I've now ridden this for 200km and here's my take so far:
Handling & Geometry:
Fairly well balanced, although the front is prone to a bit of understeer in my view. This is probably a personal preference, and would make for a more stable steering experience compared to something with a steeper steering angle. After you get used to it it's actually quite good when cornering on the loose stuff, less twitchy compared to some of the racier options out there when going down sharp descent. But I prefer a little bit more active steering closer to road bike control. No toe overlap with Sphyre shoes if anyone wants to know.
Stiffness and responsiveness:
Short chainstays make for fairly rapid response, although my comparisons with other race gravel bikes would suggest it's not as stiff in the BB area, as the power transfer feels softer compared to i.e. the Kanzo Fast and my Lightcarbon. Read a page back from someone stating the bike is very stiff which is not my impression at all. Although I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's spongy, it's for sure not as stiff as my Kanzo Fast (which is known for it's rather stiff/ harsh character). Integrated handlesbar is fairly rigid, not harsh but not overly stiff either, well balanced.
Build experience
All went smooth, including setting up the brake calipers (which can be a bit hit or miss depending on the facing). T47 BB went in smooth and sits flat against the shell. Frame is completely latex moulded and has a perfect inside finish. Seatpost, handlebars and fork however use a bladder moulding tech so the routing through the bars was a bit messy, almost lost my routing tool in there and had to use some force and arm grease to get it unstuck. Overall though it went together just fine, headset was well done without too much play in the bearings and so far not seatpost slippage despite what some people have reported about Velobuilds previous designs with d-posts. Not overly excited with the UDH hanger, in tandem with my GRX derailleur it's made removal of the rear wheel way more fidgety compared to my other bikes, partially this might be due to the clutch and design of the derailleur though. Also not too happy about the 1.5pitch on the UDH thread as it makes it more difficult to find a direct mount replacement over on aliexpress (most seem to be 1.0mm thread pitch)
Setup:
Frame: Velobuild Race Gravel
Handlebars: Velobuild Integrated
Gears: GRX 1x11 11-40t, Ultegra shifters
Brakes: GRX calipers, 160mm + 160mm Rotors
Wheels: Farsports gravel wheelset 35mm
Tires: Rene Herse Snoqualmie 44mm (on gravel 2.0bar front, 2.5bar rear, on pavement 3.5+4.0bar)
Cranks: Easton EC90 SL
BB: AliExpress scraps
