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Re: 2023 VeloBuild CX-002 Cyclocross Frame Ok the bike is finally finished! 

Goal:
What started as a want for a road bike in 2021, and wanting to build a bike from the frame up, led to a livery design in search of a frame… then buying a used road bike… and then determining that I would be better on something dirt-road capable of riding longer distances safely.  So the goal was to get a reasonably fast dual-purpose road+gravel bike that could also withstand 1-2 CX races if I felt like it; IE: surviving bunny hops. Ideally, something like the Airwolf 066 (Rinescalte Granite) would have been more ideal, but I was not a fan of how it looks (subjective!).

DIY Spray-paint job:
The Livery (paint job) is a throw-back to late 70’s - mid 80’s race cars and sport bikes.  I did all of the striping by hand with 1/16” tape and spray paint.  I think I’ll document my paint process for anyone who wants to read how it can be done – lots of lessons learned from over the years applied here that I want to write down for DIY’ing a spray paint job.  That may require it’s own post if anyone’s interested.  I initially asked if VB could paint it, but they didn’t want to do the rounded corners of the stripes, which was critical to the design, so that’s why they sent it in primer.  It’s no fault of theirs since this was a complicated paint job.
1.  To start, the inside of the (exterior) frame was sanded down to the carbon and sprayed in Spraymax 2K Matte clear (posted above). 
2.  Then taped for the outer parts.  The white is Honda/Acura’s Platinum White Pearl (NH-883P), which has a red and blue flake in it. I wanted a metallic white that wasn’t too creamy/pearly in color.  I applied a light coat of Spraymax 2K clear. 
3.  After letting that cure, I sanded it very lightly with 1000 grit just to give the paint something to stick to.  Then I did the hand striping … which took a while to get straight and then symmetric.  The blue’s are from Montana Gold, then finished with 2K spraymax.  Unfortunately, the Montana Gold is a bit dusty, so some paint dust got in the final clear coat :(.. But it’s only noticeable at 3 feet away. 
4.  After that stage cured, I applied an Invisiframe’s Generic CX/Gravel kit to protect the sensitive area’s.  I think the sizing matched the frame pretty well, with some clever ingenuity needed at the top of the seat stay and the back of the seat tube for the wheel indent.  Maybe an SL7 kit may fit better?

Assembly:
This is the first road bike I’ve assembled, and the integrated bars with the full hydro/mech drivetrain was a bit of a chore, but after a lot of wrestling, I figured it out.

Bike Specs:
- VB-CX-002, Size 56, with top tube mounts.  Final weights without pedals or accessories:
-- Gravel: 8.655kg/19.08lbs
-- Road: 8.475kg/18.68lbs
-- Weight with accessories and pedals: ~22lbs
- Integrated bars, 110x440, 10mm spacer
- Rider: 6’1”, 185cm, 34” inseam - perfect fit and standover.  Kind of like an older style frame with a nearly horizontal top tube.
- (Used) GRX-810 2x drivetrain.  48/31 Chainrings, 11-34T, 11S, 172.5 crank arms
- Token Ninja Bottom Bracket - thread together style
- Elite ENT Wheels 50 deep x 27ow 17iw, upgraded spokes, 25mm GP5K TLS, tubeless
- Elite ENT Wheels 30deep x 28ow x 18iw, Pathfinder Pro 38mm, tubeless
- 160mm SRAM rotors
- Jagwire LEX-SL cable housing (min bend radius: 25mm)
- Lyne Components bottle cages and Holy Rail tool bag kit
- Fiziks 3.0 Bondcore cush tape

Road and Gravel ride impressions coming mid-week, but so far I am really happy with it :)
June 11, 2023, 01:50:35 PM 		1