Hey everyone,

after a crash I need a new derailleur hanger.
Anyone got a recommendation?

Does the normal SL8 hanger (S206000001) work?

So far no issues either. With >90kg


... well I guess I had issues with the horrendous cable routing 

I just left it in there for the time being...

Sooo. I did a 100 km ride today (solo as usual) and I have gathered some more experience, thoughts and impressions.
Keep in mind that I will be comparing it to the bike I rode until recently. Obviously there will be many factors ... frame, wheels, more aggressive positon etc...
Dont know if anyone is even interested, but it helps me to put it into writing and maybe it'll help someone here...

Old: 2012 Rose Xeon RS - Aluminium - Rim Brakes - Mechanical Ultegra 10 speed with 50-34t and Vision Team 35 wheels ~8.5kg
New: X 68 - Carbon - Disc Brakes - 105 di2 12 speed with 52-36t and Elite Wheels Drive II ~7.5kg

So first things first. It was the fastest solo 100 km ride I did this year. 31 km/h average with 410 meters elevation. Slightly less windy that usually here, but from a constant direction.
Got several PRs without even really trying, not by much though.

So, is it faster?
In general I would say so, yes. It accelerates better. Its easier to get to a slightly higher speed. It holds the speed easier.
Though I do find it hard to just attribute it to "its just faster".
I dont have a powermeter on this or my old bike, so I dont have any hard numbers, but I did notice a slighty elevated heartrate compared to my usual rides. Obviously there can be many reasons for that.
That might be in part to my body adapting to a new position, but to me it also felt like ... the bike just wants to go faster and makes it easier for me to put more power down to do just that.

Fit
As I already said its just about workable for my height I think. The saddleheight is just about the same, the drop is quite a bit bigger, though.

Quote from: Ludo on September 27, 2025, 10:17:05 AM
That's for sure is a big drop to the handle bars!

I was worried about that, but its honestly not even that bad. Dont get me wrong ... my lower back is certainly noticing it for now, but I think its something I can adapt to.
Then again ... Im 35 now .. not getting any younger

Ride Comfort
Thats one of the bigger things I noticed. Again, this is probably because of serveral factors. Additionally to frame and wheels, which could be a factor, I now have 28c tires, my old bike has 25c.
The increase in ride comfort is really noticable. It takes bumps and rougher surfaces really well.

mechanical vs electronic groupset
Also impressive .. I mean a well tuned mechanical groupset, which mine is ... is already reeaally nice.
But the electionic shifting ... even faster, even smoother ... impressive.

rim-brakes vs disc-brakes
This I am more undecided about ... I quite like my rim-brakes and even in wet conditions I never had any problems with them.
The disc brakes ... yeah, they brake ... dunno ... I dont think I would need them, but now I have them I guess.

Yeah, thats about it...
I had fun with the new bike. Its a really nice ride. At the end both my hands where going numb though ..
Usually I only have that with my left hand.

My conclusion is that the bike, especially compared to an older bike, does make a difference.
But it also isn't a magic bullet.

Addendum
I have these bottle cages on the bike. https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005007958377200.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.37.67dd5c5fiqHOfU&gatewayAdapt=glo2deu
On the down tube those are okay, but on the seat tube it requires a really weird angle to get the bottle back in there ... I think I will just buy the carbon bottle cages from Elite...

Edit:// Another thing I noticed ... maybe its just because of the gearing ... I had a higher rpm than usual.
Yesterday 77 and today 79.
Usually I would range from 73 to at most 77 ... average 74 to 75 I guess

I just had my first little 44k testride on my build.

I ordered it on 23rd of April and I received it ... not exactly sure anymore ... end of May, so slightly over a month.
Its black matte, so basically no extra paintwork.
I payed 710,80 € including shipping to Germany (779 USD).

Size 58
Frame: 835g
Fork (uncut): 389g (I think I took about 10g off when I cut it)
Handlebar (120x400mm): 357g
Seatpost (380mm): 193g

Overall the packaging and the parts looked good when they arrived.
The brakemounts werent really well faced. I used a file to file it roughly flat. Worked well enough I think.
I have the same "problem" I have seen in this thread before that the little copper-colored insert for the through axle was stuck to the frame in the rear, while for the fork it can be easily removed.

I took my sweet time with the build. Part of it was that I wasnt sure what other parts I wanted.
I finally ordered the Elite Wheels Drive II on June 11th and they took their sweet time to arrive (middle of August I think).
Even then I was partly lazy and partly hesitant. As I said it was my first build and especially cutting the fork and the brake lines were a bit scary to me.
In the end I learned a lot and it wasnt really as bad as I thought it would be. I usually service my old bike myself, so I am somewhat confident in my abilities and my ability to learn.

So then to the testride. It was mostly about gaining confidence in the bike and in my work I guess
Up until know I have been riding a 2012 Rose Xeon RS. Aluminium, Rim Brakes, Mechanical Ultegra Groupset. Nothing fancy, but enough to ride 40 km/h average in relatively flat sportives.
The new bike feels nice, responsive, fast ... though I have to say I expected .... more? in comparison to my Alu-Bike.
Dunno how to say it, to be honest. It does feel faster though. That being said .. who knows what makes it faster ... is it the frame, is it the wheels .. or is is the more aggressive position I have to ride with this bike...

I am 194cm tall ... the 58 frame is .. probably just about okay. The saddle height is roughly the same. I have the seatpost as far out as the indicator allows. I am tempted to pull it out just a little bit more. The handlebar is quite a bit lower than on my old bike, though.

Two seemingly more common problems in this thread were a slipping seatpost and rubbing spacers.
I installed the seatpost with some carbon paste and torqued it to 6nm. So far it didnt slip even a bit.
I also have no problems with the spacers, they have enough room to move without rubbing on the frame.

So overall I am quite satisfied with the build.
MY position on the bike is on the extrem end for me. For tomorrow I have a 100k ride planned.
If I am satisfied with that ride I will use the bike for the "Münsterland Giro" on October 3rd.

After all that I will have to decide wether I want to keep the frame or get something with a more relaxed geomety for me ... maybe the LCR018-D.

Edit:// Obviously I still have to add the handlebar tape. Wanted to make sure I'm satisfied with the position of the shifters.
They are relatively, traditionally "straight". I tried to have them angled inwards at first. Many say thats more comfortable.
Maybe I didnt try it long enough to get used to it, but I didnt really like it, so I put them on straight.

Edit_2:// As seen on the picture - but without the saddlebag, the bottle and the Garmin - it weighs 7.5 kg.

Tideacebike

I still used tire levers a bit (not as much as I thought I'd need to, though) but I got it on now.
Stubborn af, but after readjusting a ton and the tip with "the heat" I managed it.

Thanks guys 

Soooo ...

I got me a pair of Elitewheels Drive 50D II and now I'm trying to mount my Continental GP5000 28C (with TPU tubes).

And it seems absolutely impossible for me to mount the tires on the rim...
Now I'm wondering ... am I to incompetent ... or maybe to scared to apply enough force with my tirelevers ...
Looking at the specs I cant see why the combo wouldnt work.

Its not like I never mounted tires before ... quite the opposite ... but usually 25C on my old rim-brake wheels.

Anyone got any experience with these rims and/or tires or any other tips for mounting them?
Would appreciate any help, thanks in advance.

Edit:
Link for the wheels and specs
https://www.elite-wheels.com/product/drive-50d-ii-disc-brake-carbon-spoke-road-wheelset/

Quote from: makl on May 05, 2025, 02:09:59 PM
Just to add some riding experience here: After a couple of kms, I'm really happy with the bike! Frame and wheels are/feel much stiffer than my 2021er TCR. Together with the lower weight this is noticeable in accalerations and also while climbing. At the same time, the bike doesn't feel more uncomfortable than the TCR. Bike handling in decends is also very comparable and "unremarkable" in a positive way (no "wobbling" or else...). Unrelated from the frame itself, the Wheeltop group has beed hassle-free and works very well. The broken fork really is a bummer, and not very confidence-inspiring. However, mine is still in one peace, also after a couple of bunny hops, pot holes and heavy breaking on steep hills (which really, and unfortunately, doesn't mean anything ).

May I ask which wheels you're using?

I have had the same two RideNow 36g tubes in my wheels for over a year now.
I would guess ... dunno ... certainly over 3.500km, probably more.
They work great for me so far.

Hello everyone,

i'm reasonably certain that I will order the frame.

I had some questions for TanTan (via the Seraph-website) beforehand which were answered by Rose.

1) maybe also for you guys information:
I asked for the maximum weight limit. The answer is 130 kg (not specified wether its system- or riderweight, but even assuming systemweight thats more than enough for me).

2) I asked what a few extra spacers would cost. Answer for that is 50 USD for 3 spacers (5+10+10 mm).
I find that a bit ... steep tbh. Dont even know if I really need them, just want to be on the safe side here.
Aliexpress does have some SL8 spacers that are at least a bit cheaper.
Does anyone know wether or not they fit? And does anyone have a recommendation?

3) shipping to europe: 150 USD via DPD - ETA 15-30 days.

I would probably also order the Garmin Mount from Seraph, for that price a no brainer I would think.

Thats would be the frame sorted ... I will still have do decide the:
- bottom bracket (or well .. whats there to decide? ... its just a bottom bracket)
- group set (probably Ultegra DI2, but I am considering a Magene P505 as crank+powermeter ... alternatively assioma favero)
- wheels (absolutely no clue yet)
...
anything else I forgot?
Feel free to give me tips and recommendations, I honestly have little clue what I am doing here as it would be my first self-built bike

I am currently considering this frame (or the LCR017-D) but I am not entirely sure yet.
Would be my first self build bike anyway and I have been indecisive for over a year now 

I'm curious how tall the people are that buy the 58.
I'm 194cm and the Specialized Website would recommend a size 61 for me. It does have a 591mm stack though, which I would instinctively say could work out.

And does anyone know what TanTan is recommending for max rider/system weight?

Quote from: planet_sammy on February 18, 2025, 01:13:13 AM
I can get to Aliexpress using the link on their page, but I can't see any frames/items here

Try a different browser.
I have the same problem in Chrome, but its fine in Firefox.