Velobuild VB-R-168 Frame

[Angelinho]

Hello,

I just got my VB-R-168 frame and everything goes perfect except the seatpost.

It slides all the time.

We put 7nm but I have no idea what is the torque I should use. Tomorrow I will put some carbon paste and go a bit lower in the torque, or I will use some alloy layer from a beer can.

Do you know exactly what torque is specified for this frame?
Has anybody had the need to replace the seatpost because it didn't work well?

Thank you in advance por your help.

[stmbike]

5-6nm is enough. The key is to use carbon paste

[renrew]

Hello Werner,
Hi, did you use the one in the center of the photo for the front derailleur?
Thanks in advance
Greetings Davide

Hello Davide,
just like that:)

[renrew]

Hello,

I just got my VB-R-168 frame and everything goes perfect except the seatpost.

It slides all the time.
http://We put 7nm but I have no idea what is the torque I should use. Tomorrow I will put some carbon paste and go a bit lower in the torque, or I will use some alloy layer from a beer can.

Do you know exactly what torque is specified for this frame?
Has anybody had the need to replace the seatpost because it didn't work well?

Thank you in advance por your help.

The seat post fits very poorly. I stuck textile adhesive tape onto the surface from behind. Since then it's quiet and it's bombproof at 6NM

[stmbike]

In my case, the seatpost fits perfect. I used a little bit of carbon paste and I haven’t had any problem.

[renrew]

In my case, the seatpost fits perfect. I used a little bit of carbon paste and I haven’t had any problem.

Yes, it will be like that, considering the price, you have to overlook the manufacturing tolerances and help yourself with a small amount of effort. With a frame that is 7-10 times as expensive, you don't have that 

[Zoc]

after i used carbonpaste no problem
i also tried tape but it did't work very well

i read that you coult try some colorless paint or a piece of a can

[Greenred]

Question on the integrated handlebar:
I aim for something like 90-100 stem length and 420-440mm bar width.

Problem:
The vbr168 standard integrated bar is curved and additionally enlarges the reach - this I want to avoid. Unfortunately it's also not available in e.g. 420/100.
HB011 would have come in handy at the 420/100 spec, however, Chris told me they discontinue HB011 and only have few non-420/100 left.

So what can I do to realize my dream of an integrated handlebar at 420/100?
An option could be the DengFu HB015 which seems to be identical, but I am not sure about its compatibility?
Any other ideas that are compatible with the vbr168 and are integrated (bar and stem as one mold)?

[Irideslowly]

There's so many bars on Ali express

C$ 113.76  56%OFF | 2021 NEW Aero Integrated Road Bicycle Handlebars T800 UD Carbon 380/400/420/440mm x 80/90/100/110/120mm
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mLKXMW0

[Greenred]

There's so many bars on Ali express

C$ 113.76  56%OFF | 2021 NEW Aero Integrated Road Bicycle Handlebars T800 UD Carbon 380/400/420/440mm x 80/90/100/110/120mm
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mLKXMW0

True that, but how can you determine that it fits perfectly on the vbr168?

EDIT: Funnily, this seems to be the only option with a kind off okay'ish weight, but still not on par with velobuilds hb011.
The only alternatives are ridiculously heavy: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003534876264.html
All other bars I've reviewed are not fully integrated, they only seem so on the first sight, but when you carefully look where the cables should disappear in the stem/ultimately in the headset, there are no holes i.e. you would need to drill holes into the spacers, which of course, sucks.

[J-S-Q]

Question on the integrated handlebar:
I aim for something like 90-100 stem length and 420-440mm bar width.

Problem:
The vbr168 standard integrated bar is curved and additionally enlarges the reach - this I want to avoid. Unfortunately it's also not available in e.g. 420/100.
HB011 would have come in handy at the 420/100 spec, however, Chris told me they discontinue HB011 and only have few non-420/100 left.

So what can I do to realize my dream of an integrated handlebar at 420/100?
An option could be the DengFu HB015 which seems to be identical, but I am not sure about its compatibility?
Any other ideas that are compatible with the vbr168 and are integrated (bar and stem as one mold)?

Maybe you've already noticed this but from the Velobuild geometry drawings, the reach of the curved bars (HB010) is actually 5mm shorter than the HB011 bars. So the only part that will have a longer reach is the bar tops. The break levers and the drop section should have a slightly shorter reach.

I guess it depends which part of the bars are most important to you.

[hazzer19]

Did anyone replace their stock spacers for the 168 with plastic ones to save a few grams? Looking for ones that match the shape of the HB011 which seems to be quite different than the HB010 spacers.

Found these so far https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002038330933.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.7d7dbf5aOF0oka&algo_pvid=95d97a8f-3682-4d70-bc32-4280a3cafed2&algo_exp_id=95d97a8f-3682-4d70-bc32-4280a3cafed2-3&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2212000018504838752%22%7D&pdp_pi=-1%3B9.78%3B-1%3B-1%40salePrice%3BCAD%3Bsearch-mainSearch

[Greenred]

Maybe you've already noticed this but from the Velobuild geometry drawings, the reach of the curved bars (HB010) is actually 5mm shorter than the HB011 bars. So the only part that will have a longer reach is the bar tops. The break levers and the drop section should have a slightly shorter reach.

I guess it depends which part of the bars are most important to you.

True, 4.5mm difference. For more casual riding in the tops I would however still prefer a straight line vs. curved design, especially also since it's a bite fitters nightmare.
EDIT: I think another argument was that the curved bar is not really stiff. If it weren't for that I'd be intrigued.

[Drarak]

Hey,

Question about the compression of the headset Do you feel the headset moving and not stable when braking?

I'm having a hard time compressing the headset on my bike. Everytime I try to compress it, the compression plug slips up. I've tried a lot of things:

* Deda and the FSA compression plug after the one that came with the bike failed. Deda seems a bit better, but still slips when compressing.
* Cleaning the steerer tube with iso alcohol
* Carbon paste
* Sanding the inside of the steerer tube a bit
* I tighned the compression plug up to 7.5N (I'm afraid of going higher as 7.5N feels quite a lot already).

No matter what I do, the compression plug slips before the bike feels stable when braking.

Should I keep riding the bike even whenthe headset doesn't feel fully compressed?

I wonder if the issue is with the compression plug, or the headset has some play even when tightned enough.

Ps.: This is my second Velobuild build. The first one feels very stable and I didn't have any issues with the headset.

[J-S-Q]

Hey,

Question about the compression of the headset Do you feel the headset moving and not stable when braking?

I'm having a hard time compressing the headset on my bike. Everytime I try to compress it, the compression plug slips up. I've tried a lot of things:

* Deda and the FSA compression plug after the one that came with the bike failed. Deda seems a bit better, but still slips when compressing.
* Cleaning the steerer tube with iso alcohol
* Carbon paste
* Sanding the inside of the steerer tube a bit
* I tighned the compression plug up to 7.5N (I'm afraid of going higher as 7.5N feels quite a lot already).

No matter what I do, the compression plug slips before the bike feels stable when braking.

Should I keep riding the bike even whenthe headset doesn't feel fully compressed?

I wonder if the issue is with the compression plug, or the headset has some play even when tightned enough.

Ps.: This is my second Velobuild build. The first one feels very stable and I didn't have any issues with the headset.

It could well be that the headset has some play in it and requires some thin spacers to be added. I'm half way through building my Velobuild R-099 and I had to add some spacers. (I've read several others experiencing the same thing).

This is what I used:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143405755953?hash=item2163a62e31:g:c9IAAOSwMmVdnG7M

I needed two of them and I had to cut them to fit without blocking the channel for the cables.

When you tighten the headset, does the steering feel perfectly smooth? On mine, without the spacers, I could feel some friction, because the headset cover was rubbing slightly against the top of the frame, and no matter how much I tightened the top cap, there would still be a small amount of play in the steering.