Author Topic: Velobuild VB-R-218  (Read 122025 times)

madmax

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #660 on: May 15, 2023, 07:18:46 PM »
of course a pic... And I got big hands. So I think the bars should be fine. I was going to get some finish line grip paste. I have the juintech gts. I got the jagwire cables.  I need to order the saddle... I totally forgot about it. Also I am all torso and small legs. So I  bought another set of top tube spacers and I mght cut the seat post if I can drop it more.

Please use Jagwire foam over the cables...I cannot stress this enough.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C32KBG9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Both Sebastian & I have the same frame & there is a rattle in the front on mine & it can get really annoying, so be liberal with the foam & you can always trim it later

I would be hesitant to cut the seatpost, if you get away with dropping it lower. Someone else can chime in & help you here since a few people have had seat post issues

Also the seatpost bolts have a habit of falling & vanishing & you will need 1x M5x30mm & 1 x M5x35mm if that ever happens, so get saddle angle correct & use a tiny bit of threadlocker
I'm adding the parts below for your reference, but you can find them much cheaper at a hardware store

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NNR2H4Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1


If you are using a varia radar then this aluminum mount will work very well with your seat
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NTZ6HWK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I'm using the Bontrager Aero Comp saddle, which is usually $129 but goes on sale at summit bicycles for $79 & they have other saddles
(Bontrager because the saddle has an integrated mount for Ion Flare lights)



Sebastian

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #661 on: May 16, 2023, 01:35:55 AM »
Quick update on my end:
I noticed in the long run, that I routed my rear brake housing a bit too short, causing a kink in the housing at the headset and bad rear brake action.
So I needed to put in new housing and therefore take apart the whole bike basically.
So I decided to finally build up the replacement frame instead just for the sake of trying it. Also, I switched the groupset from Campy 11sp Centaur to 12sp Record - sourced the parts slightly used for cheap. Mechanical rim brake stuff isn't really worth much any more in this day and age.

The build turned out very nice. The seatpost clamping area holds up. The BB did not cause me any trouble. The cups screwed right in, the cranks spin smoothly.
Headtube bearing seats were slightly less tight on this frame, but the surface was a lot nicer finished. On my first frame it looked kinda rough. On this, it seems it was finished with some kind of lacquer coating. Again, I needed to drill the rear brake cable exit hole at the top tube. I explicitly told Chris at VB to make sure it's properly sized and he promised to take care of it. But alas, I guess stuff like this is just something you need to be prepared to do with Chiner frames.

I got another one of the superlight SROAD cassettes. A 12sp 11-32 cassette made from one block of steel, weighing about 215g. They only had it in stock in rainbow colors. Wouldn't have been my favorite choice but now that it's on the bike, I quite like it. I found these one piece cassettes to transfer more noise, especially in combination with deep wheels. So if you like your drivetrain to be dead silent, they might not be the best choice.

The build turned out very nice. I really like the bike. I dropped some weight in the process. This build as pictured, including all accessories (without Wahoo, bottles and saddle bag of course) does now weigh 7.6kg for the biggest available frame size (XXL/54).

Thanks also to madmax for giving me setup tips with Record 12sp.

madmax

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #662 on: May 16, 2023, 07:34:59 PM »
Awesome build Sebastian

"The build turned out very nice. I really like the bike. I dropped some weight in the process."

Yes, routing 3 cables through that handlebar and frame can result in a minor weight loss after struggling for a few hours and greatly improved muscle tone

 ;D

Sebastian

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #663 on: May 18, 2023, 02:39:47 AM »
Turns out my aftermarket 11sp chainrings don’t play well with 12sp chains. At least on the inner ring the chain skips on steep inclines. On the big ring it’s fine probably because the chain is engaging on more teeth.
I’ll replace the inner ring now with a Super Record 12sp one and see if that fixes things.

madmax

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #664 on: May 18, 2023, 08:10:01 AM »
Turns out my aftermarket 11sp chainrings don’t play well with 12sp chains. At least on the inner ring the chain skips on steep inclines. On the big ring it’s fine probably because the chain is engaging on more teeth.
I’ll replace the inner ring now with a Super Record 12sp one and see if that fixes things.

Use the 11-34  Super Record 12spd cassette. Don't alter chain length till you test it.
I think I sent you a detailed parts list one of our earlier emails so your build parts should be identical

Let me know if you have any issues & I'll help out

Sebastian

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #665 on: May 18, 2023, 12:22:56 PM »
Use the 11-34  Super Record 12spd cassette. Don't alter chain length till you test it.
I think I sent you a detailed parts list one of our earlier emails so your build parts should be identical

Let me know if you have any issues & I'll help out

I don’t think the cassette is to blame here. It shifts fine. The chain is skipping on the chainring. Exactly why I’m not sure yet. If the problem was cross chaining, then in theory it should be just as bad if not worse when on the big ring as cross chaining is much worse when in big/big. Yet it doesn’t happen. I continued my ride climbing in the big ring, therefore cross chaining much more and no chain skipping. I can also see the marks on the inner chainring so I’m sure this is where it happened. It is a set of chainrings of the same type. Aftermarket Campy rings from TA Specialites in France. But for some reason it only happens on the small ring. I’ll see if a different inner ring fixes the problem.

Sebastian

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #666 on: May 18, 2023, 12:29:55 PM »
I think it is widely accepted that with 12sp, you can use 11sp chainrings and people even use 12sp chains to quieten down their 11sp drivetrains, but it might not work perfectly. Remember how much trouble the pro peloton had when Shimano introduced 12sp but couldn’t supply whole groupsets? The teams combined 12sp groups with 11sp powermeter cranksets. The result was that guys were dropping their chains left and right.
I think I just stumbled upon a particularly bad combination here.
« Last Edit: May 18, 2023, 01:53:47 PM by Sebastian »

madmax

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #667 on: May 18, 2023, 03:49:13 PM »
I think it is widely accepted that with 12sp, you can use 11sp chainrings and people even use 12sp chains to quieten down their 11sp drivetrains, but it might not work perfectly. Remember how much trouble the pro peloton had when Shimano introduced 12sp but couldn’t supply whole groupsets? The teams combined 12sp groups with 11sp powermeter cranksets. The result was that guys were dropping their chains left and right.
I think I just stumbled upon a particularly bad combination here.

I get a chain drop when I am in my large in the front & use the left & right thumb shifters to drop to small in front & rear simultaneously
This has happened a couple of times so I stopped doing that  & my bike tech Yao said that he had set the FD cable as tight as possible for a smooth shift & it does shift nicely

Put your bike on a stand & record the gears as you spin the crank & switch gears & lets see what is goin on & email me the video



JonMS

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #668 on: May 18, 2023, 08:53:42 PM »
I got some new wheels and tires  :)
Reserve 34|37 wrapped in GP5000 TR 30c
Bike rides totally different now

Sebastian

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #669 on: May 19, 2023, 01:54:03 AM »
I get a chain drop when I am in my large in the front & use the left & right thumb shifters to drop to small in front & rear simultaneously
This has happened a couple of times so I stopped doing that  & my bike tech Yao said that he had set the FD cable as tight as possible for a smooth shift & it does shift nicely

My chain does not drop when shifting. The FD shifts just fine both ways. I was just making a point about the limited compatibility between 12sp chains and 11sp chainrings.
I have a 12sp inner ring with me tomorrow. I’ll install that and see if it fixes things. I’ll give an update then.

Sebastian

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #670 on: May 22, 2023, 03:45:39 AM »
I discussed my issue over on the WW forum. Graeme Freestone King, pro mechanic and UK Campag distributor chimed in. He confirmed that my chainrings are to blame. There's already limited compatibility between original Campag 11sp rings and 12sp chains, usually at least resulting in accelerated wear. Now I'm running aftermarket chainrings, so compatibility is unknown. Shimano as well advises against combining 11sp chainrings and 12sp chains. I'm switching over to 12sp chainrings now.
I did another ride yesterday. I got around 400k on this groupset now and I can definitely see wear marks on bot chainrings that weren't there when I was using 11sp chains. I was hoping I could get around swapping chainrings, but oh well. So be it.

madmax

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #671 on: May 22, 2023, 03:06:10 PM »
I discussed my issue over on the WW forum. Graeme Freestone King, pro mechanic and UK Campag distributor chimed in. He confirmed that my chainrings are to blame. There's already limited compatibility between original Campag 11sp rings and 12sp chains, usually at least resulting in accelerated wear. Now I'm running aftermarket chainrings, so compatibility is unknown. Shimano as well advises against combining 11sp chainrings and 12sp chains. I'm switching over to 12sp chainrings now.
I did another ride yesterday. I got around 400k on this groupset now and I can definitely see wear marks on bot chainrings that weren't there when I was using 11sp chains. I was hoping I could get around swapping chainrings, but oh well. So be it.

Now you will be 100% Campagnolocal3rdpartyparts

Let me now about your chain length/number of links, since we discussed this earlier. Your large-large combo issue should go away

Cleaned out cassette and chain yesterday with degreaser & used Finish Line  Dry Lube & there was zero "clanking" on the ride to the beach & back & shifting was very smooth






JonMS

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #672 on: May 23, 2023, 02:50:16 PM »
Noticed a crack in my seatstay the other day. Opened an inquiry with velobuild about a warranty exchange. Anyone else have any experience with it?

Sebastian

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #673 on: May 23, 2023, 03:09:21 PM »
Where exactly is this on the seat stay? Rather close to the seat tube junction by the looks of it? Weird place for a crack to happen IMO. First step would probably be to sand a way the paint and inspect the carbon. Chris/Velobuild will probably ask you to do this anyway.

JonMS

Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
« Reply #674 on: May 23, 2023, 09:45:29 PM »
Where exactly is this on the seat stay? Rather close to the seat tube junction by the looks of it? Weird place for a crack to happen IMO. First step would probably be to sand a way the paint and inspect the carbon. Chris/Velobuild will probably ask you to do this anyway.

Yep that is where it is. I will wait for velobuild response before sanding. Dont want to get blamed for anything by jumping ahead. I sent pictures as well as a video showing the crack flexing under load.