The Everchanging Cross Check...

 

 ...will get a new change tomorrow (well, some minor tweaks). The last time I updated what I was riding was for the Trans Am Race. Well, the night before the Trans Northern California I took some boutiquey shots of the bike before I left (does the self consciousness of being a total and huge bike dweeb ever wear off in taking these photos?).

This was the big difference, big, meaty, Kenda Slant-Six's.

Good hardpack profile, with some decent grip.

They juuuuuust squeeze in.

This was a headache. I would come to find that I would need that little bit of extra room in the dropout, so it was me and Jonathan strangling this thing the night before in our hotel room in Boomtown.

See that word Sealant? These are Kenda's that are latex friendly, either way, I went latex free and Slimed 'em.

I did not opt for dirt drops. That was stupid, my back hurt on these bars. I also think having a more up-to-date 31.8 clamp might have helped the bangs and also helped with control, but live and learn. (Also, pink makes you go faster).

I recently learned that the XT 9-speed derailleurs work well on 10-speed XT cassettes and have the same pull length as 105 10-speed STI shifters. That will be an upgrade eventually. Also, that is a road Tiagra triple up front, what a poor choice for this race. 

It's not really all that different from the Trans Am build, mostly just changed the tires out and got new cranks, but either way, it looks pretty killer no? 

(Note: I did not edit any of these pictures because I was lazy and my camera decided to shoot in .JPG instead of .RAW. So be it)