CIVILIAN BICYCLE CO. VIVE LE ROI - 2012

From sloppy autumn days to frozen, early winter mornings, cyclocross racing draws competitors and spectators alike to brave harsh conditions. The reason for this is tight racing, challenging courses, and an attitude that leans more on the fun-side of the competitive fence. The Civilian Vive Le Roi offers the performance, durability, and versatility these courses demand to get you out there rubbing elbows during the final, chilly days of the riding season.

Civilian has been around since 2005, but if you're not familiar with these sleek, well designed bicycles, that wouldn't surprise us. That's because, until now, Civilians were each hand crafted for individual customers by one person. Unsatisfied with the offerings available from mainstream manufacturers, Tyson Hart set out building frames under the Civilian brand in 2005 after attending UBI, a respected frame building school in Ashland, Oregon. Relying on a combination of extensive personal experience and close work with clients, Hart crafted cyclocross, commuting, and mountain bicycles.

These bicycles quickly garnered industry respect for their clean lines and efficient designs. You'll find that same attention to detail of those rare, custom pieces in the Vive Le Roi -- now packaged for the masses. The Vive Le Roi is constructed with Hart Design 4130 double-butted Cro-Moly for the right blend of toughness, compliance, and low weight. Traditional lines blend the timeless elegance of cyclocross bicycles with modern features like a oversized headtube, sliding dropouts, and disc brakes. The Vive Le Roi's shaped seat and chainstays offer excellent mud clearance, and responsive acceleration. The stays are tied together with Tange Design sliding dropouts, and the 7075 T6 aluminum sliding pieces offer the option to go derailleur-less.

At the front end of the Vive Le Roi resides a Civilian Chubby head tube. This oversized head tube offers front end stiffness for negotiating rutted courses with ease, and it'll fight defection from the powerful front disc brake and stout disc-specific, tapered carbon CX fork -- keeping the Vive Le Roi planted in high-speed turns, and stable under hard braking. Speaking of braking, you won't find any canti mounts on the Vive Le Roi. Now that the UCI has lifted the ban on disc brakes, cantis are destined to become obsolete as they did on mountain bikes.

Equipped with Avid BB-7 mechanical calipers, and sporting mud-shedding 160mm front and 140mm rear rotors, the Vive Le Roi's ready to get dirty. Ergonomic SRAM Apex brake levers connect you to the calipers and offer excellent leverage and modulation. The right lever has a DoubleTap shifter to quickly and precisely control the 10-speed Rival rear derailleur. An FSA Gossamer crankset spins on MegaExo outboard bearings for hassle-free seasons of grimy competition. Keeping the cockpit nice and light is are 2014 alloy handlebars, stem, and seatpost. A lightly padded Cutter saddle gives the support and comfort needed for a day hopping barriers, and perforated Velo tape ensures you won't lose your grip.

The Vive Le Roi rides on double-walled alloy rims with 32 spokes laced to Quando hubs. They're plenty durable for years of abuse and simple to service if the inevitable fall during competition occurs. Front and rear Kenda Kwicker 700c x 32mm tires have a semi-slick design with low-profile knobs for low-rolling resistance on hard packed courses, and aggressive side knobs for secure handling on muddy courses.

The Civilian Vive Le Roi comes in 50, 53, 55, 57, 59, and 61cm sizes, and it's available in two colors; French Flag and Sweet Pea.