I am curious if others that have a VB-168 are running wider tires and what improvement (if any) came from changing to wider tires. Is this a more stable or comfortable ride? Do 28 and 30mm tires fit within the fork and chain stay? I currently run 25mm but wondering if there is a benefit to going with wider ones.

Quote from: cscottride on April 18, 2022, 08:14:54 AM
The weather is warming up and I have been able to get out for a few more rides. The bike is fast and handles great!

There is however a clicking coming from the BB area when I pedal. I am trying to determine what is causing this so I can get rid of it. It starts to get annoying on longer rides. Other than that, no issues .

I attached a current picture as well.

Update on the clicking noise. It was not the BB. It seems that this is coming from the pedals (Look Keo). It was getting worse on my rides so I finally removed them, added grease and reinstalled them. That seems to have stopped the annoying clicking noise.

Quote from: bamboo_mountain on April 20, 2022, 08:31:12 PM
I've recently received a VB-168 and have a problem with the seatpost hardware. I've looked at your pictures and it seems correct, but can you tell me if there is any gap like mine has?

Have you tightened the saddle bolts to spec and there is still a gap? Could the metal piece have been bent slightly so it is not sitting in that groove properly? I looked through some pictures of mine and it doesn't appear that there is a gap there.

Quote from: hazzer19 on April 18, 2022, 10:48:08 AM
Looks great!

Did you run into any issues with the integrated stem and not being able to fully compress the headset with the moulded cap? If so what did you do?

Thanks!

Interesting that you mention that. I thought I had it snug but after one of my rides there was some movement and noise so I loosened everything up and tried again. I was able to tighten the top cap enough to remove pretty much all of the movement/sound. I just stood in front of the bike pinching the front tire with my knees and wiggled the stem while tightening the top cap until it was no longer moving. It did require me to go fairly snug on that top cap screw but seems fine so far. That seemed to stay snug after my most recent ride as well.

The weather is warming up and I have been able to get out for a few more rides. The bike is fast and handles great!

There is however a clicking coming from the BB area when I pedal. I am trying to determine what is causing this so I can get rid of it. It starts to get annoying on longer rides. Other than that, no issues .

I attached a current picture as well.

Quote from: MikeLowery22 on March 15, 2022, 08:02:50 AM
Good to hear, does it come with enough spacers or did you have to order more? How tall are you? I'm 5'11.5" with slightly longer arms and trying to decide between sizes.

I think there are 5 spacers that come with the frame/fork/bar when you order the frame. When I ordered the separate stem/bar combo, I asked Chris from VB to include some more spacers (which he did). I am 6' 1" and have pretty long arms. However, I do not like a super aggressive position on the bike, so I opted for the added spacers. Hope that helps.

It is great now. I actually added more headset spacers to bring up the bars (as you can see in the pictures). I also have a 90mm stem so that shortens it up some. That is the main reason I switched from the integrated bars to the stem/bars combo. The reach was a little long for me.

I weighed the wheels as they are with discs, cassette, tires, etc... The rear wheel was 4.5 lbs (2041 grams) and the front was 3.5 lbs (1587 grams).

I have attached some current pictures of the bike as well.

I have had the bike on the trainer for the winter. The front wheel has been holding up fine with trainer use. There will be some warm weather this week so hopefully I can get back on the road for some more testing. I will update once I log a few more rides. I will also get you the wheel weight (front & rear).

Quote from: patliean1 on November 17, 2021, 03:06:44 PM
Anyone with the separate bar/handlebar combo...

Can you please provide photos of how the internal cable routing works from the handlebars into the steer tube? The photos on the website aren't exactly clear. Is there a cable opening at the center of the handlebars, where the stem bolts attach?

Thanks...

I recently switched from integrated bars to the bar/stem combo. The stem has a hole through it and the back of the bars has a small slot for the wires to go through and then on the underside is where they would route out to connect to the brakes. I was not able to route my cable through it as it was so tight and my cables were already cut to size. I explained this on my thread (VB-R-168 Build- A sceptic's experience). Hope this helps.

Quote from: cscottride on November 12, 2021, 02:20:37 PM
I just received my VB (separate) stem and bars. These will replace the integrated bars that are currently on the bike. First impressions are that they are stiffer than the integrated bars. I will update with pics/thoughts once I get this combo installed (which requires re-routing cables through small bar spaces )

The bar/stem combo has been installed. See attached pictures (sorry for the bad pictures. it is connected to my trainer currently). I decided to externally route the cables on this combo because of how difficult it is to internally route them. The holes are very small and difficult to work with (even more difficult than the previous integrated bars). This may have had something to do with the fact that all cables were already cut to length so everything was more difficult. I think this option will be good for future maintenance though.
I cut the top headset spacer to allow the cables to be internal until the stem. I was also able to connect my quadlock mount to the bars which is a big plus (the fully integrated bars are not round so this can't be done).

After getting the stem/bar combo mounted, I don't think there is any difference in stiffness between the old and the new bars. However, I am on the heavy side at 220lbs so some flex is expected. Overall I am happy with the result. 

I just received my VB (separate) stem and bars. These will replace the integrated bars that are currently on the bike. First impressions are that they are stiffer than the integrated bars. I will update with pics/thoughts once I get this combo installed (which requires re-routing cables through small bar spaces )

Quote from: stmbike on October 05, 2021, 02:38:19 AM
I'm trying to find this seatpost clamp cover:
https://www.stouwdam.nl/en/specialized-stp-my21-tarmac-sl7-seatpost-wedge-513

Problem is thatin this page the shipping for spain is 39€ ☹️.
Do anyone knows other website to buy it? I cannot find ..

Does this help?

I bought this one.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/384280172714

I also found this one.
https://www.incycle.com/products/specialized-my21-tarmac-sl7-seatpost-wedge-cover?utm_campaign=gs-2021-03-14&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6Jzf1ZzD8wIVhKjICh3glwp4EAQYAyABEgLvR_D_BwE

Quote from: patliean1 on October 10, 2021, 10:44:48 PM
Nice build!

What is the internal width of the wheels? Thanks

Thanks!

Can you confirm which dimension you are referring to? Is this the inner part where the tire bead seats?

I haven't taken exact measurements but I know that my mounted and fully inflated 25mm tires are slightly slimmer than the outside thickness of the rim (this may not help with your question, sorry).

My brake calipers were already connected to the hoses, so I didn't want to disconnect those. I ran my rear brake from back to front (afterwards I realized that the brakes were pre-bled so I am glad I did it that way) and slid the foam tubing on from the front of the frame down the downtube. *By pre-bled I mean that they already had fluid in them, so when I cut them to size and inserted the fitting, I didn't need to bleed the brakes.
The front brake hose I sent up from the bottom and added electrical tape around the steerer to keep that in place.
The rear derailleur I ran from the back to front as well (and slid the foam tube on after).
The front derailleur was the most difficult. Had to run that down the downtube and get it to seat into the frame mount for the cable housing down by the bottom bracket. It was difficult to get that lined up without seeing it.
Once all of those were in place and poking out where the bars connect, I slid all of the spacer rings over the hoses/cables, ran the hoses and cables through the bars, cut to size, connected, and was done (I realize that probably sounds like it went smoothly...I did have to redo it once I realized I forgot the headset spacers the first time ).