KindHuman recently made its way into the cyclocross headlines in the 2014-15 season. Their first model, the KÜDÜ was raced on many of the biggest UCI events in the United States by Adam Myerson, who picked up KindHuman as a sponsor before the season got underway.
KindHuman was conceived by Adam Abramowicz, but it originally wasn't a bike company, but a racing team whose mission wasn't to find the best elite riders in the area, but to spread the team with people who might have otherwise been intimidated by the culture of road racing. After gaining momentum and industry experience with companies like Specialized and Hawley, Abramowicz reached out to Gavin Brauer, who is now their Leader of Operations, and the KindHuman brand rocketed off from there.
Today, we take an "In Review" Look at their first cyclocross model, the KÜDÜ, as well as walk through a few of the certain and potential changes to the upcoming model.
The Frame:
Unlike the trend of cyclocross bikes going to a low bottom bracket, such as the Santa Cruz Stigmata we recently gave a First Look to, the KÜDÜ only has a bottom bracket drop of 60mm, meaning the KindHuman's bottom bracket is nearly a centimeter higher than many other models moving in the other direction.
Our 55cm model's top tube measures out to 54cm with a 71.5 head angle and 73.5 seat angle, and the front and rear are designed for quick release axles, although as Abramowicz walked me through some of the updates for next year, he assured me that KindHuman cyclocross frames would come equipped with thru axles.
The headset is a tapered 1 1/8" to 1.5" with a bottom bracket shell accommodating PF30.
The frame and fork come with fender mounts if you wanted to turn the KÜDÜ into a gravel machine. While it is not lost on Abramowicz that the current model is fully designed as a cyclocross race rig, he is proposing design changes for the next year that include swapping the current wishbone stays for split stays. He is also planning on adding a second set of waterbottle bolts to frame. Both of these changes are designed with the idea of making the KÜDÜ as a do-it-all bike.
Our test bike is a cantilever frame, although a disc version is also available for an additional $150.
The Build:
Our test bike is built up with a Ritchey WCS Cockpit and a WCS Carbon seatpost along with a Ritchey Contrail saddle. For shifters and drivetrain, the KÜDÜ came with an Ultegra 6800 11-speed system.
The build packages are unique in this respect, however, as KindHuman does not have fully packaged bikes to offer, but a custom build package that surrounds a five step process. One of Abramowicz's goals is to ensure that they are offering a rider a full bike that they won't have to swap any parts out on.
Although the bike arrived with Reynolds Stratus Pro wheels, Abramowicz informed us that future packages will be sold with Zipp and Shimano wheels instead. Substituting Shimano RS21 wheels for the Reynolds would result in a build with an MSRP of $3,175.
The weight without the wheels came out to 11.0 pounds even, and 17.4 pounds with the wheels.
Be sure to stay tuned for our full review, and use the slider below for more pictures and a full spec list. More info: kindhuman.cc
“Take the lead” is a reference to the Cycling Scholarship Program of KindHuman. © Cyclocross Magazine
