Earlier this season, I ran into Jessica Cutler and had the opportunity to check out her bike. Cutler, who hales from Seattle, WA, balances racing with a solo law practice, a similar story for many of the professional women in the sport.
She started racing as an amateur in 2009, and signed her first pro contract in 2012 with Primal/MapMyRide Pro Women’s Team. From there, she signed with Vanderkitten for 2013 and went on to finish 10th in the Pro Time Trial National Championships, and 10th at the Cascade Classic Stage Race. In 2014, Cutler moved on to FCS Pro Cycling and had a strong year with multiple top 10’s and helping contribute to many wins for the team. 2015 will see her move on to the “Celeste Crusaders” of the Colavita-Bianchi Pro Women’s team.
For cyclocross though, she prefers to go it alone, and has raced under the Jamis-Bikesport banner for the last few years. Her time trial power has helped her to to multiple podiums during the 2014-2015 season, including 3rd place finishes at both days of Charm City Cross and a second place finish at Nationals in the Single Speed category.
Cutler’s 2015 Jamis Supernova Team was released earlier this season. The biggest change from 2014 to 2015 is the front thru axel, which has helped to stiffen up the front end and make steering more precise. She races the stock SRAM CX1 Force drivetrain and hydraulic brakes with a 160mm disc in the front and 140mm in the rear. For gearing, she was running a 42 in the front with an 11-32 in the rear, but hinted she would probably move to a 40 or even a 38 in the front later in the season.
For wheels, PSIMET has been Cutler’s sponsor for the last two seasons, setting her up with the Cyclocross 35W for both seasons. The hubs are 11 speed compatible right out of the box, but come with the 10 speed spacer as well. Being cross specific wheels, they are made extra wide compared to other road offerings out there.  This width allows cross tires more area to connect with the rim. Cutler even goes as far as not using tape when gluing on the tires, and has yet to roll a tire of the wheel. Challenge provided Chicanes, Grifos, and Limus tires for this season, giving plenty of options as conditions can vary widely from race to race, even day to day.  In the dry, the Chicane provides plenty of speed with it’s diamond tread down the center, and tall knobs on the side to bit in the corners. When things get a little more gnarly, the Grifo center knobs help provide grip without slowing the wheel down. In the mud, the Limus’ widely spaced, deep knobs provide even better traction without getting clogged in mud.
The contact points are covered by Crank Brothers, FSA, and Fizik. Cutler uses a popular choice of Crank Brother Candy 3’s, which have seen plenty of use over the last few years. Bars, stem, and seat post are all provided by FSA. She rides a 38cm Wing Pro Compact, a bit more narrow than what many riders use. At the hoods, the bar is 38cm, but the drops flare out to 40cm.
“I love the FSA bars, because I have really narrow shoulders,” explains Cutler. “Sometimes I like having a wider bar for more control though. Their Wing Pro Compact bar is wider at the drops, so if I need a little more control, I can go to the drops. It’s such a compact bar that even when I go to the drops, it’s not a huge position change, and I get a lot more control.”
For saddles, Cutler’s bike fitter, Tom Coleman at WN Precision, fit her with the Fizik Tundra. The Tundra was a big change with it’s flat nose and no cut out.
“It took me a little while to get used to it, since I rode with a cut out, but it is actually a lot more comfortable,” said Cutler. “I can slide around from side to side and front to back a lot more. It’s a great mountain bike saddle, but also great for cross.”
To add some splashes of color, she chose to go with bright yellow bar tap from Fizik, along with various colors of Bar Fly 3 Garmin mounts from Tate Labs (Check out our review from July 2014). That particular weekend, she was using a purple mount. Cutler also adds color with socks from Donkey Label. Available in both wool and synthetic blends, she loves the vibrant colors, and feels they don’t slide down like other brands she has worn.
Cutler is already thinking ahead to the 2015-2016 cyclocross season, and hopes to make it even better than the 2014-2015 season was. Stay tuned to Bikeworldnews.com for updates later this year.
Heckling Editor, Image Taker, Crash Test Dummy, and Beard Master at Bikeworldnews.com
~Veggie Powered Athlete~
Location – Lancaster, PA
Current Testing Rigs – 2024 Van Dessel Arch65, 2019 Van Dessel Full Tilt Boogie, 2018 Van Dessel Motivus Maximus LTD, 2016 Van Dessel Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, 2015 Bianchi Sempre Pro, 1978 Trek TX900
Dream Bike – I’ll tell you when they make it
Discipline – Cyclocross, gravel, road and duathlons (ride/run)
Favorite Rides – Quiet country roads of Amish Country, some of the best roads around.
Food of Choice – Sweet potato roll
Beer of Choice – Unibroue Grand Reserve 17, aged four years
Bourbon of Choice – Widow Jane 10 Year
Comments are closed.