Biking has typically thrown up very profitable familial dynasties. Former world champion on the street and a number of world champion in cyclocross, Mathieu van der Poel, is the son of former cyclocross world champion Adri van der Poel, in addition to the grandson of Milan-San Remo winner Raymond Poulidor and Paris-Roubaix winner, Magnus Bäckstedt’s daughters, Zoe and Elynor, journey for Canyon-Sram zondacypto and UAE Crew ADQ respectively.
It’s, nonetheless, uncommon to discover a father-son duo who not solely competed in the identical self-discipline but in addition on the identical bikes. Sven Nys, extensively thought to be the best cyclocross rider in historical past, rode a lot of his profession aboard Colnago machines however switched to driving Treks within the latter years. His son, Thibau Nys, now rides for Lidl-Trek on the street and the Baloise Glowi Lions on the ‘cross discipline, in each instances driving Trek bikes.
Upfront of the 2025 UCI Cyclocross World Championship this weekend in Liévin, France, we check out podium contender and present European and Belgian champion Nys Jr’s machine and evaluate it to his father’s bikes from ten years in the past to see what, if something, has modified on this planet of cyclocross tech.
Thibau Nys’ Trek Boones
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Thibau Nys rides certainly one of a pair of Trek Boones in a dimension 56. The devoted cyclocross bike stays in Trek’s lineup regardless of the development for rivals like Specialised to morph their cyclocross bikes into gravel machines lately, as has occurred with the Specialised Crux.
Nys Jr’s machine is fitted with a Sram Pink AXS groupset, arrange with a single entrance chainring and a really low profile chain catcher mounted to the very base of the seat tube. We can not make out the dimensions of the chainring, however it does embody an built-in SRAM Pink energy meter. His cranks are 172.5mm and look to have Shimano XTR pedals mounted to them.
His cassette is a 10-33 in these pictures, however the group has knowledgeable me that he’ll swap out for a 10-36 choice relying on the course.
Tyres are additionally course dependant, however right here we see a set of Crew Version Problem Limus, a mud tread designed to be used within the heaviest situations of the season the place traction is prioritised over velocity.
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Cyclocross remains to be the final stronghold for tubular wheels outdoors of observe racing, with the tyres bodily glued to the rim. Tubulars are simpler to journey on when flat and do not include a danger of ‘burping,’ whereby air escapes below onerous cornering with low pressures, as will be the case with tubeless techniques.
One other space the place cyclocross bikes nonetheless seem like flying the flag for older tech is within the cockpit. Thibau’s Boone nonetheless includes a separate bar and stem, with no inside hose routing till the headset. Given the higher prevalence of crashes in cyclocross I think that is as a lot a crash insurance coverage selection, the place bars can rotate as an alternative of snap throughout giant impacts, as it’s an ergonomic one.
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Sven Nys’ Trek Boones
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Thibau’s father, Sven, additionally rode a dimension 56 Trek Boone again in 2014. That was a season the place the usage of disc brakes was in a transitional section, with some riders adopting them and others resolutely sticking to cantilever brakes. Sven, for his half, races the season on a pair of Trek Boones, one disc-equipped, and one with cantis.
The geometry of the body has shifted barely within the final decade, with a extra horizontal high tube on the 2014 version. This could make shouldering the bike simpler however might make it tougher to maneuver round on technical descents. the lowered seatpost stickup will even have much less flex, however the 2015 Boone had a built-in ‘Isospeed Decoupler,’ which added compliance to the rear finish.
Sven raced his latter years on Dugast tyres, now a subsidiary of Vittoria, however then as now, they’re 33mm vast tubulars glued to Bontrager rims. Additionally, spherical bars function within the cockpit, as they do on his son’s machine.
The place issues differ primarily is within the brakes and the drivetrain. Working cantilevers is a giant distinction, however even the disc-equipped machine has quick-release wheels quite than thru-axles, growing the possibilities of disc rub. Sven additionally rode with Shimano Dura-Ace gearing with a 2x setup, however in distinction to the cable actuated brakes each of his bikes used digital gearing.
Dura-Ace derailleurs of that period did not function a clutch for elevated chain retention, and so in addition to offering higher gear vary the entrance derailleur acted as a series catcher, although did improve the chance of mud clogging the drivetrain. regardless of this, Sven’s bike will be seen with an extra chain catcher contained in the little ring.
Working a 2x system additionally allowed Sven to utilize a tighter 11-28 cassette, which means smaller jumps between gears, permitting the Belgian to keep up the optimum cadence.
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