My First Road Bike... is a Chiner.

[tripleDot]

After 4 decades of riding bicycles, I'm finally getting my first road bike.  Although, I did get a fixie early this year, it wasn't a full pledge roadie.  So after a month of planning and research, I finally start to get the parts the last couple of weeks.

Today, I just received the CS-RB01+RF01 T800 frame I ordered from Peter (Carbon Speed).  What a beautiful frame.  Not to mention light.  And, well, for those who wants to know, it was a smooth transaction, good communication with Peter.  Items were packed very well.

Parts/item                                        Price US$   Wt. Kg
Frame w/ fork : Carbon Speed CS-RB01+RF01 T800     $ 430.00    1.375
Seatpost      : Carbon Speed SP4 27.2mm               43.00    0.185
Seatpost Clamp: Circus Monkey 31.8mm                   9.87    0.014
Saddle        : Vivimax Emirates                      25.07    0.244
Stem          :
Handlebar     : ControlTech SLA dropbar               85.00    0.288
Bar Tape      : Circus Monkey EVA                      9.40    0.045
Spacer        : Circus Monkey Alloy 4pcs               4.68    0.010
Headset       : Neco/Circus Monkey                    18.00    0.140

Group set     : Ultegra 2x11                         468.00    2.480
   (weight includes wrappers for group set)
BS30 Adaptor  : La BiCi Press Fit Adaptor             34.00    0.149
Crank Boots   : Crank boot protector                   6.38
Pedals        : Xpedo XCF-05 Aluminum                 35.15    0.232

Wheel set     : Shimano RS 11                        149.00    2.000
   (includes rims, hubs, spokes and rim tapes)
Skewers       : Circus Monkey QR2 Road Ti             30.38    0.048
Tires         : Continental Gatorskin 700x25 (pair)   85.00    0.512
Tubes         : Continental Race (pair)               10.64    0.206

Speedometer   : Cateye Velo Wireless                  32.00    0.050
Bottle Cage   : Carbon Speed BC6                      13.00    0.020
Bottle Cage   : Carbon Speed BC8                      13.00    0.025
Others      :  Jagwire Cable/Housing set              32.00

Shipping      : Carbon Speed products                 50.00
Assembly      :                                       18.00

Cost  : $1,588.57
Weight:  7.883kg (unassembled)


I'm still waiting for the Circus Monkeys and the other stuff to arrive.  And hopefully I can start the wheel set at the end of next week.  Since I just assembled my Chiner HT MTB a couple of months ago, I got a likited funds for this build.  So the plan is I'm just gonna go for a cheaper wheel set for now.  And get myself a cf wheel set next year.  Also, I'm not really a fan of clipless pedals.  I like to be able to wear any shoes or even slippers/sandals. 

[tripleDot]

Finally got all the parts needed, will have it assembled on Monday.

The wheel set (rims, hubs, spokes, tires and tubes), drop bar and BB adaptor cost me more than I expected.  These were actually second choices as I couldn't find my first choices locally.  The stem, I actually got it because of the color but it did match the lenght I was going for.

Pictures on Monday.

[carbonazza]

Looking forward for the pictures!

[tripleDot]

Sort of bad news.  Took all the parts to this bike shop that I visited a few times for tune ups yesterday.  Commissioned them to assemble the bike.  Went back to pick up the bike this afternoon and was told they could not do the job.  They don't have the tools to cut the excess tube of the carbon fork and they are missing some of the other parts needed like cable housing, extended nut for the front caliper and etc.  Short story, I had to take everything to another shop.  So it won't be done until tomorrow.  What a bummer, lost some time and got more expensive.  Anyway, here's a couple of teaser pictures.

From the first bike shop.


From second bike shop.

[karstenhorn]

Very good decision, if they don't even know how to shorten a new fork how can they possibly call them self a bike store

Karsten

 

[SportingGoods]

That's indeed very strange 

Cutting a fork should be a daily routine for a bike shop. Any serious shop provides some basic fitting service, the first one being to cut the fork the appropriate length, once spacers have been defined.

[tripleDot]

Well, the new bike shop gave me a wonderful service for $18!  Way better service than the one I commissioned for my XC.  Funny thing was, the mechanic just measured the fork, marked it with electrical tape and use a hacksaw to cut it.  I was, wow, just like that and the other shop couldn't do it.

Anyway, I took it out for a 15km ride to a beach, and it handles vibrations way better than my Haro Projekt (steel fixie). Here's a few pictures.

[tripleDot]

Total weight with tires inflated... 7.900kg.  With plenty of parts that can be upgraded if I want to breach UCI regulations.

While I enjoyed the short ride, I have to say this road bike position is new to me and I really need to get use to it.  I pretty much start to feel my lower back hurting after reaching the beach.  But the true test would be on Saturday.

[tripleDot]

And finally...






Edit:  Set pictures to links rather than attachments.

[SportingGoods]

Super nice! I like the orange accent.
Do you plan on using proper automatic pedals? I can't picture myself using flat!

And yes, I also cut carbon steerer with a hacksaw. Very efficient, clean and fast. Aluminum is more difficult and I use a special tool to cut tubes.

[tripleDot]

Super nice! I like the orange accent.
Do you plan on using proper automatic pedals? I can't picture myself using flat!

Thanks SG.  My old XC (Jamis Durango 29er) taught me how to love the orange color.  Hehe.
Sure I do consider getting a clipless pedal, thinking of CB Eggbeater (they got one with orange accent, hehe), but not this year.

[karstenhorn]

Super nice! I like the orange accent.
Do you plan on using proper automatic pedals? I can't picture myself using flat!

Thanks SG.  My old XC (Jamis Durango 29er) taught me how to love the orange color.  Hehe.
Sure I do consider getting a clipless pedal, thinking of CB Eggbeater (they got one with orange accent, hehe), but not this year.

I'm using CB at my road bike too as I need a little extra movement for my knees. May I suggest Eggbeater Candy 7 as they have small pads to adjust how tight the pedals will sit to your shoes. It is nice to have a little more support under your shoes when riding a road bike and I'm very happy with my Candy 7. You can then buy titanium spindles on ebay and make a 240g pedal kit if thats what you want

Karsten

[tripleDot]

@Karsten, you have a point with the Candy series offers a more substantial support for the feet.  Will definitely consider that.  I got a question about CB cranks... I've read a lot of the same Ti spindle you suggested, is this just a "weight weenie" move or the CB spindle deserves to be replaced?

[SportingGoods]

Hi ...

Why not consider road pedals? You want to use the same shoes with all your bikes?
I'm doing this for now (using my Time XC8 pedals with my Mavic MTB shoes) but I already know that I will buy a dedicated set for my road bike in the future (probably Ultegra pedals and Fisik R5B shoes).

And I forgot to mention that I was completely shocked by the price you paid to get your bike mounted. $18  We definitely live in a different country!

[tripleDot]

Took the bike for a couple of 50km rides last Saturday and Sunday.  Here's my initial review.

Since this is my first road bike and honestly just my 3rd and 4th time on a dropbar.  First time was a 5km run using a frineds Giant 2 months ago, and the 2nd time being the 15km ride last Wednesday.  My review will mostly be a comparison with mtb XC and my Haro Projekt (steel frame with riser bar) fixed gear.

Saturday: 50km climb test.
The route I took had lots of climbs, a good number of them with winding turns.  The cemented road was pretty smooth here so can't comment about the vibration dampener system too much.  Weather was great.  Climbing on a roadie is a bit harder than I expected.  I'm pretty used to the more relaxed position of an XC.  I've pretty much run out of gears on a couple of those climbs but fortunately, never had to get off to push.  Going downhill was a scary experience.  Not used to the short dropbar, awkward brake position, and pretty much an aggressive seating position.  My fingers hurts with having to grab the brakes... have they not invented hydraulic brakes for clamp/cantilever brakes yet?  Good news is, my lower back did not hurt.

Sunday: 60km speed test.
This route is almost a 100% flat.  Road condition is from great to bad, cemented, asphalt, and some portions of hard pack mud.  Here those vibration dampener system really shone.  I can feel the vibrations between my legs but none on my wrists and elbow.  On my Projekt, these vibrations gives me sore hands and elbows.  Very happy with that.  While this was supposed to be a speed test, I really did not push this bike aside from doing a couple of sprints at mid gear range.  It didn't take long to hit above 45kph... the problem was I couldn't sustain it longer than I wanted.  My average speed for the trip was just around 27kph, which isn't much as I average 25kph on my XC.

As far as riding position, I would say it's pretty comfortable.  I was expecting a lot of lower back pain but didn't encounter them... maybe when I do centuries.  My main complain, which is caused by being new with roadies, is that I pretty much have 4 holding positions with the dropbar and none of them are comfty.  Although I did not suffer sore wrist and elbow.  Another thing I need to get use to is when stopping and standing over the top tube, I have bump my thigh or knees on the dropbars a few times.