Right now the perishing cold and sticky mud of winter may seem like a long way off, but Specialized has just launched a new version of its CruX frame. The new CruX is a cyclocross bike that is sure to keep you feeling warm and fuzzy all through ‘cross season when it does eventually come around.
The new CruX is all about racing, you see, while previous iterations have had a foot in both camps; racing, and more adventurous off-road exploring. With the more rugged features of the new Diverge, which we also bring you news of this week, there’s less of a need for the latter in the CruX.
All this means is that we’ve trimmed down the CruX, making it leaner and lighter for a new season of thrashing around in the mud.
Rider First Engineered
Our Rider First system was developed for the thoroughbred, Grand Tour-winning Tarmac, but has now been effectively applied to the CruX.
Rider First means making sure Specialized bikes perform exactly as they’re supposed to, regardless of the size of frame. In the past, it was common to produce a geometry that worked for a medium sized frame, but when scaled up or down began the rider would experience lesser performance. That’s now a thing of the past, at least where Specialized is concerned.
Different tube thicknesses and carbon layups are also tweaked in the CruX to guarantee consistency.
Velonews were impressed with what they saw at the CruX’ launch earlier this month, saying:
“While we’ll need more testing time to make a full assessment of the new Crux, early impressions were positive. It’s light, fast, and feels like a pure race bike. Pulling back from the “do everything” mindset, Specialized seems to have succeeded in designing its best ‘cross specific bike yet.”
More options than ever before
The weight weenies out there will be pleased to hear that the CruX now comes in seven different models, including four featuring carbon-frames. Indeed, at 900g at its lightest, the CruX is up there with some of the lightest cyclocross bikes in the world. That’s going to come in real handy when you’re picking up your bike to lug it over obstacles, or you’re driving hard on the pedals to power into a climb.
The top-of-the-line Expert X1 is specced with Roval wheels and SRAM Force drivetrain, while, as with all models in the 2018 CruX family, it is only available with discs.
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There are also two aluminium-framed packages and the option to go for the frameset-only, if you fancy building it up yourself!
While summer still has some time to run, it’s never too soon to start thinking about investing in something to keep you busy, entertained and, of course, covered in mud, throughout the winter.
