Retroshift

As you can probably tell I am very much a tech head. I love trawling the net and finding what is newest, lightest and strongest gear. On my morning cruse through the fixed.org.au forums I came across links to a new product from Retroshift. 

They are basically a way to run traditional down tube shifters on your break levers. The advantages are that they eliminate mud jamming up your shifters if you crash, they are also cheap to replace if that same crash destroys the shifter.

You can shift up or down the whole cassette with one swipe.

They have also been proven in race conditions.

Go and check out the full review including pricing at bikerumor.com

Chain Catchers

A chain catcher is designed to stop your chain falling off when you shift down from the big to the small ring. They also help keep your chain in place when you ride over rough terrain and when dismounting and remounting. Chain catchers are an inexpensive upgrade (depending on which one you buy) that offer insurance that is hard to beat.

One of the cheapest on the market is the Deda Dog Fang. I run a very similar chain catcher on my cross bike - just a knock off I found on eBay for $5.

If you want to go more upmarket (and I suspect in weight) go for a K-Edge model. They come in about 8 different configurations including clamp or braze-on and one that sits between the bottom bracket and frame, like the one below.

This one, is a cyclocross specific model that can be mounted higher on the seat tube away from the a flared bottom bracket.

Check out the K-Edge website for all their products.

There are also examples of home made chain catchers using cable ties (is there anything they can't do?)

Cheap and awesome, a chain catcher will save you time and you won't even know it.

Local Content

I finally have some local content to add to my blog and I have to say it was well worth the wait. 

The most gracious organiser of our local Ipswich cyclocross races sent me these pictures of his (not so) recently pimped ride.

Carbon Ibis with Edge forks

 

Shimano CX70 Crankset

 

Shimano CX70 Brakes (Scott reports that they actually work - win!)

 

Every bike needs the name of it's pilot and the Lion of Flanders

 

Best rear cable hanger ever!

CX At The Winter Olympics?

Here is part of an article from the competitive cyclist blog about adding CX to the winter Olympics - I think that is the best idea I have heard all year.

Domestic racing is in the air here after we hosted a reception last week for USA Cycling and the promoters and organizers of the NRC races. While chatting with Todd Sowl, CFO of USA Cycling, I asked him something I'd long been curious about (and, interestingly, the uber-blog Inner Ring brought up on its own recently): Given the explosive popularity of cyclocross and the fading pulse of track cycling, why not expose cross to the masses through the Winter Olympics? 
 

If the Olympics are our best opportunity to introduce the wonders of bike racing to an all-new crowd, changing emphasis from track to CX seems like a no-brainer. Tactics-wise, with cyclocross what you see is what you get. Visually, the mud and suffering make it poetic. And the start-to-finish race length of one hour is long enough to push in TV commercials, but short enough to accomodate 21st Century attention spans. By comparison, track cycling is arcane, repetitive, and commercially unviable.

Tubeless Cyclocross Wheel Conversion

Cycling Dirt put together a how to video on setting up clinchers with a Stan's no tube tubeless wheel conversion kit (what a mouthful). This setup isn't exactly new, but as a crosser on a budget, this might be the perfect solution for getting those low pressures without spending the big bucks on going tubular.

Watch more video of NoTubes Iron Cross 2011 on cyclingdirt.org

Jamis Disc CX

Snowflake from the CX forums (link on the sidebar) just got his hands on this disc equipped Jamis Nova cross bike.

While I am not a fan of disc brakes (call me retroly aggressive), I am a fan of the finish. Apparently the anodising looks awesome in person.

Gios Torino Cyclocross

This thing is absolutely beautiful. Dripping with Campy Record and a panto stem it is pure style. I am so glad it is not my size.

 

Check out the eBay listing for more pictures.