Light and agile machine for rising American cyclo-cross star
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Anthony prefers to run his levers high on a traditional-bend bar.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Save for the narrow bridge and front derailleur pulley, there's little for mud to stick to around the bottom bracket.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Anthony says the current Avid Shorty Ultimate prototypes are so powerful that he has to detune them by running an extra-high straddle position.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The current Avid Shorty Ultimate prototypes are made from CNC-machined aluminum.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Like most top SRAM-sponsored pros, Anthony opts for the second-tier PG-1070 cassette for its better ability to deal with mud. (Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Anthony runs a SRAM PC-1090R chain with perforated side plates and hollow pins.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The all-aluminum cockpit includes a Ritchey WCS bar and stem.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The SRAM Red crank is fitted with 'cross-specific 39/46T rings.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The aluminum two-piece dropouts include eyelets for fenders. (Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Anthony's team-edition Supernova uses a Ritchey Carbon Pro 'cross fork.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The SRAM 'Red' front derailleur uses a stiffer steel cage borrowed from the Force model.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Jesse Anthony (Team Jamis) gets down and dirty with his Jamis Supernova. (Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The integrated head tube houses a straight 1 1/8" steerer.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Anthony uses a complete SRAM Red group on his Jamis Supernova.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Shimano XTR pedals' consistency and durability make them a popular choice among top pros.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
A SRAM Red rear derailleur moves the chain back and forth across the cogs.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The rear brake cable stop is neatly integrated into the seatpost collar.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Top-notch Dugast tubular tyres are wrapped around Mavic's flagship Cosmic Carbone Ultimate carbon wheels.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Gore Low Friction cables are routed across the top tube to help shield them from mud and debris.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The fi'zi:k Aliante Carbon Twin Flex saddle is another top choice among leading pros for its mix of durable k:ium rails and supportive - yet comfy - flexible carbon/Kevlar composite shell. (Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Carbon seat stays are matched to aluminum chain stays.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The top tube is just mildly flattened on the underside to ease the pain of shouldering.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Jesse Anthony (Jamis) is living the 'cross racer's dream. At just 24 years of age, he's already a seven-time US national champion, he gets to travel the country (and occasionally the world) on someone else's dime, and a healthy list of sponsors puts him on a lightweight aluminum and carbon fibre frame drenched in a blanket of premium components.
Anthony's no-frills Jamis Supernova is built with a triple butted Kinesis Kinesium main triangle, double butted aluminum chain stays, and carbon fibre seat stays for a little extra punch. The minimal shaping includes just a flattened top tube for easier shouldering and a teardrop-to-ovalised down tube for extra front triangle solidity, two-piece alloy dropouts and a straight 1 1/8" integrated head tube punctuate the ends, and a standard threaded bottom bracket shell is used down below.
"The dimensions are pretty standard and it handles really well," said Anthony. "The chain stays aren't super long, which helps in the corners – not super fast, not too unstable. It's a good balance. It is really light so that makes a difference when you're throwing it around."
Claimed frame weight is right around 1.5kg (3.3lb) – not superlight compared to some fancier carbon rigs but well in keeping with other top aluminum competitors, plus Anthony doesn't worry about it as much if he crashes or when packing it up for traveling. A top-shelf build kit, however, brings the total weight down to an impressive 7.54kg (16.42lb).
Aside from the frameset itself, little else is carried over from a stock Supernova. The drivetrain and transmission are upgraded to SRAM Red (with the exception of a Red-Force hybrid front derailleur and PG-1070 cassette), wheels and tyres consist of ultra-premium Mavic Cosmic Carbone Ultimate carbon tubulars and handmade Dugast rubber, the Ritchey cockpit bumps up from the Pro to the WCS level, and Anthony subs in his preferred fi'zi:k Aliante Carbon Twin Flex – "the best saddle money can buy".
Anthony is also among the selected few to test out Avid's new Shorty Ultimate cantilever brakes, which are still in development but look to be one of the top options for next 'cross season. At the moment, the stout CNC-machined aluminum arms are made in both low- and wide-profile configurations depending on the conditions, road-format cartridge holders yield more options for pad compounds, there's a wide range of adjustability for the return springs, and barrel adjusters are integrated into the arms.
"I run the brakes in the narrow position to get more stopping power," said Anthony. "But in Europe I like riding them in the wide to clear the big, clumpy mud."
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Anthony's brakes were set in the narrow position for his trip to Boulder, Colorado during the recent UCI races there but said if anything, the brakes are almost too powerful in their current configuration – straddle carriers are set extra high as a result to help detune the clamping force a bit. Lever feel is impressively light, though, and brake post flex is nearly non-existent.
Like most top 'cross racers, Anthony acknowledges that proper tyre tread and pressure selection can make or break the day. However, even though he has three patterns at his disposal, he generally only chooses between two ("It's too hard to bring that much equipment around," he says) and has no hard and fast rules when it comes to choosing one based on the day's conditions.
"Sometimes a course will be a toss-up between tyres and I'll just do a lap on each set and choose whichever one I feel better on. In Toronto it was perfectly dry grass but I rode the mud tyres because they were just really hooking up in the corners."
Come race day, Anthony says he'll check out the course "as soon before the race as I can and I just usually ride a couple of laps. I'll start riding them at about 30psi and go out and do a lap and adjust pressure as I go by feel. After a couple of laps and I find the right pressure I'll go back and check it with a gauge and then set all of my spare tyres the same."
Anthony admits that there is "nothing crazy" about his 'cross bike position but it's worth noting nonetheless that it's virtually identical to the aggressive stance he adopts on pavement – a good thing considering he spends a fair bit of time competing on the road in the summer, too, and also just moved over from Team Type 1 to Kelly Benefit Strategies for 2010.
"I ride pretty much the same saddle position and saddle height as my road bike: the bars are the same distance [from the saddle], same length top tube, the same length stem. The bars are a little higher but that's the only difference."
Critical measurements:
Rider's height: 1.78m (5' 10") Rider's weight: 68.5kg (151lb) Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 747mm Saddle setback: 70mm Seat tube length, c-t: 540mm Seat tube length, c-c: 498mm Tip of saddle nose to C of bars (next to stem): 535mm Handlebar drop: 70mm Head tube length: 130mm Top tube length: 545mm Total bicycle weight: 7.54kg (16.42lb)
Bike specifications:
Frame: Jamis Supernova, 54cm Fork: Ritchey Carbon Pro Headset: FSA Orbit IS CX Stem: Ritchey WCS 4-Axis, 11cm x -6º Handlebars: Ritchey WCS Classic Road, 42cm (c-c) Tape/grips: fi'zi:k bar:tape Front brake: Avid Shorty Ultimate prototype w/ SwissStop Yellow King pads Rear brake: Avid Shorty Ultimate prototype w/ SwissStop Yellow King pads Brake levers: SRAM Red DoubleTap Front derailleur: SRAM Red w/ Force cage Rear derailleur: SRAM Red Shift levers: SRAM Red DoubleTap Cassette: SRAM PG-1070, 12-25T Chain: SRAM PC-1090R Crankset: SRAM Red, 172.5mm, 39/46T Bottom bracket: SRAM Red GXP Pedals: Shimano XTR PD-M970 Wheelset: Mavic Cosmic Carbone Ultimate Front tyre: Dugast Typhoon tubular, 32mm Rear tyre: Dugast Typhoon tubular, 32mm Saddle: fi'zi:k Aliante Carbon Twin Flex Seatpost:Ritchey WCS Alloy 1-Bolt Other accessories: Gore Low Friction cables
