VeloBuild VB-R-268 frame

[Serge_K]

Height is one thing, but leg length is very important. And ape index (whether your arms are longer than your height). I think lino said he has short legs.
I rode bikes that were too big for me for years because I'm 184, but my saddle height is 81cm (long legs), and so, short torso, so short top tube. I do have a positive ape index so I can fit myself on large bikes, but I'm much more comfortable on medium ones.
There's also a question of flexibility, if you're nimble, you can hinge at the hips more, and fit yourself easier on a bike.
If you're starting with no road geometry info, you may want to consider an alu bar and alu stem (cost virtually nothing) to find the right coordinates, then buy the right cockpit. 42cm is badly outdated in width, I've been riding 36cm bars all season and I'm never going back.
I went from 36*80 to 36*100 over the summer. And I may have cut my steerer 1cm too short...
Also, as you ride more, your body will adapt, so day one position will differ from day 90 position.
In your shoes, I'd run alu bar and stem and external routing as much as possible to make changes easy, then after months, get the right cockpit. And don't cut the steerer too soon. The extra 2cm in the stem makes me want to have the cockpit higher for ideal aero position, and I cut it too soon. Vanity.

[volan]

Height is one thing, but leg length is very important. And ape index (whether your arms are longer than your height). I think lino said he has short legs.
I rode bikes that were too big for me for years because I'm 184, but my saddle height is 81cm (long legs), and so, short torso, so short top tube. I do have a positive ape index so I can fit myself on large bikes, but I'm much more comfortable on medium ones.
There's also a question of flexibility, if you're nimble, you can hinge at the hips more, and fit yourself easier on a bike.
If you're starting with no road geometry info, you may want to consider an alu bar and alu stem (cost virtually nothing) to find the right coordinates, then buy the right cockpit. 42cm is badly outdated in width, I've been riding 36cm bars all season and I'm never going back.
I went from 36*80 to 36*100 over the summer. And I may have cut my steerer 1cm too short...
Also, as you ride more, your body will adapt, so day one position will differ from day 90 position.
In your shoes, I'd run alu bar and stem and external routing as much as possible to make changes easy, then after months, get the right cockpit. And don't cut the steerer too soon. The extra 2cm in the stem makes me want to have the cockpit higher for ideal aero position, and I cut it too soon. Vanity.

Thanks Serge, I've learned alot reading your posts here! And this one is a nice lesson as well. I could really do like you advised, buy some cheap alu bar-stem and try it out. But still I need to choose bar-stem from VB. I was wondering if 42cm is too wide, and I could contsct Chris to change it to 400-100, or 40-110. Not sure.

Also, since you are 184 as I am, do you think L sized 268 could be too small for me?

[Serge_K]

Thanks Serge, I've learned alot reading your posts here! And this one is a nice lesson as well. I could really do like you advised, buy some cheap alu bar-stem and try it out. But still I need to choose bar-stem from VB. I was wondering if 42cm is too wide, and I could contsct Chris to change it to 400-100, or 40-110. Not sure.

Also, since you are 184 as I am, do you think L sized 268 could be too small for me?

Happy to help. There's almost no chance L would be too small. The danger is that it's too big. I'd get a medium in that frame myself. If 36 sounds scary, if you can, change to 38. Max 40. It's free speed, really. You can check BMC, they now ship 36cm cockpits with all their expensive road bikes. That's it.

[pandinoyoung]

well, I'm also 181cm tall and the saddle height is 82cm, I also have long legs and a short torso, but I've never gone down from a size XL, except for a look 595 15 years ago, which I bought in size L.
medium size would be impossible for me and also for a professional cyclist. you would have a difference in height of 15/17 cm saddle / handlebars.
unless you put 6/7cm of spacers on the handlebars.
terrible

[AlessandroEmm]

Mines coming together finally, took inspiration from the naked clear coated one from sites earlier, but went without logo.



Still waiting for the flat mount spacer up front end weight will be likely 7.8ish kg.

[volan]

For all of you brave and handy mechanics who went with mechanical group on this frame... Please tell me, is it THAT painful? I've routed countless of cables through mtb frames, but still virgin with regards to integrated handlebars.

I was keen on getting di2 105, but damn, not sure I wanna cash out thousand+ € on it. I found really cheap 105 2x12 mechanical on Ali for 350€ (shifters, f+rd and hydro brake callipers), and that leaves me with only cranks, chain and 2 rotors to buy.

It's not the money that's the issue, it's the bang for buck issue. If so many road bikes now come with mechanical groups, I don't see why couldn't I go with it, except if the shifting perf will suck. I get it, internal routing will be pita, but once I do that, what's left to be sorry about? Couple ms faster shifting? Dont give a damn about that. RD/FD indexing? Not a problem, and from my mtb experience with shimano 12sp, they are so damn rock solid and once you set them up, they can go really forever without a issue.

Advise me please, my roadie elders.

[TidyDinosaur]

For all of you brave and handy mechanics who went with mechanical group on this frame... Please tell me, is it THAT painful? I've routed countless of cables through mtb frames, but still virgin with regards to integrated handlebars.

I was keen on getting di2 105, but damn, not sure I wanna cash out thousand+ € on it. I found really cheap 105 2x12 mechanical on Ali for 350€ (shifters, f+rd and hydro brake callipers), and that leaves me with only cranks, chain and 2 rotors to buy.

It's not the money that's the issue, it's the bang for buck issue. If so many road bikes now come with mechanical groups, I don't see why couldn't I go with it, except if the shifting perf will suck. I get it, internal routing will be pita, but once I do that, what's left to be sorry about? Couple ms faster shifting? Dont give a damn about that. RD/FD indexing? Not a problem, and from my mtb experience with shimano 12sp, they are so damn rock solid and once you set them up, they can go really forever without a issue.

Advise me please, my roadie elders.

I have not build up this frame, but others. 2 tips:
1. search youtube for cable routing through the bars. Very good tutorials
2. Use a routing kit for the frame. When I first did my Hygge frame I thought I could do it without the routing kit. After struggling with it for an hour I finally grabbed the routing kit and after a few minutes it was done.

[Serge_K]

For all of you brave and handy mechanics who went with mechanical group on this frame... Please tell me, is it THAT painful? I've routed countless of cables through mtb frames, but still virgin with regards to integrated handlebars.

I was keen on getting di2 105, but damn, not sure I wanna cash out thousand+ € on it. I found really cheap 105 2x12 mechanical on Ali for 350€ (shifters, f+rd and hydro brake callipers), and that leaves me with only cranks, chain and 2 rotors to buy.

It's not the money that's the issue, it's the bang for buck issue. If so many road bikes now come with mechanical groups, I don't see why couldn't I go with it, except if the shifting perf will suck. I get it, internal routing will be pita, but once I do that, what's left to be sorry about? Couple ms faster shifting? Dont give a damn about that. RD/FD indexing? Not a problem, and from my mtb experience with shimano 12sp, they are so damn rock solid and once you set them up, they can go really forever without a issue.

Advise me please, my roadie elders.

I built 4 VB w sensah mechanical. And 5 with ltwoo electronic. if you take your time, you will manage, plenty of videos online on how to proceed. Things to keep in mind:
Not all frames are mechanical compatible (this one is)
route the right hoses around the steerer, there's little room for error (dont route them all on one side, don't kink them...).
Be mindful of assembly sequence (spacers are usually 2 part, but headset bits will not be, so make sure you have the right bits in the right order in the right orientation before you route the hoses through the bars.
Bends in the bar mean the hoses will not freely slide unless you're very lucky / have a forgiving cockpit, so route the frame 1st, then the bars, and that will be the worst bit.
Obviously, you can't do it without a bike stand, and even then, you'll probably need tools like a routing kit (5 bucks), fine picks and files (ditto).
Dont forget to grease bearings area, as you really wont want to service that nightmare often.
Push extra hose into the frame as much as you can, because if you put the bike in a box for travel, you may have to disconnect things, and re-bleed brakes, cutting down hose, putting new olives...
I prefer plastic C rings & plastic spacers because it's easier to compress and is more forgiving. You might have issues with headset bits rubbing on the frame, so you might think you're done only to realize you have to undo everything to add something somewhere so it doesnt rub.
Anticipate and make sure you have good / strong lighting where you work.

Over the summer i swapped my cockpit on my er9 bike. It still took me 2 days...

None of this is fun. Good luck.

[Nkearb]

Obviously, you can't do it without a bike stand, and even then, you'll probably need tools like a routing kit (5 bucks), fine picks and files (ditto).

My method Ive developed always works and I pass 4 cable through in less than an hour with really no equipment. I begin by shoving the cable through from the back of the bike and keep jamming the cable in until it shows up out the headset. Now for the handlebars just go ahead and jam the cable in and keep jamming until they appear near the hole, I then use tweezers to extract the cable. You should prebend the cable in the arc you need it to make once its inserted. All that jamming may have mangled the tip of the cable so go ahead and trim it. Not even kidding this is foolproof and doesnt do a bit of damage to frame or bars

[volan]

Thank you all for advices. How about shifting performance after couple of months of riding? Does it degrade noticably? Because my MTB mechanical xt group literally doesn't need maintenance. It simply shifts. And I do ride it, 5-6 times a week.

[barmo]

Hi, in a few days I will order my 268.
I would like to mount it with 105 mechanical r7120, hydraulic brakes and Elite ent 38mm rims (with upgraded pillar 1420 spokes).
In order not to make mistakes when ordering the rims, can you tell me which options to select between:
Wheel width: 12x100 12x142 or QRx100 QRx135
Wheel depth: SHIMAN0 11S or SRAM XDR 12S
Hub type: Center Lock or 6 Bolt Lock
thanks guys

[Gloopann]

Hi, in a few days I will order my 268.
I would like to mount it with 105 mechanical r7120, hydraulic brakes and Elite ent 38mm rims (with upgraded pillar 1420 spokes).
In order not to make mistakes when ordering the rims, can you tell me which options to select between:
Wheel width: 12x100 12x142 or QRx100 QRx135
Wheel depth: SHIMAN0 11S or SRAM XDR 12S
Hub type: Center Lock or 6 Bolt Lock
thanks guys

You want 12x100 12x142, SHIMANO 11S, hub type depends on the disc rotors you are going to use, I think r7120 uses center lock but double check

[barmo]

Thank you!
Does anyone know if Velobuild usually has discounts for 11.11 or black friday? 

[Easyfunk]

They had discounts last year.

[yappy]

Thank you!
Does anyone know if Velobuild usually has discounts for 11.11 or black friday? 

Does the 11.11 sale here refer to the sale on Aliexpress? Is it from their own website?