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Messages - cst_jpr

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61
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Mechanical pull disc brakes list - 140/160mm - road bikes
« on: September 10, 2020, 12:36:26 AM »
From my experience with the 160mm JuinTechs, in the dry, braking force is similar to decent rim brakes (sram rival). Its not as grabby, more linear feel, so less tire skid. Of course pad type and rim material will matter a lot here.
Proper hydro brakes will brake a little bit harder, but the main advantage is you don't need so much grip strength. These mechanical still require similar pull force to rim brake. So, if I can find some hydro left hand brake level + caliper, I will buy those, but for road they are not cheap.. $200 ish.

It hasn't rained yet so haven't had chance to try them in the wet, which is the main reason I bought them.

The Zrace are 140mm, might be slightly worse performance over 160, but lower weight.


62
Cyclocross Frames, Wheels & Components / Re: FLYXII Gravel Build FR609
« on: September 08, 2020, 06:18:03 PM »
Good deal.

If it hasn't been loaded on a flight the seller probably tried to screw you and it will never show up, intentionally or not, don't know.
The frame I ordered Aug 5, shipped Aug 11, arrived in Canada Sep 3rd, now will sit in customs for 1-4 weeks then deliver.

Chainreaction stuff should come fairly quickly but they will ask for duties to be paid before delivery (14% + tax I believe) if you went with the cheap shipping method, if you went with the duty paid option you will pay about the same (for this bike) but it should arrive slightly faster via courier.

63
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Stone or Pass Quest Chainrings - AliExpress
« on: September 08, 2020, 04:36:50 PM »
Interesting, the wear on the sides of the teeth seems significant. The wear on the front of the tooth can definitely be seen but does not seem extreme (~1mm?).
I wonder if this is related to chainline, my chain tends to stay fairly straight, but if I had it in the top or lowest gear a lot maybe it would wear more like that? Or if its just an issue with narrow-wide in general.

One advantage of the 0mm offset is you could flip the chainring around, and that might extend the life (in some cases the chainring bolts are countersunk slightly so watch out).

64
Cyclocross Frames, Wheels & Components / Re: FLYXII Gravel Build FR609
« on: September 08, 2020, 04:05:55 PM »
Those are $1,300 wheels: https://shop.fullspeedahead.com/wheelsets/mtb/k-force-off-road-wider25-wheelset  Not really comparable to $600 china wheels. If you found them cheaper thats great though.
Did the frame arrive yet?

65
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Shimano GRX 1x chainring size limitations.
« on: September 08, 2020, 11:50:35 AM »
https://www.reddit.com/r/gravelcycling/comments/dzumv8/can_you_run_a_grx_1x_with_1146_cassette/
https://www.bikeforums.net/cyclocross-gravelbiking-recreational/1191447-shimano-grx-rd-810-11-46t-cassette-possible.html (RD?)

66
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Stone or Pass Quest Chainrings - AliExpress
« on: September 08, 2020, 11:44:57 AM »
Faint creaking doesn't seem like a chainring issue, unless its the bolts itself. Never had that problem. Can you post a photo of the actual teeth? You can tell from the profile if its worn.

I just bought a Pass Quest oval 42T but it won't get here for a while. Have two Deckas narrow-wides 48T and 52T, one has 2,500km and not really significantly worn (first photo below), should easily get to 5-10k km.
If we are talking about high end rings, also used Praxis with well over 7,000km on it. You can see the teeth profile its curved on one side, so starting to wear out. Those are normal thin teeth as well, narrow-wide should actually last longer with the extra metal in that area.

Quote from: ryapad on September 08, 2020, 01:26:49 AM
Sorry I can't offer specific experience but I've been very happy with my Chinese chainrings in the sub $10 range. The paint on the teeth wears off after about 4 miles but other than that they seem to just plug along. I had one at about 800 miles before I lost a couple bolts and seriously warped it, but I can't imagine any ring would survive that.

Yep, the anodizing maybe isn't as good, or is more obvious that its worn, but other than that they are good. $10 is super cheap.

67
Vendor Discussion & Reviews / Re: Professional Inspection
« on: August 29, 2020, 10:18:42 PM »
A proper inspection is going to cost as much as the frame itself and may use ultrasound. If you are a real newbie, then the LBS might do a basic inspection, but those will just cover things you will inevitably find out when you build it up.

Chances of the manufacturer taking it back if its not clearly broken yet is low. Luescher said Look will replace their frames under warranty, but thats only after it has failed and he has found a manufacturing defect in the frame. Many other vendors aren't even that good.

Quick google finds stuff like this: https://carbonbikerepair.co.uk/wp/?p=2927
Which is useless for a new frame, as they are looking for cracks and failures that wouldn't have appeared yet.

I've bought a boroscope camera to look inside the frame, which will give you some info, but tells you nothing about internal voids or general poor design (eg too thin in some area).

68
Road Bike Frames, Wheels & Components / Re: Full Alibaba Bike - recommendations?
« on: August 14, 2020, 02:50:47 PM »
Quote from: j_spline on August 13, 2020, 08:39:00 PM
I did this and they said minimum order is 20 pieces lol. No wonder the price was that good

They state "sample 1 piece" on the page, and people have ordered one in the reviews. But maybe at this time they are busy and don't want to deal with single orders? not sure.

69
Road Bike Frames, Wheels & Components / Re: Full Alibaba Bike - recommendations?
« on: August 13, 2020, 04:43:31 PM »
Quote from: j_spline on August 13, 2020, 08:16:58 AM
Yes I agree, but at the pricepoint of $500 USD I can't really complain and would upgrade over time as the off-brand components inevitably wear out.

My concern about off-brand components is not wearing out but failing prematurely.

Quote
Can you elaborate on what wouldn't work with this bike as far as upgrades go? So that I can know what to look for in the future. I tried to spec out a complete build on a Seraph (Tantan) 2021 TT-X3 frame, which looks nearly identical to this Twitter frame - however, the frameset alone would be $355. So you could probably see why I would lean toward getting a full bike for now to start with, and then upgrade parts of it later as needed.

I don't think anything specifically would not work, its likely using standard components. The only exception being the aero seatpost, which you would not normally replace.
I just don't want to buy something, immediately strip half the parts off, and then replace them.

Ask them for a shipping quote and see if its reasonable for you.

70
Road Bike Frames, Wheels & Components / Re: Full Alibaba Bike - recommendations?
« on: August 12, 2020, 09:11:30 PM »
Quote from: j_spline on August 12, 2020, 04:21:32 PM
I recently joined the forum and interested in getting a complete bike too (would be my first road bike) but I am skeptical about the price of the bikes you linked. I mean, for starters how would you know if the groupset is an authentic Shimano 105? Seems a little too good to be true. In general, where do the suppliers usually skimp on the quality to meet the price point?

From what I've read on this forum so far, it seems like people only go for individual frames / groupsets / rims when going down the aliexpress route. Why aren't the complete bikes more popular?

These are the claimed 105 components:
Derailleur Handle   SHIMANO 105/R7000-22S
Front Derailleur   SHIMANO 105/R7000
Rear Derailleur   SHIMANO 105/R7000

The rest are not 105 and likely inferior (crankset, chain, etc.). You can click on the seller reviews and see some comments from purchasers, although they are not terribly detailed.
Personally I do not buy a complete bike, because I want to fit specific components to it, most of which would not match what this vendor is using.

I have not seen fake Shimano 105 shifters, but maybe someone else can comment if they have.

71
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Mechanical pull disc brakes list - 140/160mm - road bikes
« on: August 12, 2020, 08:48:57 PM »
Be careful which seller you order from, I ordered "R1's" but did not look closely at the sellers photos and the parts included were for the M1 (mountain bikes). So of course the adapters do not fit.
Weird mix up, and a lot of sellers are showing the same wrong photo.

Correct photo is attached (going to order from Judy's cycling store, see if they send it right..).

72
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Mechanical pull disc brakes list - 140/160mm - road bikes
« on: August 10, 2020, 04:31:02 PM »
Quote from: carbonazza on August 07, 2020, 04:39:24 PM
Will you go with the ZTTO ones?
Thank you for the research.

I found Juin Tech R1's from other sellers a bit cheaper ($130/pair, updated post), so I will get those and a ZTTO 140mm for the rear wheel. From what I see front and back are the same design so can be swapped around.

These appear to be R1 pads: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32969920667.html
I believe ZTTO use the same, but will find out eventually..

Youtube comment on the Juin Tech R1 vs M1:
Quote
kouotsu:
The supposed difference between the R1 and M1 brakes would be that the R1 is made for road brake levers, and the M1 for flat bar V brake levers. All brakes can only use one type of lever or the other. As Juin is kind of a grey market brand though, it's totally possible that there's no actual difference between the brakes. I did my best overlaying photos of both in Photoshop and it does look like there are slight differences between the two. With the thumb screw in roughly the same position on the M1, the clamp screw is noticeably farther away from the cable slot. That would make sense as V brake levers are long-pull type. Whether it is enough difference to affect performance, I have no clue.

73
Component Deals & Selection / Mechanical pull disc brakes list - 140/160mm - road bikes
« on: August 07, 2020, 03:16:04 PM »
Cable operated hydraulic:

Juin tech - R1 (post mount)
- two calipers, 160mm disc = $130
- two piston
- made in Taiwan
- forged/CNC AL
- 160mm only (?)
- 154g/ea

Juin tech - F1 (flat mount)
Juin tech - M1 (side mtn mount)


PRO A8000
- two calipers, 140mm disc, pads = $55
- two piston ("double sided synchronous drive")
- CNC machine AL, one Ti screw
- heatsink style brake pads
- floating disk rotors
- 140mm only (rear 70mm front 35mm spacing) some reviewers complain because they thought it would work on 160mm..
- 140g/ea

ZTTO (same as the PRO A8000, just different pads)
- two calipers, 140mm disc, pads = $51
- 270g/both
ZRACE BR-002 (same as above again)


XOOM XTECH HB100
- two calipers, 120/140/160mm disc = $50
- two piston
- no brake pad included (?)
- 190g/ea
Reviews here:
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/any-experiences-with-the-zoom-xtech-hb-100-brakes-too-cheap/ (positive)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIEzwkr80fA (negative)
https://forums.mtbr.com/components/hydro-caliper-cable-actuated-advise-1090865.html (negative, leaks oil after a month or so)


Giant Conduct system
- requires special stem
- hard to find, not sure if its still sold


Cable only:
Avid BB7
- two calipers, 160mm disc, pads = $55
- single piston (?)
- easy adjustment mechanism
- 210g/ea

TEKTRO MD-C550
- two calipers, pads ~$100
- two piston
- 140/160mm capable
- 170g/ea

TRP SPYRE FM
- $170

Two piston seems common, anything one piston or pure mechanical seems not worth it. Four piston is available (Juin GT-F) but incredibly expensive.

So far I'm happy with ZTTO gear:
- SPD pedals last a year already (they use bushings not ball bearings, so not so surprising)
- BBs work well
- Cassettes have some flaws apparently

But reliability here is more important, if piston leaks, brakes can fail to operate.

74
Road Bike Frames, Wheels & Components / Re: Flyxii FR-603 road bike build
« on: August 05, 2020, 01:33:16 AM »
Seller sent me photo of it attached, so I assume it should normally be included.

Search for bottom bracket guide on Ali and you will find a lot, although I didn't see any yet that look identical to this one.

75
Road Bike Frames, Wheels & Components / Re: Costelo bikes?
« on: August 05, 2020, 12:07:30 AM »
I bought a costelo frame: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32848992807.html
Super light and flexible, seems decent value and finish. That said I would never buy a fully built bike from them, doesn't really make sense to me. If you are buying a complete bike, get it from a major brand. Or provide more info on what you ride/how much/etc.

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