New cross bike

[kermit]

Pulled the trigger and am going to try some racing. Just got the new hotness and so far I love it. Now have to learn how to carry it, haha.

[SheFly]

SWEET! And I'm partial to the colors (I ride Cannondale - those are the bike colors, and I have the same tape).

Carrying is easy, but will be easier if you remove your bottle cages. I, personally, never shoulder my bike, but suitcase it instead. This means finding the balance point on your top tube, picking up the bike at that point with the right hand, left hand on the bars. Your right elbow should be INSIDE the saddle (not over-hanging as your bike could get caught in your armpit). Essentially, it's just like picking up a suitcase, thus the term.

We only have one or two courses all season that require a shoulder carry - long beach runs where I don't want the sand in my drivetrain, and running with the bike on the shoulder is easier. In all other cases, I suitcase the bike - even using it as an outrigger in some cases running up hill (I did that this weekend - left hand on the bars, right hand on the top tub, pushing the bike uphill around the corners). This lets me use the bike as leverage.

Have a great time! The disc brakes are awesome as well.

SheFly

[Owlie]

Sharp! Congratulations!

[zoom-zoom]

<---lusting

That is hot. And I, like SheFly, pretty much suitcase or outrigger my bike. Partly because I am short and my bike is small and doesn't have a big triangle to finagle my arm and shoulder through.

So much fun...I never imagined I could have such a great time being so miserable for 30+ minutes!

[SheFly]

So much fun...I never imagined I could have such a great time being so miserable for 30+ minutes!

LOL! Yup - THIS is the essence of cross!

SheFly

[kermit]

Thanks for the tips SheFly I will try it. I had planned on taking cages off for races just put them on for some mileage on my farm roads.

[pll]

Congratulations kermit!

[Wahine]

Congratulations!

I suitcase carry my bike for barriers and short obstacles, but we have a lot of long run-ups out here and I much prefer to shoulder the bike for those.

That seatpost is interesting. What's going on there?

[kermit]

Wahine, It's specialized new cobble-gobbler seat post. Love it, stock with this model otherwise $200. Have one on the way for my roubaix. I have been riding both bikes and wow. A couple days on the cross bike in my little rolling hill route then I smoke on the road bike. Still waiting on my hubbies cross bike to come in, 61's are hard to find right now.

[north woods gal]

Welcome to the forum, Kertha.

Love the bike. Any reason you prefer the SRAM over the Shimano? Just curious.