bdinger

Got the new Surly Constrictor seatpost clamp today, and then my riding buddy stopped by tonight with his newly built up Salsa La Cruz with SRAM force - pics below. Now, this thing has to be the end-all for sliding seatpost issues. It's.. ridiculous! I love it! Here's a pic, the constrictor on the right and the one that came with the Trucker on the left.



Yeah, it's worth the moolah. I'm pretty positive I won't have problems anymore.. but seriously surly, why did you cheap out?

Now the abundant bike porn. My riding buddy stopped by to pick up a compass, as it's required for the 200 mile "Dirty Kanza" race this weekend he's doing in Kansas this weekend. 200 miles in one day in Kansas, all over gravel! He's a former clyde by about 30 pounds, but has since dropped into fit land like the rest of us. Anyway, this is going to be his cross/road bike that's currently equipped with some race bits from his race bikes for the race. Salsa La Cruz with full SRAM Force group, Mavic Crossmax wheels, etc etc. The rack? That's a Moots titanium seatpost rack that weighs as much as a mosquito. It's... amazing. Check it out:



Note: I'll be the first to admit, I lack anything resembling a green thumb..



My goal, seriously, is to race in the Dirty Kanza next year. Something about 200 miles on gravel, in hot and steamy Kansas, in one day really appeals to my sadistic side. REALLY appeals.

jaxgtr

ok, one question, It's almost June. Long sleeves? What kin of rims does he have on the Salsa?

bdinger

Not sure why he was wearing that, as it was in the 80's and pretty humid today!

Those are Mavic Crossmax 29 wheels, apparently they are stupid strong. Not cheap.. at all.. but they look crazy beefy. The spokes are the size of fingers!

roadfix

My Trucker frameset came with the Constrictor. But that was almost 3 years ago.

Richard_Rides

Your buddy has a wicked bike.

idig

Regarding the Surly clamps, they didn't cheap out. As I stated in the original thread, the stainless clamp is the more expensive of the 2. The Constrictor is bigger because it is aluminum, so it needs the extra size for adequate strength. Regardless, I hope it does the job. One should spend a ride on the saddle, not constantly adjusting it.

Wogster

When and where did he start though, not sure about there, but I have seen days, where if you left at 6AM it's 60F out, and by noon it's into the 90's...... It's one of the nice things about having panniers, you start off with a long sleeved jersey with a short sleeve underneath, then by 11 o'clock you have stuffed the long sleeve into a pannier....

v1k1ng1001

That bag is seriously interrupting the coolness of that bike. Does he ride with a musical instrument or something???

jaxgtr

^^^^

I half to agree, but I like the wheels. I am looking for ways to put disc brakes on my hybrid if I make it a commuter. It rains here so much in the afternoons in the summer, disc would be great and since they are 29er's, it should fit the bike quite well and I could still run some narrower tires, thinking 28 or 32's for the commute and if I want to tour could throw on some 38's. I was thinking of having another set of Velocity's built with a set of XT hubs and disc, but will look into these as well.

v1k1ng1001

You should consider just rebuilding the front wheel with a disc. That would be the good sort of bad.

jaxgtr

true

bdinger

I too commented on that, but that's his setup for the upcoming race, which he pointed out is completely unsupported. Not so horrible, but when you consider they'll be riding gravel through basically BFE Kansas, with towns being every fifty miles... He's carrying a couple spare tubes, and some other tire related stuff in there, I guess. Were it me, I'd just do full panniers and suck up the style and weight points lost to function!

You could probably build up two sets of Velocity's for the price of one set of those. I too said "wow, those things are sweet! I totally need a set!" Then, well, I heard the price.

https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...t.aspx?sc=FRGL

I think there are more reasonable versions, but good lord....

jaxgtr

Oh good lord is right. Never mind.

bdinger

Yeah.. I couldn't believe it. And.. betcha I could still bust 'em in beautiful fashion!

badgermac

I'd be afraid to ride 'em! They'd be up on my wall like abstract art!

ScotteeD

My next build will either be a Salsa La Cruz or Colnago Master. Tough decision, but I may be leaning towards the Salsa.

Ruckin

Can I add to the pic fest?
Here is the commute bike:
conquest.jpg

Here is my La Cruz. It isn't finished yet, but based on the little test rides I like it alot. The brifters on this bike
are amazing. It is like the difference between shifting a sports car vs a truck.
la_cruz.jpg

I have the velocity deep-V wheels that are reflective. (I apologize the pictures don't do it justice)
cruz_wheel.jpg

And this is the rain bike for when the weather is not nice enough to ride
rain_bike.jpg

Keep the pieces
Ruckin

bdinger

WHOA, nice ride! Is that SRAM RED?

Also as an update, he finished the DK200 and was overall pleased with his setup aside from one thing. The handlebars, apparently, don't lend themselves well to riding on the hoods. He's switching to some Salsa Bell Lap bars, don't blame him, the Bell Laps are great.

Man.. those La Cruz's just lend themselves well to extreme sexiness..

Ruckin

Yup, well the brakes are BB7s but I used RED for the rest of the group. I have
Rival on my commute bike and the RED requires quite a bit less movement
to shift. I am not sure what happened... I guess I went a bit crazy and the
bike ended up with nicer components that I was originally thinking. I still
need to do some final adjustments and put on some bar tape before it is
officially done. Until then all the miles will have to be filed under test rides