Quote from: Bonus79 on October 28, 2026, 09:37:56 AMMay I ask what made you prefer the Tavelo Arden over the Voicevelo Echo?
Thanks

Just geometry and fit really. The Arden is not as aggressive as the Echo.

She's finally here! I've been without a road bike for a couple months after I cracked my old Winspace, and after a few weeks of window shopping I finally landed on the Arden. Shout out to the other 2 finalists lol (VoiceVelo Echo and an Adapt B02 from Chain Bicycle).
Ordering through SSPADE was not the most pleasant experience, but they did have the best price and I'm just glad it's finally here and ready to be built. Packaging is very nice, I almost feel bad cutting up the box and tossing it in the recycling bin.     
It arrived with a 380x100 bar instead of the 90mm I wanted, but I'm not sure I want to deal with the exchange and another waiting period. I might keep it...fit should still be okay.

Size 475
Frame: 900g
Bar: 295g
Fork: 408g

I'm building it up with a mix of Force/Rival XPLR E1 and some custom 50mm wheels from Serenade that have yet to arrive.

I'm curious to see what this frame would look like with one of the new riser bars installed. Made this quick dirty mockup to give myself a visual. I don't hate it 

I used to ride one. Rode it for a couple years, sold it to a family member 2-3 years ago and he's still riding it.
I really liked it, but I was ready for something new at the time. I thought the back end was very soft, if that makes sense. It was definitely a more comfortable ride than my Winspace.
I did have some headset play for a short time with the Velobuild one piece bar, but eventually got it sorted. Switched to "The One Pro" one piece bar shortly before selling it and had zero issues with this setup (afaik it's been free of any issues since). This bar can now be found on Aliexpress for cheap under a handful of different brands/names. If you go through with the purchase, I would definitely recommend ordering your frame without a handlebar and sourcing a better aftermarket option.
Also note that the largest tire I was able to fit in front was a 30mm Panaracer Agilest, but ymmv depending on your wheel setup. I eventually settled on 28mm Panaracers and 29mm Enves. I believe the current owner is using 30mm Panaracers (might be 28, not entirely sure).

I think it's a good purchase for the price. I might be buying back the frame soon as the current owner is looking to sell and build something new.

I'm a bit late to the party, but wanted to third Marino here. You won't get any fancy lug work, but you will get a fully custom frame with a nice tube set for not much more than a Chinese one.

Spray Max 2k will work great.
I've done a couple paint jobs with raw carbon sections, and I hit it with a coat of adhesion promoter first. Upol or Spray Max works for me. Note that Spray Max has a very slight silver pigmentation to it (looks almost like a very fine silver flake, I kinda like it).
In my experience with raw carbon, you have to look out for tiny pinholes or uneven surfaces and if you find any, fill them before applying any kind of coating.

Also, I have a SRAM Force crank on my bike that I stripped and then sprayed with 1k satin clear coat and nothing else. No issues in the couple years I've been running it.

A couple more options:
- Spray.Bike has a "clear carbon primer" but I've never used it.
- Fantom Clear CX. Claims to be a clear coat designed specifically for automotive carbon fiber parts. I'm very curious but never tried as their minimum order amount is quite high.

My suggestion (if you're building a Chiner) is to just order the frame in gloss carbon.

https://aprotobike.com/

Quote from: Uberflo on March 17, 2026, 12:37:25 AM
I had these. Not very suitable for integrated bars as the hose is very stiff. Normally I use Trickstuff Beta Kevlar hoses.

This is true, it's stiffer than the original hose. In my experience it's still possible to route in a fully internal setup but may not be the easiest solution for those who don't do this often.

I've used this in the past:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808307750750.html?
It works fine, no complaints.

Here's a good budget alloy option for those of us in USA: https://www.leaderbikesusa.com/products/801

Double the price of a Gas Cycle frame, but still "budget" when compared to mainstream alloy offerings. It's even UCI approved 

In a round 27.2 seatpost I've used a layer of the foam window sealing tape that comes with portable air conditioners. It held just fine with an LTwoo battery, took some force to pull it back out.

This has worked well for me: https://www.omnicalculator.com/sports/chain-length

This is a great repair stand. You can't beat it for the price imo. It makes working on both sides of the bike so easy, and I really like not having to clamp the frame or seatpost.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256809623580669.html

Out of the box it's only compatible with quick release bikes, but with a quick mod I can now mount thru axles. I used one of these along with a piece of masking tape to make a tight fit: https://www.servocity.com/4100-series-aluminum-tube-12mm-id-x-14mm-od-100mm-length/

Quote from: Alienado on February 11, 2026, 02:35:00 PM
Nice!

The seller wasn't sure if it came with a mount... So I bought one on Aliexpress.


And about SRAM caliper adapter? Do you know anything?

The adapter should come with the shifter/brake set. If you don't have one, you can find it on AliExpress for a couple dollars/euros/etc. I swapped mine for this: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808983914499.html

I've had my friend's X68 in size 49 sitting in the hallway while I find some time to paint it. Figured I should take some weights.
Fork: 406g
Bars: 345g
Seatpost: 166g
Frame: 841g with hardware, 804g without

Some rough spots in the bearing seats and rear dropouts but otherwise looks good on visual inspection.