The 29' wish

Last year as i turned 29, i made a wish for myself. Till i turn 30 i need to ride a 29-er bike to races.

So the days passed and passed, i had a promise, and as the season started i was anxious to buy one, but had no budget yet. Lucky me that i was patient. The local shop, were i'm working (freestylesport.ro) made it possible, and offered me a 29-er model from the brand we are importing. The polish KROSS,  the LEVEL B9 model, in L size, just perfect for me. Last week at the Bucharest Expobike i had the chance to put my hands on it. Looks really nice, feels really nice and it was love at the first sight. After we got home we made a photo shooting to present the bike to the public. This weekend i also had the chance to test it. Its not advised to test a new bike never ridden before on a race, but had no other opportunities, so i took the race a bit easy, lets see what the bike has to offer.

I felt good on the bike, for tall riders i couldn't imagine any other bike for racing. I wasn't that prepared physically to race, but finished pretty good, and finished 5th overall out of 200 participants in the 36km track.

I felt so good on the bike for the first time, i never want to go back on a 26 inch wheel bike.

The bike has 12 kg in L size, and it's easy to get rid of some grams if you are a weight weenie. So if you want a change and a carbon bike at a good price don't hesitate to contact your local KROSS dealer or the official KROSS importer in Romania.

Many thanks to freestylesport.ro, krossbike.ro, KROSS and all the people who helped me to get this bike where it belongs!

Photos by X-factor.ro

Here are some nice pictures and below the bike equipment:

Frame	Carbon
Colors	black - white mat
Frame size	M, L, XL
Fork	Rock Shox XC 32 TK Solo Air (travel 100mm, remote)
Rear shock	-
Gears	30
Front derailleur	Shimano Deore M591
Rear derailleur	Shimano XT M781 Shadow
Front brake	Avid Elixir 1 Disc (hydraulic, rotor 180mm)
Rear brake	Avid Elixir 1 Disc (hydraulic, rotor 160mm)
Brake levers	Avid Elixir 1 Disc (hydraulic)
Shifters	Shimano Deore M591, 10 speed
Crankset	Shimano Deore M590 2-Piece 42/32/22T
Bottom bracket	Shimano Deore BB51
Chain	Shimano HG54
Casette / Freewhell	Shimano Deore HG62-10 11-36T
Front hub	Shimano M475 32H
Rear hub	Shimano M475 32H
Tires	Schwalbe Rocket Ron Performance Folding 29""x2,1
Rims	WTB Speed Disc i19 29"" 32H
Handlebar	KROSS Racing Components (alloy,flat 680-700, 31,8mm)
Stem	KROSS Racing Components (alloy, ahead, 31,8mm)
Seatpost	KROSS Racing Components (alloy, 27,2mm)
Headset	VP-A62ACMS2 Integrated
Saddle	Selle Royal Seta Custom
Grips	KROSS Foam
Pedals	Alloy VP-519A
Weight	12,15 kg(it was 0,10 grams lighter when measured with plastic pedals on)

Amateur athlete licence

After 10 years i'm officially an athlete again. Amateur, but with license. After practicing basketball for about 12 years, i have once again an athlete license. It took 10 years to change the profile:D. But i never forget were a started, and the people that i played with, the friends. A lot of my friendships are based on this sport so i'm very thankful for that. I still love basketball, it made me who i am today.

 I hope to be a good ambassador for this sport, called mountain-biking. I found my peace, my goals, my happiness, my challenges in cycling. I love to travel, i love to train, i love to race, i love the crowd and love the people in the cycling scene...well at least most of them. The cycling scene in Romania is now changing, so i took the chance and made some changes to, i requested the licence for amateur riders, as i wish to go further, to take bigger challenges, and to race also in an organized way. This way i think, that i could help the future generations. 

It was not hard to obtain the licence, so i suggest to all my cycling-friends who are racing to go for it, so maybe we can have our own league, our own statistic and maybe some of us could turn pro some day, at least the young ones. Maybe there are some other benefits to, right now im happy to be officially an athlete, again.

Train hard, ride hard...and a lot!

Cheers

P.S.: probably not the best picture but, who gives a damn:D