Just finished my Velobuild GF-002 build and wanted to share.
The build was good fun but being my first time building a bike it was a struggle at points. The hardest part was internal routing 4x hoses including 2x Jagwire compressionless shift housings. I am also struggling to the get the front derailleur to shift up properly so need to do some more tinkering there.
Issues:
The rear brake flat mount on the GF-002 was completely off so I took it to a LBS to face the mount which worked, sadly they soaked the brake pads in mineral oil in the process.
I originally asked Velobuild for British Racing Green in Gloss and gave them a pantone which they confirmed was ok before ordering. After paying they effectively said 'sorry we dont have' and said I can have the frame in a 'similar' colour which in person is akin to Satin Army Green. Not what I was going for. Wasnt impressed with the paint quality either, there are noticeable edges where the colours change. Not gonna complain for a $60 paint job. I will eventually repaint myself.
EliteWheels originally sent out the wrong wheels so I disputed and asked for a partial refund, then sold the wrong wheels on eBay and re-ordered the right ones. Was not too impressed with their service on Aliexpress including asking me to 'close the case to get a refund' and refusing to re-send the correct wheels unless I paid extra.
Re-ordered from them on another Ali account and had no issues. The wheels are the highlight of the build for me. 1320g @ 50mm depth 21mm internal and ratchet hubs for $620 is nice.
The TPU inner tubes have plastic stems which dont seem to seal properly, the tyres lose a decent amount of air every week. Might try some PTFE tape on the valve core threads.
I didnt research much in the saddle and will probably try a 3d printed one that TraceVelo recommended at some point, the Mixed one is pretty comfortable but I can see it getting a bit painful for 100+km days.
Impressions:
I have only ridden for about 100km or so but loving it so far, never had a drop bar bike so I didnt know what to expect. Aside from the FD not shifting up cleanly no issues so far. With the out of Shimano spec 11-40 cassette I need to be careful not to cross chain otherwise its not pretty. I'm already thinking the 34-40 gearing is a bit excessive and might switch to a 11-36 cassette or 1x but will wait for a while to tackle some more climbs.
I will go on some longer trips next month and hopefully multi-day bikepacking in September.
Components:
Velobuild GF002 Frame
EliteWheels Edge Disc
GRX600 2x11 Shifters
GRX810 Rear Derailleur With Sunrace SP570 Extended link
Shimano 105 Front Derailleur
11-40 SLX Cassette
ZRace 50-34 Chainset
Magene P505 Spider
GP5000 32mm tyres
Mixed 7D Saddle
Newboiler TPU inner tubes
IGPSport BSC200 head unit
Total cost was around £2200GBP
Weighs 8.3KG with pedals, no bottle cages.
Let me know if you have any suggestions for the FD shifting, I'm thinking it maybe a qfactor issue and will try to swap some spacers around to see if it helps as the low screw is bottomed out and I feel like the shift cage needs to be further out.
