Quote from: debaser on October 15, 2026, 06:39:40 AM
Shimano groupsets have been all over AliEx an Alibaba for a long time, but i don't really feel the price has differed that much, strictly speaking it has crept up slightly recently. 105 Di2 complete is around 7-800 USD and Ultegra around 2-300 more than that.

Merlin currently has (OEM diverted) 105 Di2 groupsets in the mid 800 USD range and they generally ship to the US within a week.

https://www.merlincycles.com/en-us/shimano-105-r7170-di2-disc-groupset-12-speed-271682.html

Quote from: Dan S. on August 19, 2026, 02:55:18 AM
Ah yes, the Alugear ripoff. I have the same but from Ryet, which were quite a bit more expensive. But they look amazing and shifting is great. Might give these a go next time.

Do the Ryet ones bought as a set come with the aero cover or do you have to buy that piece additionally?

Carl Douglas Signature Edition would be pretty awesome.

On my XMCS wheelset with 26mm IW, my Hutchinson Caracals in 700x40 are 44mm at their widest and 39.5mm in height.

35c tires are also going to function better tubeless as the typical air pressure is in a better working range for sealant than narrower tires.

Quote from: Serge_K on April 20, 2026, 06:08:57 AM
The new Conti GP5000 S TR (NOT the ghetto-ized all seasons) seems to be out, shipping, and in stock here https://r2-bike.com/CONTINENTAL-Tire-Grand-Prix-5000-S-TR-Tubeless-28-700-x-35C-BlackChili-VectranBreaker.
Havent seen a rolling resistance test yet, but i suspect that it's as fast as the 32, that was as fast as the 28, give or take.
With a wide ass rim, the existence of this tyre just reset the gold standard for fast road bikes for most people, as far as i'm concerned. If you're 80kg, you've got no business being on 28C when you could be on wider tyres. I have 32 measuring 34mm at the back, i'm never going narrower again, and i'd love to test this 35 to see how it feels. The less is worry (punctures) and feel (vibration / comfort) potholes and bad asphalt, the better. Especially in the mountains, especially in spring / autumn when alpine / forest roads can be greasy, dirty, mossy, wet, gravely, and so on. I dont like that they don't have a tube version though, but i also dont think China is selling 35C TPU tubes, so maybe it's got to be tubeless.
And so, that frame looks very interesting.

Try the 38c Schwalbe slicks-real width is right at 40mm on 26 IW rims.   Dive bombing inside lines on asphalt is hilarious fun.

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews/schwalbe-pro-one-tle-38

Jenson USA is now a retail distributer for  XDS.

https://www.jensonusa.com/xds-x-lab-ad9-bike

Quote from: Sakizashi on March 23, 2026, 01:15:28 PM
They are made in different factories, by different people, with different QC processes. Remember, too, that EN standard compliance is a baseline for legality in China, but you need ISO4210 or an extended version of that standard for compliance and liability reasons when selling outside of China. There are some Aliexpress brands that seem to share factories with clone makers, so there is some overlap there; but for the "higher end" brands you mentioned, their only likely commonality is that they are in China.

This is like asking what the difference is broadly between a burger at McDonald's and the bar down the street. Both are made close to you and they pass local health inspections (hopefully). That's about it.

The companies and engineering staff behind each of the frames are totally different as well. Their approach to development is also really different. This is a bit of hearsay, but its a good example: when LTK / Permeants wanted to clone the Giant TCR Advanced SL. They put that bike on a deflection rig and then designed from the ground up form and a layup that replicate the ride feel and quality of the Giant by cloning its deflection numbers, not its shape. We see similar indications of benchmarking and then ground-up design from Elilee and Seka as well.

As a theoretical exercise, it would be interesting to put an '80s vintage Vitus 979 (stiff enough for Sean Kelly to win many sprints, and a lot of NOS frames in circulation) in a deflection rig and duplicate its headtube and BB stiffness stats in carbon fiber just to see how light you could go, and then start extrapolating iterations at +50 gram material increments for stiffness and life cycles to destruction.

KMC also sells pre-waxed chains which save the work of stripping them before the first hot wax in Silca, MSW, or whatever additive containing wax you're using.

My 12 speed ones aren't showing any measurable wear at the 2500 km mark.

Quote from: Requiem84 on March 04, 2026, 01:39:18 AM
Definitely.

Hopefully 1 1/8" steerer diameter; 1 1/4" shimmed to 1 1/8" is very much sub-optimal.

I used two pieces of anti-rattle foam hydraulic tubing with some spiral cable bundle wrap inside my aero profile seatpost.

Made in Italy steel for 2500 Euro is a pretty good turn key value proposition.

https://bikerumor.com/battaglin-milano-teases-affordable-made-in-italy-steel-gravel-bike-only-2500e-complete/

Quote from: mike_ryko on March 23, 2025, 03:58:02 PM
I've got Hanseline (German brand) from my local bike shop, but I suspect it is rubbish. Just ordered the one from finish line and will try again.

I would rock the hell out of a Hansa Pils kit.

The brand's last name is Dud-why resellers don't use Reddit abuse to pre-check brand names for Western markets is so puzzling.

I saw a tip to use longer mounting bolts combined with the conical washers from V-brake pad hardware to allow for better caliper fine tuning.

https://nminus1bikes.substack.com/p/magic-tricks-tommy-barse?utm_source=publication-search