Oh Snap! Race Day Shiny Things

Thought I would show youl my Race Day Shiny Things, Xentis Mark 1 Clinchers, a perfect pairing with the nude carbon fiber of the Valdora. This sexy bitch lost almost a pound a half in weight from the Easton Circuits I use for training.

I am debuting them at the Timex Triathlon Sunday. I was just going to stay a very steady IM pace for the whole thing, one more run through before the big show and I still may do that, but there are so many, I mean a HUGE percentage of people doing this race as their first triathlon that I may just 'Let'r Rip' out there and redline the course just to get away from left to right swimmer, wide knee riders and walking wounded runners.. Race day will tell.

One wheelset North Americans have scarcely seen have been the exotic aero four-spoke that Jan Ullrich rode in the time trial. The brand is Xentis, and the wheelset is the Mark 1. They’ve recently been brought stateside by East Coast importer EuroSpek, and are being ridden by Faris al Sultan and Olivier Bernhard among others.

Photo by: Jay Prasuhn
Xentis Mark 1

The all-carbon tubular and alloy-rimmed carbon clincher Mark 1 feature what Xentis calls One Shot Hollow Technology, a monocoque process that results in a wheel with no joints, this avoiding stress risers and shaving weight. The curved aero spokes and 42mm deep carbon are paired with a Swiss-made Hugi 240 hub. One thing that stood out for us? Even on the all-carbon tubular, standard brake shoes are OK to us, thanks to a treated composite at the braking surface of the tubular. No need to get special cork pads, no need to sweat on rainy days. They’ll price at $2,100 a pair ($1,975 for the clincher version). Shimano or Campagnolo compatible, and you can find more on them at www.euro-spek.com.