29in·CH+

I love mountain biking, but when I’m out on the cyclocross bike and pass a group of mountain bikers, sitting on fullies and spinning a granny gear to slowly gain elevation, it feels like a brief encounter between a lizard and a group of slugs. Mountain bikes make it up everything, but they certainly aren’t the fastest doing it. The last couple of weeks, I haven’t ridden my big-wheeled slug. Instead, I prefered the lightness and speed of my road bike and more recently, the agility of my cyclocrosser. Thurday night, after a long day attending a trade show, an old friend - the Mont Sujet - got a visit from me.

Distance:	47.0 km (29.2 miles)
Elevation:	1’449 m (4’754 feet)
Time:	02:20:48
Speed (avg/max):	20.0/72.4 kph (12.4/45.0 mph)

★ collideous

•

I’ve been singlespeeding either in Shimano sandals or trail shoes but have not owned a racy MTB show in over a decade. Cyclo-crossing, my feet demanded something more akin to a road shoe so I consulted the web to get an idea of what the market has to offer these days. I stumbled across Mavic, who has some very good looking shoes that most importantly don’t break the bank. I opted for Mavic’s mid-level Tempo, a cross-country race shoe with a grippy rubber sole, two adjustable Velcro straps and one ratcheting strap. It can be quite a lottery to buy a shoe brand one has never worn over the internet, but the two commutes to work in these were verification enough that I ordered the correct size. This is a heck of a comfortable shoe. If it performs and holds up well, I might replace my aging Specialized road shoes with a pair of Mavic next spring. Bought for CHF 150 at Bikester.

★ collideous