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Re: Velo Build R-099 Build Here is my VBR-099, build completed just in time for the weather becoming crap in the UK.

I bought the frame 2nd hand from ebay (£350) and lifted the parts from my bowman palace.

Interestingly the brand "Fire" up-sells the frameset for £2800 here https://ridefire.cc/collections/ignite

The frame itself was easy to work with. I had more problems with odd little things breaking with my old parts.

Im now just sitting staring at my bike in the garage waiting for a weather window  :'(
September 20, 2023, 10:15:18 AM 		1
Titanium custom gravel build Almost ready
January 21, 2024, 07:53:17 AM 		1
Re: Titanium custom gravel build Finished and tested


January 28, 2024, 04:37:51 AM 		1
Re: Titanium custom gravel build The more I see it and ride it, the more I am tempted to get rid of all the other bikes. It is such a perfect fit and the ride quality so good both on road and off-road (once you bring down the pressure of those knobby Cinturato S/M tires)
February 03, 2024, 02:20:39 PM 		1
Re: Titanium custom gravel build Waltly. Kind of endurance geometry, but with a very vertical seat tube angle, short reach (375-ish) and high stack (600-ish). What I consider ideal for gravel use :-) .
April 22, 2024, 08:30:43 AM 		1
Re: Spcycle New Mold G068 Carbon Gravel Frame
Quote from: Kactusdog on July 29, 2024, 04:04:07 PM
You’ll have to tell us about the ride quality, and how you liked it.

What kind of terrain do you ride with it?

I am 179/83 and got the frame in size S. Personally, I find their sizing recommendations somewhat on the large side. I am pretty happy with my size, very sporty ride, while still being stable in the front (I only tried the 55mm trail setting). I live in Switzerland and have ridden 600km so far, about 60% gravel/CX-light and 40% road. The 45mm tires in combination with the 25mm inner width Elite Gravel wheels are great - very capable off-road. Frame clearance is about 8mm on the side with true to size 45mm tires. With the Conti RS tires its about 2kmh slower than my Venge - while being 20mm higher and 20mm shorter in front. On the downhill with 70kmh its rock solid (with balanced wheels).

The handlebar from SPcycles was only okay, as the rivets for the Garmin mount were glued in crooked - so i had to file them flat. The screw sits still not flush.... Otherwise, no complaints for the price of 120USD. Middle of the road with respect to flex. Bought it in 80/450 to match the progressive frame geo.

In conclusion: I can only recommend the frame, paint is great (except around the bottle cages and overspray on the brake mounts) and rides very well so far. Looked very clean on the inside. I am now thinking about selling the Venge.  ;) Its a pretty good do-it-all bike when paired with wide, fast rolling tires.

I hope that helps.
July 30, 2024, 03:22:11 AM 		1
Re: New frame: Longteng RD301-D
Quote from: kwantani on October 25, 2024, 10:11:22 PM
Still waiting for my missing seatpost wedge parts to shown up, been over 3 weeks since Alisa has send it out... >:(

I did get mine.  When I tracked delivery of the package, the first one got stopped by CN customs, so Alisa sent another one.  Somehow, now I have both packages lol, so maybe check the tracking.  I ended up getting delivery in about 3 weeks after all that.

Btw they do have a saddle clamp for oval carbon rails.  But you can also find oval adapters on Aliexpress - the saddle clamp is the same as what I believe is the Ritchey one-bolt clamp, and those can be found in several different sizes on Aliexpress.

Now I can finally build the bike, yessssss!
October 26, 2024, 12:36:54 AM 		1
Re: New frame: Longteng RD301-D Here it is, at last!

I picked up the bike last night from the LBS and spoke to the mechanic who built it up.  His take:

- Overall, it was easy to build

- No major issues, nothing was mis-aligned, BB fit was perfect

- Frame quality seems to be good with clean internals

- It didn’t feel all that different from building up major brand bikes

A few other notes:

- The bike was built with Ultegra 8170 Di2 groupset, Elitewheels Edge Ultralight 45s, Kocevlo integrated bars, GP5000 tires, RideNow TPU tubes

- Measured weight: 7.4 kg without pedals (7.65 kg with pedals) – I didn’t go full weight weenie, so there’s probably still room to take that down, but it’s not a priority for me

- I put on 32s and you can see from the pics that there’s plenty of tire clearance, probably room for more than the stated max clearance of 38

- The downtube internal storage is a bit finicky to close – there’s not a solid click to close, and I need to be careful to get everything aligned to close it, otherwise it comes off pretty easily.  Once it’s closed correctly, it feels solid. I’ll have to take it for a few rides to see if it’s problematic

- This is one of those frames with a soft top tube where you can press it down with your thumb – the mechanic said that it’s no different from some of the other lightweight frames that he has built, but you shouldn’t sit on the top tube at the stop light or tryna look cool

- The mechanic pointed out that there is a bit of play in the rear wheel – if you push on the wheel from the side, you can feel a bit of looseness; he tightened up everything but it’s still there, he said it’s probably something internal to the hub, it shouldn’t impact the ride, but I’m going to follow up with Elitewheels on this

- I took it for a short spin last night to bed the brakes and there was no seat tube slippage, although it was only a 30 minute spin over smooth surfaces. (I did end up with a flat…  I’m not very heavy and rarely flat, I think I’ve flatted maybe 3 times over 15 years, so I guess it’s Mazel Tov!)

The weather here has been crap (typhoon just came through, another incoming), so I may not be able to ride much on the new steed. Once I do, I’ll come back with some initial ride impressions (and au naturel pics).

Cheers.
November 04, 2024, 07:36:10 PM 		1
Re: New frame: Longteng RD301-D Despite a blustery day with occasional drizzle, I took the bike out for a maiden ride. I don't want to jump to too many conclusions due to the swirling winds, but here are a few (very) preliminary thoughts:

- The ride is very comfortable. This is probably more due to the bike and less to the frame itself - I'm sure the 32 tires do their part in this.

- Handling is neutral. It's nimble but stable compared to my previous race-oriented bike which feels twitchy in comparison. I like the way it's got a bit of "understeer" in car terms where, unlike my previous bike, not every movement in my arms will cause the bike to react, which gave me a lot of confidence taking corners even on this first ride. I like being able to control the bike using body English through my (ample) hips/butt.

- I do feel cross-winds, more so than on my previous bike. This is probably due more to the 45mm rims than the frame. I don't really notice it until I'm making a turn, where it feels like I'm "catching" the wind in the front wheel. This is my first time on deeper rims, so I probably just need to get used to it.

- The acceleration took me by surprise. Starting at traffic lights, I had to back off a few times because I'd close the distance to others on the road quicker than I'm used to. Maybe this is the aero profile of the bike shining through, or maybe it's the chunky T47 bottom bracket giving it extra stiffness, but the bike gets up to speed quickly. I'm really curious about how the bike does on climbs, given this initial sense of efficiency.

Again, these are just first impressions FWIW. Enjoy the pics!
November 07, 2024, 12:22:59 AM 		1
Re: New frame: Longteng RD301-D Took delivery of the completed bike this morning. Will share more details when I'm home later...
November 07, 2024, 05:25:58 PM 		1