First cross bike!

[mtnmama]

The first snow is on the mountains; that means that cross season has arrived and so has my very first cross bike. It's a 50 cm (I'm 5'7" w/a 30" inseam) Van Dessel Hole Shot. I sourced the frame and parts myself, and a cross junkie friend just finished building it up for me. Definitely a "girl" bike: Short reach Shimano levers, Ritchey Biomax bars, XTR short cage rear derailleur, 11-32 SRAM cassette, and 50-34 compact crankset, Terry Damselfly saddle, good cheap wheelset, (still waiting on the) XTR M970 pedals. Total price tag came to about $1500. This bike is bound for the Southern Oregon Outlaw CX series (can't wait!), and will also do double duty on the local fireroads and fast singletrack.

My 5 year old daughter and 3 year old son can't wait to come out and watch mom ride her cross bike. I think they mostly just like the cow bells.

Stay tuned for the "first race" post in a couple of weeks...

Thanks everyone for the inspiration.

[KnottedYet]

Beautiful!
Congratulations!

[cycling_sarah]

Very cool bike! Congratulations! Good luck with racing!

[Sheesh]

Very pretty! Can't wait to read your race reports!

[Kalidurga]

I've seen a few Van Dessels in the local 'cross circuit. Definitely let us know how yours does!

[mtnmama]

Thanks for the encouragement. If it weren't for my little kid cheering section, I probably would avoid the race scene altogether - so it's kind of a big deal for me to commit to this. I had narrowed the frame choices down to the Javelin Primitivo, Van Dessel G&T, and the Van Dessel Hole Shot. I opted for the "budget" frame and with the savings I was able to justify upgrading a bit on some of the components. The short-reach shifters (Shimano R600) are a dream come true: braking while in the drops - what a concept!

I love reading everyone's race reports; keep them coming.