All my wheels are 26 to 28mm but the glue strip would allow for slightly wider. I agree that anything wider than 30 combined with a 33mm tubular would leave the sides of the rim very exposed, any unlucky rut or root would damage the rim.

Get ones with a 28 or 30mm wide rim bed, makes glueing the tubular much easier while also minimizing the chance you're rolling a tire off of the rim.

Regarding the SL7 compression ring: honestly can't remember but routing two brake hoses and a Di2 cable was no problem.

For a seatpost topper I believe you can also use the Trek Emonda/Boone toppers, so potentially one of the AliX copies as well.

Nope, had to use the SL7 bearing as well, the bearings that came with the frame are slightly different (so yes, you do need to re-do the cables/hoses as well). It's interesting that they (=Airwolf) messed this up, perhaps someone messed up during the copy-pasting of frame designs

Update on the seatpost clamp saga: had to involve the Aliexpress overlords but finally Airwolf responded with a general link (something like 'extra paint cost') and I managed to order (and receive) two seatpost clamps.

One bottle boss has come loose, Airwolf is refusing any kind of warranty, so I gave up and epoxy'd it all together. Did a 270km gravel trip last weekend and it's still holding, so fingers crossed.

The bottom headset bearing was already shot so replaced the headset with SL7 bearings (and the SL7 headset compression ring), I should have done this months ago, finally the headset play is gone and the steering feels smooth. I'll ride this bike at the Gravel World Championships later this year so every little improvement counts

There's a few people who have used regular stems, otherwise you could try mounting one before committing to a full stem/handlebar setup?

Is there an other source for these frames? I have two (bought from Airwolf on Alie) and both the seatpost clamps have failed. I've tried the original Cervelo part but while it is the same shape, it's not the same size. Airwolf takes about three days to even respond on Aliexpress, it's very frustrating as I have a bikepacking trip coming up and this $10 part is now making the whole bike unusable.

Ordered a second one of these for my GF, in the champagne pink colourway - this time I'll use the SL7 parts straight away (having to redo the cabling is such a hassle!). With the Black Friday discount it was a fantastic deal.

The latter one

Yep, my dad got one, I was very impressed by the build quality of the frame and the components. Only minor issue I had was with the convoluted seat post clamp mechanism, it was a very tight fit but I'm not sure if the original is any better. If this frame had a round seatpost (or if someone can print an adapter) I would get one for myself.

Did my first ride on it yesterday (only an hour because I'm recovering from an accident):

-It's stable - not in annoying way, but definiteley not nervous like a Giant TCX or the Factor O2 it replaced
-It clears 45mm tires (when using a GRX Di2 front derailleur) but only just. With a 21mm internal rim these tires (Schwalbe G One RS) are quite voluminous. I'm afraid I'll have to size down or dremel down...
-It's quick enough (or I am), averaged 33 kph
-The slipping seat post as someone mentioned is also a problem for me, I thought i'd have done it up tight already but it still slipped about 1.5cm during the ride.

All in all I really like it, can't wait to go out on an actual gravel ride with it now!

Quote from: jsiegrist on February 25, 2024, 11:13:09 AM
Adding on to my questions:

Does anyone know if the trail mixer brake adapter is required to run the front fork in the forward position as it is on the Aspero?

Probably, since the distance from the brake caliper changes when you flip the chips.

For me the alloy top part was sticking out wider than the fork, so I sanded it down until it was flush. Otherwise the stem wouldn't slide over the top of the fork.

My build is almost finished, just received a GRX Di2 front derailleur so that a 45C Schwalbe G-One RS fits (not much room to spare but i wouldn't ride these tires in muddy conditions anyway). With a Dura Ace Di2 there was about one millimetre to spare, and now it's maybe 3-4mm. The only challenges so far were the expander and getting the headset running smoothly, a thin spacer underneath the top cap solved it.

The original Cervelo expander doesn't fit, which is too bad because the design is a lot more elegant (more outward moving parts, better ridges on the gripping part).

Both the pictures and some reviews indicated it would be a genuine Thomson post. Aliexpress agreed with me on the dispute, so apparently I had a case there.