felt a big difference coming from the Lobster to the Crux in terms of comfort/compliance. I noticed a much bigger difference going from Soma Cazaderos to RH Oracle Ridges. The Crux is a lot lighter and a bit stiffer under power and just did my first near-century on it.

Running NOX Skyline and Stan's Grail CB7 on my two wheelsets. Again, couldn't tell a huge difference going from one to the other, although I haven't switched back or run them both with the same tires yet.

I posted a thread about the shifting issue a few months ago. Essentially the chain being a bit too far outboard both toward the bigger cogs and smaller cogs, which doesn't make any sense at all. It has gotten a bit less annoying over time; not sure if that is the drivetrain breaking in or what. SRAM would probably blame it on me running a YBN chain - unfortunately I couldn't find a pre-waxed Eagle chain for a reasonable price and didn't want to deal with stripping it myself.

[KingOftheCat6s]

Wow, great build! I've wanted to try Rene Herses for a bit now, good to hear how much you like them.

[Kyle h]

Great build. If I was to do a new carbon gravel bike the Crux would be hard to pass up for me. Love them.

[truth]

Nice ride! What casing are you running on those tires?

[proletariandan]

Originally Posted by truth

Nice ride! What casing are you running on those tires?

I stuck with the standard to save a few bucks. The Oracle Ridges set up fine with Stans but I had to get Panaracer sealant for the Snoqualmie Passes. Needed compressed air for both to seat. Over probably 1000 miles I had one puncture on the ORs that needed a bacon strip and one on the SPs where I just noticed a bit of spray on the frame but didn't lose any pressure.

I know folks have complained about not being able to inject Panaracer through regular tubeless valves - which I didn't try - but was able to inject it through e13 1st gen high-flow valves straight from a 4oz bottle nozzle no problem.