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Re: Chinese Carbon 29er Pic Thread. LightCarbon LC918 from Italy
January 04, 2024, 06:03:54 AM
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How to run Di2 and a dropper post on a Flyxii FE-02 (and possibly other bikes) I like electronic shifting, but I don't like DOT fluid, which means I have to use Di2. On my road bike, it took all of 10 minutes to install 105 Di2, but on my gravel bike I very much like also having a dropper post, which makes installation of the battery a problem. My goal with this post is to describe how I solved this problem on my Flyxii FE-02 frame, but the process should work for many other frames.

You will need:
  • Internal cable routing tool and an old cable (or just 2x cable routing kits)
  • A frame with a headtube large enough that you can a fit Di2 battery in while tilting it into the downtube
  • Bubble wrap and tape
  • Zip ties, with a length approximately 2.5-3x the diameter of the downtube of whatever bike you're working on

The process
  • Drop out the fork and remove headset bearings. Remove all hoses/cables from the downtube to prevent the Di2 wires from getting snagged or tangled. Remove any cable routing guide near the bottom bracket; the holes this leaves will be valuable for cable routing.
  • Route the cable routing tool through the top or bottom of the headset, whichever direction is easiest to insert the battery from. If you have 2 cable routing tools, use one for the front and one for the rear; otherwise use the tool to route an old brake or shift cable from the headset through to the rear derailleur. If possible, route these under the bottom bracket.
  • Wrap the Di2 battery in 3-4 layers of bubble wrap and tape to keep it in place. I used silicon self-fusing tape but any durable tape should work. Wrap several zipties around the battery in different directions. I used 8 zipties, spaced a quarter turn apart (i.e. 2 pointing in each direction).
  • Attach the Di2 wires to the cable routing wires (I used a little strip of packing tape which worked fine) and the battery. Pull the wires down into the downtube - make sure to do this evenly, i.e. pull the front and rear wires the same amount. It should be pretty easy to do this up until the battery has to go in the downtube. Lever the battery into the downtube, putting a little spin on it to get the zipties in a sort of spiral pattern.
  • Pull the battery down the downtube - this should be pretty easy until the bottle cage rivnuts are encountered. Your rear (and maybe front) Di2 wire should be long enough to be pulled out the bottom bracket cable routing holes and a bit more force can be used to pull on those to get the battery down past the rivnuts. Eventually the battery should make its way down almost all the way to the bottom bracket.
  • Finish routing the Di2 wires and tape them to the frame. Shake the frame to make sure the battery is secure and doesn't make any noise. If it does, you can push out the battery back through the headtube with a long, thin dowel or some other tool. Take a light that fits in the headtube, shine it down the downtube, and look through the bottom bracket holes to make sure there's enough space to run a brake hose and dropper cable.
  • Route brake hose and dropper cable as normal. I found this easiest to do by using the aforementioned light in the headtube, and carefully pulling the magnetized end of the cable routing tool past the battery. Doing this blind wouldn't be fun. After they get past the battery, I recommend routing the brake hose below the bottom bracket and the dropper cable above it, but this is more frame-dependent than anything.


Things that don't work:
  • Fitting the battery down the seattube below the dropper. This is what I tried first, but the battery has to sit down far enough that it blocks the port for the front derailleur wire, so the battery has to be shifted to the side to make room. Unfortunately, this blocks the needed space for the dropper cable, and also fouls on the rivnuts for the seattube bottle cage and derailleur mount. I got my battery stuck in the seattube and had to route 4 brake cables through the bottom bracket, up through the seattube past the battery, and use the heads of the cables to pry it loose. 0/10, would not recommend.
  • Putting the battery in the downtube without zipties: there needs to be a lot of bubble wrap to prevent the battery from moving, but little enough bubble wrap to allow it to be inserted into the headtube and get past the bottle cage rivnuts. I don't think this is possible, and if it is, it's far more practical to use zipties. Just for fun, I tried it, and the battery got snagged on the rivnuts and I had to fashion a tool to yank out the battery. Again, not recommended.

January 06, 2024, 12:50:13 AM
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Re: Elitewheels Drive 50D --> Rim Failure Just woke up to the following email from Anthony, that was pretty darn quick! A rebuild not my 1st choice but I'll take it Will continue to update everyone.

Quote
Hello Chris,

Thank you for reaching us.

We are very sorry for the problem and the inconvenience caused to you.

We will send one new rear rim for your replacement. When you receive it, could you help us find a reliable local bike shop to replace the rim and rebuild the wheel for you? We will cover all the service costs incurred.

If it is okay with you, could you ask the bike shop to cut a segment of the damaged rim (about 20cm in length) for our analysis? We will afford the shipping freight.

Please refer to the manual about how to true carbon spokes.

Thanks a lot. Look forward to hearing from you.

January 08, 2024, 07:27:34 AM
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Re: Yishunbike G095D (Speed Gravel) Communication:
First of all, I would like to emphasize the very good contact with Kitty. She replies quickly and gave me very good advice when I wanted to know something about the structure. She also asked me several times how I was getting on with the frame and whether I needed anything else. I then ordered 2 more spacers, a spare derailleur hanger and an adapter so that I can attach saddles with 7 x 9 rails.

Design:
I love the design of the bike. The wide down tube with a partial D-shape. I particularly like the overhang towards the rear wheel.
The paint job is just a trial, I'll redo it in the summer.

Assembly:
The assembly worked very well. The brake lines with silencers were very easy to push through. The axle mounts are made to measure and fit perfectly.

There are good bolt-on options for the mudguards and I was able to fit them without any tinkering. However, I think the distance between the top and the tire is too big. You could use another part on the bridge of the rear triangle to bring the mudguard closer to the tire.  (And yes, the mudguards destroy the steepness of the blade-shaped seat tube)

There are only problems with the cockpit: The spacer tower twists even though the headset is adjusted and the stem is tightened. I have not yet found a solution for this.

The attachment for the seat post works very well, but the adhesive has come off the lock nut, which is not so good.


Driving behavior:
The bike is very stable, especially at high speeds from 30 km/h.

There is a small toe overlap (frame size 54/shoe size 43), but this can be eliminated when the mudguards are off.

For me, the geometry is sporty and more geared towards aerodynamics than comfort.

Equipment:
I am currently riding with the following setup:
Shifter: Red and Force
- 2 x 12 with 50/34 K-Light crank and 10-33 Force cassette
- Force rear derailleur with Gabaruk cage (not worth it for the cassette, I'll put it back)
- Rival front derailleur (has to be adjusted very carefully)
- The crank will be swapped for a Force with Sram chainrings. It's not working perfectly yet.
- Elitewheels Edge 50mm wheelset (very light and very cheap 1320 grams at 522€)
- Continental Grand Prix Urban 35mm (work perfectly for me in fall and winter when commuting)
- Toseek handlebars
- Red brake body, Dura Ace rotors (works perfectly)
- SKS Bluemels mudguards: The best, lightest and cheapest, simply trouble-free

Weight/cost:
The bike weighs 8.2Kg complete and cost 1900€. The mudguards weigh 500 grams and come off in summer.
The frame cost 844€ with all accessories (seatpost, thru axle, headset). The adapter for 7x9 rails cost 18€ and the additional spacers 5€.


pros:
- special design
- wide range of equipment options (luggage rack/mudguards/front light on the fork)
- aerodynamic
- good contact and service

cons:
- Spacer tower twists
- Data sheet no longer online (but available by email)
- unclear whether you get a frame or not

neutral:

- pressfit bearing
- proprietary seatpost

January 08, 2024, 02:57:41 PM
1
Winspace G2 (Light Do it all bike) Here is my 99% completed Winspace g2. I have to redo the rear derailleur housing, I should have ran it all the way through to the back but didn't. Theyre not meant for fully internal mechanical routing, but it can be done.

This is my 4th "Chinese Carbon" frame set and it is by far the best (5th on the way). The build quality is as good as one can ask for. I had no issues building it, everything was faced nicely, no issue with the headset bearing seats. Which is the weak spot for "Chinese" frames, you can always just shove a BB in if it's not quite right. If the headset seats are done too poorly the frame is basically trash.
The paint finish is great, there's a few spots here and there that aren't the cleanest. However I can say the same for my Matte canyon and Evil frames. You can only be so picky before one is just being unreasonable.

Built this as a comfortable do it all bike, loved the round seat post, threaded BB, plenty of mounts and loads of tire clearance. It turned into a "lightweight" build half way through. Without sacrificing usability of the bike or going with super expensive components. Im very happy with the bike given its build quality, weight and price.

Total weight came out to 6.82kg with pedals, cages, and an ass saver to offset the fact that I didn't have bar tape. The build came out to ~$3100, there's a few hundred grams to be saved, but I would have to replace components with ones 3-6x the cost of the existing one. This is the perfect middle ground in my opinion.

Build List;
Winspace G2 Medium: $1080
Light Bicycle AR25 with Bitex Hubs:$864 (1080grams)
Elilee XXE Crankset 165mm: $320 (296grams!!)
Wolf Tooth 38t Chain Ring: $30, used (77grams)
Ltwoo GRT with ZRace brake Calipers: $305
Sram XPLR 12-71 Cassette: $100 New take off
Zitto Chain: $26
Onirii 160mm Rotors: $40/pair (102g)
Aliexpress Seatpost: $26 (136g)
EggBeater 1 Pedals with Titanium Spindles: $70 (240grams)
Ryet 3D Carbon Saddle (163grams)
Lexon/Ryet Gravel Bars: $124
Carbon Bottle Cages: $16/pair (16grams each)
Carbon Seatpost clamp:$15 (5grams)
Panaracer Gravel King Slick 37c: free (bike bin)
FSA Bottom Bracket: Free (bike bin)
TPU Gravel Tubes: $8
Bar Tape: $6
Titanium Bolts: $40

Rode it around the block and it felt great! Just need to redo the housing and finish my other bike (which has an interesting issue) before the other one arrives.





January 09, 2024, 01:42:55 AM
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Re: FM1001 / FM1156 - 135mm frame I am starting the build of a FM1001 for my wife. The painted frame has just arrived :-).
January 18, 2024, 11:44:27 AM
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ENEP's YishunBike G095-D build thread Hello everybody!

Thought I'd share my build process of a Yishunbike G095-D. This is my first go with gravel. I've mostly been riding XC MTB last few years and also been dipping my toes in road biking. The G095 will be used for both gravel and road riding using two different wheel sets.

Here we have a size 56 Yishunbike G095-D with integrated handlebar "HB068" in 400mm width and 110mm stem. Painted glossy black by YishunBike. I bought the frame second hand locally in unused condition. Therefore can't say to much about YishunBikes pre sales support, handling and shipping. However I've been in touch with Kitty from YishunBike for some after sales support like spareparts and another handlebar. Kitty's is great to deal with, excellent communication and fast replying.

Frame quality is great. I have nothing to complain about. Bearing seats in headset are beefy and look good. Bottom brackets seems to have been honed in QC. Mounting points for brakes seem to have been faced. They've also masked off important places before painting. Fork bearing seat and brake hose ports are smooth.

Weights, grams:
Frame: 1369 (including hanger, front deraillieur mount, seat post clamp)
Seat post: 167 (uncut, including hardware)
Handlebar: 393 (400x110mm, including bolts for computer mount)
Fork: 459
Thru axles: 64
Headset: 95 (compressionplug, bearing, spacers, covers)

January 20, 2024, 09:07:27 AM
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Re: SP-Cycle M06 build thread And it just showed up, it’s a beauty, picture don’t do it justice!
The paint is slightly clear and let the carbon show through. The finish seems good, I can see that BB and headset have been sanded/faced, inside it looks realy clean too. I will run endoscopic camera to check further.


January 20, 2024, 05:51:29 PM
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Titanium custom gravel build Almost ready
January 21, 2024, 07:53:17 AM
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Re: Chinese Carbon 29er Pic Thread. My "I can't ride because my foot is broken" build from 2022. Carbonda FM936, size Large. Full SRAM 12-speed GX mechanical groupset, Absolute Black Bash Taco with generic ISCG05 BB cup adaptor, RockShox Nude 165x40 with 3 position lockout 100mm travel, RockShox RS-1 fork 120mm travel, SRAM Rise60 carbon wheels with WTB Ranger tires, RockShox Reverb dropper 150mm, SRAM Guide Ultimate brakes with HS-2 rotors, Truvativ Black Box carbon bars, ZIPP 60mm 6º stem.





The fork has since been changed to a RockShox SID Select+ with a 3-position lockout to match the rear shock, GX mechanical has been swapped for GX AXS, and the SRAM Rise60 carbon hoops have been changed to a set of RaceFace AR27 wheels. It's my loaner/guest bike now, so the carbon wheels can go back on the shelf and the AXS lets me just "set & forget" it, so I don't have to deal with adjustments when someone borrows the bike.

January 24, 2024, 06:32:55 PM
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