CrankAddictRich
Well-Known Member
Haven't been on MTBNJ in so long, but was talking to an MTBNJ'er yesterday at the Jersey Gravel Grinder and realized I need to get back on and update this thread because so much has changed. Where do I even begin...
I guess I'll start with bikes.
In April of 2022, I sold my S-Works Tarmac SL5 and built up an S-Works Tarmac SL6 Disc...
Between Covid and no racing and just a random general falling apart of the groups I had been riding with, I was way out of shape and not feeling good. I think I was about 205 when I built this bike up. It re-energized my desire to ride. It just does everything so well and is so much to ride. I also had discovered a new group of riding buddies and it just became so much fun again... something to look forward to every weekend.
In Sept. 2022, one of my long time friends at Pactimo reached out to me about coming to work for Pactimo clothing officially. I accepted the position and in Jan. 2023 became the Sales Rep Pactimo's Custom Clothing division in the Northeast. If you've got a crew of buddies you ride with and you want to put together custom jerseys and riding shorts, talk to me. If you're hooked up with a NICA team, talk to me. I'll give anyone that comes to me via MTBNJ a discount on custom kit.
Working for Pactimo only further reinvigorated my passion for cycling... I decided I was going to take another crack at some races and signed up for the Cape May TT, running my Tarmac in the Eddy class. I also got accepted to be a Specialized Brand Ambassador with the Hilltop Bicycles Cranford store. I ended up doing the entire season of TT Races. I grabbed a win at Cape May and managed to find myself on the podium or close enough to it in enough races that I won the Eddy TT Championship. I also jumped into a few crits and was hitting the weeknight practice crits at Rahway River Park and Warinaco Park.
In August 2023, after several months of waiting, I finally got my hands on a new Specialized Allez Disc. The boys at Hb built it up with Ultegra Di2 and it is awesome. This will be my race bike moving forward, replacing the old S-Works Allen that can be found a few pages earlier.
Shortly after picking up the Allez, I decided that it was time to replace my gravel bike with a proper race gravel bike. I grabbed a 2024 Specialized Crux Expert, pulled off all of the SRAM 1x bits and had the boys at Hilltop swap on a 2X GRX set up. Yesterday, I raced it in the Jersey Gravel Grinder Deux - Mega. This thing absolutely rips... just so much more direct than my Diverge and soooo much lighter. Obviously, the Diverge is oriented more towards gravel touring and adventure riding.
That's it for now.... Looking forward to getting on the MTB this fall / winter.
I guess I'll start with bikes.
In April of 2022, I sold my S-Works Tarmac SL5 and built up an S-Works Tarmac SL6 Disc...
Between Covid and no racing and just a random general falling apart of the groups I had been riding with, I was way out of shape and not feeling good. I think I was about 205 when I built this bike up. It re-energized my desire to ride. It just does everything so well and is so much to ride. I also had discovered a new group of riding buddies and it just became so much fun again... something to look forward to every weekend.
In Sept. 2022, one of my long time friends at Pactimo reached out to me about coming to work for Pactimo clothing officially. I accepted the position and in Jan. 2023 became the Sales Rep Pactimo's Custom Clothing division in the Northeast. If you've got a crew of buddies you ride with and you want to put together custom jerseys and riding shorts, talk to me. If you're hooked up with a NICA team, talk to me. I'll give anyone that comes to me via MTBNJ a discount on custom kit.
Working for Pactimo only further reinvigorated my passion for cycling... I decided I was going to take another crack at some races and signed up for the Cape May TT, running my Tarmac in the Eddy class. I also got accepted to be a Specialized Brand Ambassador with the Hilltop Bicycles Cranford store. I ended up doing the entire season of TT Races. I grabbed a win at Cape May and managed to find myself on the podium or close enough to it in enough races that I won the Eddy TT Championship. I also jumped into a few crits and was hitting the weeknight practice crits at Rahway River Park and Warinaco Park.
In August 2023, after several months of waiting, I finally got my hands on a new Specialized Allez Disc. The boys at Hb built it up with Ultegra Di2 and it is awesome. This will be my race bike moving forward, replacing the old S-Works Allen that can be found a few pages earlier.
Shortly after picking up the Allez, I decided that it was time to replace my gravel bike with a proper race gravel bike. I grabbed a 2024 Specialized Crux Expert, pulled off all of the SRAM 1x bits and had the boys at Hilltop swap on a 2X GRX set up. Yesterday, I raced it in the Jersey Gravel Grinder Deux - Mega. This thing absolutely rips... just so much more direct than my Diverge and soooo much lighter. Obviously, the Diverge is oriented more towards gravel touring and adventure riding.
That's it for now.... Looking forward to getting on the MTB this fall / winter.
