Carbonda Gravel CFR505 build

[325racer]

Looks like some options for a dropper post.  Wonder if you can request no front mech mounting and holes.

Can we see tire clearance?  Would a 42 fit?

[carbonazza]

Awesome looking bike Carbonazza, love the paint, whats the saddle your using? It looks very light and comfy.

Thank you! Yes, I'm very happy of the paint. It looks even better live.
The saddle is a Gub model 1156, you can find it on Aliexpress for $45-$60 depending the seller and period of the year.
I was riding the same saddle shape before, but bare carbon.
Even if the padding is quite thin on the Gub, it makes a noticeable comfort difference.
Beware it remains a hard saddle.

Looks like some options for a dropper post.  Wonder if you can request no front mech mounting and holes.

Can we see tire clearance?  Would a 42 fit?

The seatpost is a 27.2mm.

They may politely tell you it is not possible, but yes, you can request a no holes frame

For the tire clearance.
The tires at 4bar(60psi) are around 40mm width.
And there are about 9mm of clearance on each side of the tire, front and rear.



For the chainring, it is tight.
With a 40T, I can move a 2.5mm allen key between the frame and the ring, but not a 3mm.
I think Carbonda say on their web site a 42T will fit.

[Le Duke]

What's the total weight on this beast?

Looks fairly light.

I'd love to build up a sub-16lb gravel bike.

[MTB2223]

What's the total weight on this beast?

Looks fairly light.

I'd love to build up a sub-16lb gravel bike.

For the ones who care about this: it weights just over 7.4kg as it is on the pictures, and feels very light when holding it and riding it 

[carbonazza]

As MTB2223 pointed out, it weight 7.4kg or 16.3lbs. Not that far from your target.
Unless you mean 16lbs without pedals, in that case we're in

You could shave grams with a lighter cassette and a lighter seatpost( I got the carbonda one ).
The final discs should be lighter too.
And I found a nut for the Hardlite axle, some grams less there. Now it is an Aliexpress e-thru axle.

I'll weight the definitive build.

[325racer]

Has it been ridden yet?

[carbonazza]

Has it been ridden yet?

Not really, except a setup ride around the block
The weather was quite bad recently, and I’m waiting for a friend to receive his Diverge to inaugurate them together. Next week!

[tripleDot]

Wow, that is a cool color!  And really light.
Looking forward to your ride reviews.

[carbonazza]

I did only a 70km ride on mostly flat terrain for now.

But it was an exhilarating ride, all of a sudden becoming my preferred bike.
It is very lively, I couldn't stop smiling from start to finish
I was asked a few time what brand it was, probably the unusual color.

The frame and wheels do not flex at all even when pushing harder.
And the 40mm tires + 27.2mm seatpost makes it very comfortable too.

My friend will gets his Diverge tomorrow.
That means, we'll see how it rides on harsher roads pretty soon.

But mostly, having a do-it-all bike opens lots of new tours options and travels ideas.

[hmpws]

I am thinking of getting this frame after Chinese New Years holiday. I am totally new to building a bike up, any tips or things to look out for with this frame? What size disc brakes does it take?

I will probably request a BSA BB, 12mm through axial front and back, and maybe an extra bottom cage mount on the bottom tube.

[carbonazza]

The flat mount brakes came by default with spacers for 160mm discs, front and rear.
I should have asked Carbonda what is the max front size disc allowed for the fork, but I didn't.

I do not like the front axle most builders provide, bulky, heavy and of general poor quality( like most of the screws we get on our frames ).
So I took a Maxle 100mm: https://r2-bike.com/ROCK-SHOX-Thru-Axle-Maxle-Stealth-Road-QR12-12-x-100-mm
This one is a 12mm for you, as I went with a 15mm axle to make them compatible with my MTB.

Then for the back any 142x12 eThru axle will do, there is no integrated nut in the dropout, so you need an axle + nut.
DT Swiss has a good one: https://r2-bike.com/DT-SWISS-Thru-Axle-RW-RWS-12x142-mm-E-Thru

Or if you prefer a stealth version:https://www.ebay.com/itm/272752768990?rmvSB=true
With a Shimano nut: https://r2-bike.com/SHIFT-UP-Nut-M12-for-Shimano-E-Thru-Thru-Axle-12-x-142-mm
I used the last ones.

[carbonazza]

I had my first long gravel ride today.
It was wet, slippy, and muddy.

I tried to push hard, over corner it, slipping the front wheel on a few roots.
But each time I managed to avoid falling.
I guess the frame is good, and the tires too.

On Wednesday, maybe we'll go for another, longer ride.
I look forward to it.

And here are a couple of picture after the ride.
Still beautiful( well... to me ), but mudded !
Not that bad, considering how muddy the terrain was.

[Srmanuel]

I am thinking ablut doing a gravel bike. I already have a hardtail and domain most mtb groupsets, but I am a bit lost in road/gravel.

How much was this frame without any other components ? I would like to spend less than 1500 euros in total so it may be hard to do

[carbonazza]

$490 for the frame+fork
$90 for painting it
And between $90 and $165 for shipping
+ paypal fees of 4.5%

+ taxes, when arriving, if you have this

[bast.eln]

Hey carbonazza,

nice bike! Thinking about to buy the same frame.
Are you satisfied with the frame? Would you recommend it?

Which size did you buy? I´m 181cm  with long legs - so I´m between the 54 or 56.

Thanks!

Best regards,
Sebastian