Team Meerendal Centurion Vaude finished 8th at the 2015 Cape Epic as well as winning the final stage. We caught up with team rider Jochen Kaess and his Centurion Numinis.
Centurion is a German brand with ties to Merida. The Numinis Carbon Team.29 is their flagship cross-country marathon offering. Despite sharing the same name, the components on this pro bike differ significantly from the retail version of the bike.
Jochen Kaess rides SRAM’s XX1 drivetrain with a SRM PowerMeter. There are some finer design elements to the bike, for example: the SR in SRAM on the crank arm has been coloured to match the harsh red / orange theme of the bike.
Enve rims with bright decals are always eye-catchers. The rims are laced to bling gold Tune hubs. Kenda Small Block Eight tyres feature on front and rear. Stopping is performed by super light and shiny Formula R1 Racing brakes.
The team uses SR Suntour’s Axon Werx fork, which features carbon lowers. Usually a manufacturer associated with entry level equipment, SR Suntour appear to be improving their top end offerings and have achieved some solid results at the Cape Epic and internationally.
At the rear, despite SR Suntour being the team’s suspension sponsor, a DT Swiss shock is used. The team manager explained that SR Suntour were still working on their race orientated shock but that it will be on the bike as soon as it is ready.
The bike features a relatively neat cockpit featuring a Procraft PRC handlebar, GoPro mount, computer mount, two lockout switches, Formula brake levers and SRAM rear shifter.
Jochen Kaess favours a racey negative stem angle, with a tubeless repair tool strapped to the top tube. A SRM PowerControl 7 does duty, pairing with the power meter on the chainring.
Not exactly a sexy beast. But I am sure it did the job.