First things first, I have been doing exhaustive research on cross bike setup and I have been looking at running a tubeless Hutchinson’s setup. So after thinking carefully about how the Redline felt whilst racing last year I tore the Cannondale down to get some parts to make the setup as close as I wanted to my main road bike. Note to some of you locals, do your own research as no one around here seems to know dick about cross.
First up, ergo bars in, classic bend out. I am not one of those who are a fan of the classic bend and I have found this out the honest way, by riding them. So now I have the cockpit the same as the road rig with all of the same hardware but the setup is slightly different; a 1cm shorter stem, slightly higher hoods on the bars as turning the bars totally screws up the feel of the ergo drop while sprinting and cruising. The bars also ride about a half cm higher in relation to the saddle. The saddle is also a few mm shy of the road setup in relation to the BB. But in all, the setup is very close to the road bike. All of these changes were tested and tweaked to the mm for stability and control.
Next was the wheel setup. I chose the Mavic Aksium for the trial setup due to their bomb proof nature. The first setup was with the Mavic rim strips, Stan’s tape and the Stan’s rim strip, this was a no go and would not seat. The second setup was with the Mavic rim strips, velo rim strips, Stan’s tape and the Stan’s rim strip. I have heard conflicting reports of this setup but wanted to give this a try. The first tire like this seated ok, but I could tell that there might be an issue with the thicker section at the valve stem.
Note: all of this was done with a floor pump, and valve core installed.
The issue with this setup is that the increase in the bed thickness that makes a tubeless tire less likely to burp and easier to seat also inhibits the Stan’s strip from settling under the rim hook. After procuring another roll of the Stan’s yellow tape I removed everything, from the wheel and started fresh and clean. First I used the (narrow) yellow tape to build up only the center section with three plies, cutting each round of the tape at the valve hole a little shorter than the previous one and giving the tape ends a very tiny dab of glue for good measure. This was followed with two rounds of high quality electrical tape, not cut just punctured. At this point things looked very tight and clean with the center section built up nicely and the area around the valve hole not too built up and everything perfectly flat and evenly sealed. After installing the Stan’s strip and carefully pushing and pulling with an old rounded plastic tire lever, per the video on Stan’s site, the rim strip now lay perfectly around the valve hole. Remember that there is a thicker reinforcement area around the valve stem on the Stan’s rim strip, that is why (I believe) the way I did the rim taping will contribute to a safer, stronger tire bead seating area. All of this is more evident with parts in hand. After mounting the tire and giving it a quick pump I knew this was better as the tire took air on the first stroke, no seating issues, no fuss. Everything else was by the book.
Note: I did have a large hole in one tire that was missing a small chunk of rubber that would blow sealant at 45+ psi. I bought a Hutchinson tubeless patch kit but could not get the patch to sick so I just went with the glue, which seems to be just super glue. The glue seems to hold just fine on its own though.
The initial airing of this setup took 50+ psi without sealant and held air pretty well. At around twenty psi you could squeeze and twist the tire with very little air loss. The addition of sealant and the sealing procedure made this setup very tight indeed. I have been riding this setup at around 37 psi rear and 35 psi in the front with zero issues. I have also ridden the tires somewhat lower but the ride is pretty good at the higher setting. My skill level being what it is means that I have not tested very rigorously, but I am working on that.
After two weeks and about 5 rides there are still no issues. I have not done much high stress cornering but the grip level and ride quality is awesome. As my confidence and speed go up the testing will get much more serious and as I have just done my last road race of the year I am getting more focused on having fun on the cross bike. I have also been scouring the city and surrounding areas for practice cross sites and have been working on the flow of my practice course at the Caine-Halter Y. The port o’barriers are in the works and there is a chill in the morning breeze- Cross is Coming!
My oh my, the new Euro X Mag’s are out in the red and white colour combo. They would (will) look nice and tidy on the Redline. Between those brakes and the Dura Ace levers that will be on the next cross bike make-over go-round, this will save me a tick over a half pound.
First up, ergo bars in, classic bend out. I am not one of those who are a fan of the classic bend and I have found this out the honest way, by riding them. So now I have the cockpit the same as the road rig with all of the same hardware but the setup is slightly different; a 1cm shorter stem, slightly higher hoods on the bars as turning the bars totally screws up the feel of the ergo drop while sprinting and cruising. The bars also ride about a half cm higher in relation to the saddle. The saddle is also a few mm shy of the road setup in relation to the BB. But in all, the setup is very close to the road bike. All of these changes were tested and tweaked to the mm for stability and control.
Next was the wheel setup. I chose the Mavic Aksium for the trial setup due to their bomb proof nature. The first setup was with the Mavic rim strips, Stan’s tape and the Stan’s rim strip, this was a no go and would not seat. The second setup was with the Mavic rim strips, velo rim strips, Stan’s tape and the Stan’s rim strip. I have heard conflicting reports of this setup but wanted to give this a try. The first tire like this seated ok, but I could tell that there might be an issue with the thicker section at the valve stem.
Note: all of this was done with a floor pump, and valve core installed.
The issue with this setup is that the increase in the bed thickness that makes a tubeless tire less likely to burp and easier to seat also inhibits the Stan’s strip from settling under the rim hook. After procuring another roll of the Stan’s yellow tape I removed everything, from the wheel and started fresh and clean. First I used the (narrow) yellow tape to build up only the center section with three plies, cutting each round of the tape at the valve hole a little shorter than the previous one and giving the tape ends a very tiny dab of glue for good measure. This was followed with two rounds of high quality electrical tape, not cut just punctured. At this point things looked very tight and clean with the center section built up nicely and the area around the valve hole not too built up and everything perfectly flat and evenly sealed. After installing the Stan’s strip and carefully pushing and pulling with an old rounded plastic tire lever, per the video on Stan’s site, the rim strip now lay perfectly around the valve hole. Remember that there is a thicker reinforcement area around the valve stem on the Stan’s rim strip, that is why (I believe) the way I did the rim taping will contribute to a safer, stronger tire bead seating area. All of this is more evident with parts in hand. After mounting the tire and giving it a quick pump I knew this was better as the tire took air on the first stroke, no seating issues, no fuss. Everything else was by the book.
Note: I did have a large hole in one tire that was missing a small chunk of rubber that would blow sealant at 45+ psi. I bought a Hutchinson tubeless patch kit but could not get the patch to sick so I just went with the glue, which seems to be just super glue. The glue seems to hold just fine on its own though.
The initial airing of this setup took 50+ psi without sealant and held air pretty well. At around twenty psi you could squeeze and twist the tire with very little air loss. The addition of sealant and the sealing procedure made this setup very tight indeed. I have been riding this setup at around 37 psi rear and 35 psi in the front with zero issues. I have also ridden the tires somewhat lower but the ride is pretty good at the higher setting. My skill level being what it is means that I have not tested very rigorously, but I am working on that.
After two weeks and about 5 rides there are still no issues. I have not done much high stress cornering but the grip level and ride quality is awesome. As my confidence and speed go up the testing will get much more serious and as I have just done my last road race of the year I am getting more focused on having fun on the cross bike. I have also been scouring the city and surrounding areas for practice cross sites and have been working on the flow of my practice course at the Caine-Halter Y. The port o’barriers are in the works and there is a chill in the morning breeze- Cross is Coming!
My oh my, the new Euro X Mag’s are out in the red and white colour combo. They would (will) look nice and tidy on the Redline. Between those brakes and the Dura Ace levers that will be on the next cross bike make-over go-round, this will save me a tick over a half pound.
I guess the TT bike will be the forgotten child for a while.
You know I HATE to do that.
It still belies the question of weather I should do the full monty, with the Dura Ace derailleurs to go with the levers and let the TT bike get the Ultegra stuff. Or stay with durability and leave the DA derailleurs to the TT bike… Hmmmm, decisions decisions.
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