dcrf26 frame - Scott Foil?

[patliean1]

Photo #1 - Outboard T47 bottom bracket. This why the inboard version is needed. The crank spindle doesn't clear the frame. Also shown is the proper bottom bracket tool from Park Tool

Photo #2 - Showing the bolt washers required to properly tighten the caliper.

Photo #3 - Here is a fork comparison from a different frame (Dengfu R12). As you can see, the caliper mounts protrude further out than on the TanTan x38 in order to accommodate a standard size front caliper bolt. This is why extra washers or shorter bolt is needed.

Photo #4 - Bike is almost finished. Looks pretty legit, I reckon the final weight without pedals/power meter/computer will be somewhere around 7.4kg.

[BalticSea]

This frame has been growing on me. First I was considering getting Elves Eglath, but now, not so sure (2022 Falath Pro is another option). Problem is, I want bit more stack height than my current set up (530mm stack frame + 45mm spacers (I bought the bike as is, so I wasn't the one who came up with this)). Would 30mm spacers look utterly ridiculous on aero frame?

[s3si1u]

I don't think I've ever had a frame where the stock caliper bolts were a perfect fit. I've always had to source slightly longer/shorter bolts elsewhere or use washers for perfect fitment. I thought this was norm and not the exception.

[patliean1]

Would 30mm spacers look utterly ridiculous on aero frame?

Ride what makes YOU happy.

[Sebastian]

Ride what makes YOU happy.

+1

If only I hadn't just built up a new bike, I'd probably get this one as well. It's right up my alley and I live in a pan flat area.
This frame + LTWOO ERX and one of the better Chinese wheelsets has the potential to be a budget superbike. I'm super curious to see what you think of it. Also, I'm interested to see how comfy you can get on it. That seatpost looks like it's going to beat you up pretty good paired with that super steep seat tube angle. Maybe one could fit a Scott Foil seatpost with the cutout and elastomer damper in there?

[patliean1]

Captain's Log #7

Good news is my replacement bottom bracket arrived two days early, so I was able to properly install the crank/drivetrain and finish the build. The bad news is it's 90 degree here in Chicago, with rainfall in the area. I went for a quick test drive to make sure everything was in working order before the rain hit.

Weight without pedals/cages/mount/power meter: 7.6kg
I have a 1x aero chainring on order from Ali Express which will easily bring the weight down to 7.4kg once I remove the front derailleur and battery. Still need to add clearcoat 

Wheels and tires: These new Magene EXAR Ultra wheels have a 23mm internal width. My 28c GP5000s measure closer to 29-30c when mounted. I typically run 76-78 PSI, but with these wheels I'm running 73-75 PSI.

Ride feel: Thank goodness I can run lower air pressure on these wheels, because the ride is exactly how I expected - STIFF
As stiff as my Dengfu R12, far stiffer than my VeloBuild 168, and it feels "racier" than my new Yoeleo R12. With that said, the frame does not exactly deal with bad pavement gracefully. I probably would not run 25c tires on it. Honestly it ride's like a tuner car from the 90s versus a modern era sport's car.

I'm hoping I can get in a proper ride in the morning, but I leave in the afternoon.

[Takiyaki]

I think you just sold me on a VB-R-168. I wish there were a way to make a bike with a TT look (near vertical seatpost) but a compliant ride. I guess that's why Scott made that weird seat post.

[St0mpB0x]

-I ordered the wrong "T47 for DUB" bottom bracket. Apparently there are two version of this standard: Inboard and Outboard. I ordered outboard. Inboard means the bearings sit inside the frame/cup, while outboard means they sit...outside of the frame. Outboard is (I think) is for MTB/Gravel frames because the road Sram DUB spindle I have did not clear the frame. The outboard T47 I have is too wide for the crankset so I have order the inboard version.

Regrettably there is more than two now.

The original T47 spec was effectively a threaded PF30 (68mm Width, 46mm ID) bottom bracket shell. You could then run cups for internal bearings if you were using one of the BB30/PF30 specific cranks which had a short spindle or cups for external bearings to run Shimano cranks or "Long Spindle" 30mm cranks. Now I think basically every 30mm (or 28mm DUB) crankset uses a "long spindle" but frame manufacturers realised that they could thread their BB386 (86mm Wide, 46mm ID) bottom brackets and use the T47 cups for internal bearings so that customers could have the threaded bottom brackets they want and manufacturers could continue their shitty manufacturing tolerances.

Then Cervelo and Factor decided to really fuck with everyone and do a half internal, half external variant of T47.

I'm one of the minority that actually likes pressfit interfaces.... It just sucks that manufacturers can't be bother to spend the extra $10 to do it correctly.

[patliean1]

I wish there were a way to make a bike with a TT look (near vertical seatpost) but a compliant ride. I guess that's why Scott made that weird seat post.

-Affordable
-Lightweight
-Stiff
-Compliant

You can probably have three of the aforementioned frame characteristics, but certainly not all four. And you can't cheat physics with such a near vertical TT-like seatpost. This is like expecting an F1 race car to handle well on rough urban streets.

I prefer a stiff and communicative ride because it lets me know what the tires are doing at all times. This becomes important when the pace gets spicy. This past weekend I took both my Yoeleo R12 and Winspace T1500 on back to back long rides. The Yoeleo R12 is comfortable, composed, but doesn't have a sense of urgency. This is subjective of course. The T1500 on the other hand wants to cruise in the fast lane of the Authbahn. All day.

The point is we each have to decide what's important to us in a frameset/wheel combo. And most importantly...how much are we willing to spend to achieve said combo. Godspeed my friend.

[Takiyaki]

I got my weight weenie build out of my system so an affordable stiff compliant frame sounds great to me!

[patliean1]

Captains Log #8

This will be my final update for a while. Took the bike on a proper ride this morning and I really enjoy it. It certainly "feels" fast and doesn't struggle to maintain speed even with the 10-15mph block headwind on the return home. At 75 PSI out on proper roads the bike maintains its composure. No rattles no creaks and no teeth chattering moments. The stiffness is totally manageable even with my pad-less fully carbon saddle.

I am definitely going 1x drivetrain when the aero chainring arrive. Once I pair that to my set of TPU tubes this should drop the bike down to around 7.3kg. Pretty killer for an all-out aero frame, and even it's current form the bike feels like a go-cart. No flex out of the saddle.

It's still too early tell, but I get the impression this will be the best performing frame I've tested under $900. And this will mostly replace my Allez Sprint as long as no random quirks or catastrophic failures pop up over the summer.

Going back to @St0mpB0x point above about bottom brackets. So this frame has an asymmetrical bottom bracket design similar to the new Cervelo Soloist. The Soloist requires a T47 inboard cup on the non-drive side and an outboard cup on the drive side. The x38 is also asymmetrical but in the opposite inboard/outboard configuration of the Soloist. I was able to use an inboard DUB T47 on both sides, but it requires a specific configuration of crank/spindle spacers on both side. This isn't exactly ideal, as you may get very slight chain rub on the FD when in the two largest cassette cogs out back with out very carefully setting up the FD. Another reason 1x makes more sense for a bike like this anyway.

[BalticSea]

The build is coming along nicely. What size chainring/cassette do you plan to use for this build? Still trying to decide between either the Elves or this frame and I was thinking about going with 1x AXS kit myself. And most importantly, I found some (seemingly) genuine Giant Propel bottle cages on ali, that alone is surely gonna give me massive savings (just kidding)

[St0mpB0x]

That sounds like a very unusual bottom bracket arrangement. What is the distances between the faces of the bottom bracket in the raw frame? It should be something between 68mm and 83mm?

[RDY]

Why the fuck they couldn't just go with BB386 ...

[patliean1]

The build is coming along nicely. What size chainring/cassette do you plan to use for this build? Still trying to decide between either the Elves or this frame and I was thinking about going with 1x AXS kit myself. And most importantly, I found some (seemingly) genuine Giant Propel bottle cages on ali, that alone is surely gonna give me massive savings (just kidding)

Current cassette is a 10-30t. The 1x chainring on order is 52t for the supposed "chain efficiency."

That sounds like a very unusual bottom bracket arrangement. What is the distances between the faces of the bottom bracket in the raw frame? It should be something between 68mm and 83mm?

86.5

Why the f*ck they couldn't just go with BB386 ...

I am with you 100%. The asymmetrical BB is an weird choice because Tan Tan's website says T47 which technically is only half accurate.