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U.S. Built Bicycles in Titanium and Carbon-Titanium Mix

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 ‘Mohoney’ – 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 – 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-Roy’s Mohoney race rig was the first ’cross bike Seven assembled with carbon rear stays, which are an adaptation from the company’s Elium SLX and 622SLX road bikes. “This rear triangle was completely novel for them, in terms of ’cross,†Matt Roy, Bruno-Roy’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-Roy’s SLX rigs. “I don’t think they expected it to be that much lighter,” said Roy.

Bruno-Roy’s Mudhoney Pro gets the SRAM treatment, in terms of groupset and accompanying kit – Red with a compact crank and 44-tooth Thorne Components outer ring, and Zipp’s Service Course alloy cockpit. The handlebar is Zipp’s new Service Course CSL, which is made especially for smaller handed riders and has a ‘super-short reach’ 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-Roy’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 wife’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 Fi’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, -6°
  • Handlebar: Zipp Service Course CSL, 40cm
  • Tape: Fi:zi’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:zi’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

Mudhoney PRO
Maureen Bruno-Roy’s Seven Mudhoney Pro prototype
brakes
Bruno-Roy sticks with TRP’s old-school EuroX Mag wide-profile brake
front end
Bruno-Roy’s Mudhoney Pro carried her to a top 10 finish at the 2012 USA Cycling national championships
brakes
SwissStop Yellow King pads for the TRP EuroX brakes
crankset
A compact GXP crank with 34-tooth SRAM inner ring and 44-tooth Thorne outer ring
pedals
Shimano’s stalwart XTR M970 pedal
seat post
Fi’zi:k’s Arione Donna women’s saddle
saddle
Matt Roy hand placed the Fi’zi:k logos
headset
The Mudhoney Pro uses a carbon head tube that’s wrapped in titanium. Mo’s is just 90mm tall
down tube
The Mudhoney Pro also employs a carbon down tube…
seat tube
… and a carbon seat tube
rear end
The mixed carbon-Ti seatstays
rear brakes
The Ti sheaths extend so to hold the brake bosses
top tube
Mo’s bike
sticker
Inspiration from the mechanic – that’s an alien with a ray gun
front derailleur
The steel caged SRAM Red front derailleur
fork
Seven’s carbon CX fork
tire
Roy uses Aquaseal on the sidewalls of Challenge’s Grifo
top tube
The Mohoney turned into the Mudhoney Pro
handlebar tape
An expert tape job with a custom finish
stem
Zipp’s Service Course cockpit
brake lever
The Service Course CSL bar has a compact bend with a super-short reach
bottom bracket
The Red GXP ceramic bottom bracket
front derailleur shim
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
sizing up
Mechanic Matt Roy running us through Mo’s bike
lug
Custom sealed cables
barrel cable adjuster
Roy uses shrink tubing found at electronics stores to seal the cable system
rear derailleur
He even seals the cable as it exits to the rear derailleur anchor bolt
details
More custom sealing
details
Seals on the front derailleur; Roy also uses the shrink wrap as a cable end cap

Shop Ride: Sevens on the Trail

Ready for some mountain biking

Bodies at rest tend to stay at rest. That’s Newton’s first law. So you can imagine the difficulty one encounters trying to rise from a warm bed before the sun has even sighted the horizon, to fortify oneself with hot coffee, and then head out for a trail ride. That the temperature is in the mid-20s only compounds the challenge.

And yet, it’s January in New England and the trails are not yet coated in snow and ice, so we do what we can.

And all the way to the meet up, you have those second thoughts reverberating around your cranium. “What am I doing? Man, it’s cold. This is stupid. The guys probably won’t even show up. I really could have used the sleep.”

Then the guys DO show up and next thing you know the heat is coming into your legs, into your core. The leaves crunch under your treads. Frozen earth rides like asphalt in places. The wet parts have gone crusty in the hard morning freeze.

You still can’t quite believe you’re there as the sun begins to suffuse the woods with gray light, but the equation is shifting. You’ve kicked off that equal but opposite reaction, joy and inspiration pushing you down the trail, momentum interrupted only by the odd rock or root. Quite unwittingly, you’re smiling.

a wooden bridge on the trail

And then you’re at it hammer and tongs. Up steep ridges you grind, your breath coming in great billowing gusts. Your fork floats and pops as you hurdle downed trees and then you find a brook in full babble, and you brake without saying a word to your companions. You stop and listen. As much as the riding, this is what you get out of bed for.

Customer Review: Axiom SL

Cyclist
Andrew on his Axiom SL

Our group of riders smashed through the messy roadway. The speed plummeted as riders on light carbon frames balked at the clacking and popping sounds of their gear shuddering across uneven roadway. I was keenly aware that my speed remained stable as I slid to the front to plan my endgame. Stiff enough to feel… but the suspension of titanium was all there. Goldilocks would have been impressed.

Just prior to the holiday break, we were treated to a lovely long term review of an Axiom SL, courtesy of a blog post by Andrew Kerslake. Unlike many other reviewers, Andrew bit his tongue until he logged many miles over a wide variety of terrain, and then commenced on crafting a thorough report. We are pleased that he is enjoying his new bike, but especially enjoyed reading his entertaining blog entry, which was full of insight and energy.

Before deciding which bike he wanted, Andrew did a fair share of research and soul searching,

“We take on a certain degree of ownership that extends beyond the product and into the brand. The brand’s identity often speaks to our own identity.â€

However, as an avid cyclist, Andrew knew what type of outfit he was looking for,

“a titanium race bike to be agile enough for Taiwan’s roads, stiff enough in the drivetrain and stiff enough in the front and rear triangles to transfer over a fair amount of road feel to better assess my tack on the surface. I also wanted the bike to be just, and only just, comfortable enough to handle my notoriously long rides over Taiwanese roads. I also needed a bike aggressive enough for Taiwan’s yearlong bicycle event season. I wanted something that would be comparable to the carbon performance bikes, but still hold that solid metallic feel that I love with the durability of titanium. I have been known to be a bit careless or a klutz.â€

We were lucky to have been chosen to turn his dream into a reality.

The results?

“After each ride, no matter the distance or amount of effort, I can get off the bike and feel fresh. I can still run around and walk normally. I might be tired, but not beat-up.â€

We hope you enjoy the review as much as we did. Thanks to Andrew for the stellar report.

Titanium Seatposts Now Available in 30.9mm

30.9 seatpost
30.9mm Ti Seat Post

We recently made 30.9mm titanium seat posts available for order.The first production post went to a customer in Belgium who is 6’8″. Doing these larger diameter posts requires that we make a thinnersleeve for the seat tube. Every Seven seat tube gets asleeve, either carbon or ultra-thin aluminum,to keep the keep the post from binding, except, of course, for the integrated seat posts (ISPs) we do for our carbon SLX bikes.

The 30.9mm standard, and indeed the 31.8mm standard, represents a leap forward in the stiffness that can be built into a customer’s bicycle. While we are making 30.9mm posts available for sale, it is important to note that these will only really benefit larger riders.Part of the charm of titanium is that it retains a suppleness that makes it comfortable to ride all day. Over-stiffening eliminates many of the benefits of building in Ti in the first place.

We willalsobe producing a titanium seat post at the 31.8 standard, though not for use with Seven frames, and again, we would only recommend these for larger riders as they are the stiffest, heaviest posts we make.

As with many of the additions we make to our product line, the 30.9mm seat post is a result of customer requests. Larger riders want the benefits of riding a custom, Ti bike, but they are concerned that standard tubing, even with thicker tube walls, won’t produce the long-lasting ride feel they’re looking for. We hope that offering this new, wider post will help them find exactly what they’re looking for.

See the chart for more information aboutseat posts available from Seven, as well as a comparison of the various standards. And click here to order.

Seven Seat Posts

Size/Material 27.2mm 30.9mm 31.8mm ISP*
Steel Available x x x
Ti Available Available x x
Ti/Carbon Available x x Available
All Carbon S&SL Models S&SL Models x Available
Aftermarket Available Available Available x
Weight Limit none <240lbs none <240lbs
Benefits Light Stiffer Stiffest Clean Lines
Considerations none Too stiff for lighter riders Heavy Hard to travel with
Weights 215g @ 280mm; 249g @ 380mm 221g @ 280mm; 252g @ 380mm 243g @ 280mm; 287g @ 380mm Frame Dependent

* Integrated Seat Post

Seven Holiday Party Photos by Matt O’Keefe

Folks congregating
Pre-Bowling Warm Ups

Keeping one’s senses in tact is not usually something to which holiday party revelers aspire. Thankfully, we have Matt O’Keefe as one of our helmers, and he managed to not only take these amazing photos of Seven’s holiday bash, he also proved to be a wicked good candlepin bowler.

Bowling shoes
Candlepin Kit
Kids bowling
The kids show us how to roll a strike!

A great time was had by all, especially the youngsters who showed us all a thing or two about bowling stamina and the thrill of the gutter ball!

Awards were handed out for best form, worst form, and highest and lowest scores. Although the night had to end, most of us were lingering until the folks at Sacco’s Bowl Haven politely told us it was time to give up the lanes for the next round of patrons.

Thanks to Staci Sommers for her decorating expertise and for making all party goers feel like we had entered a winter wonderland instead of a bowling alley bar; and thanks to Karl Borne who not only thought up the awards categories, but who chose the prizes for each, and then handed them out with aplomb and holiday cheer! Happy Holidays to everyone and we look forward to seeing you in 2012!

Karl makes an announcement
Karl B. the evening’s master of ceremonies