I'm 187 and ride a 58cm (XL)

I have bought the Ryet.  Mainly due to confidence around compatibility, price and absence of any major red flags.. I'll let you  know how I get on.

Quote from: toxin on November 04, 2023, 10:23:11 AM
EXS Aerover, Farsports F1, THE ONE PRO and its offshoots

Thanks. Of those The One Pro looks like it could work.  However, I'm not a mechanic so am happy to be corrected on the others.

The complication here is the D-shaped steerer column which means that the cables have to run down outside the flat side of the D but inside the overall circumference if it was O shaped, e.g. "".  Sorry, example gets changed into an emoji but it still illustrates the point if you use the mouth as the D and eyes as the cables.

With a standard steering column the cables run outside the circumference of the column ":O" and then might come in through holes in the column or through a specialised headset.  The spacers for EXS Aerover and Farsports F1 don't look like they can bring in the cables to be next to flat side of the D. They have a separate compartment for the cables to run down, so I don't think those would work.

I have a D-shaped steerer tube on my Winspace T1500 (which I didn't buy the handlebars for at the time).  Currently all my cables are externally routed on the handlebar and go in through the down tube or fork arm. I've looked around for aero, internally routed handlebar options for D-shaped steerer tubes on Ali Express and elsewhere and there doesn't seem to be much out there.

Options I've found are:

• This Ryet handlebar: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004473561772.html  Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
• Deda Superbox stem: https://dedaelementi.com/superbox-dcr-bike-stem and then pair this with a separate handlebar?  If anyone has a recommendation on an aero handlebar that is good that would be appreciated.
• Buy the Winspace Zero handlebar: https://www.winspace.cc/product/handlebar/. I may well end up doing this but it is quite an expensive option.

Anyone got any other thoughts for an aero option I can use for internal routing with a D-shaped steerer tube?

Good plan. I bought most of the stuff for my build in the Black Friday deals. 

I think you'd be taking a bit of a risk with the eR9 at this moment in time.  A few vloggers have had issues (Trace Velo, China Cycling for example) with it stopping working.  If it were me I'd wait until I could see that those issues had been ironed out.  That's just me though.

With groupset I went with Shimano.  Merlin do good deals: https://www.merlincycles.com/en-us/groupsets-93716/

Also, given that this will be your first road bike, ask yourself how much of a benefit 12 speed or e-shifting is going to be for you.  This could reduce cost considerably if that's important for you.

The tools I needed depended on the parts I choose.  E.g. bottom bracket type, etc.

Quote from: RDY on May 08, 2023, 04:24:01 PM
At your weight with the potential also of using it for bikepacking, I'd definitely go steel or Ti.  A few custom Ti builders who do nice, affordable stuff out of China - check the relevant forum section.

Thanks, I wasn't aware of that section of the forum. Definitely worth looking into.  Yeah, I was concerned about carbon loaded it up with packs and my weight.  Do you think it's still a major issue if I only envision doing a couple of 1 week backpacking trips?

Quote from: Tijoe on May 07, 2023, 08:07:40 PM
29er drop bar hardtails and gravel bikes.   

Current generation gravel bikes, for people in our weight and height class, often run 42 to 50mm wide tires.   29er hardtails run 50+ tires, but one can always put on narrower tires if you select a narrower/compatible rim width.   Therefore rolling resistance between a gravel bike and 29er gravel bike is minimal.   

I didn't even know 29er drop bar bikes were a thing! Looks like they're mostly fully rigid though. 19lb (8.6kg for a bike with front suspension is impressive!).  The road bike I built is 8.1kg (with pedals) though I did go with extra spokes in the wheels, a cheap stem to test fit and 105 componentry - long cage.

Unfortunately, it's a small island I live on so it's not opening up a huge amount of gravel riding for me, but enough that I can ride with buddies when they say they're going to do the gravel loop or go on a gravel riding trip off-island if I want to.  I did look into the SID SL Ultimate fork, but doesn't look like I can get it in this part of the world at $550. Cheapest I could find on Ali Express for $850 inc shipping.  I'm open to the idea though and still thinking about it.

Hi

I recently finished a road bike build. My road bike build ended up around USD $2,800 (Winspace t1500 frame, Lightbicycle wheels was where most of the cost went, but took advantage of black friday deals).  However, I have to say every penny seems worth it.   

I'm now considering a gravel bike build.  There's a reasonable bit of gravel on the island I live on (very hilly) and a gravel bike would expand my riding options.  However, I know nothing about gravel bikes. I've never ridden a gravel bike.

Ideally, I"d like to keep the budget around $1,500 on this one, but hey, if there's a lot of value in going above this, let's say $2,000 inc shipping is the absolute tops.

My situation is:
- I live somewhere hilly - Hills are not longer than 1km each, but they are steep.
- I weigh 107kg and am 188cm tall. I ride XL road frames (58/59).
- Ideally, I'd like to use the bike for bikepacking one day (does my weight once the packs are added on discount carbon here?).  It would probably only be one or two trips of 1-2 weeks.
- I suppose weight of the bike is not so much an issue, as long as power to forward motion transfer is decent.
- Geometry-wise, I don't need a racer,. I would quite like to do some gravel sportives for fun but something a bit more comfortable than a racer, but not quite as laid back as a touring bike would be my want.
- I'd prefer carbon, but I'm not averse to alloy/steel frame and rims so long as it doesn't perform like an entry-level bike. - I'm assuming comfort is not an issue with alloy given wider tyre widths on gravel bikes.
- I really enjoyed the road bike build, so I don't really want to buy a prebuilt/preloved bike.  Happy to buy used wheels though.
- 2x groupset is preferred (never tried 1x) but happy to moved on this if suggested.

Does anyone have any suggestions on frames and what route you would take with the groupset and wheels?

Thanks!

My build is finally complete!



Took me from mid Jan to now. It was a steep learning curve, but it was very enjoyable (most of the time). I also had some help from a friend at a local bike shop at times when I got stuck (bb issue mentioned in this thread, final gear tuning, front brake rub (turned out rotor was a bit bent, getting super-tight tyres onto the rim)

Final weight was 7.9kg without pedals and bottle cages for an XL.  To be honest, the weight is not a big thing for me.  Plenty of opportunity to cut weight on the rider! It's got 105 7020 groupset, chain catcher, not the lightest stem, an old saddle, more stack than it needs, longer seatpost than needed, so weight was to be expected.

I've done a quick test ride, but not a proper ride.  First impressions are very good.  Fit is not right and needs adjustment, stack, and handlebar positioning. The shifting needs a bit of work. Possibly too much friction from the guide lines I left in the frame due to my concern about contact points of gear cables on the frame (maybe I'm being too precious about that). Also I'm comparing it to my SL3 which has 105 7000 with fully external cables.

Good news. LBS managed to push the BB centre tube into place without removing the BB. Crankset is in, chain sized and installed. Nearly there!  However, next time I'll definitely replace it with a threaded PF BB

Quote from: jonathanf2 on February 15, 2023, 09:41:33 AM
Have you considered a threaded PF style bottom bracket? Once you're able to get that jammed BB out, I might consider switching over to that just to make future maintenance easier for yourself while you're still in the build process.

That is a great suggestion! I'll definitely do that.  I'll have to to reinstall all the cables once I change to fully integrated handlebars, so easier access to the BB area would come in handy.

So, my T1500 arrived in the NY, my wheels arrived from Light Bicycle.  All in all, I'm really happy with the T1500 frame and the wheels from Light Bicycle.

I didn't go with the Winspace handlebars, mainly because they didn't have my size at the time, but partly cost.  The other components on the bike are:

- 105 disc groupset (mechanical shift)
- FSA stem
- Prime X-light handlebars (not aero, no internal routing) - mainly got these as they were cheap, light, recommended, and temporary (once, I'm happy with the sizing and fit on the bike, I'll at some point switch to a fully integrated handlebar and move the prime's to my old bike, if I like them).

Given no internally routed handlebars, cables are routed through the headset, everything goes into the down tube except for the front break (obviously).

OK, so I took on this project with virtually no bike mechanical experience.  Before this, the most I'd done was change my cassettes and chains. I generally don't even look under the hood of my car.

In terms of the build, I've completed the following, none of which I'd ever even tried to do before:

- cut carbon steerer tube down to size (seatpost was OK, just!).
- installed forks, stem, handlebars, shifters.
- installed seatpost and saddle.
- routed brake hoses, cut hoses down to size, installed new barbs and olives, bled brakes.

So all, in all, the only things I had left to do were:
- bottom bracket installation
- crank, chain and pedals installation + tune everything.

I'm really impressed with the T1500 apparent quality (haven't ridden it yet).  My only feedback is:
- I'm a bit concerned that there is no plastic guard separating the gear cables from the carbon on the frame as they run under the bottom bracket area, as the cable for the front derailleur comes out of the frame, and where the cable comes out of the rear chainstay above the thru axle hole. I'm worried about the cables cutting through the frame where there is contact.  As a result, I've left some of the plastic routing guides in those particular places.
- The seat clamp is really fiddly. It's a struggle to attach the saddle if you don't have 3 hands. You have to use their seat clamp because the seatpost is proprietary.

Today was press-fit bottom-bracket installation day.  Everything seemed to go really smoothly. The whole thing seemed to be straight and I thought it was done.  However, when I tried to put the cranks in, they wouldn't go out the other end.  I looked inside and found that the centre tube had not attached to the other side and while the bearings might have been OK, the centre tube had pressed in crooked (see photo).



So, I'm guessing this is not easily resolvable?  I'll need to somehow break the centre tube (which felt like plastic before I installed it) so that I can get a bottom bracket removal tool into position, then remove the BB and install a brand new BB (even assuming the BB is reusable, there's probably no way to just buy the centre tube?

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks

Quote from: Tines on December 19, 2022, 12:57:58 AM
Can you please not derail this thread ?

Sorry. I guess I did a bit.

Quote from: patliean1 on December 15, 2022, 10:38:39 PM

Alternatively you can run a separate handlebar stem combo using either FSA's ACR or SRS no. 69 system.

I'm now leaning towards starting out with one of these until I have my fit dialled in and then switching to integrated bars once I'm more confident that I'm buying the right size.  Which of these would require the least initial outlay and least hassle when it comes to swapping over?

Quote from: patliean1 on December 16, 2022, 09:09:40 PM
I have the gravel version of these on my Yoeleo G21 gravel frame. Was able to route all four cables fully internally too, but you will need to use their headset spacers regardless of how you route your own cables. Quality wise they are no better or worse than Winspace's integrated bars.

However, I would not think about giving Yoeleo a single dollar unless they are 100% transparent regarding what's in stock, lead-times, and fulfilment/delivery. They have become notorious for overpromising and underdelivering their fulfilment times.

Thanks. I get the sense you have a lot of bikes given you mentioned your Winspace before!  I've asked Yoeleo about the likely shipping date for my size. I'll see what they say.