Velobuild AERO GRAV Frame

[pmaxoeshl]

Good to know 2.25 Dubnital fit in there! Different question: How is the SPPC kit, especially the bibs?

heya!

The Bibs got me through Traka 360, can not complain. They don‘t look amazing in comparison to the Universal Colour ones I‘ve had before, but chamois pad was very much OK! (Size XL)

The Jersey looks nice, fit is ok for me. It definitely takes a longer time to dry, than normal jerseys. (Size XL)

Usually I‘m an L for both Jersey & Bibs! 187cm tall, 85kg.

[Samuel BMR]

Allow me to display mine: 

7,7kgs / 16.9 lb with wide and deep 50mm wheels
1x 13s XPLR
48t chainring
TUFO THUNDERO 44c measuring 47mm on the 32mm internal rims
UD Paintless Gloss fade to black
Her name is PURPLE DEATH.

Complete bike check video in English: https://youtu.be/ngPecOrhSII?is=hkaS-DbcNvz8Xba4

[AeroFan]

Hi,
do you have any recommendations for a frame bag under the top tube? Have a frameset in size S and looking for a bag with 3 to 4 l volume and enough space for two bottles under it.

[Unknownftp]

Racing unbound XL in a few weeks and if its dry ill run these and if its looking muddy ill use 45mm pathfinders or terra speeds.

You'll have to give us a race review on the frame. Looking muddy this year so I'm guessing the 45s are going to be the go to

[Bonnette]

So here is my experience building my velobuild aero gravel bike. It is my second bike build this year, the firs one was a LightCarbon lcr017. My satisfaction is in reference to the LightCarbon build.
The order went well with Chris. I build the bike with wheeltop gex groupset. Serenade wheels (28 internal with matte marble finish). Cassette, pedals, rotors, and crankset with power meter all from AliExpress.
I love the paintjob! It came without stem spacers which was not a problem because I chose a size with the stack I needed without any spacers but could be problematic for others.

As other experienced, I struggled a lot with the headset. The one piece expander plug sucks ass. I wasn't able to compress the bearing enough and get rid of the fork slack. I got back to Chris and he wasn't much of an help. So I ordered a two piece deda style expander plug. I was able to compress the bearing but now the dust cap was touching the frame. Again Chris wasn't too bothered. I ordered micro spacers to put between the compression ring and the dust cap. It solved my issue. Thanks to this forum and you guys! It solved my problem for a moment at least... I just come back from a gnarly gavel ride and the fork created a slack again. A bolt on the stem was a little loose. I hope it's only that. I put some carbon paste on the steerer tube and tighten everything up again. I hope everything will stay tight. If not I'll put locktite on the stem bolts. This issue created a chip on the paint on top of the headtube.

The build was significantly more conplicated than with my LightCarbon build. Only by the headset, I can see that Lightcarbon is a big step ahead in quality control and attention to details. The compression ring can move independently from the dust cap and micro shim. The facing of the caliper mount is not as well done as in my LightCarbon also.
I Was also disappointed that the handlebar had no flare at all. A little strange for a gravel bike.

I was able to fit thunder burt 2.1 without any issue. I pushed over 1000 watt and no rubbing. There is about 2mm clearance on each side at the rear.

Overall if the fork can stay tight and without slack I'll be happy. The price is right.

[Camel]

quick update on yesterday’s build 😅

The headset issue was that it wouldn’t preload properly: even when tightening everything there was still a bit of play because the top cover was bottoming out before the compression ring could properly load the bearing.

I fixed it by installing the 70 mm Deda expander and adding a 1 mm shim under the top cover. Now the headset preloads correctly and the play is gone. There’s still a tiny gap between the cover and the frame, but it’s purely cosmetic.

Hi everyone regarding the headset issues, it seems to work when I use 2mm shim directly underneath the top cap, it seems to remove the play from the headset area.

Prior to this,  I cut my steerer fork tube about an additional 4mm but still had the issue! But the shim seems to help.

I wonder if the top cap might be making contact with the steered tube compression plug and lifting it out as I torque the top cap…

If that’s the case the true fix would be to cut the steerer tube even more perhaps anotjwe 2-3mm? Which in theory should prevent the top cap from touching the top of the plug?

Any flaws to my thinking here before I get the saw out again?

Thanks everyone

[CoffeeNbikes]

Hi yall,
so I had headset play for 1 year. Tryed little 0.25 mm C-shims  as suggested here and also tryed better and longer expander plug (DEDA) without any success. I decided to buy  a different Compression C-ring  on aliexpress(see picture). Now it works perfectly. I chose the 7.3 mm but maybe the 6.3 mm could have been ok too. Just dont use the C-ring provided with the frame. Chris from Velobuild discarded the issue saying the issue with previous frame was solved few years ago despite many people on this forum with similar issue. I can confirm the new C-ring provided by velobuild with this frameset is not really better. Too stiff maybe.

Anyhow, problem solved and can finally ride the bike!

[Camel]

Hi yall,
so I had headset play for 1 year. Tryed little 0.25 mm C-shims  as suggested here and also tryed better and longer expander plug (DEDA) without any success. I decided to buy  a different Compression C-ring  on aliexpress(see picture). Now it works perfectly. I chose the 7.3 mm but maybe the 6.3 mm could have been ok too. Just dont use the C-ring provided with the frame. Chris from Velobuild discarded the issue saying the issue with previous frame was solved few years ago despite many people on this forum with similar issue. I can confirm the new C-ring provided by velobuild with this frameset is not really better. Too stiff maybe.

Anyhow, problem solved and can finally ride the bike!

Hey mate thanks for coming back with an update.

I’ve just gone ahead and ordered both versions based on your recommendation.


Fingers crossed it arrives before race day in two weeks!

[Eisenhut]

Here’s mine!

XL frame
Serenade 50mm 32mm internal wheels. Schwalbe G one 50mm (very tight fit in the frame)
SRAM Apex AXS.

[Camel]

Just did a 100km gravel race on thus frame and thought I’d share my thoughts. The race day was incredibly muddy and overall a nightmare for gravel racing, but I’m pleased to report the bike performed flawlessly without any issues.

I’ve ridden about 800km on the bike so far and the only problem I’ve encountered is with the headset. It needed redoing a couple of times due to play but Chris from Velobuild suggested adding extra grease around the provided C-Ring. This worked and I had no headset problems during the race. However, I ordered a different C-Ring as suggested by another poster and plan to swap it out to see if there’s any difference.

The frame is XL and weighs 9kg, as shown in the photo, minus all the extra mud!

Overall, I’m very happy with the frame. The headset issue is disappointing but for the price I can’t really complain. Chris was also very responsive on WhatsApp even after the purchase when I had questions about torque specs and other details.

I’m happy with the frame and would definitely recommend it. It’s a bit heavier than I expected but I like to think that means it’s sturdier… hahah!

[rusty904]

If anyone has a small frame they want to part with, lmk!

[FranL]

Hi, is there any news on whether Velobuild is going to update this frame? No matter how much I look, it remains my top choice for gravel and road riding: endurance geometry, aero frame and seatpost, 50mm tire clearance, UDH hanger... it has everything I’m looking for, except for a downtube storage compartment for tools. That would be a great upgrade for this frame.

Do you happen to know of any other frame that has these features but includes a downtube storage compartment?

Thanks.

[jo1673]

Not a direct answer to the post above, but more a comment on what this bike does and doesn't have. Yes, it has all of the above, and yes, I would've liked a storage compartment. But - the one thing this bike doesn't really have is comfort in the rear end. It's super harsh and I find that it doesn't really mute out any small washboard sections at all. Even with 2.1" TB below 20 psi I find the lack of comfort annoying. Not sure why, though. Another user on WW suggested it may be related to the seatpost. I'm using the zero offset post, which is real junk by the way - at least for my use case (I am very sensitive to changes in saddle tilt, and making small adjustments is very, very hard).

[Ghandy]

If anyone has a small frame they want to part with, lmk!

PM

[FranL]

Not a direct answer to the post above, but more a comment on what this bike does and doesn't have. Yes, it has all of the above, and yes, I would've liked a storage compartment. But - the one thing this bike doesn't really have is comfort in the rear end. It's super harsh and I find that it doesn't really mute out any small washboard sections at all. Even with 2.1" TB below 20 psi I find the lack of comfort annoying. Not sure why, though. Another user on WW suggested it may be related to the seatpost. I'm using the zero offset post, which is real junk by the way - at least for my use case (I am very sensitive to changes in saddle tilt, and making small adjustments is very, very hard).

I suppose that’s the appeal of this frame if you want to use it on the road—that extra stiffness provided by an aero seatpost. For trails, though, it’s definitely a drawback. By the way, do you know if any off-the-shelf seatpost would be compatible? For instance, a Ridley one, since the frame looks like a carbon copy of the Astr? Thanks.