Carbonal Venture SL budget lightweight 1x10 build

[JohnnyNT]

Looks like this one, geo slightly different though: http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/YD-M061-mountain-bike-frame-chinese_1817815543.html

[davidd]

Clear vinyl on matt UD carbon


Some inspiration for the when my head starts dropping


A little headtube logo


OneUp rear end


OneUp front end..

[MTB2223]

Whow, that looks really nice! Where did you order these clear vinyl letters ? Or did you create them by yourself ?

[davidd]

Whow, that looks really nice! Where did you order these clear vinyl letters ? Or did you create them by yourself ?

A local sign shop did them for me.  I found the font I wanted, and saved the lettering as a pdf and they can work from that. The first place I went to could only used a limited set of "sign-writing" fonts.  I am thinking replacing the white Rockshox logos with clear vinyl also as I've already taken off the large gray SID stickers on the inside of the legs.

The bike is pretty much finished now. I am waiting for the lockring for the front centerlock rotor and to replace the Rocket Ron on the front with a Nobby Nic.  I have left a little bit of steerer tube and cables to allow me to play around with position before I trim them all to their final length.

Without pedals it weighs bang on 21lbs or 9.5kg.  The time ATACs are about 280g and the Nobby Nic will probably be a bit heavier than the RR so all done maybe just under 10kg.

Could I have made it lighter at the same money?

The Ergon grips/barends are certainly 150g+ heavier than (cheaper) alternatives but I like them.

I could have gotten lighter wheels.  There was a pair of American Classic MTB Lights that were at least 200g lighter than the DT's.  They have great reviews of their ride characteristics but poor reviews of rim strength and hub performance; a pity.

I could have skipped the snakeskin finish on the tyres and saved a few grammes but in my experience not worth it.  There's also no point in getting a light low profile race tyre as I need as much traction in wet and muddy conditions as possible.

The bottle cage is a cheap aluminium one.  I prefer these, they're tough and I can bend them to hold a bottle more securely.  I have never really liked carbon cages even on the road.

All that said at the moment it is actually lighter than my rigid singlespeed and substantially lighter than the Ellsworth I have been racing.

[Carbon_Dude]

I like the black Rockshox fork and the green chain ring and 42T cog.  Nice job!

[davidd]

The shine won't be long coming off next weekend 

[Carbon_Dude]

davidd, what was your total cost on your new 650b Carbonal Venture?

[bdub]

Love the look davidd. Really nice how the fork matches the UD matte exactly. Don't ride at nite on the streets or you will likely get ran over.

[davidd]

davidd, what was your total cost on your new 650b Carbonal Venture?

Hi Carbon_Dude,
Ready to race €2400. If the euro hadn't dropped so badly since before Christmas it would have been a bit less. I also suspect I might move to a slightly longer stem but I'll give this one a chance first. I'm quite happy with the cost as originally I thought it would end up around 3k.

[davidd]

Love the look davidd. Really nice how the fork matches the UD matte exactly. Don't ride at nite on the streets or you will likely get ran over.

Thanks bdub, and I won't!.  I will put up some decent pictures before I get it dirty.

[Carbon_Dude]

davidd, what was your total cost on your new 650b Carbonal Venture?

Hi Carbon_Dude,
Ready to race €2400. If the euro hadn't dropped so badly since before Christmas it would have been a bit less. I also suspect I might move to a slightly longer stem but I'll give this one a chance first. I'm quite happy with the cost as originally I thought it would end up around 3k.

Thanks, so that would be around $2,733 USD.  A very respectable cost given you have a carbon frame, XT level components, a quality wheelset, and SID fork.  If you didn't build it yourself with a Chiner carbon frame, you would easily be paying 2X that cost.

[davidd]

Final Pictures, 17 of them!!

OneUp

The 2x XT Crank gives a very tidy look with a single ring


Controls XT Levers, XTR shifter, Rockshox Pushloc. Bars are wide at 660mm and stem short at 80mm, at least for me, coming from 560mm and 120mm.  Already I want to cut the bars down so badly and add a couple of cm to the stem but I'll give it a chance and see how it feels after a while.


DT Swiss 350 Hub, DT Comp double butted spokes, black brass nipples, Stans Crest Rims


XTR Rear shifter mounted via i-spec B on XT Lever


SID Pushloc mounted upside down on the wrong side! Wouldn't it be easier to provide one that works on either side?  Anyway it's just fine like this.


Neat rear brake cable routing.


Cable and steerer still need a bit of trimming.


Used lashings of Carbogrip on the seatpost and all bolts tightened with a torque wrench.


Plenty of clearance with a 2.1, would probably get away with a 2.25, and no bridge to collect muck.


Other side of the 42!


Ergon GS2 grips, not to everyones taste.  I find them very comfortable particularly for marathon length races and the barends are just long enough for climbing and a change of hand position.


Black XC and the errant cable guides!



I'll post in a while when I have had some time actually riding it and with some feedback on the OneUp setup.

Other than that a big thumbs up for Carbonal and Jason who I was dealing with.  I'd have no hesitation ordering from them again.  I will be in the market for a CX bike (Black CX) later in the year but want one with bolt thru axles.  They don't have one at the moment but maybe later on.  I believe only one of the chinese vendors (can't remember which) has one.

[brmeyer135]

Nice set up.
How tall are you?  What made you go with 27.5"?
You took the stickers off the SID, you could do that to your crest wheels.  I just pulled mine off so I have a little residue left.
If you go that route, try using a heat gun.

[davidd]

Nice set up.
How tall are you?  What made you go with 27.5"?

Thanks brmeyer135. 
I'm 5'9". 
If I tried to explain that fully you'd be sorry you asked!!
As briefly as possible.  I wanted to try something new; tapered headtube, bolt thru axles, wider bars/shorter stem, new wheel size (not pressfit bottom bracket tho  ).  But I don't like the look of 29" wheels.  To me they just look out of proportion.  I understand the "faster rolling, bigger contact patch" argument but the races I ride are on tight, twisty, muddy natural trails as opposed to rolling, flowing trail center stuff.  Tight turns and quick accelerations are the order of the day.  I like a long, low position and I have seen friends struggle to get their bars low enough.  So I decided to give 650b a go.

I have been cycling for a long time and have developed a certain, ahem, "philosophy"  .  I no longer use a HRM or power meter or even a basic computer.  I don't "train".  I ride as often, as far or as hard as I feel like as long as I'm enjoying it and if I can get a result at a race on the back of that, well, brilliant.  And the mad thing is, I do  .  I race 'cos I enjoy it and it's fun.  I'm ridiculously competitive but it doesn't bother me if I don't win.
I like bikes that I enjoy riding as opposed to the best bike for winning, and I have an old school sense of what I like a bike to look like.  So I went with 27.5 

[davidd]

Thanks, so that would be around $2,733 USD.  A very respectable cost given you have a carbon frame, XT level components, a quality wheelset, and SID fork.  If you didn't build it yourself with a Chiner carbon frame, you would easily be paying 2X that cost.

Yep!  The way I see it is If I can build up a cyclocross bike towards the end of the year at a similar cost I'll have two bike for the price of one!  Result