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Re: LEXON Road Carbon Crankset
It is installed but without powermeter until I get a replacement lockring. The bike went from 7.4kg to 7.1kg in a single swap of the cranks. Right view.  https://photos.app.goo.gl/RPUtUzUYMAh7Xq3Z9Left view.  https://photos.app.goo.gl/wo9Rbq3eukQB7WX87
April 03, 2024, 12:50:06 AM |
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Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
Just coat it outside the lip should be fine. What's important is that you ensure the cable is firmly plugged in. Personally I would prefer hot glue or liquid tape since that ensures a waterproof seal and yet is easily torn off when needed. I finished my bike rebuild last night and I opted to use rubber cement around the cable ports and then applied dielectric grease once it dried. I figure a glob of rubber cement should provide adequate adhesion that's easy to remove and the dielectric grease over that for moisture protection. So after installing the chain catcher, I was able to adequately tune the FD. I was too lazy to remove it though. First impressions. Everything shifts excellent once setup. Though it was an all-day affair tuning the bike. I'm not sure it was any easier over setting up a cable mechanical bike. The software tuning app is amazing. I've never owned SRAM AXS or DI2, but gear protection and one touch shifting are awesome. I used a quality pair of batteries and battery life seems to be good so far. On the not so bright side. I'm not fond of the puny RD springs LTwoo and Sensah tend to use. They work, but it's more confidence inspiring how Shimano uses an over engineered spring coil. Also my RD cage looks like it can only accommodate the same size jockey wheels provided. There's no wiggle room to tweak the size. Weight-wise, the ER9 isn't exactly less weight compared to mechanical Ultegra. I either broke even or maybe added a few grams to my bike. April 04, 2024, 01:32:19 PM |
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Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
Yesterday I took the ER9 groupset on it's first ride doing a quick 40km and 600m of climbing. I took it up and down one of the worst road climbs in our city with lots of pot holes, dirt and loose rocks. My aim was to see if I could drop the chain while constantly shifting the ER9 using the whole gear range. The ride included flats, climbing and fast downhill descents. The ER9 worked amazingly well! Shifting was smooth, my cables stayed in-place, I never dropped the chain especially on the fast bumpy downhill and I was totally satisfied with the performance. There were only a few issues I had when riding. I seemed to accidentally hit the left shift button inadvertently switching to the small chainring while descending in the drops. Also I didn't like that both left FD buttons functioned the same. I'd prefer to have one button dedicated to the small chainring and the other to the big chainring. Without auto trim, it's hard to hear if the chain is rubbing on the FD or not especially when listening to music. The LTwoo grips are a bit too narrow for my taste, I tend to prefer beefier grips. The LTwoo hydro brake calipers work fine, but they're definitely heavy, I might swap them out later on for some lightweight calipers. Also I think 12 speed is worth switching over to if you plan on buying this groupset. I'm not sure if the smoothness of my ride was attributed to electronic shifting, the wider range cassette, a freshly waxed chain or all of the above? Either way I liked I was able to keep a similar cog range as my 11 speed 11-32t and get the added benefit of the 34t in the low gear. In regards to gearing I think 50-34t is as big as you can go with an 11-34t cassette with the ER9 without compromising shift performance. It can shift 52-36t + 11-34t, but without a clutch or some sort of cage stiffness adjustment, it feels a bit sloppy. Regarding battery life with lots of shifting due to up and down terrain, I was at 84% from full charge after the ride. I think it'll be a good idea to buy an additional charging cable as backup and maybe bring a power bank if planning a century or more. Also I'm not sure how long the CR2032 batteries will last in the shifters? I think I'll have to pack a few batteries in my saddle bag and dedicated screwdriver moving forward. Overall my first impressions of the ER9 is very positive. With tax and shipping the whole thing cost me $350 USD for the groupset and it seems the early production kinks have been ironed out (crossing fingers). Also the money saved going with the ER9 can be applied cutting weight elsewhere like a lightweight cassette (which I opted for) or lightweight brake calipers. I still think it's a good idea to have a firm grasp of tuning a mechanical groupset. I don't think I'd jump straight into electronic without knowing how to tune a mechanical bike. April 05, 2024, 11:09:14 AM |
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Re: Airwolf: What is this model inspired from? [Trek Madone]
took me a while to get through all the hassles building this bike but here it is ready to ride now: - issue with upper headset play solved by mounting an additional c-ring as a spacer above the compression ring - lower headset bearing needed some alu tape wrapped around the inside (fork diameter was too small for lower headset bearing, but the bearing has the dimensions as the "original") - front brake caliper needed to be filed as the upper bore hole in the fork was about 2mm off - the delivered seatpost mount cracked at about 3-4NM torque while mounting the saddle tilt screw (see photo). As i think this is a general construction issue and i don't trust the replica here, i bought a slightly used original one - no feedback coming back from airwolf, only that they will check with their quality control... Overall the bike fits and rides quite good. Coming from an aero bike of the first generations i subjectively would say that this one feels a bit stiffer and more aerodynamic. However i guess that a big factor for this is coming from the wheels. April 06, 2024, 02:00:42 PM |
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Re: VeloBuild VB-R-268 frame
Using the same wheels, could you do a NorCal kind of video on a loop you know well, swapping 2 or 3 bikes? You have to use the same wheels for any credible kind of comparison. Your times would be interesting, but equally interesting would be your impression. Based on the hundreds of messages I received over the years, the typical viewer of my channel isn't looking for VeloBuild to be an equal alternative to one of the major brands. What they want is assurance their money won't be stolen, and that their collarbones won't be broken from a random catastrophic failure. Basically is the frame good enough all things considered. I try to keep my videos light-hearted and sensible. Save engineering and race opinions for the engineers and racers. Confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance is human nature. Whether VeloBuild or Specialized, we all want to believe we've made the best purchase. No harm in that. April 17, 2024, 10:31:40 AM |
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Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
Yesterday I took the ER9 bike out with extra padded shifters and using gel padded gloves. Adding bar tape strips on the inner top part of the shifters helped on comfort and probably using the gel padded gloves as well. Though it's still not as comfortable as bigger Shimano hoods, but at least I didn't get any hand numbing. Also I needed to do some more gear fine tuning specifically in the small/big and big/small combination. I was having slight shift issues shifting up and down the three biggest cogs while on the small chainring. Its most noticeable on climbs constantly shifting while adjusting for elevation and cadence. I'm hoping I have it dialed in now, if not I'll have to do the gear fine tune while riding. Other than that, the ER9 has been running great. If I was building a new bike now, I wouldn't hesitate using Chinese electronic groupsets. My old semi-internal TFSA frame definitely feels like a new bike with all the component upgrades! April 19, 2024, 12:41:13 PM |
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Re: Interesting Aliexpress finds! - good deals, interesting stuff, new products etc!
I wish I was building a bike right now. So many good options on the cheap! LolJust build another one. Think about all the savings! It's like printing money! 
April 26, 2024, 11:33:51 AM |
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IIIPRO ROTORS
I bought these IIIPRO Bike Brake Disc rotors, the rotors do not brake as they should, I bedin them for two weeks, cleaned them, pumped the brakes, changed the pads (sram code rsc) and nothing helps, the rotors brake very poorly by their own, after these I installed TRP and Shimano rt66 rotors and they brake well
May 02, 2024, 11:37:17 AM |
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Re: VeloBuild VB-R-268 frame
Update on my 268 Highs -I love the Mavic thru-axle system. It's quite convenient actually. Being able to keep the axles in place when both transporting the bike and working on it on a mechanic stand is great. -The bike is both stiff and nimble enough. I can't say there really is any discernible difference in stiffness compared to other bikes. Unless you are truly sprinting or climbing, there will be plenty of other variables in regards to maintaining any set speed. -Visually I appreciate the frame design. Obviously because it looks like an SL7/Venge. Well rounded proportions. The sloping top tube gives the visual impression of an extreme saddle-to-handlebar drop versus a more horizontal top tube. More exposed seatpost (should?) also means more comfort as the seatpost has the ability to flex. 32c GP5000 tubeless fits no problem. Lows -Zero setback seatpost. It's not fully problematic for me, but I had to move my saddle back far more than I'm accustomed to. If this was my only road bike it would most likely be a deal breaker. A non-issue for most folks however. -7x9 saddle clamp for carbon rails. On my particular clamp when using my AliExpress carbon saddle (7x9 rails), visually it does not appear as if the clamps are fully engaging with the rails. Other 268 owners with carbon saddles have not experienced this, and so far the saddle has stayed put. However, the saddle clamp bolt is now slightly bent from trying secure to the rails. Also a non-issue if you're using 7x7 rails as VB also supplies clamps for that too. Just something to be aware of. -While the bike as a whole rides better than my previous VeloBuild frames, it does still suffer some from road chatter at the rear triangle. Rough pavement can upset the back end. Thankfully though still far better than my Dengfu R12 and TanTan x38 in this regard. This is completely subjective and anecdotal of course. Over the past few weeks I've made an effort to rotate riding each of my bikes everyday day to get a good feel on the differences and overall riding dynamics. Closing It's a great DIY bike at the price point so far. As always, wheel selection and bike fit/position will do most of the heavy lifting. If I could change anything it would be adding more reach to cockpit to offset the zero setback seatpost. Dear VeloBuild: Please make one for me thanks! May 02, 2024, 03:06:12 PM |
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Re: WheelTop EDS TX Full Wireless Groupset (Chinese SRAM)
Just my initial thoughts on the EDS RA6000 (carbon rim brake) groupset. Up front, it’s working well for my intended purposes and after 6 days of continuous riding I am quite happy with the product for the price. Time will tell how good of a groupset it actually is. For a good overview of the groupset, I found Ribble Valley Cyclist’s review to be helpful: I received my group a week early, which was a surprise. No damage to the packaging. Everything appeared to be in order. Not a lot of instructions or extra parts. It’s basically a mini grouppo, bring your own crankset, chain and cassette. I pre downloaded the app. For the first two days, I fumbled my way through the app, set up and tuning. Translations to English are not the best but if you are familiar with working on bikes most of it should be self explanatory. I set the group up on a 14yro near mint Tarmac Elite frame that I’m using on my turbo during the winter months. The rest of the year its my “training, travel, take to work bike”. Despite it’s age the bike performs really well. I had brand new 105 R7000 before I put the EDS on. Running 50-34 compact cranks and 11-32 cassette. Set up using the “Initial Calibration” feature on the app is really simple. Mount everything, add the chain, set the RD on the smallest sprocket and move it slightly inboard till it rubs the next gear. Back it off and set the limit screw. Function test by moving through the gears and set the high limit screw. All done. I got some chatter in some of the middle gears. Took me a while to figure out the “fine tuning” feature but once I got it sorted, fine tuning has actually gotten pretty easy. I recommend moving up or down in increments of +/-50. You’ll know really quickly if its going in the right direction. Performance wise, I am comparing this group to SRAM AXS Force (previous gen), Ultegra Di2 11spd, and Dura-Ace Di2 11spd. I have thousands of miles on all three of those groups and have my opinions on all of them. My opinion is that Di2 has always “worked”. I’ve never had an issue with Ultegra or DA. Tuning, cassette, chainring swaps, all easy. Battery life, never an issue. SRAM, worked great, hoods were a bit big, it was noisy and it took me a year to figure out how to prevent the dreaded FD overshift… but it was still a solid group. EDS in comparison to these groups “feels” to me ever so slightly slower in shifting. Not like in a detrimental way, it’s just what I perceive to feel. I am only using it in “Casual mode”. I tested “Race mode” in the stand and it shifted much faster but it would skip 2-3 gears. Also, Race mode is supposed to drain the battery quicker. In Race mode it didn’t seem like the FD shifted any quicker. Over the last 6 days I’ve ridden between 20-30 miles each day. No missed shifts, no chatter (after fine tuning) or hang ups. Riding hilly undulating routes with constant shifting. It was surprisingly good with zero issues. Felt better than my SRAM Force if I can be honest. The paddles for shifting are decent but don’t provide positive “click” like Shimano or SRAM when making gear changes. Set up of the FD was easier than the RD and far easier than SRAM’s FD. I set it one time, fine tuned it and have had no chain drops. The FD is slow but it works with no drama. Hoods in my opinion are ugly but functional. They “work” but lack any real thought or ergo design behind them. On the other hand, they are bigger than Shimano’s hoods and smaller than SRAM’s. The rubber is pretty good too. I did not take any weight measurements, however when I unboxed the group, each component felt heavier than I expected. On the bike, it didn’t affect the overall bike weight by a large margin. Both batteries came with about an 80% charge. I charged them to 100% before started my tests. After one week the RD is at 70% and the FD is at 75%. I plan to ride until I hit 20% before recharging. Couple of concerns and annoyances. Spare parts, battery replacements, hoods are not available. Every time you want to connect to check battery life or make changes to the group, you have to wake the system with the charging cable plugged into a power source. There is no external wake feature. I plan on putting the miles only this group over the summer. As issues arise or anything happens of concern I’ll update this thread. In the meantime, I think if it continues to work as is I will try it out with a 12spd set up in the fall. May 04, 2024, 02:40:21 PM |
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