Designers story. The CX3 and its inception.

The name

The model we are taking into production is the 3rd version in our development process. Beginning with the first iteration that was a good start but needed improvement to be amongst the best, we progressed to the second revision that we raced all of last year. However this still had less rear wheel clearance and a 3 part frame. The CX3 is a combination of racing, testing and development, and by request of the team riders, we have increased rear tire clearance, we have made servicing easier with internal cable rails, increased strength and fit on several areas such as the seat post and forks and included one piece handlebars into the complete package in order to improve front end feel.

The forks

To get to the stage where we had the perfect forks for the CX3 was a massive amount of struggle, with a graveyard full of broken forks we finally managed to construct a layup capable of fulfilling our expectations and performing to the level we wanted.

So what were our expectations? Well we came to the conclusion that performance is an optimal figure rather than simply the highest figure possible. We arrived at this conclusion through a substantial amount of rider feedback as well as years of testing. A fork that is too soft both longitudinally and laterally will be extremely ineffective at cornering due to the flex causing understeer. On the other hand, a fork that is too stiff will be equally ineffective due to a lack of feel on the front end and constant bouncing. A fork that is correct will be pliant enough to dampen the uneven road surfaces experienced during races and firm enough to allow the rider to push through a corner without the doubt of an understeering bike.

We spent a very long time of what seemed to be an endless cycle of getting the performance figures we wanted on FEA(finite element analysis) for our fork, then sending it into the testing facility to watch it snap like it was made of plywood. However eventually through a considerable amount of hardship we managed to learn the intricacies of transferring our theoretical knowledge into a real life product. This gave us the needed security in impact tests/figures in performance tests.

Getting to this point, and knowing as much as we now do has allowed us to produce a bike that's capable of taking on all the forces related to cyclocross. Whether its remounting, hopping barriers, hitting bumps at speed we can confidently say our bike has you covered. 

The geometry

The geometry of a bike is the blueprint upon which every other element is added. This makes it important as a wrong step here dooms the design before it begins. The strategy for the CX3 was to make it absolutely directed at the demands of racing, this meant the geometry had to reflect this. We achieved this aim through tightening both the head and seat angles compared to that of a gravel bike meaning our bike would be more sensitive and react faster for our riders, as well as lengthening the wheelbase compared to our road bike resulting in increased stability over uneven surfaces. These changes allowed us to create a geometry that is both stable and dependable on longer faster turns and aggressive/agile on twisting sections.