Kuota Kross

[eurperg]

My new Kuota Kross, size XL, built up today:




Already rotated te bars forward after taking the pics... Got to also find a lower headset top cover so I could lower the cable hanger and stem by one spacer.

The cable routing of the frame differed somewhat from what is shown at Kuota website. This frame has normal road bike gear cable routing, and it's not even possible to usa a mtb front derailleur. Only the rear brake cable goes along the top tube.

I would have installed sealed gear cables, but the bb cable guide and especially the fd cable routing that goes through the bb shell made that impossible.

I'm 184 cm tall with 92 cm inseam, and the XL frame feels good. The stem is now 100mm, but I may change it for 115mm for all-day summer rides.

I don't have plans to race cyclocross with this bike, I just use it as my all-around training bike. I don't have a separate road bike because most roads worth riding here are gravel, not asphalt. (countryside Finland). I also have a Reynolds Solitude road wheelset that I use when I ride with my roadie buddies, maybe some pics with that wheelset later...

[eurperg]

Oh, I forgot the most important: Weight is 7,92 kg as in the pictures.

[TheBugMan]

I like the paint job on your bike.

[coloclimber]

Awesome bike. Cant wait to see you get it dirty.
Thats interesting about the cable guides since they are just riveted on through the carbon.
What did the frame and fork weigh?

[eurperg]

I was so excited to build her up that I forgot to weigh her naked, but given the total weight, the frame+fork combo has to be a tiny bit heavier than what Kuota promises. (1250+415 if I remember correctly).

Since Kuota has changed the cable routing, they could also have added another set of bottle cage bosses. Now the second cage is attached with inner tube strips and zip ties...

[c50jim]

That's a great looking bike. I've been looking for a new cross bike. I was thinking of a Salsa but like the look of this (and wouldn't mind helping out the LBS who sells Kuotas).

You say your inseam length is 92 cm, but what saddle height do you ride at (centre of BB to top of saddle)? I'm slightly taller than you but have always ridden smaller cross bikes than this one. The Large is too small for me. Is there any toe overlap?

[eurperg]

My saddle height is 79 cm and distance from saddle tip to center of bars is 57 cm with the 100mm stem. Toe overlap is not even close...

In theory I could ride the L size with lots of seatpost, spacers and a 130mm stem, but I definitely like it better this way. The fit is more like classic road bike fit, which suits my riding well.

Btw, there's not any kind of chainsuck protection in the frame, I think I will add a bunch of zip ties to protect the chainstay. I'm also gonna put some protective film to the downtube and chainstay. Chain slap sounds very ugly on a carbon frame...

[mattr]

Since Kuota has changed the cable routing, they could also have added another set of bottle cage bosses. Now the second cage is attached with inner tube strips and zip ties...

If there is only one set of bottle cages bosses on it you've done well, many lightweight/hardcore racing cross bikes come with no bosses at all, no time to take a drink in a cross race!!

One of the shortfalls of using a cross frame as a training bike.

[c50jim]

Thanks for the measurements. It looks like the same size will fit me as well. I'll check it out with the LBS.

[coloclimber]

This will help-

http://cyclocrossworld.stores.yahoo.net ... atbot.html

[powenb]

Lovely bike.
I do like fancy 'cross bikes.

Funny about the cable routing. As you say, the pictures on their site are totally different.

[Stacker]

I've just put a deposit down for a new Kuota Kross frame/forks/headset and TRP canti brakes...all for £899. Just picked the frame up - wow! Super, super lightweight (even in XL size) yet looks very strong too. I'll be stripping down my Dura Ace equipped Giant Advanced ISP to build the new bike. My beautiful Giant frameset will have to go but it has barely been used (I only did a handful of short races on it) as I hit the singletrack a lot since retiring from racing. Hopefully the KK will still ride well on the road when I put my road wheels in.
I'm sure I'll not regret it....
One thing I did noticed when looking at the frame is the cable routing was all across the top tube and not the downtube, so maybe Kuota have changed things with the latest models...

[eurperg]

Congratulations Stacker! Post some pics when your build is finished.

My bike is actually the only one that I have seen with downtube cable routing...

I have been satisfied with mine. Compared to my Colnago, the handling and comfort are close, but acceleration snappiness and bb stiffness is better.

I have updated mine with longer stem and Deda Zero 100 bars. The top tube has been repaired because of a stupid accident also... Beware, it's very thin and can be compressed with fingers.

The stock conical headset cap is quite tall, so I put a cable hanger between stem faceplate and stem. Works fine without shuddering.
I also added an another seatpost clamp to stop seatpost slipping. 8 Nm and friction paste was not enough...

[Stacker]

Congratulations Stacker! Post some pics when your build is finished.

My bike is actually the only one that I have seen with downtube cable routing...

I have been satisfied with mine. Compared to my Colnago, the handling and comfort are close, but acceleration snappiness and bb stiffness is better.

I have updated mine with longer stem and Deda Zero 100 bars. The top tube has been repaired because of a stupid accident also... Beware, it's very thin and can be compressed with fingers.

The stock conical headset cap is quite tall, so I put a cable hanger between stem faceplate and stem. Works fine without shuddering.
I also added an another seatpost clamp to stop seatpost slipping. 8 Nm and friction paste was not enough...

Lovely bike that. How do you get on with the Deda bars and stem? In the market for new ones. Also, does your bottle cage solution work for the seat tube? I'm hoping this will ride as well on tarmac (with road aero wheels in) as it will offroad with cross wheels in. I suppose the brakes will be the main place I will notice the difference.
Point noted about the top tube! Just need a buyer for my TCR now...

[Stacker]

TCR sold and I'm picking up my KK tomorrow!

I think I'll be ready to assemble, as I'm mostly using the Dura Ace parts from my TCR. So 10 spd 7800 groupset, Deda bars (running wider 44) and stem, SLR XP saddle (hopefully this will be OK offroad too), a carbon cinelli seat post. The brand new frameset is not only reduced by £300 but also comes with TRP Euro-X Canti brakes. I've not used or setup canti's before but I'm sure I'll manage. Apparently it's quite common to hang the cable stopper from the stem, like you have, as it improves the cable run. With regard to gearing, I'm going to stick with 53/39 setup for the timebeing but understand I can drop to a 50 ring with 130 BCD.

I've got two sets of wheels - carbon Corima aeros for road use and some Easton Ascents now shod with Continental Speed Kings and a new 12-25 cassette. I think the canti's come with two sets of pads for alloy/carbon rims. Another purchase I'm considering is a midway tub for the Corima's that are good on road but can also handle light off road too (maybe the sort of thing Paris Roubaix riders use?).
I've also got new cables, bar tape, crosstop levers, frame protectors, personalised stickers (with flag and name - I know a silly touch really) and will get a new chain. Finally I've also got water bottle cage strips by Elite to add a second cage. I've even laided out all the tools I anticipate using, as I'm finding the most time consuming part of bike maintenance is hunting around trying to find the right tool from my disorganised toolbox.

Hopefully I've thought of all I need. I understand from another post that Kuota offer some sort of warranty and crash replacement scheme. I'll enquire about that, as I am picking up from a bona fide shop. The whole bike has been funded from sales of old kit I've had, plus the re-using of the wheels/groupset.

I don't race anymore, either road or offroad and I'm intending using this bike in nice weather for blasts through the countryside, on road, off it or (most likely) a mixture of both. I'll do the odd sportive event on it. I've barely used by TCR these past few years but I reckon I'll get more use out of this

I'll post up some pictures in due course...