My Specialized Crux Build

My favorite bike I’ve ever ridden, and the best purchase I’ve ever made. It’s fun. It can do it all. It can fit wide tires. And it’s freakin light!

I bought this frame after owning a Diverge for a couple of years. The Diverge was my first gravel bike, and my dad convinced me that the Future Shock was a necessary feature of a gravel bike. However, I didn’t like it. I had the Future Shock 1.5 which didn’t lock out. It was mushy going up climbs, and I felt like it was not as efficient. Every bumpy gravel road and technical section I rode it on, I’d bottom out the shock (though I admit I probably should have replaced the original spring with the stiffer one). The bike overall was significantly heavier and slower than my road bike. I was over-biked for most of the stuff I was riding in the Bay Area. I did one CX race on it and hated it.

It’s funny how for me at least a lot of thought goes into buying an expensive bike like this about whether or not it is worth it, and once I own it, I never once regret the purchase, feel every penny was justified, and sometimes wish I had spent more. It has also enabled me to become a better bike rider because I absolutely love riding it, and as a result, I get out more. It’s also a back up for when my road bike is in disrepair (which isn’t often….I swear).

I bought the frame from a shop in Sacramento. I initially thought that I’d go for a 2X, and I’m very glad that it didn’t work out. I bought the GRX 2X mechanical components, installed the front derailleur, and then spent a while trying to figure out how the heck to get the cable from the opening along the seat tube nicely to the derailleur cable pinch. It turned out that Crux’s are only compatible with Di2 2X drivetrains, and the hole coming out of the frame I thought was for a cable was for a wire. I’d never ridden a 1X before (not even my MTB at that point), and I was skeptical about the gear range. I wanted this Crux to do it all, not only be a gravel and CX bike but a road capable bike as well, and I wasn’t sure that the gear range was going to be good enough for high speeds on the road.

Thank goodness for Wolf Tooth chainrings and more importantly eThirteen 9-tooth (!) cassettes (and Sram XDR freehubs). I went for the max chainring size that fits according to the frame specs, a 44T, (44T for GRX crankset, though in real life I think a larger one fits) and a 9-46 cassette (on the road wheelset). This set up allows for more range, an easier gear (44/46 = 0.96), and a harder gear (44/9 = 4.89) than my 53-39/11-34 road bike! Hell yeah!

Also, yes, a 46T cassette works with Shimano GRX 11 speed derailleurs. I didn’t need any special treatments (GoatLink, blood sacrifice), it just worked after turning the B-screw quite a few times. This is a well documented hack that works despite Shimano’s max cog spec of 42T.

Frame: 2022 Specialized Crux 10R Frameset 58cm

Groupset: Shimano GRX 800 Mechanical 1×11 Hydraulic Disc

• RX812 Rear Derailleur
• ST-RX810 Shifters
• 175 mm Cranks
• 4iii left side power meter
• Wolf Tooth 44T Chainring
• Ultegra BB

Cockpit:

• Roval Terra Seatpost
• Specialized Power Saddle 143 mm
• Zipp Handlebars 44cm
• Zipp Stem 90 mm -6 degrees
• Zipp CX Bar Tape
• Wolf Tooth Bar End Plugs

2 Wheelsets:

• Road:
  • Zipp 303S with Continental GP5000 AS 32mm Tires and an eThirteen 9-46 Cassette
  • 9-46 Cassette allows for more range, an easier gear (44/46 = 0.96), and a harder gear (44/9 = 4.89) than my 53-39/11-34 road bike!
• Gravel:
  • Hunt Gravel X-Wide with a Shimano CS-M8000 Deore XT 11-46 cassette and various tires (but I like 38mm Specialized Triggers and 40mm Conti Terra Speeds)