Except he doesn't say it's garbage, Seth actually says he's quite impressed by it, it's only that like me he noticed a certain amount of degradation in performance after riding. I'll pull mine apart at around 500km just to take a good look at it.

Don't really care, its not worth risking your life over.

ingrid components claim to be 100% made in italy. i have a feeling that theyre 'made from scratch' fakes. the design has been copied then the copied and sold and also they have then been altered for brands like racework to make their own 'design' crankset (the one with the 24mm spindle)

seems like a lot of copied cnc parts are popping up on aliexpress recently like the fake ee brakes. i have also seen some rebranded and altered version ee brakes on taobao. so i doubt theyre coming from the original factories. im guessing they are coming from cnc factories that are able to copy existing products

IMO quality and details are far too good to be from scratch, think of the effort from such a niche product (54pc sold). The box, stickers, way too much.
Would it be worth it when you could fake a more popular brand that well?

With the eebrakes they mention some small differences here: https://canecreek.com/counterfeit-identification-guide/
But they also indirectly admit the parts are made in China and assembled in USA.

Maybe I’m blind, but I couldn’t find anything on the Ingrid website or socials that indicate where they are made.

They say on facebook "Designed and made in Italy" and here:
"The team of experienced engineers at Ingrid accept no compromise in the pursue of quality and every part is produce in the factory in Italy."


edit: INGRID verified their parts are machined in Italy. So there is some stolen IP out there. Won't be purchasing those.

Nice pass quest ring.

Knowing the QC of these companies, they may have incorrectly preloaded the bearings. If you are really unlucky its to the point that the bearings are damaged. But if its just a bit tight and you are looking for a free-spinning pedal, try to loosen up the preload nut, assuming it has one.

I've pondered the idea quite a bit for my new gravel bike but in the end, decided to stick with a rigid fork. For my wife though, it's more of a necessity than a novelty. She's been suffering from neck issues for the past couple of years and has pretty much given up on mountain biking at this point. Even riding her Domane on gravel roads is a bit much. I'm hopeful that a drop bar bike with 700c*45mm tires and roughly 40mm of squish would be a great option for her. Just trying to get creative and see what I can come up with.

Yeah I had broken neck and went to 52mm tires to reduce the shocks and vibrations. The front tire can be bigger and softer. It helps a lot, although you still get bounce.
Suspension seatpost could be good to trial out if you want to add it to an existing frame: https://bikepacking.com/index/suspension-seatposts/
For bars there is also stuff like this: https://redshiftsports.com/products/shockstop-suspension-stem although personally I don't think I could use it, I just wrap lots of bar tape for now. That and gel type gloves.

Are you talking about blind pulling? What bearing sizes?
Probably have to get something automotive, then find a shim to protect the frame: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002766867744.html

Looks good. No fender mounts though?
Pic is a bit small to see the dimensions.

Since its been discussed in the ztto hub thread a few times its worth having a dedicated area here.

The massive MTBr thread: https://www.mtbr.com/threads/make-your-own-polymer-uhmwpe-spokes.1091276/
Avoid mentioning B3RD if possible, they stuck their noses in the thread above and tried to kill off any discussion.

Rope options:
Comparison list:


DM20 is the only possible option for Dyneema brand rope due to creep. If you use one of their formulations like SK99 it will stretch over a matter of days and the wheel will lose tension. The majority of "dyneema" for sale online is this SK type, DM20 is much harder to find.

Other options would be PBO, para-aramid, or vectran (LCP).


Sourcing:
Brand name       Diameter   Working strength   Breaking strength   Color   Weave
Marlow M-Rig max   2.5mm    839kg                   Black   
Liros D-Pro static    3mm       917kg                   Grey   
Mastrant M3           3.2mm   117kg   390kg   Twist
Mastrant M4           3.9mm    270kg   900kg   Sheath: Black Core: White    Twist
FL-32.NG               1.5mm     350daN (336kg)   White/Mix   Braid

Another sourcing option might be fishing line, as you can get Spectra line. But it would be necessary to weave multiple strands together.


Adhesion:
Apparently B3RD spokes are using simple cyanoacrylate to hold the DM20 to the threaded spoke portion. The weave also will grab providing friction.
Cyanoacrylate seems to be used in various places for bonding UHMWPE (what DM20 is made of).
Products are being sold as "surface prep" for plastics, as far as I can tell its just Heptane. Haven't investigated what it actually does to the plastic though. Then the other side of the spoke on the hub end is held in place with an eye splice.


Commercial brands:
- B3RD uses weaved DM20, 1.8mm thickness.
- Spinergy PBO uses sheathed PBO straight strands with end caps. Ends are epoxied into a conical end cap (link). I'm not sure if the same epoxy would work on DM20.
- PiRope uses weaved Vectran.

DT 54T have the inner ring of the ratchet milled out.
ZTTO 36T and 54T have this as well.
Quality of the DT ring is obviously much higher, smoothed finish, nicer plating.

But now I see partly why the DT 18T ratchet kit is cheaper (~$40), they left this unmachined, so weight is slightly higher. 24g vs 19g for both ratchets.