Road-Gravel-Bikepacking-Bike

[Steve42]

Hello,

I've read a lot in the last few weeks and now the time has come. I am planning to build an All-in-One Bike, which suits my weekly Road (training) tours, but also my planned bikepacking tours.

But I still have a lot of questions, as this will be my first build. Also I don't want to spend to much money on this, thought about staying below 1000€, but seems almost impossible so upgraded to a Budget of 1500€.

I want a 2x11 groupset, right now I tend to the LTWOO R9 2x11 with 52/36 and 11-34 (if it fits, if not 11-32) casette. Should fit fine for some tours as well as a quick road tour. I think I will take the Zrace BR-005 with 160mm Rotors, even thought about going 180mm for the front (because of bikepacking).
I will buy the groupset from AliExpress with the Zrace Crank and brakes in set and will ask to exchange the BR-002 for the BR-005.

But I am very unsure about the frame, if I should go with the cheap Seaboard GR02 Alu frame or go for the more expensive Carbonda CFR 696 (or the CFR707, pros & cons?).

Regarding the Wheels, I don't have any clue about this topic.
Centerlock or 6-Bolt?
Your opinion regarding order 6-Bolt and use centerlock adapters?
I will need Shimano HG mounts on the rear hub with the LTWOO R9 set, correct?
Maybe you have some suggestions for a cheap wheelset, as 400€+ are a lot of money.

I made a list at lighterpack (a well known tool in the ultralight trekking scene): [deleted]
All prices are incl. Shipping!

Sadly Carbonda can't ship a frame and a wheelset together, so i would have to pay 300€ for shipping, thats a little downer at this front.

I would love to get some more informations and experiences. Where can I save some money, maybe you know a great but inexpensive wheelset, or have another idea for a frame.

[kbernstein]

I built (okay, I still need to bleed the brakes and put in sealant but it's 95% complete) a 696 for the same purpose and also had the idea to use Lighterpack. Here's my build for inspiration. Note that weight might be ~200g off because I got too impatient and installed the components before weighing them like the tires so I'm using the retail weight.
Hope it inspires you. Also note that I took a very expensive custom paint. Yours might be a lot less.
https://lighterpack.com/r/vejggg

My 2cts about the wheel questions:
Centerlock 1000%. Fuck 6bolt. And get the HG tool lock, not BB lock
The hub depends on the cassette you will get, not the groupset. You can get microspline or XD cassettes to run with LTWOO, it's up to you. It just needs to be compatible with the cassette.
I sourced both of my wheelsets on the used market, I'm happy about both and might upgrade to carbon later. Anything with DTSwiss 350 hubs is good imo. I also considered Carbonda wheels but I changed my mind when I was told shipping the wheels would be extra.

Also my opinion, as much as I'm excited for LTWOO hydraulic unless you find them at MSRP I wouldn't bother. I bought my GRX groupset before it was anounced but I don't regret it. There's a good chance you can find GRX new (mine was stripped from a new bike) for about the same price as LTWOO if not cheaper.

[Steve42]

Thank you for your kind answer, nice build!

Okei, so for now I am still unsure if i will grab the CFR707 or the CFR696, I dont know which one would suit me better.

Regarding the Wheelset, I will also look around at Ebay and go for something cheaper. I wasn't aware that there are wheelsets for around 200€ when everything at Ali is like 400+ Also Centerlock will be choosen.

I will surely go for the LTWOO Set, but not full hydraulic, as that is just to expensive. This is the reason I will go with the ZRACE BR-005.

Also I got a new Question: Are 36mm Wheels possible with a 18mm (inner) rim width?

[s3si1u]

I would just go to ebay or something similar for wheels, this will definitely help with staying under budget. I have a DT Swiss R470 alloy wheelset rn that I picked up for 140 US and I'm sure you can find something similar they're nothing special but are reliable and work well.

I'm also indifferent about 6 bolt or centerlock. They're more or less the same thing to me. Both my bikes have centerlock wheels at the moment but both use 6 bolt rotors with adapters because it's what I had. I used to have 6 bolt hubs for my road bike and it was more or less the same thing.
Also the Seaboard frame looks quite nice especial for the price, but the 696 is tried and tested. There's some reports on here about the Seaboard.

[kbernstein]

Thank you for your kind answer, nice build!

Okei, so for now I am still unsure if i will grab the CFR707 or the CFR696, I dont know which one would suit me better.

Regarding the Wheelset, I will also look around at Ebay and go for something cheaper. I wasn't aware that there are wheelsets for around 200€ when everything at Ali is like 400+ Also Centerlock will be choosen.

I will surely go for the LTWOO Set, but not full hydraulic, as that is just to expensive. This is the reason I will go with the ZRACE BR-005.

Also I got a new Question: Are 36mm Wheels possible with a 18mm (inner) rim width?

Do you mean 36mm wheels on a 18mm inner rim width? Yes of course that's possible and well within the specs

My bad I thought you were going for the new LTWOO hydraulic option, not the hybrid brakes. 1500€ should be doable then, especially if you don't have the frame painted
Keep in mind the wheelsets you're getting for 200€ used will never be carbon, but that shouldn't be a big deal for gravel

[Tijoe]

My perspective has evolved over the past couple of years regarding the different bikepackers I've built over the past couple of years.   I started out with the gravel bike I built in 2019 (2X by 11 speed)  and used it on a few 2-3 day bikepacking trips.  (These trips were typically 70% forest service roads, 30% asphalt)   Other riders with me used 29er hardtails or FS 29ers.  I quickly discovered that most of my descending on my loaded up gravel bike, with a rigid carbon fork, beat the heck out of me, and I ended up riding slower overall than my buddies. (Even though I climbed faster than them riding a gravel bike.)

I thought about adding a 30 or 40mm travel 700C suspension fork, but decided against it because of the cost/weight benefit.

Because of my mediocre gravel bike packing experiences,  I built up a 29er slacker hardtail, with a Rockshox Sid SL front 100mm fork, and gravel bars.  Wow! what a difference!  The equivalent configuration of my hardtail only weighs about 2 pounds more than my gravel bike. (Most of the delta is the suspension fork and the rest is due to the wider heavier mtb tires I run).  + I can reconfigure the bike with just about any 29er/700C wheels rim widths I want and run, from 40mm wide up to 3.8" wide tires in back. 

You stated:  "I am planning to build an All-in-One Bike"  so seriously consider making it 29er hardtail based.  I know you are on a budget, I did the same thing when I build my gravel bike, then realized a gravel bike's limitations for bikepacking. 

The only negative I have with my 29er approach is that it has a higher bottom bracket for crank arm ground clearance, so I have to drop the dropper post in order to get my feet on the ground.  But no big deal overall in the bigger picture.

[Tijoe]

Another thing you wrote:

I want a 2x11 groupset, right now I tend to the LTWOO R9 2x11 with 52/36 and 11-34

You will find that you don't want or really need a 52 tooth ring up front.  Best to have a 50 x (32 or36) for your front rings.

Reason why:   If you are running 38mm and larger tires, do your gear inch calculations and you will find that the outside circumference of the 38s+ tires about match the gearing change of a 52 for your traditional 700C x 23 or 25 tires.

[Steve42]

I bought some DT Swiss P1800 Wheels new for 200€, and I am looking out for a GRX600 Setup, but I think I will just order the LTWOO R9 2x11 All-in-One Kit, as it has everything incl. Crank, Casette etc. and I will simply use the ZRACE BR-005 Brakes.
Going fully hydraulic is a huge cost factor, as the whole Groupset Kit is like 350 incl. almost everything I need except Bars, Frame and Wheels.

Ok, I will stick to the 50/34 and 11-32/34 Drivetrain setup, didn't thought about the bigger tire diameter. Thanks!
Also not having carbon rims isn't a downer for me, they have the same weight as almost all carbon wheelsets on Ali etc., so I don't really care

I will go for an allround bike as I am a student and don't have much money for a second bike build. I will a lot of Road Cycling, so it should be a Road Bike with gravel capabilities and will get used 2-3 times a year for some bikepacking. Going with a hardtail frame would be a option for an bikepacking-only bike, but as I want to do a lot of road cycling too, that doesn't seem the best option for me.

Thank you for all yout tips! I am still unsure between the Carbonda Carbon frame and the Seaboard Aluminium frame...

[carbonazza]

...Sadly Carbonda can't ship a frame and a wheelset together, so i would have to pay 300€ for shipping, thats a little downer at this front...

You can save a little on shipping when you have a single box, but it is mainly based on weight.

[Steve42]

So I ordered everything I need (hopefully), now the waiting game begins.
I will get the Seaboard GR02 Alu frame, saves me about 250€ for some 100 grams, so I'm fine with that.
For tires I chose the Vittoria Terreno Zero.

I am looking forward to built everything together! Grab a look into the lighterpack list here again: https://lighterpack.com/r/4chhje

Thank you for the help!