Special modifications for 8-time US 'cross champion
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Katie Compton’s custom Ion CX in 200 Series Alpha aluminum(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Compton’s Bontrager Affinity RXL WSD Carbon, set at -3 degrees(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Compton stands 5’6” and races a 52cm... with 175mm cranks(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
A Truvativ GXP PressFit bottom bracket(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The derailleur uses a Force-style steel cage with a 2011 Red clamp on 34.9 down-pull bottom swing(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Crankbrothers’ eggbeater 11 titanium pedals(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
WickWërks 44/34 chain rings drive a SRAM hollow-pin chain(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Bike Pure is an anti-doping nonprofit organization(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Bontrager’s Aeolus D3 carbon tubular hoops are laced to Bontrager XXX hubs. Here, a SRAM X Glide 28x11 cassette is shown. Compton also had a prototype SRAM Red cassette with a similarly open back(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Trek’s Carbon Cyclocross E2 on the front of the aluminum bike(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The seat collar is modified to hold the brake hanger dead center over the tire(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
This area is clean now, but the cable liner helps keep shifting smooth when the area is packed with mud(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Compton ran FMB tubulars with a striking pink sidewall treatment(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
For a mostly dry, hardpack course Compton ran this SSC tread in the rear(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Compton ran a Super Mud tread on the front(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Custom colors on the Avid Shorty Ultimate cantilevers, with Bontrager cork pads(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
SRAM 2012 Red levers with the reach shortened close up to the bar(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Gore lined cables for front and rear shift cables(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Note the lined shifter cable at right versus the bare brake cable at left(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The rear derailleur cable runs across the top to the top tube, then down the seat stay, to stay clear of debris. Still, the cable is lined to keep muck out(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The front derailleur cable has a lining, plus a barrel adjuster(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
What does the ‘F’ in Katie F Compton stand for? Just ask one of her competitors(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
In place of a full name, three letters adorn the top tube of Katie Compton's Trek Ion CX: KfC.
For anyone who has spoken to the gracious Compton but not seen her race, the emphatic 'f' may be befuddling. But for anyone who has watched Compton absolutely demolish the front of a ’cross race, as she didtwice this weekend in Fort Collins, "Katie f—ing Compton" makes perfect sense.
For the pair of Trek US Gran Prix of Cyclocross-Smartwool Cup races in Colorado, Compton raced her custom Trek Ion CX, an aluminum 52cm prototype Trek has her on while they collectively dial in geometry for an upcoming model.
Custom frame aside, a number of modifications separate Compton's ride from a stock bike. For starters, there are the national champion graphics; both the frameset paint and Avid Shorty brake finish are red, white and blue.
Trek's current top-end ’cross bike, the carbon Cronus CX Ultimate, comes with a SRAM Force group. In the aluminum Ion line, the current top-end model comes with SRAM Rival. Compton's SRAM 2012 Red group is fairly straightforward - including the use of Gore Ride-On Professional lined shifter cables - but she uses WickWërks chain rings, an older SRAM front derailleur and a 175mm crank. The Red crank is unusually long for a 52cm bike, but Compton became accustomed to the 175mm length when racing as a tandem pilot for the Paralympics.
The seat clamp was modified for the rear brake hanger, resulting in better alignment for less cable drag and keeping the brake cable centered.
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For better alignment of her body on the bike, Compton runs two spacers on her drivetrain pedal (crankbrothers titanium eggbeater 11) and three spacers on the left side.
If you noticed that her saddle dips down in the front slightly, good eyes. She prefers a slight (-3 degree) downward tilt on her Bontrager Affinity RXL WSD Carbon saddle.
Compton had a prototype SRAM Red cassette on another, otherwise-identical bike in Fort Collins. Similar to the X Glide 11x28 cassette shown here, that Red prototype has a wide-open back with plenty of sculpted openings throughout the underside to shed debris. SRAM spokesman Michael Zellmann declined to comment on the prototype, except to say "more news very soon."
Similar to the small "KfC" top tube emblem, Compton has a light blue headset spacer beneath her top cap that sends a message. Registered in Australia, Bike Pure is an international nonprofit organization against doping in cycling.
Finally, Compton is racing on handmade FMB tubulars this season. In Fort Collins, she had a Pro Super Mud up front and an SSC tread in the rear, both in a 32mm width with pink sidewalls. Cyclocross tire expert Molly Cameron, owner of the Portland Bicycle Studio, explained to BikeRadar the story behind the pink sidewalls. The color comes from the dyed cotton from which the sidewall is woven.
"Unlike some tubulars, FMB tires come with the sidewalls coated. These [pink models] have an additional layer of latex over the cotton sidewalls," said Cameron, who sells a lot of FMBs through Portland Bicycle Studio. "They should be pretty watertight, especially if you use a tape, which seals the rims holes."
Custom colors on the Avid Shorty Ultimate cantilevers, with Bontrager cork pads
Complete bike specification
Frame: TREK Ion 200 Series Alpha Aluminum, 52cm, custom paint Fork: Trek Carbon Cyclocross E2 Stem: Bontrager XXX 31.8, 110mm Headset: Cane Creek Forty Integrated Headset spacer: Bike Pure Bar tape: Bontrager Gel Cork Handlebar: Bontrager Isozone Carbon Compact Variable Radius, 42cm Front Brake: Avid Shorty Ultimate National Champ Edition Rear Brake: Avid Shorty Ultimate National Champ Edition Brake Pads: Bontrager Carbon Cork Brake Levers: 2012 SRAM RED Front Derailleur: 2011 SRAM RED clamp on 34.9 down-pull bottom swing Rear Derailleur: 2012 SRAM RED Shifters: 2012 SRAM RED Cassette: 2012 SRAM X Glide 28x11 (also testing a Red prototype) Chain: SRAM PC-1091 Crankset: 2012 SRAM RED Compact, 175mm Chainrings: WickWerks 44/34 Bottom Bracket: Truvativ GXP PressFit Pedals: Crank Brother’s 4TI Egg Beaters (2 Pedal spacers on drive side, 3 on non-drive) Wheelset: Bontrager Aeolus D3 3.O Carbon Tubulars Front Tire: FMB Pro Super Mud, 32mm Rear Tire: FMB SSC, 32mm Saddle: Bontrager Affinity RXL WSD Carbon, 138mm Seat post: Bontrager XXX 27.2 Seat Clamp: modified for rear brake hanger, better alignment for no cable drag and keeps the brake cable centered
