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« on: August 31, 2024, 05:44:29 PM »
I finally finished my built and I'm quite pleased.
Bought the frame via AliExpress, as a promotion made it a bit cheaper than buying on SP-Cycles website. Turned out to be 650 USD or 590 EUR including handlebar, chameleon paint job and shipping without additional fees. Shipping only took 15 days to Germany. I ordered too early and was on vacation, so that I asked SP Cycle to delay the shipping as long as possible.
Unfortunately, a couple of spacers and one screw to fix the derailleur hanger were missing. Those were send immediately, after a short notice via AliExpress messages. I also had a couple of questions about the built, which where always answered within one day. So I'd really recommend buying via AliExpress. Communication has been flawless
The paint job looks awesome and is close to perfect. I only had one imperfection near the seatpost, but you have to know where to look and use a magnifier to find it. The clear coating seems to be sufficient, too. The blue and purple chameleon paint seems to be forgiving some minor scratches as well, so absolutely recommend it. I was also thinking about getting a silver chameleon, like many of you got on your Velobuilds, which I was offered on demand. Additional cost and pictures of the blue and purple changed my mind, though.
My build features a SRAM Force D2 groupset, which I bought incrementally via eBay, on sale and of private offers. That way, I ended up with 2600 EUR for the complete bike (excluding Favero Assioma). It's 8,0 kg overall including pedals, bottle cages and wahoo mount as well. Pretty satisfied with the weight at size L of the frame. In terms of the mount for Wahoo or Garmin, there only seems to be one option for the handlebar. I tried something else but failed. If anyone is interested, SP Cycle will point out the right part as well.
My fork weighs 430g, handlebar 410g. Unfortunately, I didn't weigh the frame itself, since I was a bit impatient. It's 1685g including seatpost & thru axles.
The inside of the frame didn't look bad at all and I didn't have any sharp edges near the bottom bracket, seatpost hole or headtube. T47 thread.was perfect for me as a novice to building a bike. Used a Ztto bottom bracket as there isn't much of a choice with DUBs 29mm at 86mm.
There are holes for Di2 cables at front and read derailleur, which are useless for me. Whole frame looks well planned. Of course I bought the frame, because it looks a lot like Canyon Aeroad, which I really like. I have no idea, what the two hole near the bottom bracket are used for, though.
No problems with the seatpost. No slipping, no sounds of the frame. Only problem I experienced on the built was the use of a Deda headset expander. I couldn't fit the Deda into the forks tube since it's just one milimeter too narrow, so that I had to stick with the expander, which was delivered with the frame. Used the ahead cap of the Deda at least.
As far as I can tell it's only thumbs up from my perspective. Have to add that it's my first carbon frame, so I am not rating stiffness, since I don't have much of a comparison. Really like the feel overall, though.