Velobuild VB-R-218

[madmax]

OK I'm still in the honeymoon faze. An coming from a 4.5lbs heavier build. how many of you who have the 218 and road on a more expensive bike agree with GC performance review as for as the frame being stiff and not being great at the sprint. granted I'm running 28mm up front and 32 in rear 70 psi up front and 75 in rear. I feel my bike is more comfortable then my aluminum endurance bike. I'm only 35 miles in because of strong winds we have in my area(13-18mph)usually around 6-10. and the juin tech brakes definitely are better then my old advid bb5 brakes.

Why not just run 25mm tires with tubes  (GP5000 or Gatorskin) @ set the PSI to 100-110 & just go for it (sprint wise) ?

I had an insane number of flats (15 in a 5 week period) & I think it was mainly due to running at 85psi  (I'm 168 lbs).   I set the psi to 110 & use Rhinodillo liner tape in the tires & am zipping along at 25mph or lower
My current Trek madone is @ 19.8lbs & from the looks of what people are building on here with this frame & bike at 15-17lbs, I think it would be pretty fast on the straights

[kongo]

I'm 235lbs i started high(100psi on 32mm gatorskin) and worked my way down. the high psi hand my back killing after 16 miles I'd be done. once i went below 80psi i could go all day long. i will never ride anything smaller then a 28 i love myself to much. unless its a short ride 10miles are less. I had 1 flat on my gp5000 on the rear and 3200 miles and non on the gator skins.
@madmax your street have to smoot a glass. i have to go thru 2.5 miles of cracked and bumpy road to get to the nearest 20 mile bike trail. an if I'm going to do anything longer the 25 mile that means I have to get back on our shit streets. An if your wondering I'm in the greater New Orleans, La area

[madmax]

I'm 235lbs i started high(100psi on 32mm gatorskin) and worked my way down. the high psi hand my back killing after 16 miles I'd be done. once i went below 80psi i could go all day long. i will never ride anything smaller then a 28 i love myself to much. unless its a short ride 10miles are less. I had 1 flat on my gp5000 on the rear and 3200 miles and non on the gator skins.
@madmax your street have to smoot a glass. i have to go thru 2.5 miles of cracked and bumpy road to get to the nearest 20 mile bike trail. an if I'm going to do anything longer the 25 mile that means I have to get back on our shit streets. An if your wondering I'm in the greater New Orleans, La area

Oh ok.   I'm in San Diego & the streets are all over the place here, lots of small stones & glass. I went through a 10 pack of continental tubes 80mm & was about to give up biking when I saw a Youtube video & decided to try a higher psi, so its 110 for me for now, until i start shedding weight.
I guess the majority of the aggravation came from trying to remove & put on the GP5000's. I have never seen a tire that is so miserably hard to remove or put back on.

Have fun on your new bike & post some pix. It's really nice to read about people experiences & see their bikes.

[kongo]

Oh ok.   I'm in San Diego & the streets are all over the place here, lots of small stones & glass. I went through a 10 pack of continental tubes 80mm & was about to give up biking when I saw a Youtube video & decided to try a higher psi, so its 110 for me for now, until i start shedding weight.
I guess the majority of the aggravation came from trying to remove & put on the GP5000's. I have never seen a tire that is so miserably hard to remove or put back on.

Have fun on your new bike & post some pix. It's really nice to read about people experiences & see their bikes.

yea i thought it was just me with gp5000 and removing them from rims. but the absorb the road buss better then the gatorskins. but i could kill the gatorskins i still have a set.

[madmax]

yea i thought it was just me with gp5000 and removing them from rims. but the absorb the road buss better then the gatorskins. but i could kill the gatorskins i still have a set.

Yeah, this is why the Germans will loose any war..... they won't be able to change their continental tires on their armored vehicles in the field .....

Very nice pix. Thanks for posting them

[Sebastian]

I'm 235lbs i started high(100psi on 32mm gatorskin) and worked my way down. the high psi hand my back killing after 16 miles I'd be done. once i went below 80psi i could go all day long. i will never ride anything smaller then a 28 i love myself to much. unless its a short ride 10miles are less. I had 1 flat on my gp5000 on the rear and 3200 miles and non on the gator skins.
@madmax your street have to smoot a glass. i have to go thru 2.5 miles of cracked and bumpy road to get to the nearest 20 mile bike trail. an if I'm going to do anything longer the 25 mile that means I have to get back on our shit streets. An if your wondering I'm in the greater New Orleans, La area

110psi in a 32mm tire? Wow! That’s crazy high, IMO. I think I only ever used pressure that high in 23mm tires.
I use around 85-87psi in my tubulars (25 front / 28 rear) and even slightly less in my Corsa clinchers with latex tubes (25 front and rear, but 28 measured with) and I’m no flyweight at 82kg. The ride is fast and smooth.
I have no troubles averaging 20mph over long rides and I got all kinds of shit roads here, including cobbles.

[Sebastian]

Yeah, this is why the Germans will loose any war..... they won't be able to change their continental tires on their armored vehicles in the field .....

Very nice pix. Thanks for posting them

The Conti GP5000 is what put me off of tubeless for good. It was near impossible to mount, had casing wobble when I finally had it on and started losing air despite loads of sealant. I was so frustrated, went back to inner tubes after years on tubeless. Schwalbe Pro Ones before that were constantly leaking through the sidewalls. The only tubeless tires to perform reliably are the heavier ones with a thicker vulcanised rubber layer inside but those feel about as supple as a garden hose compared to cotton clinchers. No wonder guys feel they need to run 32mm tires on a road bike.

[madmax]

I’ve only used tubes and I thought about tubeless……briefly….after a few videos, it’s just too much hassle

Use a good thick tube and liner with gatorskin or tube and gp5000 and it should last a long time
The majority of flats come from incorrect psi, and your body weight pressing down on the tire and a bump will cause a pinch flat as you ride along.

I had really bad knee and back/sciatica pain that went away after I was fitted correctly and switched to a better saddle and shorts with better padding. Correct saddle height will fix a lot of the pain and this is one area where finding a good saddle brand that works for you is worth the money spent on it. I’m using the bontrager Aeolus comp saddle on all my bikes now

[carbonazza]

The Conti GP5000 is what put me off of tubeless for good. It was near impossible to mount...

The new GP5000S is very easy to mount compared to the older one. And lighter.
I did put a pair in May and they are at their end of life now. And no puncture in thousands km.
When inspecting the tire recently, it has micro-cuts every cm or two that are apparently sealed (Orange Seal Regular).

[earicm]

I went from riding Canyon Endurace sl to riding this. My endurace is way more comfortable and i will use it for my 100 mile plus rides. The velobuild 218 is faster and takes less effort to hold speeds as it should since it is a aero bike. I had to change the wheels on the velobuild because the ride was way to harsh with hunt 48 limitless wheels. I don't really sprint much so I can't say much about it being sluggish.  I am 5'6" and around 200 pounds riding this frame and I enjoy it will probably enjoy it more when i lose 30 more pounds.

[Sebastian]

The new GP5000S is very easy to mount compared to the older one. And lighter.
I did put a pair in May and they are at their end of life now. And no puncture in thousands km.
When inspecting the tire recently, it has micro-cuts every cm or two that are apparently sealed (Orange Seal Regular).

Yeah. I don’t doubt that. I’ve also had very good experiences with Schwalbe‘s regular One (not the pro version). The truth is, however, that at least with current sealants, tubeless just won’t seal properly at road pressures north of 60psi. When you get a proper cut, it fails. And when it does, the only choice you got is to make a complete mess or try to plug your tire. I’ve done both in the past. Plugs are a bit hit and miss. Putting an inner tube in might or might not be a nightmare, depending on how tight the tire sits. But ever since I realised that my tubulars are just as fast and comfy as my tubeless tires, I decided to go back to cotton clinchers and latex tubes and spare myself the pain of dealing with catastrophic tubeless failures at the roadside. I do run tubeless on my gravel bike and on my commuter. I do like it. But on road bikes not anymore.

[kongo]

How does everyone else store their bike? I usually put mines on my kicker I have limited space in my man cave.

[kenderu]

How does everyone else store their bike? I usually put mines on my kicker I have limited space in my man cave.

I lean mine against the wall and hope it doesn't fall

[earicm]

i have wall hangers and i keep my families bikes on that.

[southpaw_cycling]

So I finished my build last week and I’ve been putting the frame thru its paces.  I’ve had few reservations at the start but it’s turning out to be an impressive machine.  I’ve had zero issues with the BB fitment and the only thing that needed real attention was making the rear brake housing exit bigger, 3D printing a more robust front deraillure cable exit and sanding/dremeling down the BB paint overspray and protruding rivet.

Major parts include: Sensah 12spd, look keo pedals, elite wheels and aliEx EEbrake replicas.   Without the added crap and accessories it came in exactly 7kg (including bottle cages).


One advice I can give to anyone looking to build the frame is keep small files and a dremel handy!