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Bikes
and Equipment
A classical cyclo-x bike looks very much like a road bike, but
there are significant differences. The rear triangle and fork
have more clearance to allow for wider tyres, and to help reduce
mud buildup. Cross tyres are wider than road tyres, though the
tyres a rider chooses will depend on the course and how wet, muddy
or sandy it is. 25-35mm is more or less the common width range
and have small knobs.
 Cross
bikes have cantilever brakes for mud clearance and control. The
handlebars are road-style drops which reflects the sport's origins
as off-season training for road racers. Historically the gear
shifters were fitted to the end of the handlebars and known as
'bar-cons', but STI and Ergo have become very popular.
Cross bikes are usually somewhere in weight between a road bike
and a light XC mountain bike they need to be as light as possible
because of the significant amount of lifting and carrying of the
bike that is required. Suspension is very rare as they would add
too much weight. It's not uncommon to see a cross bike with
only have one chain ring which is sometimes sandwiched between
"rock rings". This allows for shorter chains, and therefore
less chance of the chain bouncing off, as well as reduced weight
from the elimination of the front derailleur and shifter. Pedals
are often double-sided clip less SPD style, used with off-road
shoes that sometimes have spikes or knobs under the toes to improve
traction.
Typical
Courses
 The
courses used are usually a mixture of grass, dirt roads, relatively
short tarmac sections, some sand, some mud or stream crossings
and several forced dismounts and running sections. The natural
obstacles in cross courses are often less severe than in mountain
bike courses, but many mountain bike racers will say that cyclo-x
is physically harder and more painful than mountain bike racing,..
For
example, there are no long, rocky single track descents in cross,
infact there are rarely any rocky sections. However, the descents
might be significantly steeper, albeit shorter and on grass. Forced
dismounts and running sections are the thing that really sets
cross apart from other types of racing. .
There's
a particular grace in the way an accomplished cross racer can
approach a set of barricades at full speed, dismount and begin
running while shouldering his or her bike, then jump the barricades,
set down the bike, remount and pedal off. Remember that this all
happens in continuous, fluid motion and there is very little reduction
in speed. Other popular forced dismounts are short, very steep
climbs that can't be ridden, or, sometimes, stair climbs. |
