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Re: Velo Build R-099 Build Hi everyone,
joined this forum end of 2021 when I was looking for information on velobuild. After reading through this forum and checking with Chris I decided to order a VB-R-099. The build is completed in the meantime and waiting for spring to arrive so I can take the bike on the road. Reason I chose the VB-R-099 were integrated cable routing and available frame size option 58. I am 1.95 m tall with 96 cm in seam length, typically ride a 86 cm saddle to bottom bracket length and something like 10 to 13 cm saddle to stem drop.

Wanted to share my bike and a few experiences, with my theme being inspired by Chinertown I decided to use a Sensah Empire Pro shifting set, a Juin Tech F1 brake and 50mm deep Elite wheels. I also opted for the separated bar and stem combo since I was not sure regarding the integrated bar shape and I wanted the freedom to swap either stem or bar. This has been noted before in the forum, I ordered a 120mm stem but when I measure what I received it is more a 125mm or even a 130mm the way we measure stems here in Germany.

With all mechanical shifting and brake I struggled quite a bit with the internal cable routing. Tried to use compressionless cable housing first, but struggled big time to route the housing, especially from the bar into the stem and run cables through it. Swapped the compressionless KEB-SL housing with standard Shimano brake housing, which was easier to be routed through the bar and the stem into the frame. When installing cables into the housing it worked, but operation was not perfectly smooth. Therefore I decided to swap the velobuild spacers with a common set you can buy from Aliexpress. You will either have to cut the bottom spacer or fill it with epoxy so it becomes a plain surface that can sit flush with the ¾ ring of the top headset bearing. I also cut out the top spacer so I could run the cables from underneath the steam into the spacer. I understand this is not a perfect internal cable routing, but it eases setup and enables cable routing and smooth operation of brakes and shifting and I am satisifed with the result.

I am attaching a few pictures of the build and the cable routing. Since my camera is struggling with the different shades of red I am also posting the custom paint link on the velobuild homepage.
http://www.velobuildmall.com/products/vb-r-099-custom-paint-aero-road-carbon-bike-frame-red-fading-glossy-paint

A final comment: I found it strange, that the front axle is fixed from the drive train side rather than from the non-drive train side. Also, the 130mm axle that was shipped with the frame was a bit long and stood out quite significant on the brake side. I ordered a shorter set from Aliexpress which leaves less excess thread being visible once the front wheel is fastened with the axle.

Oh, almost forgot: tried to fit a Specialized seatpost cover because I read in this forum people have successfully done that. Can anybody confirm? My VB-R-099 seatpost is shaped thicker at the front and smaller at the tail, Specialized seatposts seem to be the other way round hence the cover would not fit a VB-R-099?
March 01, 2022, 02:22:32 AM 		6
Re: FSA/Vision ACR Stem Users UNITE! Hi Patrick,

there are users in this forum that have chosen the FSA ACR system. Seems they replaced the Velobuild top bearing with the FSA No.55R.
http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,3102.msg34543.html#msg34543
I gather, if you do that you have the FSA bearing cap and the FSA stem - so you can run FSA spacers in between.

As far as the headset play is concerned, I believe there are users that added 3/4 cut out spacer to the top of the Velobuild headset construction to remove headset play.
April 08, 2022, 12:45:07 AM 		1
Re: VeloBuild Headset Play Issue Using Separate Stem/Handlebar: Resolved. Adding to this elder thread as this is an ongoing issue for me on my VB-R-099.
I requested the updated C-clip from Chris at Velobuild. Per his statement the R-099 was not affected while I certainly had an issue with headset play.
Re-did the cabling, while doing so changed back to compressionless housing and put in the new C-clip.
Still could not get rid of the headset play, while trying to adjust it I realized another issue with the external stem and handlebar combo.
When you tighten the cap bolt, the cap actually starts deforming and moving side ways - so most of the bolt tension is wasted in the top cap and not in compressing the actual headset.
Cut and glued together some washers, which allowed compressing the system and removing the play from the headset.
Currently freezing and snowing over here, so missing test rides if this finally solved the issue.

My bottom line: the headset design has quite a few tolerances, removing all of them requires careful assembly and potentially changing C-clip or adding washers / shims.
imo the steam design and top cap are not sufficient to remove the headset play, I believe many people resolved it with actually swapping the stem to FSA or deda systems.
January 24, 2023, 05:31:27 AM 		1
Re: Cyclami TPU tubes - more TPU tube options!
Quote from: Sebastian on March 10, 2023, 09:21:21 AM
I have bought a set of the Cyclami TPU tubes and both seem to leak slowly. I'll investigate further to see if there's a puncture somewhere or if it's a manufacturing issue - at the valves for instance.

Anyway, I've also ordered a set of Ridenow inner tubes for my other bike and had no such issues. I set up the wheels and they hold air seemingly forever.

I dunno if it's a matter of luck with these cheap TPU tubes from China. But so far, I can't say I'm impressed with the Cyclami ones.
Interesting, I am having the same with RideNow tubes: slowly leaking. Did not investigate, yet. Also have a pair of Cyclami but no chance to test, winter season here in Central Europe...
Should we consider a poll how many users experience slow leakage on TPU types (and manufacturer)?
March 10, 2023, 09:33:48 AM 		1
Re: your thought on the velobuild handle bar with separate stem Separated bar and stem provide more options / flexibility. Fully internal cable routing limits that flexibility, but the spacers and stem are only designed for full internal routing.
IMO the bar shape is nice, the stem design is okay but the top cap is not good - it can be part of the issue when users experience headset play that they can not get rid of.
I tried setting up my VB-R-099 full mechanical and fully internally routed, getting 4 cables (incl. compressionless housing) routed is almost impossible without sacrificing braking or shifting performance.
Therefore I have opted for a semi-internal routing (external below bar and stem). I will be using a FSA / Vision SMR stem and the same semi-internal routing for my GF-002 that I am currently building (di2 & hydraulic brakes).
The steerer tube is 1 1/8 and the headset bearing 1 1/2, there are options of fitting other stems and spacers and they are described in this forum in many threads.
April 20, 2023, 09:49:25 AM 		1
Re: disc brake recommendations Cable actuated disc brakes: Juin Tech works great, but their pricing increased significantly over the last years.
Why not try a Onirii BR-05? Not as perfect as Juin Tech but it works fine for me - again: if it has to be cable actuated.
Make sure you use compressionless housing in any case.
June 15, 2023, 03:07:35 AM 		1
Re: Perfect Shift/Brake Lever Alignment and Symmetry Abbey Bike Tools Lever Setter and an AliExpress rear derailleur hanger alignment tool if you don't want to spend the money for the BiciSupport BS184
June 27, 2023, 03:26:39 AM 		1
Re: Velobuild GF-002 Wanted to share my Velobuild GF-002 build and experiences with the community.

Ordered the frameset in winter, during cross season as you can tell, asked for a custom paintjob on the fork.
As noted in quite a few comments, the paint job is okay but not spectacular. In fact I pointed out many times to Chris, that I want the fork to appear red from the front – with the result being a clearly visible yellow-red when looking at the bike from the front. Considering the 50US$ for the paintjob, this is okay – but it just is not a perfect result that I originally was looking for.

Frameset was missing some hardware, after discussing with Chris they sent the hardware but without instruction – so I am not clear what the hardware is for. Since my final setup is 1 x electrical I did not have to bother, but this is inline with the entire Velobuild experience (I already own a VB-R-099).

Frameset was shipped with the v2 compression C ring and like I commented here https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,3499.msg44919.html#msg44919, this left me with a huge gap between top cap and steerer tube. No comment from Chris or Velobuild and since I already lost confidence in the Velobuild stem (opted for the separate stem and bar due to flexibility for bar flare) I went for my own construction as described here https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,3499.msg45210.html#msg45210: Bought a FSA SMR stem and an AliExpress spacer set and with some tools and jigs created an adapter from C ring v2 to the FSA spacer set. Cut the fork to length, assembly and integrated Di2, hydraulic cable routing worked without an issue. No headset play since then.

Not many rides, yet, but I am very positive, so far: The 130mm stem gives me a sporty geometry, but not too aggressive. Drop from saddle to bar is good enough for endurance rides without being too relaxed. Agile steering behavior without being nervous, very stiff bottom bracket area but the long seatpost (1.95m height, 96cm inseam, 90kg) and the 45mm tires just create enough compliance.

Overall a frame I can recommend since I believe it can be tuned quite a lot with different stem options. My Velobuild verdict also remains the same: nice frames at a very good price point, just do not expect perfection in support and be prepared and skilled enough for assembly and fixing issues. Having users figuring out the compression C ring version, multiple tolerances on various frames and the separate stem design is annoying – even if there’s progress I can not consider this a fix that works for the mass market out there.

  • Velobuild GF-002 size XL
  • DT Swiss G 1800 spline 650b DB 25 wheels, Ratchet LN freehub
  • Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H 45-584, Butyl tubes
  • FSA SMR stem 130mm
  • Zipp Service Course SL-70 XPLR bar 420mm
  • Velobuild seatpost
  • Selle Italia SLR team edition flow Ti-rail
  • Shimano ST-R785 Di2, hydraulic brifters
  • Shimano GRX RD-RX815 rear derailleur
  • SRAM Rival PG-1130 11-36, 11-speed cassette
  • Easton EC90SL crank 175mm, Garbaruk 42T chainring
  • ZTTO BB386 PF30 ceramic bearing bottom bracket
  • Shimano PD-ES600 SPD pedal
  • KMC X11SL chain
  • ZRACE XG flat mount disc brake
  • Shimano SM-RT64 brake disc 160mm
July 18, 2023, 09:44:54 AM 		5
Re: Anyone try paring ZRace XG or LTwoo hydraulic calipers with Shimano shifters? I have paired ZRace XG with Shimano ST-R785, works (except for the brake pads that come with the ZRace XG, they are okay but not perfect)
http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,3499.msg47700.html#msg47700
September 18, 2023, 12:24:55 AM 		1
Re: Perfect Shift/Brake Lever Alignment and Symmetry
Quote from: Sebastian on September 22, 2023, 02:18:37 AM
Could you point me towards a thread adapter? I can't find anything with these exact specs.
I bought a random rear derailleur hanger from Aliexpress only for the thread and glued it on top of thumbnut (either M5 or M10, depending on your liking)
September 22, 2023, 04:50:11 AM 		1