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Road Magazine has followed through with an exceptional story on the Rouge Roubaix in their latest issue. As one of the print media brands present at the event, Chris did a great job showcasing what makes this race and the Rouge Roubaix Builders Challenge so unique.
Head over to Road’s online viewer to read the whole article. I’m stoked to see some of my photos hitting print!
While the Rouge Roubaix and coincidentally, the Rouge Roubaix Builder Challenge were both huge successes this year, there were a few things that I felt needed recognition. These can best be broken into a few groups: Chris Diminno’s hard work keeping us all fed, Mosaic’s team of ladies that crushed it, Will Jones’ dedication to the safety of racers and last but not least, the vernacular found in the Deep South.
For Boulder, Colorado’s Mosaic Cycles, the Rouge Roubaix Builder Challenge was the perfect epilogue for the 2015 North American Handmade Bicycle Show. Many of the bikes featured at NAHBS found their way to the RRBC and rightfully so. Why build something if it’s not meant to be ridden… Into. The. Ground.
The Mosaic line is divided into a number of specific uses. There’s a binomial nomenclature of sorts, or a key, to deciphering what bike is made for what and out of what material. Each member from Team Mosaic chose a bike that best fit their riding style. Be it steel or titanium, disc or rim brake, each of these bikes were built specifically to reflect their own preference.
As for the application process and the overall team, Aaron selected Boulder shredmeister Brandon Newcomer on an RS-1 (road steel), Velo Magazine correspondent Spencer Powlison on an RS-1 and finally, Derek Yarra, the RRBC winner on an RT-1d (road titanium disc), which matches Aaron’s own bike selection.
Derek and Aaron’s bikes will fit a fat, plump tire and because titanium is a naturally forgiving material, they offered a bit of compliance during the 100 mile race. If you’d like a further break down on each of these riders and their bikes, head to Mosaic to read up.
… there’s more coming soon on what else Mosaic brought with them: a wild card group of ladies…
As for Derek’s RT-1d, it’s built with Shimano Ultegra Di2, R685 hydraulic road disc brakes, Shimano Pro Vibe cockpit, and Shimano RX80 tubeless-ready wheels. My personal favorite detail: the Shimano mtb pedals!
Team Mosaic would like to thank Shimano, q36.5 Kits and Rothera Caps.
Breadwinner Cycles was one of the brands that took up the torch, or tig welder rather, for the Rouge Roubaix Builder Challenge. Ira Ryan came out to St. Francisville with a stacked team, including Bicycling Magazine’s head editor Bill Strickland and a loyal customer Jake Rosenbloum from Asheville. Their selection was pretty much a shoe-in. When Ira began sifting through the applicants, he selected Hurl Everstone from Minneapolis.
With the Rouge Roubaix’s 40-ish miles of gravel and horrible road conditions, Ira and Hurl began discussing which bike would make the most sense for the race. Truthfully, both the Lolo and the B-Road would be ideal steeds for such an undertaking with their bigger tire clearances and geometries dialed in for all-road terrain.
Hurl selected a disc B-Road with Shimano Ultegra, Mavic Ksyrium Pro disc wheels, Pasela 28mm tires and Thomson bits.
… and as demonstrated, the bike shreds just fine.
The guys had an exceptional placement in the 3/4s, with Jake finishing 6th on his Lolo and Ira Ryan coming in 20th on his Lolo.
Team Breadwinner would like to thank Castelli, Mavic, Bikeflights, Hifi Wheels and Challenge Tires.
Part of my job during the Rouge Roubaix was to document the Rouge Roubaix Builder Challenge, or #RRBC2015 as the internet likes to catalog things. Last year, in a late night hot tub session, somewhere in SoCal, Ben from Argonaut, Billy from Echos, Aaron from Mosaic and myself were discussing NAHBS. Part of the frustration Ben was voicing was that he had infinitely more fun riding bikes with people, than sitting in a tradeshow booth for three days.
The idea expanded, phone calls were made and soon, the RRBC was born. Sort of. You see, it couldn’t be just one team, so a few were invited. Out of 5 teams, three committed: Argonaut, Breadwinner and Mosaic. Each team would send out a call for entries and select a team mate from the applicants, build them a bike and race the Rouge Roubaix with them.
For Argonaut, they chose Stephan Kincaid, a power house from Pennsylvania.
Since Ben had never met Stephan, who goes by the nickname Geronimo, the RRBC was just as much about the bike as it was new-found camaraderie. We arrived in Baton Rouge on Thursday and had two days to gather course intel, shoot photos, drink and prepare for the race on Sunday. This gallery represents those days in St. Francisville, Louisiana.
Stephan’s bike is an Argonaut disc road with Shimano Dura Ace, Chris King, Reynolds Wheels and ENVE cockpit.
Team Argonaut would like to thank ENVE, Shimano, Reynolds, ENDO, Rothera Caps and Chris King.
Last year, Argonaut Cycles, Brian Vernor and myself traveled from our cushy locales to the Deep South for one of the United States’ most unique races. Since 1999, the Rouge Roubaix has been a classic tough man’s race. Coming in around 100 miles, with approximately 3,000′ of elevation and 40 miles of loose, unforgiving dirt, this course challenges even the most experienced of cyclists.
Fast forward a year and we’re back. This time with three framebuilder teams and a women’s team from Boulder, Colorado. The course stayed mostly the same and the stage was set, with a new cast of characters. In the time since the last race, the event itself has grown. Larger sponsors came on board and yet, the roots of the race remain the same. I noticed an increase in internet chatter as everyone’s anticipation grew.
While this is hardly the last you’ll hear of this year’s race, or the builders and their teams, this gallery offers a unique vignette into a truly unique race. You’ll see true back-country roads, lots of dirt and dust, with all the pain and anguish of a truly difficult race. Expect coverage of each of the Rouge Roubaix Builders Challenge teams, as well as galleries of the bikes.
For now, enjoy this selection of photos…
It’s been an incredibly busy, but very productive few days here in Louisiana with the Rouge Roubaix Builder Challenge and the Rouge Roubaix itself. I’ll have a race report up shortly, as well as a few posts showcasing each of the builder’s teams. For now, I’d like to thank Breadwinner, Argonaut, Mosaic, everyone who raced or helped out and Will Jones from the Rouge Roubaix.
Over the weekend, team Mosaic, Breadwinner and Argonaut selected their winners for the 2015 Rouge Roubaix Builder Challenge. Below are the final selections, with a short description as to why they were selected.
This is the video Brian Vernor made, documenting both the Argonaut disc gravel racer and the Rouge Roubaix. We were in St. Francisville for three days, where Brian and I did our best to document the bikes in action, before and during the race. His interviews offer insight into what makes the Rouge Roubaix tick, while opening up the personalities of the race officials and local vernacular.
Let’s just say he captured it all perfectly and it was an honor to work next to him that weekend!
The Rouge Roubaix exceeded mine and Ben from Argonaut‘s expectations. I don’t think anyone involved with that trip knew how that race would unfold. Backtrack to a few months prior, team Argonaut had the idea to pull Brian Vernor in to do a video and bring me down to shoot the race and document the new Disc Racers.
We spent the two days prior to the race testing out the bikes and looking for key vantage points to photograph the event. While Vernor got his video footage, I took some photos of the bikes and (part of the) team River City / Rapha. These photos are to be used on the Argonaut website…
Check them out in the Gallery and see the bike in person at the Aether NYC event this Friday!
I can’t help myself. No matter where I go, I always take my Mamiya 7ii and at least the 80mm lens. As I was packing for the Rouge Roubaix, I grabbed it, along with two rolls of 220 film, tossed it in my bag and took off for Louisiana. Most of the photos I shot were of landscapes, the vernacular, with a few Argonaut ‘lifestyle’ photos mixed in from the race.
Personally, I can never get enough of that Southern architecture and live oak trees…
Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400
Back in 1999, a rider named Jon Anderson got the idea to start a group ride in his old stomping grounds around St. Francisville, Louisiana, West Feliciana Parish and Wilkinson County, Mississippi. Jon had been riding these roads since the early 80’s, as a form of escapism and reflection. Like most cyclists I know and ride with, Jon enjoyed a bit of pain at the hands of the dirt gods.
It wasn’t until the early 2000’s that the Rouge Roubaix shifted from being a group ride to a sanctioned event. Racers from all over the Southeast came out for promises of punchy, steep climbs, lots of gravel, scenic roads and yes, pain. It boasts 100 ish miles, with 30-40 miles of undulating gravel and dirt roads. This year, the Rouge is being run by Will Jones, the current organizer and I gotta say, he really delivered a hell of an event!
As part of an ongoing story detailing the design of a new disc road bike, Ben from Argonaut Cycles flew out two members from the Rapha / River City Bicycles Team to race with as well as Brian Vernor and myself to document the event, the culture surrounding it, the performance of the bicycles and let’s be honest, to experience one of the oldest and most intriguing gravel races in the United States.
See more narrated photos in the Gallery and don’t miss those last two photos!
