There is another issue here of course.
I've ridden the Three Peaks Cyclo Cross race in Yorkshire a number of times over the years and have done it on a variety of classic lugged steel and classic ALAN 'screwed and glued' framed machines.
Coming off the first mountain Ingleborough, the descent is long, high speed?and really quite technical over loose shale, limestone pavement (wet), mud, wet grass?and peaty bogs etc.,
Last year for the first time, I purchased a brand new?'turn key' Specialized Tri-Cross Sport?which only boasts?a mid-range butted aluminium frame and a selection of Shimano / Truvativ 27 speed componetry. This bike is in no way the 'state of the art' by any means - that would cost about two to three times as much...
Nevertheless, the difference in control offered by the Spesh in these trying conditions when compared to anything I have used before was quite marked - to extent that I reached the bottom much faster than I have been able before (my wife claims 15 mins before she was expecting to see me! - a bit of an exaggeration, but the?observation is still valid).
This can only be due to the rigidity and response of the frame, faster shifts through the gears and other?benefits afforded by modern componetry?that I can't begin to explain.
I was definitely no fitter than previous years incidentally...
That fact that I punctured on the next descent, completely knocked the rear?cantis out of kilter and had to swap to my trusty old ALAN is neither here nor there...
Ian Briggs
LUTON, Bedfordshire, UK