I've ridden SRAM Red which I like very much and I believe Rival has the same shifting system so will give it a thorough test to see how I get on with it. As for wheels I'll now be looking for two new wheelsets for each bike with same original budget so maybe I'll get one light pair and one aero wheelset to appease everyone.
It looks as though Planet-X are still doing their £500 aero carbon clinchers, which may be of interest to you. I am sure you'll have plenty of suggestions from the other members here, however
Nice, out of interest what swayed you on this particular CX compared to say something from Genesis like the Alfine?
I've come to realise that I don't get on with the Alfine hub. The main issue is the massive gaps between gears, but there are a couple of other downsides to it that aren't so immediately obvious. The hub weighs 1680g which is a lot compared to a standard derailer setup, and having all the weight at the back really doesn't help matters. I have a rack on the bike, plus a bag with my work clothes on the rack, which adds another 2kg or so - all of which is over the back wheel. The other thing is that the hub is very sensitive to cable tension; if it's slightly off the gears will slip when you change. This results in you getting half a rotation where there's no resistance on the crank, which is really annoying when you're trying to do a hill start. It's not difficult to adjust the tension, it's simply the fact that you don't realise it's off until the gears slip.
It's not all negative, though. When you have the cable tension set properly the gear changes are smooth - easily as good as the shifting on the Ultegra setup I have on my Yukon. It's also fantastically easy to maintain, as you just need to clean and lubricate the chain once every once in a while. The drive components last much, much longer than a derailer system. It's also really nice being able to change gear while stationary.
Anyway, as for the choice of bike, I wanted something similar to the On-One Pompetamine that I already have, but without the internal hub gear. I like being able to use wide tyres, and I also like the Avid BB7 disc brakes. The Pinnacle ticks both those boxes, and has the added benefit of being lighter than the Pompetamine. I did look at the Genesis Croix De Fer as I would have preferred a steel frame, but it's more expensive and heavier than the Pinnacle. All of the other cross bikes I looked at either had Avid BB5s and Tiagra as opposed to BB7s and 105, or cost £200+ more than the Pinnacle.
[DOD]Asprilla;22620745 said:
Just pushing myself a bit harder in an effort to get below 70kg by the end of the year.
On a good week I average 24kph on my commute, but when the kids are at school that takes a dive as I get stuck at zebra crossings etc. You must really hammer it to maintain that sort of speed, given the number of obstacles you must face! How much do you weigh now, and do you think shedding more weight is going to make much of a difference? I can't say I've noticed much of a difference myself, though that won't stop me from trying to get down to 70kg - I'm currently 76kg, down from 86kg at the start of the year, so not far to go now.
![[DOD]Asprilla](/styles/overclockers/avatars/8.png){kind=avatar}
