Archives: Cyclocross

Cross Is Coming – State Bicycle Co. #crossiscoming from State Bicycle Co. on Vimeo.

HA!! This is good.

“Our riders have been itching to get our and ride some cyclocross. As the season approaches, the itch is getting stronger and naturally, this sometimes leads to CX’ing in random and unusual places” – SBC

This weekend killed all other weekends! So much fun having everyone out racing these gravel grinding endurance races!

Last year I hosted this race the weekend before the BAMACROSS series took off. Everyone had a blast and loved stretching their legs over the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge 12 mile loop for 3 laps. I wanted to host it again this year and as I was planning, continually exploring my area for farm lands/refuge sections that are acceptable to race, I came across a second location that was perfect to add on as a second race day.

Day 2 Men’s top 3 (1st Patrick Casey, 2nd Jacob Tubbs, 3rd Hardwick Greg)

Brent Marshall BAMACROSS Director

Arthur Wilke

The new race route was pretty secluded and GPS/Phone service was not present. I’m thankful for all that stuck it out and fought through the poor directions to race Saturdays race. Next year I will make it much less challenging to locate.

With that said, everyone was amped to go dominate new gravel roads! I don’t think anyone at that point had ridden this area. I know very few locally that even knew of the spot we were at… and that was the point. Bring folks out to race the unridden! BAMLast year I hosted one race. This year two. “Consistent x Progressive” is a motto that Kyle and I live by with this thing we call FOLLY. I have no background in race directing and maybe that’s why this was so much fun. There was no pressure or guidelines for the race other than, go out, kill it! and win cool stuff from our very rad sponsors!!  I think we ended up raffling off 10 bad ass prizes and that’s after everyone’s podium prizes!

Below are the race results for both days. The images in this recap are some of my favorite from the 55 film shots that made the cut. Go to FOLLY x FILM and check out the rest (DAY ONE, DAY TWO)!

Race results are as follows:

Saturday October 11th Race

Men’s:

1. Chris Edmunds
2. Chad Hubbard
3. Terry Jacks

Photo by someone rad… not me, but found over at Pedal Consumption

Photo by someone rad… not me, but found over at Pedal Consumption

Dude… this is so solid! Pumped to see Katie Arnold crush it this year on this Stanridge Speed CX rad machine!

Stay fancy this fall with Rapha Super Cross gear! Go to Rapha and check out their full cyclocross collection. Solid stuff.

These are the best shred sled tires ridden to date! When originally making the decision on which tire to use on the FOLLY x BRYANT FaTRoB I wanted to go with the Vee Rubber Speedster, they were unavailable, so then switched to the Vee Rubber 12… unavailable, and finally the WTB NANO Race after reading John Watson’s take on’em followed by Joshua Bryant giving them two thumbs up.

As you should know, picking the right tire for the job can be more time consuming than other options to build up your two wheeled steed. They are the final touch that brings everything together and I can’t express enough how pleased I am with the WTB NANO’s! Perfect fit for this #getradmachine!

They shred dirt perfectly, Alabama wet clay on the other hand… picked up a little bit of it and they still did just fine!

This is a solid tire that can be, if needed, pumped up to 65psi. I rode 50 miles on them this weekend between dirt, gravel, mud, and road. They performed perfectly at about 40 psi.

Head over to WTB and check’em out for yourself. If you’re looking for a solid tire this cyclocross season look no further… you just found them! Cheers!

“Cyclocross is hard on parts but it does not have to be hard on your wallet. Just like our shifters we wanted to offer derailleurs for cycloross that offer more of the same you have come to expect from Gevenalle. Better performance, lower price and ability of service and repair.”

“Gevenalle (Formerly RetroShift) releases new BURD (Blatantly Upgraded and Rebranded Derailleur) Front Derailleur (and Chain Guide) just in time for cross season. The new 84 gram short cage derailleur completes the CX 1 and CX2 Shifting System. Coupled with the BURD rear and CX Shifters, Gevenalle comes closer to a complete Cyclocross groupo. MSRP for the BURD Front is 49$ and includes Gevenalle’s amazing crash rebuild service, getting riders back up and running in the event of a incident for only 20$ including shipping.”

These are pretty sweet and for a super affordable price. If you’re prepping your cross shred sled and in need of some good derailleur love… look no further, you just found what you needed.

Go to Gevenalle and check out their front and rear cyclocross derailleurs.

“Cyclocross component maker Retroshift is changing it’s name and face to Gevenalle, and introducing an expanded and updated product line. Gevenalle, derived from two dutch words and translates to “Give All” reflecting the brands commitment to creating innovative and performance enhancing shifting solutions for cyclocross. The name change comes as the brand launches Hydraulic Shift Levers and Cassette Adapters both designed to address the specific needs of shifting in the mud and dirt. All Gevenalle products undergo testing in a race atmosphere before being brought to market.”

“Gevenalle products are the result of a love for cyclocross and desire to offer innovative and problem solving solutions for the sport that road components don’t quite meet. Our products are geared toward the cross racer looking to improve his/her performance with race parts built to better meet their requirements. “We are offering affordable, after market components that better meet the requirements of the muddy carnage we call cyclocross”. -Adam Clement (Founder of Gevenalle)

Dude!! So. GOOD!! For all you Cross riding junkies I highly recommend checking out Gevenalle and the Hydraulic Shift Levers x HOUP (Halo Of Ultimate Protection). Super solid brand name change x product creation.

Videos of these rad products in action:

Gevenalle CX and Shimano STI comparison. from Gevenalle on Vimeo.

Gevenalle Cassette Spacer (HOUP) install from Gevenalle on Vimeo.

Follow along on:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/gevenalle 

Instagram: http://instagram.com/gevenalles

This might be the best photo I’ve seen this year. So much greatness happening. John captured the fun that is Cyclocross perfectly.

Go check out the rest of John Watson’s “Recent Roll: Backbone – The Santa Monica Mountains on Cyclocross Bikes“. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Thanks for sharing John!

Photo by Michael Moriarty

You know what’s fun? Riding 45 miles of smooth gravel road with 3 solid climbs. What’s that? You would like to ride this old dusty road?! Well you’re in luck. Mr. Moriarty (fella who brought this rad route to my attention) and myself will be riding said road tomorrow morning around 11:00 a.m. (central time). If you’re in the South East region and would like to take a road trip to meet up… we’d love for you to join. If you’re local… come on!

Where to go: Bankhead National Forest 11:00 a.m. CST (We will start at the intersection of highway 33 and 36 just south of Moulton). Please feel free to email me if you have questions (createfolly@gmail.com)

Photo by John Watson I believe

Dustin Klein always knocking it out of the park. Go over to PiNP for other rad photos of this beautiful DKlein/Cadence/Ritchey Collab!