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Re: Velobuild GF-002 Just finished up building my new GF-002 frame. Almost all parts except for the bars/stem were transferred over from my GF-001.


Aside from a few stumbling blocks that were on me, the build was smooth. Frame and separate bar/stem combo from VB have been great and I'm happy with everything so far.


Learnings:


1. No cabling exposed with separate VB bar/stem: This bar/stem combo has fully integrated cabling with no exposed cabling at all (unless you don't want internal cabling and route on the outside of the bars). Unlike the integrated bars where the cables/wires poke out under the stem before going down the fork. This is only an issue if you're running an external Di2 junction box like I am as you normally place it under the stem where you have access to the wires being exposed, can connect the junction box and then the wires go down the fork. This is how I have my VB-R-168 set up.


Considered getting an internal junction box to mount to the opening in the top of the downtube, however I wasn't able to source one easily (aka I was too cheap and didn't find a deal I liked, plus needed another junction and extra wire). Someone suggested I just drill a hole in the stem and that's what I did! Solution worked perfectly and I don't have any concerns with the integrity of the stem provided how small the hole is and how thick the carbon in that area is. Photo below.


2. Smallest chainring for the GF-002 is 46T: I tried mounting my regular compact Shimano 2x crankset 50/34 and the small chainring was pressed hard against the chainstay with no room to move. Not sure if my choice of BB made a difference but I have a Wheels Manufacturing BB386EVO. I ended up getting some 24mm spacers for the crankset shaft to push out the crank and 3mm worth of spacers did the trick. Found out after from VB about the 46T chainring minimum.


A few things I appreciate having that my GF-001 didn't are:


- Fender eyelets in the fork
- Additional bottle/bag mounts on the side of the fork and under the downtube
- Round seatpost


Really happy with how the paint job turned out. I wasn't sure about their ability to blend the two colors but they did a good job with the transition. Decals were made locally and splatter is just some left over plasti-dip splattered by moi.


The newly revised slightly taller C ring for the headset seems to be making a difference to prevent the play issue some were experiencing with the separate bar/stem option. Overall happy with how it turned out.
June 15, 2022, 12:22:58 PM 		1
Re: Carbonda Gravel Carbon frame CFR707 I finally got my CFR707 to a rideable state!


I've only put a few miles on it because I'm still getting the brakes and shifting fine tuned, but I like what I've seen so far.


I'll post a full build list later, but here are the highlights:
  • Carbonda CFR707, XL, with Carbonda axles and hardware, external routing
  • Montana cans paint, SprayMax primer and clear coat
  • Carbonda seatpost
  • Whiskey N. 7 bars, 24 deg flare, 46 cm width
  • Redshift Shockstop Stem, 80 mm
  • Shimano GRX STX-600 brifters
  • Shimano GRX FC-RX600 crank, 46/30 tooth
  • Shimano GRX RX810 front and rear derailleurs
  • Viaron 11-46 tooth cassette (very light, but noisy, so I'll probably replace this)
  • Maxxis Rambler 700x50 tires (currently tubed, but will set up tubeless soon)
  • WTB ST i23 rims on no-name hubs
Total weight in this configuration is 10.5 kg / 23.1 lb. I have some Light Bicycle rims and Bitec hubs waiting to be built up, and that should drop it to about 8.6 kg / 19 lb, depending in what tires I get.


No complaints with the frame quality or how it built up. I'm sure the external routing simplified the build and will make adjustments a lot easier.
July 18, 2022, 03:13:40 PM 		1
Re: L-TWOO RX 2x12 road groupset L-TWOO posted a video of a hybrid electronic system on their youtube channel.

youtube.com/watch?v=mezfHQ9_0pQ
August 04, 2022, 07:00:24 AM 		1
Re: Carbonda Gravel Carbon frame CFR707 Long time lurker, second time poster. I just received paint proofs from Katie at Carbonda. Ordered with an FM 1003 frame to save on shipping. Looking forward to putting it all together in the coming weeks. Will be running GRX 800 (x2) with 11-34 cassette, DT Swiss 350 hubs and DT Swiss TK 540s (wish I would have bought Spank Wing 22s but already had the TK 540s for another build that never came to fruition). I went with the full internal cable routing. Also, I borrowed the paint scheme (but not the colors) from one of you on the forum so thanks and my apologies. Remember: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I was going for the 1968 Ford GT 40 color scheme. Close enough for me.
September 16, 2022, 05:30:09 PM 		1
Re: New Lexon spirit
Quote from: nardonardo on October 20, 2022, 09:04:00 AM

Id like to give this frame a try. Who's with me.

I think you'd have to be crazy given the great Chinese options on the market, with proven designs, performance and build quality, for much lower prices, and without the Lexon cloud hanging over them.

As I said before, there will be other Scott Spark '23 clones / inspired-by frames, from better sellers with a more transparent OEM (Lexon just claim they make and design everything - they certainly don't).
October 20, 2022, 11:45:08 AM 		1
Re: Carbonda FM909 Finished.

Looks good I think.  Frameset appears to be very good quality.  Just a shame that the experience has been somewhat marred by the paint (clear) over bearings fiasco.  I'll update when I receive a response to my request for a new middle linkage to replace the borked one. 

First order of business, more shock and fork pressure.  Need to cut bars further and find the fattest grips available.  Also need a longer travel (and thus longer) dropper as I can't put seat high enough.  SRAManoruk and Shigura working well.  Also need to reduce saddle downward tilt as I can't get away with that on wide flat bars (vs narrow drops).  May ultimately have to change cockpit solution to something with rise and more backsweep.

Excited to ride it in the mountains and on the trails.  But god damn does lwb and wide bars feel like shit in the city.

Pics attached.
November 11, 2022, 10:35:59 AM 		1
Re: Carbonda FM909 Complete. First ride and video coming soon (eventually).

I’m very impressed so far.


November 12, 2022, 10:34:51 AM 		1
Re: New Lexon spirit I'd really strongly advise not going for that frame.  You're theorycrafting their marketing spiel about what looks like a not particularly good copy of a fairly novel Scott design.  The performance of the Scott isn't extraordinary - the USP is the 'clean' look and hidden shock.  For the Spirit, I think you can safely assume it won't perform as well as the Scott, and may have some nasty surprises.  Plus it costs the moon as far as Chinese MTB frames are concerned.  As the saying goes, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is ....
November 17, 2022, 12:56:14 PM 		1
Re: XC frame comparable to Specialized Epic Evo (110mm travel)?
Quote from: acedeuce802 on November 18, 2022, 07:58:16 AM
... (see FM936 being made by Flybike and sold by Carbonda and ICAN, then also retailed by Vitus, NS, Boltcutter, etc) ...

I think the mold is made by Flybike, and some of the carbon frames, but not all. NS bikes designed the bike frame and saved money on the frame mold, by forgoing exclusivity (On the front triangle mold). So Flybike gave NS bikes a deal on the mold, and then sells the mold to other companies like ICAN. Carbonda, ICAN, Vitus and Boltcutter could, in theory, all use different carbon layups for the same Flybike frame mold. That's why we see different quality and weights on the same frames from ICAN and Carbonda.

Carbonda is a good company to buy from because they are the B2C subsidiary of the B2B Flybike-asia. Also, open-design would be more correct, since open mold means something else.
November 18, 2022, 11:47:39 AM 		1
Re: New Lexon spirit I highly doubt the FM936 in either standard or SL layup is heavier than the Spirit.
November 25, 2022, 07:08:51 AM 		1