Maja Włoszczowska's Kross Hardtail - XC World Championships

Jun 30, 2016 at 14:13
by Mike Kazimer  
Maja W oszczowska

Poland's Maja Włoszczowska knows what it's like to be world champion - she held the title in 2010 - and there's no doubt that she'd like to bring home that rainbow jersey once again. Riding for Kross, she'll be lining up aboard the Polish company's Level B+ carbon hardtail 29er. A close look reveals a number of weight savings measures, from the minimalist saddle to the carbon brake lever clamping band, but the most noticeable feature is the dropper post. The 2016 race season has seen more and more XC racers running droppers, due to the fact that courses are becoming more technical, and that the performance benefits outweigh the weight penalty.


Maja W oszczowska
Carbonice's carbon fiber brake lever clamps weigh less than 6 grams...
Maja W oszczowska
...and even with the addition of an adaptor to mount a shifter they're still under 10 grams.


Maja W oszczowska
Maja is running the newest version of RockShox's venerable SID.
Maja W oszczowska
The fork's lockout is located on the left side of the handlebar, just above the dropper post remote.


Maja W oszczowska
Tune's Komm-Vor saddle is handmade in Germany from carbon fiber with a partial synthetic leather covering. The company makes even lighter saddles, but this one's 98 gram weight certainly isn't anything to scoff at.


Maja W oszczowska
A 32-tooth ring is in place up front to work with SRAM's Eagle 10-50 tooth cassette, although the cassette's wide range has some racers moving up to 36 or even 38 tooth chainrings.
Maja W oszczowska
Gold. Shiny, shiny gold. A sign of things to come on race day?


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52 Comments
  • 81 1
 I will have to reiterate what I've said before.. I love looking at the DH pits for new tech, and mechanical tweaks.. but the sheer beauty of the weight saving and precision that goes into the XC scene is just s pleasure to look at! Nice work guys!
  • 17 1
 Yet there is no mention of the total weight. What the hell?
  • 9 0
 @PLC07: Yes, weight please?!?!
  • 1 4
 @richierocket: Its obviously being kept confidential by Maja and her mechanic. Things that they do to save weight they don't always want known. Then if another mechanic sees what she is doing, they actually have to test it to see whether it works or not.
  • 3 1
 @kieran-nnilsen: So they're going to show close ups of the weight saving tweaks but they can't give the actual figures because that would give away precious secrets? Last year you had bike checks of top riders with the weights included so I don't feel this is much of an issue.
  • 21 1
 rule 1) showing off fancy xc race bikes; you say how little it weighs. i feel like my lunch burrito was in the same weight range as this bad boy.
  • 20 1
 Calling a 29" XC racing hardtail "B+" isn't confusing at all...
  • 21 0
 And it's a Kross bike that's not even a cross bike!! I need a beer...
  • 4 0
 I was wondering why she was racing the B+ instead of the A+...
  • 3 0
 The plus denotes the top model in the range. As for the letter, Kross calls their 29er bikes the Level B, 27.5s are the Level R and the 26s are the Hexagon X.
  • 2 0
 Names originated from the 26" "Level" line, there were models like A2, A4 etc. This was when 29" were not popular at all and Kross didn't have any of them in their lineup. When they added 29" models to the Level line they called them B and later with addition of 27,5 - R. Like @nhp890 said, plus is for the top model. Smile
  • 3 2
 sorry for my countrymen who didn't get the joke
  • 2 0
 I apologize for my snarky fellow Pole up top. I didn't react to a joke, that doesn't mean I didn't get it.
  • 2 0
 And I'm still trying to figure out why the sticker on the chainstay says 'level' when it is far from level. Something fishy going on there..... I'll see myself out.
  • 13 1
 Half of that cassette must be a waste of time?
  • 8 0
 Maja jak zwykle dajesz czadu. Powodzenia na linii startowej i końcowej!

Pozzdrowerowe, aa
  • 4 0
 XC racers are so much focused on winning that they'll do everything. With courses getting gnarlier in past years Maja has started working with Arek Perin (who's running arekbikecamp.pl) on the pre-race trainings to set the lines on descents. He probably convinced her to run the dropper too.

You could also see some Maja's pictures where she sports knee pads. Times are changing...

It's also great to see Kross (they're designed in Poland) to make some waves on the world stage. It starts to be boring seeing almost everyone on Kross bikes nowadays... However, their enduro rig - the Moon - is pretty damn good.
  • 5 1
 Maja could give most of not-Elite guys at DH Contests a run for their money alreadybefore she started working with Arek. One thing is to hang onto a DH bike in full body armor, and other is to ride XC racer with roadie lid on. I watched ladies race in Pietermaritzburg once and she was destroying the descents. Now after working with Arek she must be one of the best. BTW shout out to Arek for building so many great trails all over Poland.
  • 2 1
 @WAKIdesigns: so what can you say about Jolanda? Wink
  • 6 0
 Looks like the rs1 has been canned by rockshox athletes. Would like to try the new Sid's!!
  • 2 0
 Specialized racing still use rs1, will be interesting to see their 2017 bikes
  • 2 0
 It might be for weight saving, SID is lighter than the RS1
  • 5 0
 @dangmtb: Lighter, stiffer, cheaper (not all teams receive everything for free), no new standards... need I continue?
  • 3 0
 Nice to see these XC racers starting to see sense. Finally realising that mountain biking is not just about climbing. This is a bike i would happily take in a trail.
  • 4 0
 How do you pronounce Maja?
  • 5 0
 Like Maya.
  • 16 0
 @LeDuke: thanks bruh. Her last name is no problem.
  • 2 0
 @endlessblockades:
Use google translate:
i.imgur.com/NohS4ql.png

translate.google.com/#pl/en/Maja%20W%C5%82oszczowska
  • 4 1
 You read her last name in English fonetics more or less like that: Vuosh-tchovska
  • 3 0
 Bike is OK, but I came to see Maja's million dollar smile. Leaving disappointed.
  • 3 0
 Kayden would love it for sure.
  • 2 0
 i see what you did there
  • 1 0
 She is one of my favourites...*cough*
  • 2 1
 Couldn't it be so hard make an arragment to use ONE regular neat left shifter to control the fork block function and the seatpost heigh, instead 2 funky separated remotes
  • 2 0
 ^^^ This...why run a Oneloc (which is designed to work isolated from Reverb hydro remote) if youre not running a Reverb?
  • 3 1
 Go Maya!!! You have the stuff, you were always one of the best! Always holding my thumbs for ya!
  • 1 0
 Yeah, everyone pronouncing her last name wrong has to take a seat on that wondrous comfort saddle!
  • 1 0
 looks great! cassette is really huuuge!
  • 2 0
 Overall weight?
  • 9 0
 less if she didn't run that stupid cassette
  • 2 5
 @rrsport: more if she had a front derilla
  • 1 0
 Maja is our Girl! Go Maja! Smile
  • 1 0
 Disappointed not to see pictures of Maja in the article. Just sayin'...
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