jsigone

Inspired from the Rapha race I did last month, I loved that style of riding but didn't want to keep beating up my super6 to get my fix. Set forth trying to get the best bike I could for $2500 either complete or build up. Biggest problem is that none of the LBS stocks CX bikes none the less one with disc brakes!! They said they will be here next Feb or March but I can't wait that long...I wanna ride After a few weeks of HW on different bikes, builds. I defiantly wanted Carbon for what I wanted to do. Sure I'll probably do a few cross races but wanted to do some adventure road rides where things might not stay paved Similar to the 67mile ride I did today

After what seemed like forever I happened to look at CX bikes on performance bikes, BAM there it was, 13' Fuji Altamira CX1.3, full carbon w/ 1-1/2 to 1-1/8 tapered fork, BB7 brakes (don't need to upgrade for a while), pressfit BB86 and SRAM Force group for $2120 Also has routing for Di2 in case I want a muddy electric bike Paid the $30 membership fee and they GAVE me $212 back in performance bucks to spend even better right. Used that to buy Fizik R3 Uomo road shoes and a sweet much needed The North Face bracket jacket w/ breathable membrane and vents/features. Stayed UNDER budget and got MORE gear...CRAZY

Picked it up last night, stripped the reflectors, need to get to the dork disc off soon. Swapped out the alum setback seat post for a Syntace P6 Carbon HiFlex Seatpost. I have a 46cm wide 3T ErgoNova bar waiting to go on. I didn't know how I'd feel about the stock 120mm stem. Flipped it and dropped one 10mm spacer for the first ride. On the road, bars are too high for me. On the dirt, bars felt pretty good. Will drop one more spacer and do another mixed ride w/ the 120mm stem before swapping it out for a 110 or 100.

Ride comfort is VERY high vs the Super6, though the Geo is very close from one to the other, the difference can be felt. Fuji is 1* slacked out head angle and wheelbase is about 1" longer. Feels bit tippy on the road, not trusting leaning corners with the knobby 32c tires yet. Feels like a comfort bike but give it some hard pedal strokes and I can feel the bike accelerate under me....just want I wanted I did 45 miles this morning on the pavement, half of which w/ my club. Difference in speed can be seen/felt at 25+mph...the skinny tire roadies just pull away from me. Climbing seems close, though I feel the resistance of knobby tires/heavier bike (19lbs) and more effort but not toooo bad. Then I did 15 miles of dirt, mixed single track and fire roads, lotta switch back, few rock gardens which got the fork to shudder a bit, but didn't resonate through frame like a steel rigid fork would do. Bike felt at home on the dirt, disc brakes were flawless on road and off. Very comfy on the steep decents and even in the drops. Bumps never bucked me off the back, I was able to get off the saddle on the climbs and move around to maintain the traction needed, rear end just seemed planted when I thought it shouldn't be. Bike comes geared 36/46 front and 11/28 rear. Some sections would have been nice to have a gear lower but got to practice shouldering the CX bike. Got some rain the last 10miles of dirt and 7 miles of pavement to get home. New jacket worked flawless keeping my core dry, the hoodie was large enough to cover the helmet and keep the heat in some.

today's ride https://www.strava.com/activities/99105894



Altamira CX 1.3 by jsig1, on Flickr


Altamira CX 1.3 by jsig1, on Flickr


Altamira CX 1.3 by jsig1, on Flickr

SmallFront

Woah, that's a nice bike!

Such a bike would be at least double that price here in good old Denmark.

Beachgrad05

Sweet

iTrek

NICE! Like the colors.

2 wheeler

Great looking bike, with a different mission than a skinny tire bike. Sounds like you got a terrific deal, too.

I'm green with envy! >

02Giant 

Nice bike!
I would be looking at more of an all terrain tire. Knobby tires on pavement make me nervous leaning into turns.

jsigone

Thanks

I do have a pair of Schwalbe Sammy Slick 700x35c semi-slick CX tires. https://www.ironcycles.com/news/new-r...-slick-700x35/

but debating on picking up some Conti Touring Plus or Gatorkins in either 28c or 32c for more Roadie style routes in the mountains

Erwin8r

Sweet! You beat me to it!

How do the 46cm bars feel? I just installed a set of 47/44 3T ErgoTerra bars (same geo as the ErgoSum, but with the drops flared a bit and the tops reinforced for inline levers) on my bike and love the compact feel.

jsigone

The ErgoNova will go on today. I will likely make the first cut to the carbon steer tube. Last night I put two 10mm spacers on top of the stem seems real dicey and doubt the compression plug is under the stem bolts anymore.

bbeasley

Great looking bike, congratulations!

bigfred 

Awesome bike. Keep us informed of what you learn about tires. I'll be very curious to hear what you find as a happy spot for rides like these.

IBOHUNT

Nice!
You should have got some cold weather gear for those freezing 50 degree days

jsigone

All I needed was a rain cape that didn't feel like a trash bag and some decent gloves. I'm not hard core enough to ride in snow ....

TrojanHorse

New year new bike! Oh wait, it's still 2013.

I think this is the bike you should bring to TdPS, knobbies and all. I'll snip the RD cable when you're not looking so that I have a snowball's chance of keeping up and all will be well.

I've been spending all my money on ... uh... another hobby. But I do like your new ride. Looks sweet.

jsigone

I'd be tempted to cut my own dirt trail to bypass those darn windmills.

What camera body did you get???

TrojanHorse

Different hobby, not any cheaper.

jsigone

Swapped out the gummy knobby challenge grifo pro (32c) for the sammy slicks CX (35c) and did a spin at lunch, mixed road and dirt with real small climbs.

Bike speed on the road is night and day!! max speed was 38mph on a short decent while feathering the brakes. PSI was 65psi similar to what I ran the Grifo's at. Once I got to the dirt today, I lowered them down a bit, probably a bit harder then Saturday but wanted to see how it would react. Wasn't so good offroading, ride was pretty harsh and bike was scattering everywhere but still controllable. Will try lower pressure next time. On rode the sammy slicks didn't feel so tippy when leaning which was a good thing + much faster and easier to hold 20 some mph.

I also lowered the bars another 20mm + put on 46 wide 3T ErgoNovas, comfy as hell on the road, similar setup to my super6, but offroad it was putting allot of pressure on my hands when braking on the hoods. Hands felt like I just got done doing a 60min white knuckle decent on my roadie. I'll raise it up 10mm and do another run tomorrow.


Singletracks at lunch by jsig1, on Flickr

Chitown_Mike

JS I always love the pictures.....just wish I had you thriftiness to afford the sweet rides you do. Still love that Supersix you have in other pictures.

Very sweet bike and something I have been debating getting, a CX over full road. But my Trek drop-bar conversion is kind of like a CX bike on roids so I might just treat it as such.

Post more pics as you enjoy it so we all can live vicariously through you.

jsigone

took my new CX bike on a lil adventure. Went up Nate Harrison grade (dirt side of Palomar Mt). Was pretty gassed from my gearing, stayed in 36x28 whole way up (I'm going to need to switch to a 30-32T cassette). Tried to play w/ tire pressure to get off the saddle on the consistant 10+% grade but ended up pinch flatting half way up when I got to the top and running outta daylight and energy. Sleeping in and starting about 9:30 didn't help but I blessing not to have to layer up leaving that late. Temps on the grade was upper 60s and pockets warmth that the garmin read 82-84* where there wasn't much wind. Cooled down once I got to the tree line but once I flipped to the other side of the ridge the temps dropped to the low 50's plus gusty winds. That made for a pretty cold decent back down into the warm valley. Disc brakes on a 5000ft decent is darn pretty cool but not knowing how much to lean high roller knobby cx tires on the other hand was a bit scary. Brakes did a great job slowing me down enough not to lean in too much. Zero brake fad from that long decent https://www.strava.com/activities/100209044


half way up Nates pano by jsig1, on Flickr


up up and away....err more ups by jsig1, on Flickr


around 4100ft on nate harrison grade by jsig1, on Flickr


chilly above 5k ft by jsig1, on Flickr


clear views to downtown san diego from Palomar Mt by jsig1, on Flickr


Overlooking southgrade by jsig1, on Flickr

TrojanHorse

36 seems kind of tall for a cross bike, what's your other chainring? And is it a 110 bcd like a normal compact?

jsigone

it's 46/36 up front and think a 11-28 rear end. Gearing is a bit taller then 34x27 I have as the lowest gear on the super6 plus factor in the 35c tire size. Good thing I like about the 46/36 setup is seems like a 6spd on a sports car. Nice close gearing to stay nicely in the power band....for normal stuff. But Nate harrison grade was a 2hr climb that averages 10% with a handfull of really steep sections/switchbacks that I was moving at less then 3mph, seated and pulling on he bars hard for leverage. I couldn't stand here because of tire slip. Here's the segment page https://www.strava.com/segments/683973 plus another 4miles of paved climbing after that to the summit. I refused to walk any of it due to I have new shoes and don't want to scuff them up YET.....Fizik R3 Uomo are darn comfy