Any composites nerds on here?
If i were to 3d print aero bars, with a center channel to put a carbon or steel rod for easy rigidity, and then skinned the plastic bars with carbon, how many layers (let's say by default i'd use the 200g/m2 version that seems ubiquitous) would i need to add to have something really strong? I've 3d printed stuff for the bike before, and it was fine, until it just disintegrated in a split second w/o warning, and i'd rather not crash.
Also, if i want to go disco disco and use different weaves (some look really sexy), how would that affect the strength / # layers i'd need?

The price of commerical aero extensions is just insulting to common sense, and i know 1st hand how much more comfortable it is to rest on forearms rather than just elbows, so i'm thinking of ordering a bunch of materials to play around this winter. I have a 3d printer so the prototyping, shaping and what not will just cost me a few rolls of plastic. Foam's foam.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DAYz6ADodA9/

I applaud the innovation.
You can find road rims that are 36mm wide, so you can conceivably run a 35C without looking like a light bulb.
I wonder if that can ever be quicker than 28/30/32 on the road. If it's slower, how much slower? The 40C especially sounds wild, but the 35C could make sense for the road frames clearing 38C, like the new long teng 301, or the new ribble models that were featured on YT recently.
Ironically, it's an Italian brand making tyres maybe best suited to US gravel, with the network of white / unpaved roads, that Europe doesn't really have?
I also wonder about handling in turns.

So many questions

Let's open with the conclusion: don't buy fakes.
And let's acknowledge that i don't endorse buying fakes, mostly because it's illegal in the jurisdictions i live in, and i think it borderlines on cringe.

On the back of the Ostro fake thread (Replica Factor Ostro VAM) and the white Factor that looked pristine on the inside, i did a bit of Aliexpress homework.

- Speaking with the seller (First-Class Carbon Fiber Store) that made that white frame raised red flags. His arguments were empty, baseless statements and promises. Basically saying that he's wonderful, but won't prove it, and everybody else is shit. Rule #1 of the internet: dont trust strangers on the internet. Black list for me.

- From the pictures posted by Estingo, his frame is using bladders, and the inside looks pretty awful. Store: Taiwan factory bike parts Store. I didn't engage with that shop. Black list for me.

- I came across the shop called Tourus inflatable paddle board store, claiming to have stock of fake SL8 in France. I chatted the seller, who said the stock was in germany. 2 days later, the shop disappeared, he said it's because someone flagged IP infringement: he was using pictures of SL8 frames with the sworks logo on them. He pointed me to another store of his, "shop1102901440 store", claiming to have stock in Spain, but he says it's the same German stock (this tells me sellers can re-spawn to infinity on AliX in a matter of clicks). The reviews look fraudulent, in the sense that every single review looks perfect. Everybody posted at least 1 picture, and everybody saying the stuff is amazing. The 1st shop reappeared later after he'd removed the logos from the frames (exact same photos, just without logos, everything else is 100% the same, implying an explicit & direct complicity of Aliexpress themselves. All the reviews clearly show frames with Sworks logos, so AliX is really insulting the spirit of the law here). Nobody posted pictures from the inside of the frame: after asking multiple times for such photos, it's clear the frame is bladder compressed, and poorly (major resin pooling residues). He is adamant that it is EPS moulded. I then asked if he's a factory or a broker. he said factory (common lie). I asked a photo of the foam they use in the frame, he said it's rude to ask, at which point he told me to eat a dick, metaphorically. He also refused multiple times to send a picture of a frame on a scale, and refused to give the weight of a frame standalone (only quoting a frameset weight). He claims it's 100% T1000, and the prices are about 1k eur.
So, 1. lots of lies 2. old method, and there's no way sworks SL8 frames are bladder moulded which tells me the advertised weights are also fake 3. fraudulent as hell (the reviews). I have been paid before by chinese amazon sellers to lie about a product to give 5 star reviews. They have a streamlined process it's pretty amazing. i notified amazon, they deleted my review and refused any accountability, the seller continues his scam to this day on Amazon, something that's been documented a lot already in various outlets. There's literally an industry of fake reviews, i suspect it's reached aliexpress, given the amounts involved, it makes sense. The seller refused to give info about the factory because he said he'd be sent to prison (his words) if he is found, so he knows full well what he's doing. Black list for me.

So, it's been discussed here before that one shouldn't give their money to a seller that's selling fakes, because it's based on deceit, lies, fraud, and beyond the legality, why would you trust your life on a frame rather literally made of lies.

So, even on the high end side of fakes, it's more of the same shit: don't buy fakes.

Edit Sep 27 2024.
- taiwan eisen bike store - black list (don't use EPS and compression so bad it leaves shards of carbon in the BB area (see factor thread, oralmaster post (...))

- Adding "nicole bicycle store" to the black list. It's selling SL8, S5 fakes, among others. I asked about the SL8, but also any frame that takes 32C. The response: none of their frames take 32C. Yet they market a 2024 SL8, an S5, frames that 100% take 32C. Begging the question: wtf? That one is full on worrying, i dont have an explanation, other than maybe they just ship random frames that dont even look like what you thought you ordered? I'm not going to find out.

Edit Oct 7 2024.
As per Avalius on the forum, Yohobike is added to the blacklist. Frame self destructed as BB area cracked when sprinting out of a corner (1st time i hear of spontaneous self destruction of a carbon frame in a VERY LONG time). And Yoho is ghosting him to avoid dealing with warranty.

Edit 08 Oct 24.

Black list again: allstarobm website / OEM Taiwan Store on aliexpress (same people). Final nail in the coffin for me "i dont have time to take photos for you right now... You can purchase from other places". This is after me insisting, after i got the usual "we will give you the perfect frame".
Shady AF. it started well then it went downhill fast. they have canned answers for the most basic questions, then the moment you go off script, they shut down like a clam when they realize they can't fool you. In a way it's not too dissimilar to any other scammer.

I'm done with this exercise. I really gave it a shot, but all these people are clowns, basically. Now if you want to risk your life on a clown bike, go ahead. Might be fine, but also, might not. I've dealt with bike related chinese suppliers for close to 10 years now, and honest counterparts i work with never, ever react like that.

Sad.

Edit 09 Oct 24. Good candidates for light frames:
https://www.icanbikes.com/Products-list/t1000-carbon-road-disc-brake-frame-fl1-795g/#
Ican, 800g in size 54.
https://www.flybike-asia.com/product/139.html
Fly bike (mothership behind carbonda, and OEMs for a lot of brands, ICAN included, de rosa...). They dont advertise weights here but i suspect the specs to be similar to the ican one.
And if you buy these, you get something that's 1. not illegal and 2. will not break from under you in a sprint.
this isn't meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather i just came across these so posting here for reference.

Edit 14 Oct 24.
Another good candidate for light frame: Speeder SC-R55D - 51cm Weight: 780g (frame) + 77g (Aluminum Parts) + 50g (Painting). As per their website. They used to offer different layups, now they only offer this light layup version. Great reputation as an OEM. It looks like a Rose Xlite, which i think looks amazing. I like that look better than the SL8, so my interest in fakes is officially over. if i were to pull the trigger on a frame today, i think i'd buy that 55D.

Being allergic to subscriptions, and finding Zwift to be awfully bad given:
- how long they've been around (I recommend the interview of the CEO by DC Rainmaker, the CEO is an epic clown, it's pretty amazing),
- how little they've innovated since inception (the graphics and 90% of the UI is THE SAME since day 1 (again, see the interview)),
- and how much money they've burnt,
i've tried a few alternatives.

I think Mywhoosh has now reached a point when what it's missing most is users. I wish they'd pay me to say that, i'd happily shill for a totalitarian regime, but they dont.

The graphics are much better than Zwift. I havent used it much, probably just under 10x, and it's buggy in various ways (for example sometimes you can overlap with another user, instead of moving to the side), the UI is pretty confusing because they have coins, and then 2 other types of coins that aren't coins, and you have to click to unlock things and what not, but it's honestly working quite well now. They added a ton of routes, worlds, and challenges, so it's gamified quite well. The aerodynamics modeling is rather dubious, which irritates me, but then again, the whole thing's free.

Interestingly, the training section seems much better than Zwift's. I havent tried one yet, but i browsed a bit, and it looks legit. I will probably follow a plan to try it out.

While i'm considering a trainer road subscription because i do think that personalized coaching is valuable, what you get from Zwift for the money they charge is, i think, a bottomless pit.

You will own nothing and be happy
The beatings will continue until morale improves.

Hello. Running L-twoo er9, looking to get 180mm rotor at the front, looking for the right adaptor.
I've been using a 180mm disc at the rear since day 1, works very well, adaptor was cheap on bikeinn: caliper, the 140mm adaptor provided by l-twoo, then the 140 to 180mm adaptor.
Anybody knows what to use at the front? is there an adaptor that would take the front caliper and make it fit a flat mount fork, w 180mm discs? I don't want to buy Peak Torque's adaptor because it's too expensive.
I'm hoping for a cheap solution.
I've just realized that the caliper is not flat mount, does anyone know what the native format is, before putting on adaptors? isn't there something to take that caliper, and turn it into flat mount, to run a 180mm disc?

Hello.
What are the options for integrated cockpits that have enough play in them to be removed and attached sideways to the frame for transport in traditional bike bags & boxes?
The idea is to have full hose integration, but a setup that allows to travel without having to disconnect the brakes and having to re-bleed and all that jazz.
Thanks!

Men of culture,

My next road bike is probably going to look like that (I want something for the mountains), with c.50mm wheels.
Pictured, Cannondale supersix, Rose Xlite & Rose Reveal (endurance), latest Giant propel (so skinny now...), Cervelo soloist (nothing burger), Scott addict (nothing burger).
Ironically (?), i think my favourite here is between the supersix & the Rose Xlite.

Question: what are the Chinese options for similar frames? I want something that takes 32C.

Thanks!

PS: really feels like we've reached peak bike, one really needs a trained eye to tell bikes apart...

Hello pretty people, what options do I have for 36cm bars? Ideally an integrated cockpit, but beggars can't be choosers.
Thanks!