Thanks Benji.

Cheers guys, really appreciate you input.

Have either of you had SS29ers before to compare the ‘Dale to?

I was buying new wheels and still when with the XTR cassette (I run an XTR mech and an X0 gripshift). I chose Shimano because I had come from 11-36 1 x 10 and was rarely using the 11, if ever, I felt that a slight increase a the top of the cassette could be useful (and it has been) but I wanted to keep the ratios fairly close and I for some reason felt more confident with Shimano shifting.

I really like it and it suits my riding requirements but I’m certainly not saying this is the way forward for everyone because if you don’t mind the slightly wider ratio gaps what’s not to like about 10-42 and the Sram cassette is a good chunk lighter.

Njee20 is almost right, I run an XTR cassette and mech with an 11spd XO1 Gripshift and yes it works perfectly (I was quite surprised, I was a little concerned that the it may have been an expensive experiment). It seems the cable pull and spacing is exactly the same between SRAM and Shimano.

This might be of interest to you OP (if a little cheeky on my behalf), as I wasn’t sure if it would work with the SRAM shifter I also ordered an Ispec 2 XTR M9000 rear shifter which is still sat in it’s box totally unused – if you’re interested drop me a mail at adam.buckland(at)Hotmail.co.uk and you can have it posted for £50.00

I really fancied trying it but failed to get myself together before it stopped so I’d be really pleased if it comes back.

You’ve got to try an M109, I’ve been riding 1 since Christmas and so far it’s very good. Might not be quite as quick as an Epic but seems a lot more fun.

Scott, I just wanted to say thanks for all the work that you and the team do at qecp. I hadn’t been for years but went for a quick blast this morning and had a great time. The work you lot have done is proof that way marked trails don’t need to be on rocks, or armoured surfaces if they’re in woodland. It was great to have techie singletrack climbs and decents that are a challenge to make flow.

I’ll be back soon and with enough time to explore more than a couple of laps of the red

Good work!

Did I read that correctly – XTR rear mech with SRAM (grip)shifter shifting properly? Is the cable pull the same?

Yes that’s right it seems that both Shimano and Sram’s 11 spd off road groupsset share the same pull ratios and spacing so all parts are interchangeable and in me experience work flawlessly

Has anyone tried the shimano cassette with XX1 mech & shifter?

I have XX1 already and was requiring a new cassette.

Not exactly but I run XTR cassette and rear mech with Sram X01 gripshift and it works perfectly.

Hi OP,

If you have a word with John in Banjo Cycles he’ll let you try his own SCR as they use it as a demo, it’ll give you an idea as to whether the 1*11 is right for you. FWIW I ride around the Newbury area a lot and find 1 by fine but it’s a case of each to their own.

You could use the XTR cassette, you’d ‘only’ have a 40tooth not 42 and 11 instead of 10 but you could keep your freehub body and the cassette is cheaper.

I’ve recently built up an M109, I bought a CS but have changed most of the bits to preferred, including a dropper and it if your interested it seems to weigh about 24lbs (tried to pairs of shops scales), so it’s quite a light frame if you’re into that sort of thing. At the end of last summer I tested the m109, Anthem 650b and the Whyte c29 and for my riding (typical southern area XC stuff with a few marathon events) the m109 was quicker but more importantly more fun. I’d suggest booking a demo on them and seeing how you get on.

Oh, whileI’m here the bits taken of my stock bit haven’t been used and will be going up for sale when I get organised so if fancy any of the bits wet me know, I’ve only kept the frame shock and wheels – the rest is up for grabs including the carbon wheels.

Good job Gee, like you say the course was great – good job by all involved.

Have a chat with the guys from Raceware Direct, this is their bag!

Epic Cymru looks awesome, I’d have entered but I’m away so I’m relying on you lot to make its first year a success so it’s on again next year

Because I prefer Gripshift to triggers but I think that the Shimano mech is better than SRAM

Should do Everyone. I’ve not tried it but think the pull ratio is the same on gripshift and SRAM triggers

Nope, I’m using an XTR cassette and mech with SRAM X01 gripshift but I guess it’d work the same with a SRAM 11spd mtb mech

Cheers Scott. I’ve not been for ages and looking forward to it.

Yep, I just swapped the free hub body over on my 240’s

Tubs are awesome for racing, especially in tougher conditions but if you’re going to use one pair of wheels I’d try a get a quality pair of clinchers and use cotton open tubs will latex tubs and you get a good chunk of tub like performance with the clincher convenience

Yep, really looking forward to. Going for with my wife and some mates.

It’ll be great to see a WC in the uk

Cheers Njee20. I might see if I can get a 2nd hand gripshift to try.

This a great thread, if a little confusion.

Does anyone know if I could use XTR cassette and mech with a 11spd grip shift or will the cable pull be wrong?

re the single ring with Di2, no problems from what you see on bikes at WC’s, also the newest Ultegra (can’t remember the model no) doesn’t need a front mech, I use it with a single on on cross bike.

Novatec’s fully built wheels are really good, very good value and orderable through most LBS’s (I forget who the distributor is). A few of the guys I race cross with have been using them these season and as far as I’m aware they have been totally fault free. Given the cost and weight of them my DT240s on Reflex’s (novatec’s come in both Tub and Clincher) seem a bit over priced and pointless…

2nd thoughts, you’ll need to check that the front is 15mm…

which is?

Apparently Shimano were being their usual responsible selves and not releasing a product to market that didn’t function as intended – for clarity I’m talking non narrow/wide single XTR cranks/rings here.

I think Using Sram or Raceface cranks for 1 x could be a blessing, at least in the short term. Having spoken to a friend who works at Madison i believe there’s a reason for not having stk yet!

I’m hoping it all works well with the Raceface cranks as that is what I have on order!

Hi Mr B,
My Crux is Alu and with cantis so it’s not a direct comparison but I did race the Crux last year and the year before. While their both great I much prefer the TCX for racing, it feels far more nimble and adjustable, the Crux by comparison is stable to the point you have to treat it more like a mountain bike, it has a much more lazy feel to it and the courses that the Wessex League use don’t require Crux levels of security and in fact they often lend themselves to the TCX’s handling. I’m guessing that some of the stability I’m talking about comes from the lower bb of the Crux but the rest of the geom is also laid back compared to the TCX. Also the material is obviously very different.
I haven’t had any deep mud yet this year to try the TCX but my instinct is that the higher bb will help slightly but the more forward geometry may go against me while looking for grip in the bottom of the gloop – time will tell!!!

The Chef’s nailed it…

Can’t help with road input but I use my Alu Crux for on and off road and it’s great for all I need but the geometry is very different to the TCX.

Apologies, non of that is much help at all!!!!

Morning,

I ride an Advanced version but since getting it I’ve ridden an SLR and to be honest there isn’t a huge difference, the biggest being the weight – I’m sure Giant will argue that the carbon one has better power transfer and is more vertically compliant but to a mere mortal like me smashing it round a field for an hour I’m not sure I’d notice these benefits.

Can’t be watched too much, bloody love it!

I’ve been using it on my Cross bike since the start of the season and it’s been brilliant, the braking is bang on but level can feel a little squidgy but the performance at the disc/pad is great. Regarding rattles I’ve not had anything at all but I do remember an article mentioning it early on but I also think that same article said that the test ones were pre production and the rattle would be sorted for production.

Do it, they’re great.

Thanks for all of the feedback, as positive as I was hoping for for.

Cheers

Adam

This evening I was going to put the unused wheels from my TCX Advance on ebay. They are Giants CXR-1, apparently they have DT240 internals in the rear hub, 6 bolt compatability and are tubeless ready (I’ll also send the rim strips, tape and valves).

I removed them from the bike when I received it so they are totally unused.

I am looking for about £175.00 posted in the UK, drop me a mail if your interested adam-dot-buckland-at-hotmail-dot-co-dot-uk

Sorry for the hijack…

You right about us having quite a few mtb’s, Phil Pearce came 2nd and this week Steve James won on his Epic, but most importantly the less experienced riders use them as it’s often all they have.

The series was started for not only regular riders to have a mid week smash up but also to encourage non competitive cyclist to dip their toe in the water, hence we encourage MTB’s and if we split them out I’d be worried that we’d just end up with two small races, one containing very fast people as highlighted above with those that are learning and a second one with cross bikes – also I’d fear for my own welfare as the results man would shoot me!!!

Bump for the afternoon crowd…

Thanks for the responses, I’m really pleased the event are being enjoyed.

The results from yesterday are being reviewed, some corrupt data slipped through when it was uploaded so they will be updated.

The contact address should be summer.cx@hotmail.co.uk so I’ll get that changed today too.

Keep it coming this is great info…

A good old fashion bit of resurrection…

Just to let you know that the series will run again this summer, it’ll be on each Thursday during June and the first two in July. The venue is the same as last year but we are working on some new course layouts. Those of you that could make it last year hopefully noticed the course getting slightly more technical each week, we tried to introduce new challenges where possible but keep it accessible for all. The plan this year is to continue with same plan and hopefully boards will make an appearance!!!

Each round is in the BC calendar but follow us on Twitter @NewburySummerCX for updates

They are brilliant, plenty grippy and roll well. I race and train on Tracer most of the time, that includes a sometimes commute to work on scruffy back roads. The only thing I would say is that the Sport version is slightly heavier but does seem more puncture resistant

If you’re happy with you CAAD why not get a new one, one of the best Alu road frames around.

Or if you fancy something a little more unusual (admittedly a good chunk more money) have a look at a stainless frame like the Milani Acciaio Puro, mmm