Nationals Bike: Don Myrah’s Masters 50-54 Ibis Hakka MX

Don Myrah came to Lakewood as a defending Masters National Champion. After he gapped the field on a descent, Myrah managed to extend his lead and defend his Masters 50-54 title with 26 seconds to spare.

Myrah has a rich legacy in U.S. cyclocross. A resident of NorCal, his love of cyclocross did not end after an Elite career where he won Elite Nationals four times. Myrah now resides in Northern California, where he continues racing as a Masters racer. During that Masters career, he has won several Masters National Championships and won Masters Worlds three times.

Myrah is sponsored by Ibis and has been on the company's bikes for several years now. We took a closer look at his Masters 50-54 title-winning Ibis Hakka MX after his win in Lakewood.

Don Myrah's 2019 Lakewood Nationals Ibis Hakka MX

Myrah is an Ibis sponsored rider and uses the Hakka MX platform, Ibis’ all-road drop bar frame. The Hakka MX is a full carbon frameset with a 1,000g claimed weight, internal cables, flat mount brakes and 12mm thru-axles front and rear, although Myrah’s fork was the older post mount ENVE CX rather than the G Series that comes with current Hakka MX framesets.

We reviewed the Hakka MX in the Fall of 2018 and found it to be a versatile bike that performed as advertised. The Hakka MX features a dropped drive-side chainstay for extra clearance, although that did not really help Myrah with the 35mm max tire width rule and all.

The stock Hakka MX features a small sticker on the seat tube honoring Masters Cyclocross World Championships in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Yep, those titles are ones earned by Myrah.

In Lakewood, Myrah equipped his bike with a SRAM Force 1 groupset, which included a Force 1 rear derailleur and a Force crank complete with a 42t X-Sync narrow-wide chain ring.

Myrah’s post-mount brake calipers gripped 140mm SRAM 6-bolt Centerline rotors. The brakes and derailleur paired with the Force 1 HRD shift-brake levers up front.

Myrah’s Hakka MX uses a T47 threaded bottom bracket and he selected a blue Chris King Thread Fit unit.

Myrah rolled to victory on Ibis carbon tubeless wheels. Despite the conditions in Lakewood where mud tires were the prevailing choice, he selected 700c x 35mm Maxxis All Terrane tires, which are an intermediate tread. It was the most knob Myrah needed all year, due to a dry Bay Area cyclocross season.

Myrah knew he'd need more than file treads in Lakewood, but his tire selection wasn't exactly scientific. He spotted these tires on a racer's bike at a NorCal race a few weeks before Nationals, liked the way they looked, ordered a pair and rode them for just the second time when a title was on the line.

Although Myrah was subject to the 35mm tire width rule, his tires weren't measured before the start. Despite being a bigger guy, Myrah said he'd be happy to comply with the 33mm restriction UCI racers face.

The cockpit components were Ritchey, with a Superlogic level handlebar and seat post, and an alloy WCS stem. Some red, white and blue tape paid homage to Myrah's many Nationals titles.

Myrah also used a Ritchey Streem saddle. To round out his contact points, Myrah chose Crankbrothers Eggbeaters 2 pedals.

With Masters Worlds headed to Great Britain next December, Myrah said he has his eyes set on another Masters World Championship. Stay tuned to see if his Hakka MX earns some rainbow tape on his handlebar and another title for the Hakka seat tube logo.

For a closer look at Myrah's bike, see the photo gallery and specs below.

Photo Gallery: Don Myrah's Lakewood Nationals Ibis Hakka MX