cyclintom

But come the fall and a young man's fancy will invariably turn to thoughts of mud, sludge and extreme conditions with a Guerciotti on his shoulder and a muddy uphill in front of him.

After my fore' into smaller size cyclocross bikes I went back and tried my 'correct' sized Raleigh again. And sure enough, the experts on cyclocross sizing knew what they were doing. Although my 59 cm Team may be the slightest bit large (maybe a 58 cm would be just a touch better) the 55 cm Pinarello CX is definitely too small. Luckily there's always a place for it in my garage as a loaner to friends for CX training rides after the mud appears. Though those 28 mm knobbies will have to come off and some 32's appear.

If you're racing you use the narrowest possible tires since you get the best speed that way. After all, you normally carry through deep stuff and don't ride it so that makes sense. But CX recreational rides are different. You use a triple and wide tires and you RIDE everywhere possible.

I've got this riding buddy who will fit the Pinarello perfectly. Now all I have to do is wait for fall before attempting the torture test.