Hi all, a bit of a summary and ride impression from my end after doing the first kms on the frame:
Buying & ShippingBought via ebay. In total waited about 8 weeks for the frame to arrive. A bit longer than I expected. It was sent a few days after I asked when it will arrive, so maybe it was just forgotten
Packaging was well done nothing to complain here.
First frame impressions- The paintjob looked really nice. I wanted something close to the Cannondale CAAD13 purple and it matches really well. (The picture below does not reflect the color very well, its more like shown by Airwolf)
- All parts came inside the claimed weights.
- The internals looked OK. No spider cave. (Also I had no obstacles when doing the internal routing.)
- The paint on the fork crown was removed (maybe the fork fit issue). The seatpost could not be fully inserted (more than enough clamping length is there)
Build: Mainly 2nd hand components- Ultegra / RX810 mix Mechanical 2x11
- Easton ec90sl crank with 46-34
- Elita seatpost (wanted a post without offset)
- Wheels Mfg (didn't use the supplied one )
- Prime wheels (upgrade in progress
) - 8.2kg without pedals + bottlecages
Tolerances- Had no issue with the lower end fork frame fit. Its tight but no rubbing.
- Had to file down the dust cover very slightly because it rubbed against the frame, Now it fits well and looks good.
- Needed to file the compression plug a tiny bit. The fit between stem and plug was too small so that the stem did not move over the plug.
- Bottom bracket fit felt good (not too tight not too loose)
- Wheel alignment seems to be good, brake orientation also OK.
- I had a slipping seatpost. Needed to shim it. I think the main issue is the seatpost clamp which doesn't have eough clamping distance (air gap too small). The fit of the seatpost itself down in the tube felt OK.
Honorable mentions- The front derailleur hanger seems to be made for min 50 chainset. For my 46 the lowest setting is a bit too high
- Also the chainline does not work perfectly with the GRX front derailleur , but this might be a problem of the Easton crank
- I think the wrong stem size was delivered (100mm instaed of 90mm). Asked Airwolf for a replacement.
Ride ImpressionsImpression based mainly on a comparison to my Giant TCX (cyclocrosser) using the same wheels - tyres. Forward setting of front wheel (not sure if this can even be changed without a brake adapter)
- Calmer and more quite ride. Not sure if this is just the difference between Aluminium and Carbon, but the frame dampens the road / gravel buzz better than the TCX
- Corners very predictable - Less twitchy than the TCX, but not slow.
- Feels a bit faster on straights, especially on good gravel roads without huge potholes. I think mainly due to the good damping. I seem to be marginally faster on a few KOMs
- Less stiff, mainly the front end: I think the culprit is the stem, which flexes torsionally quite a bit. I'm not a Watts monster and it doesn't bother me while riding even when sprinting. Not sure if this is a bug or a feature.
I like the ride of this frame. It doesn't feel too aggressive to me, but also not dull or boring. As said its not the siffest frame. Maybe nothing I would recommend for a 100kg guy stomping up 30% gravel roads if the supplied stem is used.
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Overall would I buy it again?Yes for the frame that I got: Sure, tolerances were not all great, but I was able to fix everything without a file and a few stripes of aluminium. The paint job looks brilliant, it rides well and it did not break the bank. However, the story might be different if I got one of the frames with the lower headset issue.
