Hi everyone,
joined this forum end of 2021 when I was looking for information on velobuild. After reading through this forum and checking with Chris I decided to order a VB-R-099. The build is completed in the meantime and waiting for spring to arrive so I can take the bike on the road. Reason I chose the VB-R-099 were integrated cable routing and available frame size option 58. I am 1.95 m tall with 96 cm in seam length, typically ride a 86 cm saddle to bottom bracket length and something like 10 to 13 cm saddle to stem drop.
Wanted to share my bike and a few experiences, with my theme being inspired by Chinertown I decided to use a Sensah Empire Pro shifting set, a Juin Tech F1 brake and 50mm deep Elite wheels. I also opted for the separated bar and stem combo since I was not sure regarding the integrated bar shape and I wanted the freedom to swap either stem or bar. This has been noted before in the forum, I ordered a 120mm stem but when I measure what I received it is more a 125mm or even a 130mm the way we measure stems here in Germany.
With all mechanical shifting and brake I struggled quite a bit with the internal cable routing. Tried to use compressionless cable housing first, but struggled big time to route the housing, especially from the bar into the stem and run cables through it. Swapped the compressionless KEB-SL housing with standard Shimano brake housing, which was easier to be routed through the bar and the stem into the frame. When installing cables into the housing it worked, but operation was not perfectly smooth. Therefore I decided to swap the velobuild spacers with a common set you can buy from Aliexpress. You will either have to cut the bottom spacer or fill it with epoxy so it becomes a plain surface that can sit flush with the ¾ ring of the top headset bearing. I also cut out the top spacer so I could run the cables from underneath the steam into the spacer. I understand this is not a perfect internal cable routing, but it eases setup and enables cable routing and smooth operation of brakes and shifting and I am satisifed with the result.
I am attaching a few pictures of the build and the cable routing. Since my camera is struggling with the different shades of red I am also posting the custom paint link on the velobuild homepage.
http://www.velobuildmall.com/products/vb-r-099-custom-paint-aero-road-carbon-bike-frame-red-fading-glossy-paintA final comment: I found it strange, that the front axle is fixed from the drive train side rather than from the non-drive train side. Also, the 130mm axle that was shipped with the frame was a bit long and stood out quite significant on the brake side. I ordered a shorter set from Aliexpress which leaves less excess thread being visible once the front wheel is fastened with the axle.
Oh, almost forgot: tried to fit a Specialized seatpost cover because I read in this forum people have successfully done that. Can anybody confirm? My VB-R-099 seatpost is shaped thicker at the front and smaller at the tail, Specialized seatposts seem to be the other way round hence the cover would not fit a VB-R-099?
