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Re: X16 speedster carbon frame
@Liv211, just curious... are you and Jessica Hunk working for Trifox ?
October 16, 2020, 06:08:24 AM |
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Re: Frames for women?
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005001914443587.html https://de.aliexpress.com/item/4000354323506.html https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005001732354480.html https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005001545191723.html (45cm) http://www.carbonda.com/road/gravel/128.html (45cm and release this summer) Or maybe custom Titanium? https://de.aliexpress.com/item/10000421116811.html https://de.aliexpress.com/item/4001085459477.html February 06, 2021, 02:37:27 PM |
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Seraph TT-X1 Long term review
Seen a lot of hate around the web about Tantan. From my experience it is not justified. I will do a cut & paste of what i've written else where then make more comments... I have a TT X1 that I purchased through the help of SissyPants. Ordering, delivery went smooth. 1st build... also smooth. I like the bike. It has helped me get several KOMs including one that I took from a TDF rider by 12s over 1/2 mile. I even got a climbing KOM (albeit a not very popular one) & I am a sprinter (at anywhere from 165 to 195lbs depending on time of year). It is fast. It's on ICAN 55m tubeless 25mm GP5000s. 105. I don't have a "real" bike to compare it to. I went form a Trek Hybrid to an entry level Giant a size too big, to this. My only complaints are 1 - Seat tube (didn't see that coming did you?) - Fix = Plastic Shim Stock .015" 2 - Not as stiff as I was hoping. I burned holes in the sidewalls of my 28mm GPs from hills & sprints. This also wore the paint away in the chain stays & even started cutting into the carbon itself... Hence the 25s now. Other than that I dig it. I am now looking to build an aero disk with SRAM AXS. I like the looks of Seraph & Sissy is cool to work with. I am not sure I am going this route though as this will likely be my last build & my "forever" bike (unless I get a Time Trial). I need it to be stiff. I want KOMs & I want to be able to ride a century a few times a year. ok then. that all still applies. maybe the company has changed, but i have had a very prompt email exchange with them in the last few days. the ONLY reason i am considering a different company is due to the stiffness factor. but i have strong legs & i'm heavy for a cyclist (165-195ishlbs depending). I can deadlift over 400lbs for reps. I don't squat often because of mobility issues from an accident... but using a specific squatting machine at my gym I can squat 460 (loaded w/olympic plates). so the flex issue may not be entirely their fault. the bike has been in 1 major crash & 1 minor crash. still ticking, no damage what so ever (that i've observed). it has done 55mph descents & has me in the 50% timewise on one of the local steep climbs.... 3.2 miles, 7.2% avg gradient, 1221 vert ft. it sucks on gravel but is a dream elsewhere. the bottom bracket developed a squeek/creak & I was using a wheels mfg BB I couldn't get it worked out myself so I took it to guy & he put a bunch of goop in it & got it quiet. March 23, 2021, 08:25:53 PM |
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Re: ICAN triaero A9
Looks like my prior post has a problem, I can't see it anymore, so sorry if this is a repost. ----- So nice to find a bunch of fellow A9 riders! All my riding buddies are like Why? I built mine in Nov/Dec 2020. I have more than 3500 miles. 6? races. 1 crash at 39mph and only a minor scratch to the bike... my build is XL, Hb017. ultegra di2, quarq pwm w duraace chain rings, toseek carbon saddle, tokyo wheels epic 3.4, shimano ultegra pedals, DT Swiss through axles, since the pics I've removed headset spacers and cut stem more and put in specalized rib bottle cages. I've struggled with a creaky headset. And my saddle rail clamps allowed the saddle to creep on 2 different saddles but I think I've fixed it by painting a tad of epoxy with skid proof mixed in on top and bottom of the rails. I maybe should have gotten the L and I'm 6'2". it's a big bike. handles very well. super smooth and stiff. I started riding this bike at 220 lbs weight but I'm losing weight, down to 194 so far. Great bike. I was new to building fully internal integrated hydraulic. Routing cables in the handlebar was very difficult for a first timer. I also goofed and cut the steerer to short but Doris at Ican was like no problem and sent me a matching replacement for like $120! I will say on routing don't worry so much about dinging and kinking the ends of the hydraulics lines. Remember you will be cutting that part off anyways. May 05, 2021, 11:21:37 PM |
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Re: Velobuild VB-R-177
Well, this was a shock. My frame got shipped on the 13th and this morning has been delivered to my house in the UK so 3 days shipping and no import charges! It was using EMS HK. Obviously the first thing to do was to weigh everything. It's a size 54 - M clear coat paint. Frame (with derailleur hanger, FD mount, bottle cage screws, seat post clamp, grommets) = 1039g Fork uncut = 384g Seat post with all fittings = 211g Handlebar (400 width, stem 100) = 311g Everything looks very neat and tidy - can't wait to put it all together. July 16, 2021, 05:04:03 AM |
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Velobuild Handlebar
I was wondering if anyone have experience with Velobuild handlebars? I was looking at potentially at HB-009 or one of their integrated ones (HB-05 or HB-06) but not sure about quality and flex. Any feedback or other recommendation?
August 26, 2021, 01:43:54 PM |
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VeloBuild VB-R-068 Build thread
Hey all, so I finally got my frame from VB about two weeks ago and finished building it last weekend but was only able to ride it for the first time this past Saturday and Sunday due to life stuff. I'm coming from riding a Cervelo P3 that I converted into an aero road bike. It was actually really fun and fast but there were some issues that I just couldn't fix/get dialed in to my liking. Seeing as how I'm getting into racing I wanted what I thought would be a good reliable training/racing frame. I did as much research as I could and settled on the VB-R-068 aero frame- I chose rim brakes because all of my wheels and groupos are mechanical rim and I'm also a weight weenie who prefers rim over disc for that reason- I don't ride in the rain often and I've never had any issues with brake fade or anything like that on any of the local descents. The reason I chose an aero frame instead of a climbing/endurance frame is because at 85~kg/185~lbs I'm no lightweight and in my personal experience I go faster on a heavier aero frame than on a considerably lighter climbing frame. I'm still all about the weight weenie-ism but I'd rather get the lightest possible aero frame I can and use the lightest components on it. The P3 had a mixture of SRAM stuff on it- Rival22 right shifter and RD, Red 10s left shifter and a Force (and then Ultegra 6500 b/c the Force FD was quite shitty) FD with Apex brakes and a 6800 crank. I wanted a change and also saw that Merlin was selling Dura-Ace 9100 shifters for $410, R8000 brakes for $87 (the whole set, both front and rear!!) and front and rear Ultegra derailleurs for less than $150. I was going the weight weenie route when I was rocking the SRAM but the front shifting was really underwhelming plus I was ready for a change and honestly felt like spending some money- what can I say. Here's a list of weights for the build: -VB-R-068 frame in 56cm: 1276g -VB uncut fork: 404.5g -VB uncut aero seat-post: 192.1 -ICAN 38mm carbon clinchers: 1394g -Bontrager R3 tires (non tubeless): 415g -Continental/Bontrager tubes: 170g -VB Headset: 130g -BBR60 Shimano threaded BB: 75.6g -Generic Amazon Ti QR skewers: 42.5g -EC90 carbon stem (120mm/-7): 131.9g -Selle carbon saddle clone: 97.5g -Generic Amazon carbon aero drop bars (40cm): 184.1 -Dura-Ace 9100 shifters: 369.1g -Ultegra R8000 FD: 90g -Ultegra RX800 RD: 242g -Ultegra R8000 brakes (with SwissStop Black Prince pads): 367.4g -SROAD 11-32 cassette: 219.8g -Amazon carbon bottle cage: 15.8g -Ultegra R6800 crank- 53/39 and 172.5mm: 696g (as per Shimano's website- I took the crank off the P3 and didn't remove the pedals and forgot to weight everything) -Garmin V2 Dual-Sided PM pedals: 358g~ (I didn't feel like taking them off the crank just to weigh them and I don't have the numbers at my apartment- this is based on Google search results) -The cumulative weight is 7.5kg with bottle cage and pedals I *think* that's about it. The build was fairly straightforward but I'm not sure I'd suggest it for someone that doesn't have any experience in working on bikes. I did a ton of research before buying/building this so I more or less knew what I was dealing with. 2 miles into my first ride on Saturday the rail clamp shifted a few degrees upwards- guess I hadn't tightened it enough. Annoyingly enough, the wedges that I had initially not tightened enough got stuck in the upward position leaving me pretty uncomfortable for the rest of my 30~ mile ride. The drivetrain shifted nicely and was quite in the stand but was noisy once I got it onto the road but that's not all that uncommon- just need to finish dialing in the indexing and maybe the front mech to get it perfect. About 20 miles into that ride, I realized the saddle must've slipped way down because I felt like I was on a clown bike- from from I've read, this is a super common issue on the open mold bikes that have aero seat-posts. I ended up riding out of the saddle for a lot of those 10 miles (silver lining, I set 20s, 30s and 60s power PRs because of that lol). I get home and remove the saddle and get a flat-head screwdriver and a soft mallet to knock the wedges out of the seat-post and tightened it a little tighter (12nm instead of 8.5nm). I got a piece of plastic from those bags that linen comes in- for some reason that's the shim of choice for these seat-posts- and I rubbed some carbon paste on a piece and wedged it in the back of the seat-post and tightened to 4nm. I also changed the bar tape- I had originally bought some pink Supacaz knock-off tape and it was AWFUL- without a doubt the worst tape I've ever used. The Marque tape I'd ordered two nights before had come so I used that instead. Oh, and this was a first, I noticed that whenever I turned the bars sharply to the left, the front brake would tighten a little bit, so I had to redo the tape holding the cable- I even cut a new length of housing but it wasn't needed. I went on a longer 50 mile ride yesterday and it was considerably better- I put on a different saddle just to try it out on this bike and it wasn't nearly as comfortable as I recalled- but aside from that it was a fun and dope ride. Two things to note: the front shifting on the 9100/8000 shifter/FD combo is absolutely phenomenal- like, all I have to do is barely even touch the lever and it'll shift from small to big with the utmost of ease- it's honestly so amazing. Gotta say that I'm still getting used to the trim function on the front shifter- having been using SRAM for the past 2000+ miles and having used 1x for a while before that, sometimes I'll downshift when I mean to trim. The other noteworthy thing is the brakes- I was super hesitant to buy Ultegra brakes that were actually a good bit HEAVIER than my Apex brakes but I kept reading about how good they were and since they were on sale, I pulled the trigger and got them. I'm glad I did, I thought I'd felt good to decent braking before but the Ultegra brakes are something else entirely- the modulation, the precision- I'll gladly take a weight penalty to run brakes like this. I tried indexing the RD a little bit before the ride but it was still a bit noisy- I ended up getting the rear shifting dialed in nicely last night once I got home but it's still being a bit loud for my taste- I'm thinking running a 6800 crank with the SROAD cassette and a current gen Dura-Ace chain might just make for a noisier than usual drivetrain. I'm installing a 36 tooth chainring today so I'll make sure there's no undue noise from the FD/crank area. Here's a few pics- I can always post more if anyone would like. August 30, 2021, 10:49:27 AM |
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Re: X16 speedster carbon frame
I bought this frame after seeing Trace Velo, Hambini and Oz Cycle give great reviews for Trifox frames...The Hambini video looked like an ad to me. Trifox is playing dirty, they tried here, but it works 
September 03, 2021, 06:25:00 AM |
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Re: Velobuild's price vs other options
Here is my experience: Chris is very responsive, and VB will accept custom paint schemes and decals for a price. However, with VB it is best to keep the order as simple as possible, as their fulfillment system leaves much to be desired. They are prone to making mistakes on orders, even on straight forward items such as frame and handlebar size. While responsive, getting them to correct an order after shipping is near impossible. They may make mistakes or switch parts and not tell you until the item has shipped. This occured to me with the handlebar (model switched) and seatpost (incorrectly painted). They will give you the run around, and eventually throw you a bone, but unless the mistake is severe, do not expect good post sales service. They will quote 21 days, but expect up to 2 months. Shipping by EMS took about 2 weeks. I didn't pay duties The frame I received was quite good. Geo was correct, and weights were within specified, even with paint, axles, and hangers A couple superficial scratches. The carbon was mostly nice and clean internally. The steerer was smooth, but deep in the fork were a lot of loose fibers. However, I understand this also is the case with some name brands. The handlebar holes that interface with the spacers was slightly misaligned as were the mounting holes for the rear brake caliper. The handlebar cavities were the sloppiest, with cables constantly catching on the carbon while routing. The cable only caught in one place on the chainstay. The BB hole was round and very clean. Super easy installing the BB The front fork could use a cable port, as the exit hole for the brake cable is very shallow. This results in some thin carbon around the hole. While the brake cable easily went through, it did chip off carbon around the hole in the process. No torque specs are given other than the thru axles. In short, they make decent frames for the price. They are disorganized and prone to making mistakes. If you are patient, and they deliver as ordered, you'll likely be satisfied. If you need post-sales help, god help you. September 03, 2021, 10:50:52 PM |
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Re: Velobuild VB-R-177
Hey o/ first time posting here. I just finished my bike build and want to share some of my experience here. I wrote this review for the Velobuild website, but I'm pasting it here too. Hopefully that can be useful to someone else  ---- I've recently finished building my VB-R-177 (Size XS) with Shimano 105 hydraulic disc brake bike, Fulcrum Racing DB7 650b wheels and Schwalbe Pro One 28mm tubeless tyres. The bike is perfect for short people. The frame came well packaged and in good condition. There were no visible marks or damage to the frame. The frame, however, took a lot longer to be shipped than initially agreed on. So, if you're in a hurry, this may not be the frame for you. With that being said, the frame is really good and I was impressed. The quality of the carbon seems good with no sharp bits inside. The paint job was on point and exactly how I specified it to be. The frame came with almost (more about it below) everything you need to build it other than the groupset, cables and things you expect to not come with a frame. I said the frame came with almost all parts because after assembling the headset, the handlebar were not turning smoothly. I had to buy some very thin (0.4mm) spacers to go between the top headset bearing and the compression ring to lift the headset a little bit and don't scrape the frame. Other than that, the build went without any issues. For the integrated cockpit and fully integrated cables, I do recommend having a cable routing tool. I also used a small file to open some internal holes in the handlebar because the hydraulic hose and the shifter cables were too big for it. As long as you're patience, and route the cables through the handlebar FIRST before putting it on the bike, you should be OK. No, really, route your cables in the handlebar before assembling it to the bike, trust me on this. Think it through. This order is not the same as a more "traditional" bike build. Tip: If you're buying a shifting cable set, make sure you buy one with a very long cable. In this bike, the outer housings goes all the way from the shifter until the derailler. Tip2: You can buy silicone seatpost rings that will make the transition between the seatpost and frame a lot nicer, and prevent water ingress. After going through the pain of routing the fully integrated cables I think the end result is worth it. The bike looks amazing. It's very light (between 7-8kg) even though I didn't buy any weight savings components. I recently finished a 120km ride and the bike had no issues. September 06, 2021, 03:37:14 PM |
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