The summer is hot and D2R2 in Deerfield, Massachusetts is only 16 days away. I have been training when time permits, alternating between my cyclocross aand fixed gear bikes. I have been increasing my on and off road hillclimbing, in order to best duplicate the planned 100k and 8,500 feet of climbing. The bike that I will use for this famous event will be my tried and true 2001 Jamis Nova cyclocross bike. It has had some evolution over the years. I believe that this configuration will best suit the planned terrain.
Frame...2001 Jamis Nova Reynolds 631,comfortable on road, stable off road, durable, not the lightest around. The 55cm c-c size with 32c tires gives me a good standover height.
Fork...Tange steel, a replacement as the original fork was cut too short. This fork with 80mm of spacers gives me a comfortable seat = handlebars height.
Fork...Tange steel, a replacement as the original fork was cut too short. This fork with 80mm of spacers gives me a comfortable seat = handlebars height.
Wheels...Mavic Open Pro front, Mavic Open Sport rear, Ultegra hubs, DT spokes
Tires...Ritchey Speedmax 700x32c, good on and off road,sheds mud great
Crankset...Sugino XD, 46/36/26
Rear derailleur...Shimano XT
Cassette..11-32, plenty of gear range for plenty of hills
Pedals...Crank Bros Candy SL... Thanks to Richard Sachs, who turned me onto these pedals as he lapped me in a cyclocross race when I couldn't clip in my muddy shoes into Shimano mb pedals.
Bag...Arkel Tailrider...tough, well organized, aerodynamic, has its own rain cover just in case.The rear rack gives some water/mud protection.
Seat... Selle Anatomica ...this seat brought me back from the brink of recumbent cycling. I am sold on the Brown/Peterson theory of seat height = handlebar height for best comfort.
This setup will give me plenty of gears for the expected 27% off road climbs, and great flexibility for the on/off road nature of the event, be it dry or muddy, ( I like muddy! )
