Tobin Ortenblad is on a streak, winning the last 11 races he’s entered. That’s put him 2nd overall in pro points for USA Cycling and 26th for UCI worldwide. To celebrate, his mechanic and coach, Chris McGovern, called in a lot of favors to piece together an all new bike complete with custom paint…all in about a 10 day span. On the flight into Connecticut, he couldn’t keep it a secret any longer (especially with Tobin wondering why Chris had packed a bike for himself…ain’t no pro mechanic got time for that!), so he showed him a pic on his phone.
Chris also builds frames and will be exhibiting at NAHBS again this year (check out last year’s show bikes here). He used his painter, Eric Dungey of Color Palette Works in Eugene, OR, to rush this custom paint job.
The bike is a size 58 Santa Cruz Stigmata CC, their top level carbon frame, and all parts save for the pedals are production level goods you or I could buy. Drivetrain is SRAM Force 1 with a nearly standard range cassette.
The “race day only” (that warning coming directly from Crank Brothers) Candy pedals use titanium wings and spindle like the “11” level pedals, but with the full plastic body from the “1”. Claimed weight is a mere 199g, 31g lighter than the stock Candy 11s. So, if you’ve got about $510 laying around, you could recreate these at home.
With conditions changing constantly (and it dumping snow as of this post being written), they’re keeping several sets of tires on hand. If it’s not snow covered but is frozen solid, the LAS file treads are likely to see some use. Otherwise, it’s the PDX if muddy or snow covered, or the MXP for intermediate conditions. Chris says they run air pressure between 21-24 psi, perhaps as low as 19-20 if frozen.
Fact: White bar tape is faster. Note the upward angle of his levers, providing a good perch to push against on the descents. This also helps keep the shift levers from mashing into the fingers under the bars when braking, especially if you’re wearing thick winter gloves.
Set back post with the saddle all the way back.
The Great White Jackalope is Tobin’s spirit animal.
Huge thanks to Tobin and Chris for showing us the bike!
