I have bought the Ryet.  Mainly due to confidence around compatibility, price and absence of any major red flags.. I'll let you  know how I get on.

I have a D-shaped steerer tube on my Winspace T1500 (which I didn't buy the handlebars for at the time).  Currently all my cables are externally routed on the handlebar and go in through the down tube or fork arm. I've looked around for aero, internally routed handlebar options for D-shaped steerer tubes on Ali Express and elsewhere and there doesn't seem to be much out there.

Options I've found are:

• This Ryet handlebar: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004473561772.html  Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
• Deda Superbox stem: https://dedaelementi.com/superbox-dcr-bike-stem and then pair this with a separate handlebar?  If anyone has a recommendation on an aero handlebar that is good that would be appreciated.
• Buy the Winspace Zero handlebar: https://www.winspace.cc/product/handlebar/. I may well end up doing this but it is quite an expensive option.

Anyone got any other thoughts for an aero option I can use for internal routing with a D-shaped steerer tube?

At your weight with the potential also of using it for bikepacking, I'd definitely go steel or Ti.  A few custom Ti builders who do nice, affordable stuff out of China - check the relevant forum section.

Thanks, I wasn't aware of that section of the forum. Definitely worth looking into.  Yeah, I was concerned about carbon loaded it up with packs and my weight.  Do you think it's still a major issue if I only envision doing a couple of 1 week backpacking trips?

Hi

I recently finished a road bike build. My road bike build ended up around USD $2,800 (Winspace t1500 frame, Lightbicycle wheels was where most of the cost went, but took advantage of black friday deals).  However, I have to say every penny seems worth it.   

I'm now considering a gravel bike build.  There's a reasonable bit of gravel on the island I live on (very hilly) and a gravel bike would expand my riding options.  However, I know nothing about gravel bikes. I've never ridden a gravel bike.

Ideally, I"d like to keep the budget around $1,500 on this one, but hey, if there's a lot of value in going above this, let's say $2,000 inc shipping is the absolute tops.

My situation is:
- I live somewhere hilly - Hills are not longer than 1km each, but they are steep.
- I weigh 107kg and am 188cm tall. I ride XL road frames (58/59).
- Ideally, I'd like to use the bike for bikepacking one day (does my weight once the packs are added on discount carbon here?).  It would probably only be one or two trips of 1-2 weeks.
- I suppose weight of the bike is not so much an issue, as long as power to forward motion transfer is decent.
- Geometry-wise, I don't need a racer,. I would quite like to do some gravel sportives for fun but something a bit more comfortable than a racer, but not quite as laid back as a touring bike would be my want.
- I'd prefer carbon, but I'm not averse to alloy/steel frame and rims so long as it doesn't perform like an entry-level bike. - I'm assuming comfort is not an issue with alloy given wider tyre widths on gravel bikes.
- I really enjoyed the road bike build, so I don't really want to buy a prebuilt/preloved bike.  Happy to buy used wheels though.
- 2x groupset is preferred (never tried 1x) but happy to moved on this if suggested.

Does anyone have any suggestions on frames and what route you would take with the groupset and wheels?

Thanks!

Good news. LBS managed to push the BB centre tube into place without removing the BB. Crankset is in, chain sized and installed. Nearly there!  However, next time I'll definitely replace it with a threaded PF BB

So, my T1500 arrived in the NY, my wheels arrived from Light Bicycle.  All in all, I'm really happy with the T1500 frame and the wheels from Light Bicycle.

I didn't go with the Winspace handlebars, mainly because they didn't have my size at the time, but partly cost.  The other components on the bike are:

- 105 disc groupset (mechanical shift)
- FSA stem
- Prime X-light handlebars (not aero, no internal routing) - mainly got these as they were cheap, light, recommended, and temporary (once, I'm happy with the sizing and fit on the bike, I'll at some point switch to a fully integrated handlebar and move the prime's to my old bike, if I like them).

Given no internally routed handlebars, cables are routed through the headset, everything goes into the down tube except for the front break (obviously).

OK, so I took on this project with virtually no bike mechanical experience.  Before this, the most I'd done was change my cassettes and chains. I generally don't even look under the hood of my car.

In terms of the build, I've completed the following, none of which I'd ever even tried to do before:

- cut carbon steerer tube down to size (seatpost was OK, just!).
- installed forks, stem, handlebars, shifters.
- installed seatpost and saddle.
- routed brake hoses, cut hoses down to size, installed new barbs and olives, bled brakes.

So all, in all, the only things I had left to do were:
- bottom bracket installation
- crank, chain and pedals installation + tune everything.

I'm really impressed with the T1500 apparent quality (haven't ridden it yet).  My only feedback is:
- I'm a bit concerned that there is no plastic guard separating the gear cables from the carbon on the frame as they run under the bottom bracket area, as the cable for the front derailleur comes out of the frame, and where the cable comes out of the rear chainstay above the thru axle hole. I'm worried about the cables cutting through the frame where there is contact.  As a result, I've left some of the plastic routing guides in those particular places.
- The seat clamp is really fiddly. It's a struggle to attach the saddle if you don't have 3 hands. You have to use their seat clamp because the seatpost is proprietary.

Today was press-fit bottom-bracket installation day.  Everything seemed to go really smoothly. The whole thing seemed to be straight and I thought it was done.  However, when I tried to put the cranks in, they wouldn't go out the other end.  I looked inside and found that the centre tube had not attached to the other side and while the bearings might have been OK, the centre tube had pressed in crooked (see photo).



So, I'm guessing this is not easily resolvable?  I'll need to somehow break the centre tube (which felt like plastic before I installed it) so that I can get a bottom bracket removal tool into position, then remove the BB and install a brand new BB (even assuming the BB is reusable, there's probably no way to just buy the centre tube?

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks

Alternatively you can run a separate handlebar stem combo using either FSA's ACR or SRS no. 69 system.

I'm now leaning towards starting out with one of these until I have my fit dialled in and then switching to integrated bars once I'm more confident that I'm buying the right size.  Which of these would require the least initial outlay and least hassle when it comes to swapping over?