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Re: Help me pick! Thrust FR11/br-b011 vs tantan tt-x2. and Is the fr11 a copy?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256803874065996.html

says 25mm


I didn't catch that. 25 mm tires are a deal breaker for me. I'm a larger rider (205 lbs) on rough Southern California roads (San Diego) so I'm grateful to have my 32 mm tires. I was on 23 mm before this bike, and the ride was very harsh. (And I'm currently renting a bike with 23 mm tires, and that's a hard ride too.)


These frames might not be as compliant as the higher end ones, and you don't have much exposed seatpost either. I personally think you'll have a lot more fun on wider tires, especially if your roads aren't the greatest.


September 20, 2022, 06:31:39 AM
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Re: Velobuild VB-R-168 Frame It's done

Velobuild VB-R-168
SRAM Force AXS Disc 12v
Cassete 10-33
Crankset 46/33 - 165mm
Elitewheels Drive 50D
Pedals - Favero Assioma Duo
Tires Continental GP5000 Cream 25c
Tubolitos
Bartape Lizardskins 1.8mm
Garmin Edge 830
Garmin Varia RTL515

Weight: 7.6kg
(With pedals, garmin mount and bottle cages)

September 29, 2022, 03:27:35 PM
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Re: Raceline Hider / Cinelli Pressure Same frame as the Rollingstone Hider, Engine11 Mach1, Atom 6 Strada, Zannata Z90, ICAN A40 and TopCarbon TCRF040

You are however limited to ACR stems because the front fork hose is routed above the steerer like the Oltre XR4. Guy in the video had to punch a hole in the fork to accept that Token S-BOX headset.

October 05, 2022, 02:53:33 AM
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Re: Velobuild VB-R-168 Frame starting to look like a bike
waiting on OG-Evkin stem and bars to arrive, wasn't happy with the provided bar and stem because of cable routing tightness

October 16, 2022, 05:55:52 PM
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Re: Velobuild VB-R-168 Frame Finished build (parts bin / new mix): https://imgur.com/a/DBR12Pr

Size 52 frame matte black
Stock 120mm stem
Stock headset cover
The One handlebar 36cm
Ultegra 8020 shifters
Jagwire cables and housing
105 hydraulic calipers
Dura ace crankset
Ultegra left side crank pm
Look carbon pedals
Token threaded BB
Rotor 53/39 chainrings with Rotor bolt covers
Dura ace fd
Ultegra rd
Pro Stealth saddle
DT Swiss Arc 1100 62mm wheels
GP5000 S TR tires 25mm
MT800 / Ultegra rotors 160/140
Zipp CX bar tape
Generic stem bolt Garmin mount from Amazon

First impressions after 3 rides (155 miles)

It is strange to review a frame like this.  Its a you-get-what-you-get direct-from-an-unknown-manufacturer frameset that costs so little relative to even entry level name brand frames that intuition dictates it should be, in the best case scenario, "acceptable", more likely some degree of "sketchy, problematic and/or vaguely frightening to ride"; unlikely that it would be "good". On the other hand, this is an SL7 in its tube shapes and geometry - the benchmark for a great all-round race bike - with a better bottom bracket (imo), more flexible headset out of the box, and 100-200 grams of extra weight (vs. standard and S-Works, respectively).  How should we assess the things we generally assume occur with name brand frames (like QC and strict conformance to the claimed carbon fiber layup) that might (?) be commercially infeasible at this price point?

I have ridden thousands of miles on a Tarmac SL6 sport frame (which was cannibalized for this build) and a Canyon Aeroad CFR.  Building up and riding this frame leads me to consider what the frame itself really contributes to the entire bicycle.  Geometry and the resulting fit is the most important contribution.  Second is aerodynamics of the frame and tube shapes.  Third is frame material / layup (i.e., desired level of stiffness or compliance in the right areas for the intended uses of the bicycle).  Last is weight. Ride feel, feedback, and comfort are dictated mostly by the contact points, with only a marginal contribution from the frame.  Tire width, pressure, and casing suppleness alone dwarf any differences in "compliance" between any reasonably stiff frames.

In the most important characteristics - geometry and aerodynamics - this bike effectively is an SL7. All the superlatives about handling and speed apply. If you are looking for an all-around race bike, this will fill that need.  The weight difference is quantifiable - materially heavier, though within the margin of difference made by a lighter seatpost, saddle and other finishing kit.  Frame layup and construction is harder to assess without cutting open the frame.  From a visual inspection, it looks clean.  From my initial ride impressions, the bottom bracket is stiffer than my SL6 - power transfer feels immediate, comparable to the Aeroad.  The fork does not flex when climbing or sprinting.  The stock stem combined with The One handlebar feels extremely stiff, but still has the vibration damping I would expect from a carbon bar and stem.  Against my expectations, the bike feels exceptionally good.  Whether that means that my specific frame has a good layup, or the carbon layup for this copy is comparable to the SL7, or it means that the layup, so long as its solidly made and not defective, doesn't have much noticeable impact, I don't know.   Maybe there is some hidden defect that will emerge in the form of a crack or failure after a few thousand miles, but I'm not sure what that would be. And I'm skeptical there is necessarily a higher chance of happening with this frame versus a name brand.  My Aeroad spent three months at a Canyon service center to fix two separate design flaws, one of which (the seatpost) wasn't really corrected.

I love this bike. This experience leaves me conflicted.  Does this mean that an S-Works Tarmac frame would be that much better? What this does leave me wanting is a Velobuild Premier version of this frame: pay double for an 800g version of the frame with an extra QC cert for peace of mind. I would feel better throwing DA di2 on that and doing a sub 7kg build. The benefits of the S-Works without the dentist meme branding or the anxiety of laying down a $5.5k frame in an office park crit.  Maybe I'm just describing winspace, yoeleo, et al.

I will reiterate - maybe I got lucky, and the median frame is missing parts, has holes drilled off center and is full of voids in the carbon.  Maybe carbon frame manufacturing has so matured that the default level of quality is high enough that the differences between frames are almost entirely geometry and branding, with the result that the carbon frame is the new carbon wheel. YMMV.

Build experience

Internal routing: more work with mechanical shifting but doable without any special tools. Just takes time and patience. Routing through The One handlebar was painless, I highly recommend it from that standpoint. I was concerned with the cable angles through the stem, but the shifting is smooth.  The clean look is satisfying and worth the extra effort. It seems popular around here to do mechanical disc brakes, but I wouldn't put brake cables through this stem.

Headset: it works. I read some reviews on this forum that suggested problems with headset play, but I have none at all. Maybe this has since been fixed. I purchased an FSA ACR headset assuming I would use that instead, but it left a large gap with the top of the headtube, and I ended up liking the look of the stock stem and the lower stack of the stock headset cover more anyway. 

Bottom bracket shell: nicely finished, no problems fitting the thread together bb. Stiff and smooth spinning, but will need a few thousand miles to assess for creaking, etc.

Disc brake mounts: did not appear to need facing, no more annoying to align rotors than any other frame (i.e., very annoying but works with some fiddling).



November 06, 2022, 08:50:16 PM
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Re: Onirii One Update:  I have the frame and some cool and bad things.

Coolest surprise was 32mm gp5000 trs fit.  Finish was evenly sprayed.  Seat clamp came with a 10mm bolt. Using the bolt helps installing for anyone who rides without a cutout saddle. Internals look pretty good. Very little globs of resin. I didn't see loose bladder or fiber. The internal seemed layered well looking around headtube and bb areas.

There was care in running cable guides and packaging. There was extra Packing wrapped around all ends of the frame. Tons of tape.

Bad: Didn't recieve thru axles or headset bearings.  The rear caliper mount was drilled messy not an even oval.  The fork looks like it's used for multiple frame types.  Fork is marked where to drill for internal routing. 

Fork and head tube don't set well together with lower bearing. The Fork and head tube have 45* moulding but the bearing sets inward too far causing binding. Adding a crown race leaves too large a gap and fork sets crooked.  It fits flush and rotates smoothly with the bearing setting on 90* with no crown race.I don't like how this leaves the bear resting on 45* cuts with 90* races.

I have extra thru axles to figure out what fits.
 Front is L121 m12 p1.5
Rear will work with length L164 to L168 m12 p1.5

Weights for 49cm matte black
Frame : 845g
Fork : 355g
Seatpost : 190g

I already ordered alpinist type bars that are 10mm longer than I usually go for which Im glad after seeing frame. I had plan to build this only as a climber expecting 28mm max. Now I need some time to think if I want to do more with it.

November 15, 2022, 03:32:37 PM
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Re: Velobuild VB-R-168 Frame Has anyone tried to mod their vbr 168 seatpost, as for example in the following thread on ww?
Not just for weight but to reduce the offset.
https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=112588

I was confirmed by velobuild that they only offer one seatpost, and it’s with 20mm offset.
I got a nice fit so far according to myvelofit, but the offset is a painpoint. And assuming you’re not short legged with a long torso, same applies to you too.

December 01, 2022, 12:36:39 PM
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LTWOO RX hydro sets Decided to make a thread for the ltwoo rx groupsets. I expect a lot of ? will be asked about what parts can be mixed and matched.

The new rx has reach adjustment that adjusts with a 2mm hex screw on the front of the brake.  There is a rubber tab on the inside of the brake levers. It stops the shift lever from clattering but the lever does hang up on the rubber every so often.  This leaves the lever about 2-3mm unflush with the brake lever this has not impact on performance. I'm use to some texture on the shifter levers.  The levers are very smooth other than the screen printed logo under the clear coat. Reminds me of campy.

The thumb shifter does take a firm push. I think it will be usable from the drops. The rubber hoods feel nice and thick. Can see the mold seam which won't be felt I'm just surprised to see it with how nice the shifters look.

Brakes have to use their adapters. there are 4 to choose from 140/160 and 160/180.  Tons of bolts. Compression bolt,olive and barb given.

My general feeling to the groupset is there are some very nicely done parts but I notice when there are corners cuts.

The front derailleur has cable guides. The front has a built in cable adjuster. Front cage is stamped steel. Rear looks nice has a nicely done carbon front cage and metal rear. There are two type of pulleys with the lower one having a more wave design. Both derailleur still use cheaper materials and manufacturing.   The spring is small on the rear derailleur compared to shimano 105 5800 and sensah SRX. It's not as hard to move as the 105 or SRX but the tension seems fine.

Haven't played with anything on a bike yet. I hope it does what I have planned.

Weights
Shifters 582g
Brakes with hoses and adapters 372g
Rear derailleur  218g
Front derailleur 108g

December 06, 2022, 11:20:54 PM
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Re: LTWOO RX hydro sets more pics

comparing ltwoo vs 105 5800 vs sensah srx. Can see how much smaller the spring is, it comes with oil on the spring vs the srx which is dry no lube.  See the pulleys used,how the hanger mounts, b screw length compared to SRX and has blue thread locker.

Front derailleur see the cable slot and loop(button) cable wraps around and the cable adjuster.

Right shifter reach adjustment on front of brake. behind shifter and brake has a rubber pad screw on. Side view of the right shifter

December 06, 2022, 11:31:43 PM
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Re: Groupset News prototype Sensah hydraulic levers





Newest (top) v. Older (bottom) Sensah hydraulic lever patent drawings


future Sensah RD patent drawings




L-TWOO electronic hydraulic lever patent drawings




L-TWOO seatpost battery patent drawings

December 08, 2022, 10:44:39 AM
1