XM Carbon Speed - "Gran Tourismo" Frameset

[rsw42]

So I finally managed to put together the bike and have a first test ride...

Impressions:
Geometry is way different than any other road bike I've been riding so far - quite upright, feels extremely comfy, but I can still fold into a aero position nicely... Fits me like a glove I'd say...
I know I run quite a pile of spacers at the moment - unfortunately need them due to injury but from my ride yesterday I'm confident that I will be taking out about 10 mm by the end of the year...
The bike feels quite snappy but the upright position gives an impression on beeing high up - will take some time to feel as comfortable going around corners at speed... I guess I'll have to learn cornoring in the drops
Surprisingly positive: No toe overlap whatsoever - actually quite some room (even though my shoe size 48 is quite big for my body size at 183cm)...
Only downside: I'm having a bit of a hard time to get the saddle into the right position - not sure if it's also slipping a bit due to the clamp mechanism... will try again and maybe go for a big pile of carbon gripper... (But actually I believe I didn't torque to spec - the build was going over several weeks)

Long story short: Very lovely ride...

Here's the Parts list of the final bike (and afterwards the thoughts of why I've gone down this route):
Frameset: XM Carbon Speed - size 56
Groupset & Brakes: Shimano GRX Di2 1x11 (Brake calipers might be swapped for 4-pot-brakes later)
Handlebar: Pro Vibe Aero - 420 mm
Stem and Headset: Ritchey Comp Switch (also tried the WCS Switch - could get a neater routing with the Comp Switch)
Chainring: Alugear 40 T Golf Dimple Aero Chainring (might be switched to a bigger ring for the future or switched back and forth according to the planned ride)
Chain: YBN 11s SL
Cassette: ZTTO SLR Gen2 11-46

Still unknown: How on earth will I mount my garmin on this stem/bars combination...? and how can I mount the front light - it keeps on slipping backward on this bars...

So there was a quick discussion and several people suggested that this should be 2x as it is a road bike... I still decided to go 1x as i believe this also fits for Aero reasoning (and that thing looks quite aero). My main thought behind it is, that both my daughters are running the same groupset and if anyone of them might encounter a problem and we need quick remedy for their next races my bike could act as a donor... As for cadence: I'm not really sensitive to finding the "perfect" cadence since I just have too much other issues on bikes at the moment, noticed that I switched two gears more often than just one gear at a time yesterday...

[rsw42]

There you go, hope this pictures help...
For reference: these are 42 cm pro vibe aero bars with quite a thick bar tape...

[Bobinski]

That really does look tidy. Nice build. Ride what you want. If 1x works for you and the riding you do then there is no need to change. I only ride 1x 12 here in UK and on trips to Majorca and the Alps etc. it works for me.

[radrick_91]

It looks very good — nice build! Have fun with it and enjoy the ride!

The two silver screws on the seat post clamp look unusual and stick out. Is that how they're supposed to be, or is there a problem?

As an idea, I installed the following adapter (https://ritcheylogic.com/bike/stems/universal-stem-mount?srsltid=AfmBOopJc-SLrEJYm2WnAWEZbPpyP2IRxHJ_Sk-M6JUSkqpYRRY72B53) on my Ritchey stem and then installed the head unit and light using a GoPro adapter.

[voidptr]

The two silver screws on the seat post clamp look unusual and stick out. Is that how they're supposed to be, or is there a problem?

The default grub screws are too long. You can simply buy these in size M6x8 to fix it: http://aliexpress.com/item/1005008041466638.html

[Dewa6975]

Peter just told me all new framestet will have now the proper screw!

[rsw42]

The default grub screws are too long. You can simply buy these in size M6x8 to fix it: http://aliexpress.com/item/1005008041466638.html

Im actually planning to keep it the way it is but 3D-print (or CNC?) a Mount for my lezyne rear light around it... kinda use it as the anchorpoint for that...

But yeah - it felt a bit weird at first...

[voidptr]

This is how it looks with the 3D-printed mount for the Ostro V2. It's not perfect, but it does the job.

I'm still holding back on writing a review, since so far I've only run into problems with my frameset.
Mine is the EuroBike showpiece version, and I'm not sure if these issues exist on the regular production units.
So far, I've had problems with the bottle cage threads, resin damage on the fork, and now a stuck seatpost that makes the bike unusable.
I did buy the frame at a big discount directly at EuroBike and also received some money back from Peter because of the resin damage, but everything is on hold until I can get the seatpost unstuck.

Weights:
Frame (raw matt carbon, no hardware): 997g
Thru Axle Front: 25g
Thru Axle Rear: 35g
FD Mount w/ Bolts: 15g
Fork (uncut): 383g
Seatpost (cut from 400 to 350, w/ 7x9 clamp): 184g
UDH Hanger: 25g

[rsw42]

So far, I've had problems with the bottle cage threads, resin damage on the fork, and now a stuck seatpost that makes the bike unusable.
I did buy the frame at a big discount directly at EuroBike and also received some money back from Peter because of the resin damage, but everything is on hold until I can get the seatpost unstuck.

Makes me really sad that you're experiencing so much problems - Mine seems to be really fine except for also having a stuck seatpost... in my case I was able to stuck it at the exact right height for me... but yeah, the issue is still there... Would be interesting to hear from Peter on that part...

[voidptr]

My seatpost is also roughly at the right height from the initial setup, but I like to make small adjustments and experiment with different saddles.
Saddle rail heights alone can vary by like 5mm, and changing the fore/aft position also affects saddle height. Crank length, shoes, and cleat position - pretty much everything has an effect.
If I can't adjust the saddle height, there's no point in spending more time building this bike. Without that flexibility, it's simply a write-of.
So far I've only tried WD-40 and a hair dryer to get it unstuck. I'll try the boiling water method next. But even if I manage to fix it, how do I prevent it from seizing again? I didn't even use carbon grip paste in the first place.

[PeterXu]

Makes me really sad that you're experiencing so much problems - Mine seems to be really fine except for also having a stuck seatpost... in my case I was able to stuck it at the exact right height for me... but yeah, the issue is still there... Would be interesting to hear from Peter on that part...

First generation frames do have a little issues, but we improve those on all new production framesets, like the set screws for the seat post, all standard handlebar with spacers, headset bearings etc.

We made the seat post a bit tight is just some brands make their seat post pretty loose in the seat tube, and that caused many cracks at the connecting point between seat post and seat tube on those brands' frames.

We now make it a little bit looser than your two seat post, but still can't be too loose, otherwise that might cause problem or potential risk.

[rsw42]

Thank you for the reply, Peter. would it be possible to get one of the new seatposts? I'm sure I can get the post unstuck again (even if I'll ruin parts of the paint while doing so, I'd be willing to do that...)

[voidptr]

First generation frames do have a little issues [...]

I understand the challenge of designing and implementing a proper seatpost clamp system, but a stuck seatpost is far from a "little issue".
It makes the bike completely unusable for me.

By the way, I found some "Gran Turismo" decals on aliexpress: http://aliexpress.com/item/1005008157368148.html
Definitely worth a try for 2$.

[rsw42]

Peter already answered... I'll arrange the shipping and forward the second post so only one parcel has to go from xianmen to the EU

for everybody else: will give an update on the new seatpost as soon as it arrives... until then I'll continue riding the GT and will give some updates when I've added some mileage...

[Dewa6975]

For those who assembled the GT, did you clamp it on the seatpost ? Was it safe to do ? If not how did you manage ?