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Re: Velo Build R-099 Build
I'm shocked they still had alu steerers that late. To my knowledge none of the carbon OD1 frames have alu steerers now. The problem with the OD2 solution is that if Giant's solution doesn't suit you, you don't have an alternative. I think 60mm of spacers on the 099 is a lot safer with a quality 100mm expander and decent headset than 30mm with the stock plug and headset ... play, poor compression and short expanders aren't a great combo. May 13, 2022, 04:56:37 PM |
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Re: Yishun R068D
I wouldn't say it's not racy geo. Depends on your measurements. Venge is relatively neutral. If you've got a long upper body it's definitely not ideal though. Yishun are LightCarbon AFAIK. So unless these are business only models, you should be able to order them. But it's possible they may be B2B only. May 24, 2022, 05:51:59 AM |
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Re: Looking for an aero frame with a round seatpost
I'd be surprised if they don't make a comeback. The industry is gearing up to push droppers for road. Tbh I'd welcome it .... descents are frighteningly steep here.
June 02, 2022, 07:52:15 PM |
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Re: New Wheelset - Magene Exar DB58Pro Disc
Update #1 Well their P325 CS power meter crankset was a bit of a shit show, so it wouldn't be unprecedented. June 08, 2022, 02:35:23 PM |
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Re: Any chinese frames using high modulus carbon like the real Specialized frames?
I'm sure that's a great value, all things considered. But I think I'd rather a SEKA now that they make a 130mm stem-length integrated cockpit. But if you want low stack, you won't get that with the Exceed. June 15, 2022, 04:05:03 PM |
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Re: Velobuild VB-R-177
I agree with you but, since I had participated exclusively in this thread, I thought it would be good to keep all together. You're using GP5000 TL ... are you running them with tube or tubeless? If tubeless, 90PSI is a really bad idea and can contribute to this kind of failure. June 16, 2022, 04:43:31 PM |
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Re: Velo Build R-099 Build
Finally received it. Good points: New zero offset post is very nicely finished (save for usual bits of mold baggie they were too lazy to fully remove and sprayed black) and much better looking than offset. Came with all the cable port bungs etc. Haven't measured it yet so could be wrong size, but to the naked eye the BB looks very round, has very uniform shell thickness, and concentricity looks good. Given how many $5-6k framesets I've seen with very obviously borked BB shells (even to the naked eye) this is good. Inside of tubes mostly fairly clean and no obvious voids. Couple of minor wrinkles in BB area. Head tube and seat tube (per BB) have consistent thickness in the cut area (again unlike some really crappy big name brands). To the eye, flat mounts on fork and rear triangle look fine. Paint job isn't great, but it's essentially free if you get something 'standard', and as good as can be reasonably expected. Only one small scuff - which by their painter's recent record is a good outcome. Edit - added - Integrated stem has no pinch points on the steerer as it's a carbon sleeve rather than heavily machined alu. OK points: Steerer is alright. Not what I'd call the cleanest but no obvuous alarm bells. Di2 port (which I don't actually need) is badly fitting. Not ideal points: They made the stem unnecessarily chunky and heavy for a carbon wrapped alu design (never heard of one failing). An option fot cable entry below the front plate would allow the use of bars without a hole in the clamping area. As it is, you're limited to ones with a hole. Edit - Still shipping with a front thru-axle that's 5mm too long - though I anticipated this and ordered a Heppe replacement from Ali. Headset bearings are very poor quality and grainy and notchy even out of the bike. But I was going to use FSA anyway. Expander / plug is very short and not brilliant design, as many have commented on. Using a long Colnago one. Bad (terrible) points: Whomever is doing the seat post clamp and headset bearing seats is definitely not the same person(s) doing the BB area finishing. They are a total mess. a) Gobs of resin and black paint spattered all over the place inside of the seat tube. Attempt to chamfer inside of top of seat tube looks like it was done with a power tool resulting in chips. Molding / mandrel / whatever was clearly torn out of the ledge the seatpost assembly sits on too early, resulting in large ugly surface voids, which they failed to cover up with black paint. b) The top headset bearing seat appears to be correctly sized, but is very, very badly finished. Some bits of excess carbon sheet were never trimmed off. Others are coming off (delaminating), again I suspect due to power tool use. Scratches and scores (again power tool) all over the place. The bearing seat is unlikely to fail, especially as the head tube itself is fine, but it's inexcusably poor workmanship and totally unnecessary. The bottom bearing seat on the other hand looks better but is VERY tight - I couldn't extricate it after test fitting - probably have to use needle nose pliers and damage it. And I expect the LBS to have to sand the seat a little. Conclusion of first impressions: I think the girls and guys laying up the frame are for the most part doing a pretty good job (steerer could still be better). And at least superficially things look better - at least much less dysfunctional - than a good number of bikes sold for 10x the price. But either unskilled jobbers are being employed to do other areas - seat clamp / tube and headset bearing seats, or skilled workers are being pushed to spend no time or care on them whatsoever. I expect it's a combination of both, together with a bit of carelessness, all compounded by the fact that Velobuild seem to deem this OK. It leaves a bitter taste receiving something that shitty. I don't expect it to be a safety or performance issue, though given enough time the top bearing seat could delaminate sufficiently to make it one. But banning the use of power tools to sand, chamfer or finish delicate areas, trimming out excess carbon sheet and patching it up with a little resin would ensure a frame that otherwise appears to be pretty good doesn't result in lost future customers. If the cost and price need to go up $20, I guarantee there would be way more repeat customers. Especially given that this is not a 'lemon' - Chris knew I'd post my experiences given that I organized the zero offset funder here. Others will have had it much worse. TLDR they did all the hard work and avoided the usual pitfalls, but some really bad workmanship leaves a bad taste, and would probably make some customers too afraid to even ride it, as they may not appreciate what exactly they are looking at. Build should be fairly soon. Hopefully no additional surprises. At the painter having neon pink splatter on black parts and final clear done. June 17, 2022, 05:08:15 PM |
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Re: Velo Build R-099 Build
Man, I was kicking myself a bit because I ended up spending more money on the TanTan x-21. The difference in build quality are huge though, it this is any indication. Toss up I'd say. I've seen a TanTan with what looked like a cookie cutter for a headtube (massive variations in thickness), and terrible BB shell. The 'build quality' on this on the whole seems good ... but the finishing of interfaces at seat and head tube are awful. The difference in finishing between the BB area and head and seat tubes are so massive it wouldn't surprise me if the BB was done at the factory, and to save money the latter were done ex-situ at some shitty workshop**. ** As far as I know this was relatively common with some of the cheapest stuff in the early days of open mold. But didn't think it was still a thing. June 17, 2022, 07:44:32 PM |
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Re: Velobuild VB-R-168 Frame
So a few updates, managed to score a good deal on a Rival Etap grouppo without a cassette. Basically there are no cassettes in stock in Australia until Sept, all the local bike shops have inventory though for complete groupset purchases I think you'd actually be better off running the XT or XTR chain, as you're running Shimano cassette and rings. Usually you match the chain to the rings and cassette, not the derailleurs. It's certainly what you do on MTB SRAMANO - and it works well. June 22, 2022, 03:09:57 PM |
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Re: ICAN A22 frame, request experiences
Bear in mind that - as far as I can see from any English or German language forums - the fully faced-to-exact tolerances frame that Hambini received and said that ICAN were claiming they now did for all customers, rather unsurprisingly in fact doesn't seem to be happening for normal customers. I.E. they appear to have sent him a special. If you are expecting this after his video, don't, as you may be disappointed.
June 23, 2022, 04:43:28 AM |
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. I didnt want to wait that long to test it out seeing as I'm using 105+Juintechs and this is Rival Etaps with Hydro. I also needed the XDR free hub to arrive so in the mean time, I purchased the new 12sp ultegra cassette and installed the sram shifters and deraileurs with the 12sp flat top chain in a set up I call SRAMANO.