Ultimate Bike Thread.... - Page 276

look 171 · 11-17-2025, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greglepore

You can break an sworks sl8 or atheos by dropping it against a doorframe. The 700g frame weight comes at the expense of hyper thin toptubes and center downtubes.

I have a non sworks sl8. Its appliance common, but it is as vibrant a ride as a bunch of halo bikes that I've had. Mine has cheap chinese wireless (wheeltop) set to 12spd and uber light chinese wheels with carbon spokes, so less than 1/4 of the sworks DA number.

The current trend towards top end rides that approach 18k or so is just silly. Colnago just released a steel 18 lb bike (steenlnovo) that is 18k. Oddly, the frame itself is cheaper than an sworks sl8, but the SR13wrl and the Bora wheels etc drive the price to nosebleed.

I had an S work SL5. it was really light and a very nice riding bike.

Like many of you, I chased that light weight bolt, frame, and spend tons of money going after the latest and the greatest over the years. Yet, I am still not winning races. Most of these guys with high $$$ bikes do not race, ones I know ride really hard like if they are training for racing if they were to race, they be spit out the back from the lack of real training hours. Its nice to have the lightest and fastest but at 18k is a bit much. I can see spending 12k on something that's 1/4 lbs lighter (if that much?). I ride a Giant TCR and love the ride quality. It isn't a Colnago, and not as pretty that is for sure but I bet its just as fast.

Tell me about the Chinese group, especially the wheels. I am thinking about buying a set after talking to couple guys that beat on a pair the entire season and it held up really well. Its just the matter of time, they will make just as good or superior set of wheels compared to the big names. I noticed they use those frames, wheels and even clothing while racing in Asia. There was a 2nd division European pro team that rode on a Chinese frame. Heck they make 90% of the carbon out there with plenty of state of the art equip. to make it

LEAKYSEALS951 · 11-18-2025, 02:32 AM

^Yeah, evidently Greg's been holding out on us! Several different major Chinese brands, it's hard to know which is which, especially with all the YT videos. What'd you get? and was it in pre-stocked in the US, or did you wait for it to come across from China?

greglepore · 11-18-2025, 08:48 AM

The wheels are from Xiamen Carbon Speed https://www.xmcarbonspeed.com/. They make a bunch of different profiles, internal and external widths. I went with 50mm front and 65mm rear depth, and they're very wide, 26mm internal, 34 external. They also do a 24mm internal. I know these are pretty deep, but the deeper rear moves the aero center of pressure away from the steering axis, so that combined with the oval profile and 30mm tires make them fine in crosswind. They use their in house hubs, which are dt240 clones, will take actual dt parts (dt's patent expired, and many chinese hubs are now dt clones). Carbon spokes (you can get steel or ti). Best part is weight and price. Mine are mostly t800 (cheaper, somewhat heavier, more durable) and were $800 delivered and 1300g. For 150 more you can get t1000 which are 100g lighter. Comparable wheels from Roval or Enve etc are closer to $3000-3500 and often weigh more. There are a couple other Chinese brands doing similar stuff (Zen and DFS for example). If you're under 180kg you can even buy 1100g 40mm wheels for under 1k delivered. Chinese wheels are killing it, honestly. The best part about Carbon Speed is the owner is a workaholic and you can communicate directly with him. They do oem stuff as well but its somewhat secretive for who.

The groupset is Wheeltop Tx. Completely wireless, magnetic charging. The batteries for the derailluers are external like Sram's but larger and are bolted on. Replaceable, but charge in place.
It is user setable for anything from 3-14 speeds. I'm running it as a 12 spd setup. Unlike any of the major players, each gear is individually adjustable for tuning. Its even available for rim brakes to retrofit older bikes. Cons? Its a little heavy. The factory app isn't intuitive and requires an internet connection to work (there's a better free aftermarket app by a guy on FB that solves those issues and adds features). There may be some durability issues, we'll see. But overall, I'm very happy with it after a full season. Pricing is $700 if you buy from official US sources, cheaper on Ali. Just beware that warranty support is iffy unless you buy direct.
I sourced all of this from China pre tarriffs. Most sellers now are shipping duty paid-they pay the tarriff up front so it arrives direct with no later bill for tarriff plus "processing' but be certain of this in advance.
LTwoo is another Chinese wireless group, seems ok but not as advanced as Wheeltop and their hyd. calipers use non standard mounting so you have to use their adapters. Quirks prevent use with sl8 or Aethos.
Saddles are another area - Ryet's 3d printed saddles are $75 or so and as nice as some of the megadollar euro brands.
Astana rode XLab, a chinese frame, in the World Tour last season and next.

CurtEgerer · CurtEgerer's Garage

This is what I get for trying to do the right thing. Decided to wipe down my bike this morning in anticipation of a ride a little later. I like riding a clean bike. Then this

At least 7 spoke holes are like this. 2007ish Roval Classique Pave SL E5 rims. 32H / 2-cross. Rear wheel only. Oh, and my rear tire is not holding air just as an added kick in the teeth (unrelated I'm sure). I'm not cleaning my bikes anymore. Just ride them to failure like everyone else

sc_rufctr · 12-01-2025, 05:53 AM

^^^ That looks like a dodged bullet. Well done!

CurtEgerer · CurtEgerer's Garage

A mouth full of broken teeth waiting to happen.

herr_oberst · 12-01-2025, 08:02 AM

Good that you caught it.

Bummer that you need new hoops. This is why we have 'bikes' not 'bike'.

CurtEgerer · CurtEgerer's Garage

^^^ Exactly. The trusty LeMond has been put back into service and was a joy to ride this morning actually.

herr_oberst · 12-01-2025, 09:15 AM

Gratuitous pictures of my Crux

My buddy Steve quietly complained that he was getting filthy riding around me because of the pudding-like mud up in the hills. (No Dust sign was ironic. It never rained on us but the mist never burned off, either.)

New Fender Day (NFD) to keep everyone happy; my bike reminds me of PeeWee Herman's bike with all the gee-gaws, but I gotta tell you, things are sure easier to clean at the end of the day!

LEAKYSEALS951 · 12-01-2025, 09:20 AM

^ i was just looking at crux'es.
And considering these rims for my early 2000's rim brake road bike-

https://us.huntbikewheels.com/products/hunt-50-carbon-wide-aero-road-wheelset

anyone with experience with these?

herr_oberst · 12-01-2025, 09:29 AM

No experience with carbon rim brake wheels; don't forget you can't use normal brake pads.

I'm actually looking at these for my winter road bike; the sale is tempting. (bonus extra 10% off at checkout and free shipping, plus they use normal brake pads, and are lighter than the carbon wheels)

http://us.huntbikewheels.com/products/hunt-race-aero-wide-road-wheelset

LEAKYSEALS951 · 12-01-2025, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

http://us.huntbikewheels.com/products/hunt-race-aero-wide-road-wheelset

That actually kind of makes more sense. I'm wary of the carbon rim brake interface on chinese carbons and would hope that hunt quality control would be better, but living in the mountains I put a hurting on rim brake wear. My current SSC's are dished badly and about to fail.

greglepore · 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

That actually kind of makes more sense. I'm wary of the carbon rim brake interface on chinese carbons and would hope that hunt quality control would be better, but living in the mountains I put a hurting on rim brake wear. My current SSC's are dished badly and about to fail.

Hunt wheels are made in China and/or Taiwan. That said, I'd not worry these days. Personally I'd look for a set of used DA C35's or 50s or buy the Bora 33's at Bike Closet-a little more but a much better wheel. The Hunt's are ok, but pricey for what they are.

CurtEgerer · CurtEgerer's Garage

I'll probably re-lace some new rims for my Tarmac, but I'm looking at wheelsets as well. Bikes-Direct usually has some good deals going also.
BikesDirect Road Wheel Sale

LEAKYSEALS951 · 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greglepore

Hunt wheels are made in China and/or Taiwan. That said, I'd not worry these days. Personally I'd look for a set of used DA C35's or 50s or buy the Bora 33's at Bike Closet-a little more but a much better wheel. The Hunt's are ok, but pricey for what they are.

Those are some good options too.

I get the idea Hunt re-sells the chinese rims, but I would hope their quality control and warranty would be a little bit more binding than some of the direct sellers. I had a less than optimal experience with my chinese frame, and even that was sold through DIY bikes reseller in Ga.

Hunt does seem to sell at a premium over others, but I'd pay it for peace of mind.

Luis Scott posted this video of his winspace rim brake failure, and it got me thinking that the rim brake carbon has some unique stresses compared to standard disc brake carbon rims, and if Lous Scott was noticing this in flat old Florida, I'd sure as hell be tempting fate in the mountains. Even with the Hunts, I don't know if the rim brake carbons are a good idea out here- but they do seem to have more meat in the braking flange than some of the other chinese makers. I tried looking up your rims in rim brake version but they all seemed disc.

-Perhaps I need a disc brake road build so I can get a set of rims like yours! They are tempting!

Oh yeah, here was the video that scared me away from direct chinese sellers (and I'm only talking rim brake wheelsets- for disc I'm not so concerned).

greglepore · 12-01-2025, 01:00 PM

It comes down to technique, but yeah, there are risks. I've ridden winspace regularly on Skyline without issue, but those are easy descents. Not sure I'd want to go down to Vesuvius on a set. Before the al33's went away I had a set that I really liked for just that reason, Boyd Altamont is similar, as is the alloy Hunt posted above.

"A" · "A"'s Garage

I've been using direct seller carbon wheels from AliEx since 2017, along with their Chinese carbon frames that I built into complete (4) bikes.
Since then, I've put about 2-3k miles on 2 of them that I've kept to myself, (2) others I have sold to neighbors or friends.
All of them have rim brakes, no issues with the carbon wheels.
Probably has to do with me begin 170 lb. with full riding gear and I doing any competitive cycling anymore, only for enjoyment & fitness in the last two decade or so.

The one set of carbon disc wheels I have on my only attempt of 1x drivetrain is also from 2017, 28mm wide carbon rim; also about 2k miles on them with no issues.

LEAKYSEALS951 · 06:55 PM

^Good info. Thanks!

N+1 day. New Lapierre cx racing frame built as a single speed.

Ordinarily, one buys a high end frame, races it for a few years, and upgrades to a newer, even higher end frame, only to have the original frame gather dust. After time, the original owner decides "hey I could make this a single speed...how cool would THAT be..." They ride it around the block one last time and that's the end of that.

Not here folks, this frame was built as a SS from scratch, and never got rode around the block at all It's never seen a blade of grass or jumped an obstacle. Instead of SS conversion- I'm going to do the reverse. Either a campy record or dura ace 2x10 on this build. And some new rims darnit!

I'm already reconfiguring for mountain use. Gonna be fun!

David · David's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

I took advantage of some end of year bike sales and picked up a Trek Emonda SLR frameset. I’m glad to finally get rid of the chain stay brake caliper that is always gummed up and shave a little weight. I’ll be moving all the parts from my 2014 Madone over to the new frameset.

It's been 6 years since this post and once again I've taken advantage of a year end sale and picked up a Trek Emonda Gen 3 SLR Disc frameset for half price. I'll stretch the build over a month or two to lessen the pain to my wallet

herr_oberst · 06:51 AM

Deja vu! Must be the logo on the frame that's making the new one weigh more. I can't wait to see the progress and which components you choose. So much has changed in 6 years, especially in the cockpit with all the aero packaging. (Not to mention the onslaught of high quality wheelsets and other components direct from C****.)

NBD (or New Frameset Day) is always a good day.

It's interesting how little the background in those two pictures have changed. Even the ballcap above the sink is the same.