First bike build, Carbonda CFR 505 SL

[Lapskaus]

Did my first ride yesterday. Dang is this thing fun.

Couple of notes regarding the build. If you buy one of these brake/shift lever sets from SRAM, there is one olive in the set, but there is no screw in part to use after you cut the hose. The screw in part that is attached to the hose with the end cap did not have the same T-8 head, that the stealth-a-majig set ones have. So I could not reuse that, cause it seemed to be pressed in. Don't be like me, and cut the hose, then search for the screw in part in the box, after you realize there is none, try to reuse the one on the cut hose, and after that call your LBS to get a new one.
I had alot of troubles trying to center the rear brake caliper. The front was relatively easy, but I had to do the rear one over and over for nearly 3 hours and even then I didnt get it 100% right. I am not sure if the frame isnt 100% square to the disc or the brake caliper itself isnt 100% flat. Even if I got it, after torquing the screws to spec, there was a slight rub again.

[Ar26]

My wheels arrived on tuesday and I am nearly done with the build now. Got to cut the brake hoses and the chain to finish it.



The build itself went smoothly so far. I only had to detach the handlebars twice because the jagwire I added to the rear brake hose was rubbing in the headset.
I can't weigh the bike reasonably as a whole, but the components added up to 7562g. That's before the fork was cut etc. and with sealant pedals and everything included.

Hello, your front tire is mounted the wrong way around. Look at the tread arrow on the tire sidewall. This helps in wet conditions.

[trailgazer]

My frameset arrived last Thursday, delivered at my neighbor. The carton box was in perfect shape, no scratches or holes. First quick glance of the frame and fork, everything seems fine.

Stacking the headset spacers (out of curiosity cause I'm new to inner cables) and top bearing, I saw that there is some play between the top race and the bearing. The top race fits the top (dust)cap with the two little notches. That fixates it's circle-size. When adding the top bearing I felt some play between the race and the inner bearing-ring. Is this normal? Will this go away when I put things together under light pressure? I hope so. How was this with your set?

Next step: put frame and uncut steerer together to see what length stem I need to order.
This Friday I have an appointment with a local spray painter. I tend to using two colors: a mix of bronze/ivory and copper. All glossy. Adding a logo and "branding".
I really like the color of Patrick Lino's Tantan GR201 frameset

[demeaux]

My wheels arrived on tuesday and I am nearly done with the build now. Got to cut the brake hoses and the chain to finish it.



The build itself went smoothly so far. I only had to detach the handlebars twice because the jagwire I added to the rear brake hose was rubbing in the headset.
I can't weigh the bike reasonably as a whole, but the components added up to 7562g. That's before the fork was cut etc. and with sealant pedals and everything included.

more pictures pls!

[demeaux]

These bars:
https://www.carbonda.com/handlebar/chb-1056.html

I can't see them in 120 x 400, has anyone got them in this size?

[rwtbne]

I've been riding this bike for about a year now. It's good enough to place in the top 20 in a gravel world series with the elites, so I guess it gets the job done. 
I chose the frame mainly for the specs – it was, and still is, the best performing race gravel bike in China. It's lightweight, made with T1000 carbon, and features modern components like the T47 bottom bracket and UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger). There might be more modern-looking bikes out there, but I doubt they're any faster. I love the lack of unnecessary bolts almost every gravel frames seem to have. Only a minority uses fork bolts and they just make the frame heavy.

As I mentioned earlier, the bike rides like a road bike. The bottom bracket stiffness feels on par with my road bike when I use road wheels and it smoothens the terrain when needed. For comparison, my Tideace winter gravel bike is unforgiving on every bump. With a 73-degree steering angle, the bike is also very agile and great at cornering.

Regarding the cockpit: Last year, I used it with the Ritchey Logic-E 1.5" Integrated IS headset solution to run a regular stem. Due to the high stack of this headset, I needed a -17-degree stem. This winter, I've installed a Roval cockpit and printed a custom spacer to make it compatible with the ACR headset top cap. I haven't had a chance to ride it yet, but I'm excited to see how it performs.

Concerning paintjobs: we all have our own taste, I just wanted to demonstrate carbonda has some paintjob knowledge inhouse and easily accomodates to your desires. They delivered exactely what I wanted.

Hi, do you have a design for the printed custom spacer or do you know where i can get one? thanks.

[trailgazer]

Carbonda specs read max 42t chainring when running 1x. I have a SRAM XPLR groupset with Force DUB Wide crankset,
Is it possible to run bigger chainring because of DUB Wide? I would like to use 46t.

[trailgazer]

Nobody? I could offcourse play with Q-factor, moving the crank 1-2 mm to the drive side by playing with different spacers (instead of standard 2.5mm (nonD) / 5.5mm (D)) but I rather not do that. Who's got experience with the frame and bigger (>42t) chainrings?

[Lapskaus]

A 46t chainring will def. not fit without any customizations.

Here an image of the 42t chainring and the distance to the chainstay:

[jfcb]

Nobody? I could offcourse play with Q-factor, moving the crank 1-2 mm to the drive side by playing with different spacers (instead of standard 2.5mm (nonD) / 5.5mm (D)) but I rather not do that. Who's got experience with the frame and bigger (>42t) chainrings?

I use a sram RED DUB (road) spindle with Sigeyi PM spider -> same dimensions as a 2X crank-> this easily fits a 50T chainring. I would say that's the way to go. I beleive there are some aftermarket spiders (from Stone) on aliexpress that would give you the same chainring position.

[trailgazer]

Wouldn't this affect the chainline too much?

[trailgazer]

I finally have my Carbonda CFR-505 SL build all ready to go. I didn't find the time to do it myself, couldn't wait any longer so I brought it to a new bike shop (and found out this guy really pays attention to details). Took it for a first spin, setup correct saddle height and tire pressure for this bike. First impression:
- it's light (8.1kg), I am used to having a steel 10.5kg gravel racer.
- it's responsive, almost twitchy, I guess this needs time getting used to
- tire pressure is key, there is very little room for flex in this frame

Details:
Frame - Carbonda CFR-505 SL, size 57-L
Wheelset - Carbon Speed CS-D40CU-33 with Schwalbe G-one RS, 35-622
Stem - FSA SMR 110mm
Crankset - SRAM Force DUB Wide with 46T chainring
Groupset - SRAM Force/Rival/XPLR AXS with 10-44 cassette

Tell me what you think.

[jfcb]

Wouldn't this affect the chainline too much?

Maybe the "straight chain"-setup shifts with one cog, but it doesn't cause any issues at all.
The biggest factor is the chainring size, you will have a worse chainline by riding with a too small chainring and small cog rather than having the chainring positioned a bit further from the center.

[mm2025]

The geometry looks great for me (vs the longer 707), but slightly concerned about tire clearance. Anyone running 42c tires?

The product page also says 650x47c will fit. Has anyone tried that?

[jfcb]

The geometry looks great for me (vs the longer 707), but slightly concerned about tire clearance. Anyone running 42c tires?

The product page also says 650x47c will fit. Has anyone tried that?

I'm repeating myself: I run 45mm effective width tires on this frame. As long as you're not riding in "peanut butter mud" you won't have any issues. But 45mm is the max for sure.