Articles – Page 64 – Seven Cycles

Bike Radar: Pro bike – Mo Bruno-Roy’s Seven Mudhoney Pro

By Matt Pacocha, US editor, in Madison, WI

When Seven Cycles put Maureen Bruno-Roy (MM racing) on their new prototype carbon fiber and titanium cyclo-cross bike, the top tube said â€˜Mohoneyâ€™ â€“ a play on the name of their Mudhoney ‘cross line. The Mohoney has since turned into the Mudhoney Pro, which will be a production bike in 2012.

The new bike, which was released as a prototype in October, incorporates additional carbon tubes into its design, when compared to the Mudhoney SLX bikes that Bruno-Roy has ridden for the past four seasons â€“ not just the same model mind you, but the same exact frames.

While the SLX has carbon top and seat tubes, the Pro trades out its titanium seatstays, head and down tubes for carbon as well, in an effort to lighten the frame and further dampen the vibrations that reach the rider, while retaining the terrain hugging suppleness and feel of titanium.

Bruno-Royâ€™s Mohoney race rig was the first â€™cross bike Seven assembled with carbon rear stays, which are an adaptation from the company’s Elium SLX and 622SLX road bikes. â€œThis rear triangle was completely novel for them, in terms of â€™cross,â€ Matt Roy, Bruno-Royâ€™s husband, team manager and mechanic, told BikeRadar. “So this was the first one and it became the basis for the new Mudhoney Pro.â€

Rob Vandermark, Seven’s founder, laser-cut all of the titanium lugs for the Mohoney frame by hand. On the SLX these lugs are structural but on the Mudhoney they’re there purely for aesthetic reasons, as the carbon tubes are mitered and bonded to each other. The new bike is roughly 1lb lighter than Bruno-Royâ€™s SLX rigs. â€œI donâ€™t think they expected it to be that much lighter,” said Roy.

Bruno-Royâ€™s Mudhoney Pro gets the SRAM treatment, in terms of groupset and accompanying kit â€“ Red with a compact crank and 44-tooth Thorne Components outer ring, and Zippâ€™s Service Course alloy cockpit. The handlebar is Zippâ€™s new Service Course CSL, which is made especially for smaller handed riders and has a â€˜super-short reachâ€™ and two-degree outward bend in the drops.

A compact gxp crank with 34-tooth sram inner ring and 44-tooth thorne outer ring: a compact gxp crank with 34-tooth sram inner ring and 44-tooth thorne outer ring Mo uses a 44-tooth outer ring. Since SRAM only make a 46t ring, she opts for one from Stu Thorne’s Thorne Products. Also note the ‘late model’ Shimano PD-M970 pedals, which remain more popular on the cyclo-cross circuit than the M980 model due to their better mud performance Deviations from the SRAM brand come in the form of Bruno-Royâ€™s TRP EuroX Mag brakes and Mavic wheel choices. She has both Cosmic Carbone Ultimate and R-SYS SL tubular models. The former are mostly used with Challenge Grifos (with both standard Challenge and FMB casings), whereas the R-SYS are set for mud with Challenge Limus and FMB Super Mud tires. Roy takes a meticulous approach to the upkeep of his wifeâ€™s bikes and it shows through in the finished product. When we saw the bike the day before the USA Cycling cyclo-cross nationals in Madison, Wisconsin it sparkled and gleamed, with touches like fully sealed and shrink wrapped cables, custom stickers on the Fiâ€™zi:k TK saddle and an expertly taped handlebar.

Complete bike specification

Frame: Seven Mudhoney Pro prototype

Fork: Seven CX

Headset: Chris King NoThreadset, 1-1/8in

Stem: Zipp Service Course SL, 80mm, -6Â°

Handlebar: Zipp Service Course CSL, 40cm

Tape: Fi:ziâ€™k Microtex Bar:tape

Front brake: TRP EuroX Mag w/ SwissStop Yellow King pads for Mavic wheels

Rear brake: TRP EuroX Mag w/ SwissStop Yellow King pads for Mavic wheels

Front derailleur: SRAM Red w/steel cage

Rear derailleur: SRAM Black Red

Shifter: SRAM Black Red

Brake levers: SRAM Black Red

Cassette: SRAM PG1070, 12-28t

Chain: SRAM PC1091

Crankset: SRAM Black Red Compact, 170mm, 44/34t

Bottom bracket: SRAM Red GXP ceramic

Pedals: Shimano XTR PD-M970

Wheelset: Mavic Cosmic Carbone Ultimate (or R-SYS SL w/ mud tires)

Front tire: Challenge Grifo, 17-21psi, Aquaseal coating

Rear tire: Challenge Grifo, 17-21psi, Aquaseal coating

Saddle: Fi:ziâ€™k Aliante Donna K:ium

Seatpost: Zipp Service Course SL

Critical rider measurements

Rider’s height: 161.9cm/5ft 4in

Rider’s weight: 48.08kg/106lb

Saddle height from BB, c-t: 66.4cm

Saddle setback: 1.8cm

Seat tube length, c-t: 50cm

Tip of saddle to center of bar: 46.5cm

Saddle to bar drop: 2.9cm

Head tube length: 9cm

Top tube length (virtual): 49.5cm

Total bicycle weight: 7.4kg/16.33lb

Gallery Images

Maureen Bruno-Royâ€™s Seven Mudhoney Pro prototype

Bruno-Roy sticks with TRPâ€™s old-school EuroX Mag wide-profile brake

Bruno-Royâ€™s Mudhoney Pro carried her to a top 10 finish at the 2012 USA Cycling national championships

SwissStop Yellow King pads for the TRP EuroX brakes

A compact GXP crank with 34-tooth SRAM inner ring and 44-tooth Thorne outer ring

Shimanoâ€™s stalwart XTR M970 pedal

Fiâ€™zi:kâ€™s Arione Donna womenâ€™s saddle

Matt Roy hand placed the Fiâ€™zi:k logos

The Mudhoney Pro uses a carbon head tube thatâ€™s wrapped in titanium. Mo’s is just 90mm tall

The Mudhoney Pro also employs a carbon down tube…

… and a carbon seat tube

The mixed carbon-Ti seatstays

The Ti sheaths extend so to hold the brake bosses

Moâ€™s bike

Inspiration from the mechanic – thatâ€™s an alien with a ray gun

The steel caged SRAM Red front derailleur

Sevenâ€™s carbon CX fork

Roy uses Aquaseal on the sidewalls of Challengeâ€™s Grifo

The Mohoney turned into the Mudhoney Pro

An expert tape job with a custom finish

Zippâ€™s Service Course cockpit

The Service Course CSL bar has a compact bend with a super-short reach

The Red GXP ceramic bottom bracket

Roy finds that clamp-style front derailleurs are stiffer and shift better; Seven use a set of shims to more evenly distribute the clamping load on the carbon seat tube

Mechanic Matt Roy running us through Moâ€™s bike

Custom sealed cables

Roy uses shrink tubing found at electronics stores to seal the cable system

He even seals the cable as it exits to the rear derailleur anchor bolt

More custom sealing

Seals on the front derailleur; Roy also uses the shrink wrap as a cable end cap

Bicycling: Dream Bikes – Rides Like a Dream

Joe Lindsey

Axiom SL: Traditional Ti with Unmatched Heritage

Since opening in 1997, Massachusetts-based Seven Cycles has produced everything from belt-drive commuters to carbon-fiber time-trial bikes. But Seven’s beating heart has always been custom titanium, a legacy of founder Rob Vandermark’s long tenure at one-time industry leader Merlin Metalworks. When he left, he took his vision and expertise (not to mention several employees). If you want a Merlin today, you buy a Seven. The Axiom SL, Seven’s most traditional and versatile frame, is a study in the company’s philosophy: Fit and ride quality are paramount, while character and performance are almost infinitely malleable. A dream bike is not just a machine: it’s a deeply personal expression of a rider’s self, entrusted to master craftsmen to interpret and make real. We do not choose lightly whom to entrust with those dreams; with our test Axiom SL, as with thousands of frames before it, Seven has earned that trust.

The Axiom is not going to be mistaken for a top-drawer carbon race bike. It flexes, but in doing so shows it’s alive. Seven can tune even more stiffness into the bike, but I wanted a more balanced ride. This bike proves that you don’t need carbon for performance. Like other custom shops, Seven can build in a BB30 bottom bracket, but this bike is wonderfully reverent, with a traditional 68mm BB shell and a straight 1 1/8-inch steerer tube with a standard King headset. Though the bike isn’t the lightest, at 16.04 pounds for a 54cm, it climbs as well as, or better than, bikes that weight much less.

This Axiom uses a very neat Di2 setup, with just three holes in the frame—near the head tube for the wiring harness, and at the seat tube and chainstay for each of the derailleur wires. The battery is housed in the seat post, which gives the bike a clean and stealthy look. Should you ever decide to go back to mechanical, you could get cable stops on the frame even after the fact.

boston.com: Make a Holiday Wish

By Luke O’Neil

We ask local celebrities and people of influence what gift(s) they want

SEAN GRIFFING, co-owner of Trade

Odonata

A Seven Cycles 622 SLX road bike (www.sevencycles.com). I’m an avid cyclist. This bike is new for the 2012 model year for Seven and it is their lightest production frame to date. Each Seven bicycle is custom made in Watertown for the rider’s specific body type and riding style. It’s a beautiful marriage of carbon and titanium. Or an Evoluzione Range espresso machine from Rocket Espresso is the Ferrari of espresso machines and would be a perfect addition to my home kitchen.

Mudhoney PRO: The Quest to Build the Perfect Cross Bike

Mo pro II lugs before and after — 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 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 getsuppleness 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 carbonsince 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 trackstruer and holds the ground better. And there’s always that post race beer to look forward to.

Axiom SL: Bicycling Magazine Dream Bike, Part Two

We talk about customization a lot, but the word itself means so many different things to so many different people it becomes sort of meaningless, another bike industry buzz word that flies around but seldom lands. We thought it might be a good idea to explain howWE customize a bike using the Bicycling magazine test bike we built for Joe Lindsey as an example.

The truth is we didn’t want to send Joe an Axiom SL, initially. When he got in touch with us we were just putting the finishing touches on the 622 SLX, and the opportunity to put our newest creation into a big magazine was exciting.

But Joe didn’t want a purpose-built speed demon. He was more interested in versatility and timelessness, so we arrived, together,at the Axiom SL. It’s light, but not the lightest. It can race, or it can tour. And it showcases our double-butting process, one of the ways we tune ride characteristics to the rider.

Joe filled out our Custom Kit, a small pamphlet we developed to capture all the ideas a rider has about his or her new bike, and also to learn some things the rider might not mention otherwise. It starts with personal information, name, age, and weight, but also occupation and geographic location. We ask about what people do, so that we can get a sense for their everyday ergonomics. Do they sit at a desk all day or are they more active? Clues like this tell us a lot about how a rider will approach their new bike. Where they live gives us some idea about the roads theyâ€™ll ride, the hills or the flats, the quality of the surfaces.

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