Mudhoney PRO in the prototype phase

If you’ve ever been over your handlebars into a sand pit, you know that the forces that come to bear on a cyclocross bike can be both unexpected and catastrophic.  You also know that trying to get all that sand out of your mouth is much more complicated than simply swishing some post-race beer around and then spitting, like you were at the outdoor dentist.

Because of the big hits a typical CX race bike takes, we think that a pure carbon frame is the wrong tool for the job.  There simply isn’t enough forgiveness in that material to justify the weight savings you would get over a metal bike.  That doesn’t mean carbon fiber has no place on the course though.

Carbon fiber is good at two things. First, it eats high-frequency vibration better than metal, so having some carbon in your CX frame is good when you’re flying over grass or even grinding a big gear on a paved section. You’ll be smoother and get better power transfer.  The other thing carbon fiber is good at is being light.  Light can be good when you’re racing, right?

But it’s not everything.

Metal is good at some things, too.  Titanium, for example, will give a frame a suppleness and a maneuverability that an all-carbon fiber frame doesn’t have.  In the technical section of any course, in the switchbacks or in the mud, titanium will give you the ability to use your whole body to steer with.   A titanium drive train will be easier to power in chattery sections than a carbon one.  Sometimes a little flex is a good thing.

At Seven, we have the ability to build an all-carbon cyclocross racer and make it every bit as customizable as any of the other bikes we build.  When we set out to expand our cross line though, an all-carbon bike never even crossed our minds.  Instead we built the machine that would come to be known as the Mudhoney PRO.

The 2012 Mudhoney PRO

The Mudhoney PRO aspires to wring every last advantage out of the two materials in its design.  The carbon fiber top, seat, head, and down tubes form a light triangle.  Matching seat stays settle your saddle.  By putting titanium lugs and chainstays into the mix, we get suppleness where we want it, plus added durability.  A titanium drive train will improve tracking and traction; it will hold the ground better than a carbon one, especially in the more technical sections.

Marrying materials in this way isn’t easy; it takes advanced bonding techniques to gain all these advantages and still be able to offer a lifetime warranty.  Luckily, we’ve been mixing titanium and carbon since 1997.

We can’t guarantee you won’t go over the bars of the Mudhoney PRO.  When it comes right down to it, sand is unpredictable, and we could all use more practice carrying momentum from the fast parts of the course into the technical sections.  What we will say is that you won’t find a cross racer that tracks truer and holds the ground better.  And there’s always that post race beer to look forward to.

First Place Wins Pie!

Wow.  Wow.  And wow.  Andrea Smith and her Ladies First Racing team are cleaning up the New England cross series this season.   Ladies First swept the podium at this past weekend’s Down East Cyclocross Race in Maine.  We couldn’t be more proud of Andrea and honored that she chooses to race on a custom Seven Mudhoney.

Meanwhile just back from the Czech Republic, Seven Cycles sponsored rider and close friend Mo Bruno Roy has been sampling the mud on the World Cup circuit.  20th in Plzen last weekend, she inched up to 18th in Tabor this weekend: both solid results walking off the plane from her tune-up here in New England and into a field jam-packed with pros.  Mo is riding her brand new prototype Seven cross bike on this European tour, and we can’t wait to get her feedback.  Stay tuned.

Photos Courtesy of Matt O'Keefe; Collage Courtesy of Matt Roy

We recently unveiled our latest cross bike – lovingly and tongue-in-cheekingly dubbed the “Mo-Honey”; stay tuned for the actual name.   Seven racer Mo Bruno Roy is currently testing the pre-production bike and providing feedback on ride characteristics.

This cross project came together out of three distinct and disparate projects.  Initially the venture started surreptitiously two years ago in part as a product of the Seven Cycles Collaborative.  The design also evolved from specific aspects of our Elium SLX line, and the project even includes some of the best elements of the A6 carbon frame platform.  We chose to create this bike because of our track record with the carbon tube design and ride performance on the Elium SLX, knowing we’d be able to make our lightest bike yet, while maintaining the durability for which Seven carbon frames are known.

As with the Elium line, the titanium lugs enable us to easily accommodate any frame geometry, tube size, ride characteristics, and frame options.  Mo’s cross frame is a testament to this – her bike includes many of the custom aspects and features available on any other Seven model.

Recently, this bike was accused of being our “most artistic frame” yet.  We definitely agree.  This new model is the lightest, most technically sophisticated, and visually stimulating frame we have in our line.

The frame price is $4,995; this includes full customization.  All the tubes are carbon except the chainstays and bottom brackets, which are titanium.

In addition to the cross bikes, first production road bikes will be available mid-November.  Contact us for more details.

Thanks to Matt Roy of MM Racing for putting together this photo collage the bike with photos by Seven’s Matt O’Keefe.

Keep your eyes out for Mo on the race course and other rides on some stealthy looking Seven road bikes.

Mary McConneloug's Race Bike

We had another visit last week from Mary and Mike!  Last time they visited we made some progress on mountain bike R&D for the 2012 season.  During this visit we’ve added some cross bikes, too.  This is a project that’s similar in some ways to what we’re working on with Mo Bruno!  So many prototypes happening at once.  At the moment we’ve got 12 prototype and pre-production bikes happening simultaneously -  it’s that time of year.  Stay tuned for photo glimpses – and keep an eye on Starcrossed for spy photos soon. (more…)