CUSTOMER QUESTION: Lennard; I’ve taken my Medici to the bike shop to have the cranks replaced. I believe the bottom bracket is 10 1/2 inches from the deck. I believe the old cranks that come off of it were 175 mm and are still in the shop. I’d consider getting longer ones. What length would you say are “safe” with that bracket height?
My brain doesn't work the same way as other people's when it comes to having fun, which is why I was delighted when I woke up before the sun on Saturday to inches of snow and temperatures that hadn't yet hit the teens. The company I work for, Challenge Tires, was the presenting sponsor of the race, so I got to enjoy the crazy day from dawn until dusk in an expo tent with a propane heater and brewing hot cyder to keep me company as I reminded people all day long that in cyclocross, tires win races.
The week of the Boulder 2014 Cyclocross National Championships was amped. Juniors grinned ear to ear or scoped the course seriously with their headphones blocking distractions. Masters over 70 sharpened their elbows to contend for stars and stripes. I took it all in with pleasure and the pride of getting to show off something you love at its best.
At the Colorado Cyclocross SW3 State Championships the past weekend Emily Zinn got narrowly outsprinted for second place on her custom magnesium Zinn cyclocross bike.
Emily Zinn
The Boulder Cup is the biggest cyclocross race of the season in Boulder each year, and it's held at our Valmont Park venue that will host the cyclocross national championships in January. Lennard had a great ride and got third place behind winner Karl Kiester and runner-up Russell Thorstrom.
Big riders are often very familiar with wearing out and breaking bike equipment. You go through tires much faster than lighter riders, your rear rim develops cracks at the spoke holes, and maybe you’ve broken spokes, chains, hub flanges, seatposts, saddle rails, saddle shells, crank arms, and even frames. To avoid breakage in use, big riders need to understand what the impact of metal fatigue is and replace their weight-bearing bicycle parts more frequently than a smaller rider would.