Twitter C6 budget build

[amacal1]

My current daily driver road bike is a 2011 rim brake model that is limited to 25c max tires. I've been wanting to do a more modern road bike build for a little while now, and had been collecting a few parts, starting with an Ltwoo eR9. However, a few things conspired to make that not really feasible financially so I sold the eR9 and set my sights a little lower.

I've had an extra disc road wheelset with 32c GP5000 tires that I've kept around for my swapping my gravel bike between road and gravel. Someone near me was selling an Ltwoo RX (2x12sp) for $100. I already had a cheap Evosid 2x crankset that I briefly considered putting on my gravel bike but wasn't exactly impressed with how sturdy it seemed, so I never bothered.

I saw the Twitter C6 go on sale for a price so low ($330 including shipping, with bars, axles, headset, and BB). I couldn't ignore it. I'm not expecting much, I understand it's a fairly basic alloy frame. But, at least it should give me something rideable while I decide what kind of better frame I eventually want (likely Titanium, but that day may take a while). During the same sale with the same codes I also picked up an ultralight 12sp cassette.

I could have gotten the frame for even less without all of the accessories, but it was less than $100 difference in price for all of that stuff. I figure as long as the bars and headset aren't complete trash it will be fine to get rolling with, and I can replace the BB and bars, if necessary, in time. (And also take no risks on spec'ing out the right axles)

I'll likely get a decent crankset soon, but I'll need a minute to figure out what exactly I want. Edit: I decided that I'll try out a power meter crankset instead of using the power meter pedals I have. Considering I needed a crankset anyway, the recent sale price with coupons & coins and such was too good to pass up. I'll recoup a little money by (hopefullY) selling my current power meter pedals and using some road pedals I already have sitting around. [edit: I couldn't help myself, I bought some new pedals.]

($0)     Wheelset + tires (not counting these because I've had them for a long while)
($330) Frame, Bars, BB, Headset, Axles
($76)   Ultralight 11-34 12sp cassette
($100) Ltwoo RX 2x12sp groupset
($49)   KMC pre-waxed 12sp chain

edit:
($320) Magene P515 power meter crankset + chainrings

So far I'm at roughly $555 $875 all-in taxes, fees, and shipping, which doesn't seem that bad for what I'm getting.

[00Garza]

Thats a ridiculous price for a complete frameset. I can't find what the max tire clearance on it is though. Any idea?

[amacal1]

Thats a ridiculous price for a complete frameset. I can't find what the max tire clearance on it is though. Any idea?

I looked in a couple of places and I found one or two that suggested it's 32c. I'm banking on that because I have a pair of 32c GP5000 already mounted on a wheelset to use with this. But, the listing i purchased from does not state the tire clearance, so it's a risk for sure.

Edit: I've received the frame and I can say that it clears 32c tires just fine (size = "small" 45cm).

[raisinberry777]

Definitely worth going as wide as you can, one of the other threads on here said that the C6 was a pretty harsh ride.

[amacal1]

Definitely worth going as wide as you can, one of the other threads on here said that the C6 was a pretty harsh ride.

Correct. I think that might have also been a fully-assembled C6 which comes with 28c tires. Doesn't surprise me. But, I have ridden almost exclusively alloy frames for both my gravel and my main road bike. My main road bike came with 23c and I currently have it fitted with 25c because that's the largest it can clear!

While it's possible that the C6 might be stiffer than my current road bike due with a stuffer fork and stiffer thru-axle setup, and maybe a stiffer/thicker frame, it can't be worse than my alloy gravel bike which is very burly and also is thru-axle. When I ride my gravel bike with my road wheelset and 32c tires, all I feel is "luxury" compared to my 25c road bike, lol.

I was really hoping for a titanium or premium carbon frame build, but that price was too low to pass up. I will have something rideable while I wait.

[amacal1]

Okay, so I've received the frame and my initial impressions are pretty good. It's light enough, and I'm honestly surprised because I expected it to be a little chunkier. However, some of the hardware is heavy, and with no alternative to lighten it up (like the very heavy, specially shaped seat post). I'm not sure about some of the finishing details of the fork, though. It looks a little rough by where the brake hose enters the fork. Also, my fork was missing a crown race for the headset and neither was one included in the baggie of hardware. I ordered something on Amazon to hopefully get the bike together for this upcoming weekend, so I hope I spec'd it out correctly.

I'm also relieved to report that it clears 32c tires just fine. Pics included. There's oodles of room on the fork, and a decent amount of room on the rear triangle. My frame size is a "S" (45cm).

Weights (Size Small - 45cm)
Bare Frame (no hardware, no headset, no seatpost): 1533g
Fork (uncut, no hardware, no axles): 444g
Thru Axles + Dropouts: 103g
300mm Seatpost + Seatpost Hardware: 278g
Headset + Hardware (bearings, fork plug, headset cover + cap, 2 spacers): 187g
Integrated Bar + Stem: 654g (!!!!)
Included 68mm Bottom Bracket: 91g

Total Frame Weight (total of all above): 3.29kg (7.25lbs)

I'll also be adding the following:
Front Wheelset + Tire + Disc: 1220g
Rear Wheelset + Tire + Disc + Cassette: 1557g
Magene P515 + chainring: 805g (not my own measurement, I stole this from someone else's post)
Ltwoo RX Groupset: approx. 1150g (not my own measurement, stolen from elsewhere)
KMC 12sp chain: 234g (from KMC website)
Extra Spacers + Hardware: approx. 50g
Ryet Carbon Saddle: 110g
Xpedo Pedals: 235g

Total Added Part Weight = 5.36kg (estimated)

ESTIMATED FINISHED BIKE WEIGHT: 8.65 kg (19.07lbs)

That doesn't seem so bad considering this should be all-in with pedals and tires and sealant and all. Maybe a few extra grams for a bike computer and bottle cages are the only things I didn't consider.

[amacal1]

Finished Build!

Is the frame harsh and rough to ride? Maybe. My previous road bike was of similar construction but limited to 25c so I'm maybe not the right person to ask. Riding it around on 32c, I found it to be as good, or as anything I've ever ridden (which doesn't include a lot of super-nice frames).

I was quite impressed with the Ltwoo RX. It was dead simple to set up and dial in. So far the shifting has been really fast, snappy, and accurate. I accidentally set the chain 2 links too short, so I'm being overly cautious of cross chaining right now. But, even right up to the 2nd worst gear combo for cross chaining, I've got no rubbing and I didn't have to faff around with it at all.

[00Garza]

I would like to see this with a standard round seatpost, but at that price its really hard to complain. Not bad for a full build with powermeter under $1k.

[amacal1]

I would like to see this with a standard round seatpost, but at that price its really hard to complain. Not bad for a full build with powermeter under $1k.

Yep, the finishing details are good enough, as well. No gnarly weld beads, bearings and threads all fit nicely, paint held up to a couple small dings already with zero marks (the bare handlebars rotated and banged into the frame more times than I'm proud to admit while I was assembling, lol). As long as it holds up over time, I couldn't be more pleased with it for the discounted price.

[jonathanf2]

Nice, looks like a carbon build! I'm a big fan of alloy. Modern alloy frames are plenty durable and affordable.

I would like to see this with a standard round seatpost, but at that price its really hard to complain. Not bad for a full build with powermeter under $1k.

The Twitter G2 might be the ticket. Similar design, but with round seat post, wider tire clearance and the ability to use a seat tube clamp for using an FD.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256809643179356.html

[amacal1]

In case anyone does some searching and comes across this, I figured I'd share it. I designed and 3d printed a computer / garmin mount for my Twitter C6 stock bars. The stock bars have the computer mount holes on a curved portion of the bar, which makes modeling something a little tricky. The frame came with a computer mount, but I never liked it and it eventually fatigued and broke because, I guess, the stress caused by being mounted on a curved portion of the bar. Anyway, hit me up if you have one and are interested in downloading and printing this. Printed in PETG and it's proven plenty strong enough. I had one fail after 2-3months of use where the 1/4turn mount is. I will likely re-design in the future so that it's not an all-in-one design and you can simply replace the 1/4turn mount if that happens (or replace with an off-the-shelft garmin 1/4turn mount).