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Re: Eddie's Airwolf YFR066 Build Thread
Another update today! Of course I couldn't wait to start putting things together--so I got started with mounting everything I could. Routing the front/rear brake housings and the rear derailleur housing was pretty uneventful; most of the time I didn't even really worry about using a guide to get the housings through. I have some foam vibration dampers in to prevent rattling. However--the front derailleur mount is being an absolute pain. It feels like it's too small to insert properly with a ferrule on the end of the housing, and if I don't use a ferrule, the housing bends at a sharp angle (see 3rd and 4th photos), isn't secure in the mount, and the cable grinds against the opening of the mount in the frame and is essentially seized up. I'm not quite sure what to do--I may try to get a small tool in there to bend the mount open a bit and see if I can make it round enough to get a ferrule in there. Finally--I added some more photos inside the frame that I took with my endoscope camera. December 23, 2023, 02:45:23 PM |
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Re: Eddie's Airwolf YFR066 Build Thread
Finally figured it out--silly mistake  . 1. Unscrew the bolt holding the front derailleur housing stop, you'll need to hold the back side of the "spring clip" by putting your finger into the frame so it doesn't spin freely. 2. Once the bolt is loose, remove the housing stop and retrieve the "spring clip" that fell into the bottom bracket area 3. Route the front derailleur housing out of the opening in the frame 4. Thread the spring clip back onto the bolt--only screw on enough to get the thread started 5. Put the assembly on the end of the front derailleur housing 6. Push the assembly back into the opening as far as you can. It won't fully seat because the spring clip needs to be pushed in far enough to "spring" into the opening in the frame. Use an allen/hex wrench to push the bolt (with the spring clip barely threaded on the end) into the frame--pushing the bolt directly will push the spring clip into the frame enough that it will actually grab 7. Screw the bolt until the front derailleur housing step is secured. Note you may need to put your finger on the spring clip so it doesn't rotate Hopefully that description plus the photos makes it easier for the next person! I routed all three cables up through the down tube--front derailleur in the center (with foam), then rear brake on the brake side and read derailleur housing on the derailleur side. Everything routed through the headset pretty easily. My OG-EVKIN stem is really tight on the steerer tube, I had to pry it open a bit with a flat head screwdriver to get it to fit (my aluminum stem had no issues fitting, so it seems like a OG-EVKIN stem issue, not the fork steerer tube issue). Bike is ~15.4lbs so far, need the chain, pedals, bar tape, and seat yet. I'm not looking forward to routing the derailleur/brake lines through the handlebars or bleeding brakes--I may get the bike set up on my trainer and do a few bike fit tests before everything is completed to try and make sure the handlebar height is in the ballpark before routing everything. I plan on leaving a good bit of steerer tube free to make sure I can adjust more as needed down the road. December 23, 2023, 05:05:37 PM |
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Re: Eddie's Airwolf YFR066 Build Thread
More progress--got the drivetrain set up (at least temporarily) without running the cables through the handlebars. I wanted to get it set up on my trainer so I could start doing some fit assessment (I still have ~8 months left on a MyVeloFit subscription) and get things in the ballpark. I'm trying not to freak out too much--but the entire front end of the bike is like a wet noodle. From what I can tell, everything is flexing--frame, headset/steerer tube, stem, handlebar. I'm going to try and swap out for a known good handlebar and stem to isolate those components at least, but I'm really concerned this frame will essentially be worthless. December 26, 2023, 01:36:32 PM |
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Re: Eddie's Airwolf YFR066 Build Thread
Progress update! Airwolf messaged back and asked for a photo of the assembled bike and I sent them an image this morning--not much there yet. I've tried the following: Removed the top cap (shown in the image), so the headset spacers contact the 3/4 diameter "doughnut" that seats in the bearing. This 100% removed any chance of interference. I put my old aluminum stem and handlebar on the frame and tried pressing down on the handlebars to compare against my current bike. While the frame still deflected some, it wasn't nearly as bad as it was, and it was roughly similar to my current bike! This is good news, if I can get the interference solved then it's maybe salvageable. Second test--tried to put a thin shim between the top cap and the "doughnut". This didn't work with any of the shims I had since the outer diameter is too large--it contacts the housings passing through the top cap and I can't compress everything together. Obviously the tolerance stackup of their heatset cup placement isn't great. I've sent a quick message to them telling them that it is rubbing and contacting and to ask them what to do--I have some hacky ideas I could possibly do myself, but I'd rather them tell me what to do since it's their issue. December 28, 2023, 04:25:53 PM |
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Re: Eddie's Airwolf YFR066 Build Thread
Another update--FSA no.69 headset came in today! I tried swapping everything out (including the fork headset race), but that didn't work. Using the Airwolf fork headset race, with everything else from the FSA headset works great! I'll be doing everything hopefully for the final time today--cutting the steerer tube, routing the cables through the handlebar, and bleeding brakes/adjusting derailleurs. January 02, 2024, 01:21:15 PM |
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Re: Eddie's Airwolf YFR066 Build Thread
Fast shipping! I'm happy the FSA no.69 worked out for you. It's such a game changer. I keep multiple spares of that headset around just in case LoL. Thanks for the tip! I ended up using the stock lower headset bearings and race, and then the FSA top bearing assembly--it felt like the combination of the FSA lower bearing and stock bearing race was wobbling just a bit so I was conservative there. I like how the FSA headset cap is matte black and matches the frame! Tonight I got all the way to where I could ride it again--except with just the front brake bled since I was running out of time. The front end is definitely soft, but not like it was before. It'll be a nice comfortable ride, and I know I can make it a bit stiffer if I swap out the handlebars. Oh--and this time redoing the internal handlebar routing I had a routing kit. I would have saved so much time...... I won't be able to ride this week, but my hope is Saturday or Sunday I can bleed the rear brake and do some minor tuning, and then go on a ride around the neighborhood! Should I snag a FSA headset preemptively for my 066 build? I'd defer to Patrick, but if I had to make a guess--if he had an issue with it and then I had the same issue, you're probably going to run into a similar problem (at least if you didn't get the integrated handlebar). I'm not sure if the integrated handlebar top assembly solves some of that January 02, 2024, 08:17:46 PM |
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Re: Eddie's Airwolf YFR066 Build Thread
Just received my bike, had 30 minutes so decided to checkout the headset and the one it comes with is absolutely shit. It's plastic and the spacers are cheap plastic too and fairly poorly manufactured where they don't sit perfectly on each other. The photo from the site makes them look like they're not plastic, but these are quiet crappy. That's really disappointing, do you think you'll have to try out a different headset/fork? Or will you be able to make it work? I did my first ride on Thursday around the neighborhood, and other than tightening a few bolts everything worked okay. I need to work on fit some more, my Velofit seemed to put the seat too far down and with my 165mm cranks it just felt like my legs were "compressed" and I couldn't really get much power out. I did notice that if I brake hard, the fork does "chatter" some front/back, but I haven't ever had a disc road bike so that may be normal? Overall, I really like the Ultegra mechanical groupset, shifting has been reliable and smooth even with the internal cable routing. January 13, 2024, 09:06:23 AM |
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Re: Eddie's Airwolf YFR066 Build Thread
Cool! I've been following this thread with the greatest interest, as that bike is pretty much all in my Aliexpress cart (airwolf frame, Magene power meter, Elite wheels) If I could redo--I would not buy the Airwolf frame, but I would get something like the Carbonda CFR1056. I realize that frame only goes up to 32c instead of 38c tires, but the frame/fork/etc quality from Airwolf has been really disappointing. I'll try my best to not think about how I wish I had spent the extra on a higher quality frame, but I wouldn't wish my experience on someone else. In general this frame/fork is not very confidence inspiring. Otherwise--I would also not get this specific handlebar or stem. The stem barely fit on the steerer tube (I had to use a flat screwdriver to pry the clamp open a bit to get it to fit), and the handlebar is not as stiff as the others I've used. Wheels, groups, seat, power meter, tires--all of those I've been happy with! January 13, 2024, 02:34:38 PM |
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Re: Eddie's Airwolf YFR066 Build Thread
Your build looks great! It's good to hear another opinion on the ride, I bet the integrated handlebar is stiffer than what I have too so that may be part of it!
January 20, 2024, 07:02:24 AM |
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Re: Eddie's Airwolf YFR066 Build Thread
I'm about 10 rides in to owning the frame, figured it makes sense to have an update. I did have one issue with the front derailleur mount bolts getting stripped after tightening them up. Was attempting to get to 5nm and they stripped at around 3nm, which seems really low. When it gets loose next, I'll extract them and replace them with better quality bolts. Not a big deal. I think I'm getting to a similar point to you as well--the weather has gotten a bit nicer here and I've been able to take it out on more rides. With all the assembly woes behind me, the bike is growing on me. It feels fast, I am glad I went with the 165mm crank arms, 30mm tubeless wheels, etc. I'm more confident with the bike in general, but I haven't had a big "hit" yet on a pothole to be confident that the handlebars won't slip or break, I'll probably put some carbon paste there just to be sure they don't rotate. February 10, 2024, 11:04:56 AM |
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