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The Secret Set Up:
Dialing In Your Cyclo-Cross Bike
Cycling has a somewhat accurate reputation of being an elitist sport.
Not necessarily because all cyclists are snobs, but more because cycling
has traditionally been a sport that was difficult to find out about and
get started with. The people who did discover it found a secret world
of Italian racing bikes and pink newspapers, or maybe decided to study
French instead of Spanish in high school. Much like the way I felt as
an adolescent punk rocker when "alternative" became the mainstream,
road cycling has always been a special subculture that's hard to give
up when the masses finally catch on.
If road racing is a subculture, than cyclo-cross is another faction removed
from that: the subculture within the subculture. If it was hard enough
to find someone who would teach you how to glue your first set of road
tubulars on, there's probably no one who was going to tell you the secret
set up for dialing in your cyclo-cross bike. That would have been blasphemy,
giving all sacred knowledge away. I was lucky to have masters like Paul
Curley, Tom Stevens, and Mark and Frank McCormack who were willing to
teach me the secret handshake. Things like cutting toe straps in half
and bolting them to the sides of pedals, or running a spoke along the
platform to make it easier to slide the cleat onto the pedal and into
the toe clips. (That's right, I said toe clips…)
Well, in the next few articles I'm going to give all the secret knowledge
away, starting with how to fit your bike properly for 'cross.
Assuming your road bike fits (which is assuming a great deal), your 'cross
bike can be set up relative to that as a starting point, However, a cyclo-cross
bike really should be set up independent of any other position. Aerodynamics
is never a concern on a 'cross bike, but comfort, bike handling, and power
are. An ideal 'cross position is one where you can reach your drops while
still sitting up with your upper arms and legs at 90 degree angles to
your torso, similar to what you might look like on the tops of your bars
on your road bike. Generally, there are five major points to consider:
frame size, saddle height, saddle set back, handlebar reach, and handlebar
drop.
Frame size
Keep it the same as your road bike! Too many people think they should
downsize their 'cross bikes because of the higher bottom bracket and lower
saddle position. What they end up with is a bike that they can't raise
their bars high enough on because the head tube is too short. Bottom brackets
on 'cross bikes used to be very high to allow for clearance when pedaling
on the backs of pedals that had clips and straps. With clipless pedals,
most 'cross bike bottom bracket heights have come down to that of a normal
criterium bike. So, the need for a smaller bike to accommodate standover
height doesn't exist to the same extent.
Saddle height
Your saddle height on your 'cross bike can vary from the same as your
road bike to 1 cm lower. Some people keep the height the same and let
the higher stack height of mountain bike shoes and pedals provide the
lower overall height. Because you're often riding on bumpy ground you'll
spend a lot of time slightly out of the saddle. There needs to be room
for your bike to "dance beneath you." I find that no more than
5 mm lower is perfect for most people.
Saddle setback
The nose of your saddle should be the same distance behind your bottom
bracket center as on your road or mountain bike, or up to 5mm further
forward if you sit far back on the road. It should be set up so that the
soft spot below your kneecap is immediately over the pedal spindle with
your foot at the 3 o'clock position. A traditional road position you might
be further back to emphasize a powerful, efficient, and pretty pedal stroke.
In 'cross, you don't have time for beauty, or even efficiency. In an hour-long
race, you need to be able to explode down on the pedals with instantaneous
power and be balanced between the wheels for good bike handling. Again,
similar to what you might set up for criteriums, or even the track. Remember
that what's efficient is not necessarily what's fastest, and your priorities
in a long road race are different than those for a short 'cross event.
Reach
The distance from the nose of your saddle to the center of your bars should
be 1-2 cm's shorter than your road bike. This is so you can reach your
hoods and drops without bending over to do so. You might also find it
more comfortable to tilt your bars up slightly, or raise the brake lever
position on the bars so that you can hold them solidly in your hand, rather
than rest your hands on them.
Drop
Drop is measured as the difference between the height of your saddle and
the height of your handlebars. Your bars should be 1-2 cm's higher relative
to your seat than on your road bike. This is again so you can reach the
drops without bending over and allow you to keep your weight back on drop-offs
and downhills.
In the next few articles, we'll talk about equipment choices like brakes,
chain ring set up, shoes and pedals, and wheels and tires. If there's
a particular 'cross bike set up issue that you'd like to see me address,
feel free to send me an e-mail and let me know at <adam@cycle-smart.com>.
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