Waltly Ti gravel bike build

[bxcc]

Wanted to start a build thread for the new frame I have coming. I've been working with Amy from Waltly for the past month or so working out the frame details. Some of my thoughts they couldn't do and I've changed my mind on a few so it's been a process. Amy's communication and patience has been excellent through the whole process and I would gladly use them a third time.

This is my first drop bar bike so I wasn't sure what I was looking for. This will be roughly 45% smooth gravel roads, 45% pavement, and 10% single track. I've built probably a dozen mountain bikes from the frame up over the years and I'm pretty comfortable picking mounting bike geometry for my riding style and location. But drop bar bikes are new and I wasn't sure where to start. I demo'd a 56cm and a 58cm Otso Warakin from the LBS and settled on something in the 56cm range. I also tried the Salsa Vaya and like that quite a bit as well. I tried to mirror the geo of the 56cm Warakin with some Vaya geo mixed in. So on with the details.

Frame:
Twin top tube design
45mm tire clearance
30.9 seat post with internal dropper routing
12x142 rear with flat mount brake
ZS44 top, ZS56 bottom
Internal routing wherever practical

Fork:
Waltly FK-F06 carbon fork with fender and cargo mounts

Drivetrain:
Shimano GRX 810 1x shifters, left side dropper lever
Sram Force 1 GXP carbon crank, 172.5 with 42t ring
Sram 1150 10-42 cassette
GRX 812 rear derailleur
XTR MT900 rotors 160mm front and rear
YBN Hollow plate 11 speed chain

Cockpit:
Salsa Cowchipper Deluxe 44cm bars
Zipp Service Course SL stem 80mm 6 degree
BikeYoke Revive 125mm dropper
SQlab 611 Ergowave Carbon Saddle
Cane Creek Slamset, pink limited edition

Wheels:
Nextie 22mm inner 23mm deep carbon rims
DT Swiss 350 28h centerlock hubs
DT Swiss Aerolite spokes, white
Alloy double head nipples, pink
WTB Venture 700x40 120tpi tires

I just gave the final approval of the frame design so it will be 6 to 8 weeks before it's complete. I hope to be riding it before June.





**Edited to update component list**

[carbonazza]

Very interesting, thank you. What a journey !
Seeing the small holes here and there, the internal routing must have taken its amount of energy.
Is the fork carbon or Ti ?
Did you settle on the finish already ?

[bxcc]

Actually, the internal routing conversations went relatively smooth. They originally had the rear derailleur routed in the down tube then on the bottom of the chainstay but they were okay with moving it to the top tube / seat tube location. They recommended leaving the rear brake line external on the chainstay for maintain the strength of the tube. I didn’t argue as it will make clean up a bit easier not having to worry about anything getting inside.

The fork is full carbon, or so I’ve been told. I’m not sure if I’ll ever use the mounts but at least they are there if needed. And at $120, I really couldn’t complain. There’s no extra shipping charges as they will put it in the same box as the frame.

As for the finish, it’s just their standard brushed finished. It’s super easy to clean and redo to hide scratches.

[carbonazza]

...standard brushed finished. It’s super easy to clean and redo to hide scratches.

That is a great feature of brushed Ti !

[QuentinLL]

Do you plan to ride a dropper post ?

[bxcc]

Do you plan to ride a dropper post ?

Not sure just yet so I planned the frame around one. I’m going to put a few miles on the bike before spending the cash on the dropper. I’ll run a 125mm BikeYoke Revive if I do.

I measured my 3 current bikes and got a rough measurement of 682mm between the seat rail and the BB center point. If my measurements are correct, I should have about 192mm of exposed post. The 125mm Revive requires 167mm.

[chr0m3d.]

how do you communicate with Waltly? i've sent 2 inquires to them with no reply for 3weeks.

[bxcc]

how do you communicate with Waltly? i've sent 2 inquires to them with no reply for 3weeks.

That doesn't sound like them. I've always had good luck getting responses from them. I'll send you her email in a PM. I'm not sure if it's a great idea to post email addresses directly on the board.

[tripleDot]

@bxcc, a few questions.

1. Did Walty's rate gone up?
2. What's the extra gear mount on the fork for? The ones on the underside.
3. Any reason why you went with a 44/56 tapered head tube for a bike that's gonna be mostly on paved & gravel roads?

[bxcc]

@bxcc, a few questions.

1. Did Walty's rate gone up?
2. What's the extra gear mount on the fork for? The ones on the underside.
3. Any reason why you went with a 44/56 tapered head tube for a bike that's gonna be mostly on paved & gravel roads?

1. I'm not sure. It seems to be about the same as last year. The frame alone was $900usd which is higher than others they have. Supposedly the twin top tubes, the internal cable routing, and the plate at the drive side bottom bracket / chainstay intersection are all up charges. I'm sure the second set of water bottle mount bosses are as well.

2. If you're talking about the ones on the inner fork legs that are 120mm up from the axle, I have no idea. I had the option of a fork with no mounts and this one with the mounts, so I picked this one. Not sure if I will ever use it but now that I have it, I probably find a reason.

3. I originally had this frame planned around a 480mm fork so I was keeping the frame stack as low as possible with the ZS56 lower. When I finally decided to stick with a traditional length fork, I didn't see a need to change it. I also have zs44 / zs56 Cane Creek limited edition pink headset sitting on my bench waiting to be needed on something.

And for a quick build update, the front wheel is built. It weighs in at 659 grams.

[em_reeze]

Looks awesome. I can't wait to see the finished frame. How do you brush the frame if you want to refinish it? I have a brushed finish frame from Waltly and it doesn't need any work not but would be good to know.

Did you consider putting a third bottle mount underneath the down tube just in case for super long rides? I did this but haven't needed it yet. If I am dumb enough to try and ride the white rim in a day I think I will need it.

[bxcc]

Looks awesome. I can't wait to see the finished frame. How do you brush the frame if you want to refinish it? I have a brushed finish frame from Waltly and it doesn't need any work not but would be good to know.

Did you consider putting a third bottle mount underneath the down tube just in case for super long rides? I did this but haven't needed it yet. If I am dumb enough to try and ride the white rim in a day I think I will need it.

Thanks.

I used green scotch-brite pads and some 400 grit paper when I did my last one. It wasn't an exact match so I think I'll try some gray scotch-brite pads next time if needed. They are a bit finer than the green ones I tried.

I did consider more mounts as I thought of some other places to add them as well. The two top tube spreaders are 150mm apart. If they did 3 at 64mm apart, it would be a similar distance and give me the 3 holes under the top tube as well. But we were so deep into the tweaking of the frame that I didn't want to cause more confusion. I hopeful that I can come up with some solutions if I ever need to. The twin top tubes actually hold things much better than a single tube as they don't swing side to side. A small bungee cord around tool pouches, tubes, and even cans of your favorite beverage stay put quite well.

They parts are arriving. I should be receiving the Sram XG1180 10-42 tooth cassette sometime this week. Well, if it arrives "as advertised" as it was an open box buy from Amazon.

[cst_jpr]

Looks great.

Some similarities to what I decided on but I think your design is super clean. Please post the frame pics when they are done.

Did they mention anything about the cutouts in the 19mm tube, I didn't even consider that a possibility.

[bxcc]

15 weeks from finalizing the drawings and the frame is finally finished. Once the frame arrives, I have some bead blasting to do then I'll start the build. All the other parts are on the workbench waiting to be installed.

[Zdrenka89]

Fantastic stuff! Looks gorgeous! 

Very unique having the double toptube.