In this episode I’m talking equipment choices, course conditions and other cyclocross stuff with Mark Allan of The Bike Haus, who set up my new Kinesis CX Race bike recently.

Mark, me and the new bike

Listen on itunes or via the audio below:

My first cyclocross race bike was a Kinesis Crosslight FiveT with mudguard eyelets and bottle bosses – it has now been repurposed as a commuter:

Here’s the FiveT in race guise with the mavic tubular wheel in front at Plean. This was one of the very wet muddy races where the rear freehub stopped engaging.

It happened again down at Rozelle Park in Ayr, where I had to run to change my rear wheel. The bike is seen here after washing!

Mark’s recommendation is Chris King hubs – a ‘premium product’ at 300-400 quid but they do come with a 5-year warranty. https://www.chrisking.com/type/hub/

A cheaper alternative mentioned was the Mavic ITS4 hub. http://www.mavic.co.uk/wheel-tyre-system/its-4

Why in Mark’s view, 11 speed is a great setup

The shim plates on the Kinesis CX Race that allow 135mm mountain bike hubs such as Hope ProII

SheldonBrown.com – where I found the gear inches calculator. Web design not important, it’s the content that’s great.

Brian Palmer’s website – again, old school web design makes no difference to quality writing!

The start at Lochore where I experienced a bit of ‘rubbing is racing’.

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