I want to build a gravel bike for my wife using this frame, but I'm a bit worried about the sizing.
She is 158 cm, do you reckon 49cm frame is ok (even with 70 mm stem), or still too big and I should look for something different?

Long time no see Peter! My CS256-SL cracked just 2 weeks ago, I guess you don't make those anymore either?

enter

my cs-256sl cracked, that woul be a great replacement

Thanks, this Tantan GR044 indeed looks pretty decent.

I'm 183 cm/ 6.0' so M/L depending on the manufacturer. Wasn't really aware that there are significant differences in geometries. I'd probably take something more aggressive than relaxed. T47 BB would be nice as well as low weight, don't mind paying a bit more if needed. Thanks for the tip about the bars, but I think I'd still prefer traditional road ones.

Hi All,

It's been a long time I visited this forum, glad to see it's still going strong

6 years ago I build a 29er hardtail, with the help of the wealth of knowledge of people here: https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,781.msg8546.html

It's been serving me well over the years, but a lot have changed as well. I moved from Europe to Australia. Down under I can't just leave home on MTB and enter trails 20 min later, I have to load it into car and drive 50 km to any reasonable trail network. Also, the trails themselves are way more technical than 5-10 years ago (or I'm just getting old). As a result I bought a road bike and spent way more time on tarmac recently. Still, trusty HT has never let me down on occasional fire-road trips and bikepacking adventures.

Recently, I noticed that a smal crack has appeared in hte chainstay. Was planning to rebuild it to FS for quite some time (to get more leeway on technical trails) but then realised that with standards moving on (boost everywhere) most of the parts wouldn't be compatible anyway. That's where the gravel idea appeared.

Did anyone here try that, was it successful and worth it?

My line of thinking is that:

* Wheels in HT are 15x100 front and 12x142 rear. Rear should fit most gravel frames without a problem, for the front width is ok I would just need to find fork with 15 mm axle. (There seems to be DT conversion kit for front hub going from 15 to 12, so that's an option)
* I should be able to use parts of the drivetrain (XTR M9000 rear der, cassette x01 10-42, chain) + have spare Ultegra crank laying around, which can use for the front
* I can also use current brakes (upgraded to XTR-M9000 since the original build) since all shimano road/mtb hydraulic systems are compatible
* New parts that I would need are (apart from the frameset):
    - Hydraulic mechanical road levers (7020/8020)
    - New BB
    - Tanpan to make der work with road shifters
    - PM to FM adapters for calipers
    - Front der

Am I thinking right?
What are the recommended Gravel framesets? I was looking at Winspace G2 initially ...

Quote from: theirishrider on May 23, 2020, 06:04:03 AM
So this is pretty cool, they're a Brazillian brand selling the FM936 under their own name! I came across it on instagram by accident.
Some cool paint jobs and build specs! The brand offers a lifetime warranty and custom painting.

Link to the bike 9.8kg!
https://edrobikes.com.br/site/produto/range1/

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7E1lPJHi70/
brand's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edrobikes/


Some youtube videos:

Code Select Expand


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwXSu02RtQo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WiWhrInXrQ&
something about geo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzZlKOA32JU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWGHWU--gZk
a race on the bike - great video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uTtYi2o3b8


^ I dont know why my youtube links arnt showing  without code mode, sorry if this is against rules.

The prices are pretty steep though I'd say.

Loving CS-256, if I ever need a replacement it would probably be CS-821. Good luck everybody!

How would you compare them to standard Shimano system (520/540) ? I'm looking for something easier on my knees, something else then EggBeaters which I managed to smash on rocks twice.

Hey carbonazza,

Any update on those pedals ? I'm thinking about getting a pair or two for myself.

Thanks!

Hi All,

I want to upgrade my gf's bike (2011 or 2012 Cube GTC Pro 26''). The drivetrain is almost dead at the moment and she was always jealous of the ease of use of 1x11 setup that I use. Therefore, I'm strongly considering getting her a GX (maybe Eagle) groupeset. Thing is that the wheels are equipped with a standard Shimano freehub body. These are old Sun Ringle wheels with some alloy Alex rims hub, nothing special so worth replacing as well. The bigger problem rest with the frame, as she wants to keep it and it has non-changeable QR dropouts.

My question is, do you know any good hubs with xD driver and 5 mm qr axle ?

So far I have only found HOPE Pro 4 from the MTB hubs.

I also did find Novatec D411SB/D412SB set which is feather light - 325 g front + rear, straight pull.  Technically speaking those are labelled road hubs, but chinese vendors lace them to 29" Mtb rims as well. Do you think they would work with 26" rims as well ?

Do you have any other hubs in mind that might be both QR and SRAM compatible ?

Your best bet would be asking at a lokal bikeshop. Usually they have plenty of spacers lying around.

Hi Peet182,

I was encountering similar problems as you do (crank not moving in smooth manner) at first, I put a very narrow (don't really remember the thickness right now, around  1 mm ) spacer on the drive side between BB and crank and it solved the problem. Axle is still long enough to hold everything together.

Is 12/14 psi even possible ? I mean it's less than atmospheric pressure (~14.5 psi). I run my 29er around 25ish , anything less and it gets the "float" that I just cannot stand.

Vinyl looks sick! Great job!