Your latest bike project?

[TwoWheelsDC]

@vvill 148069 wrote:

I’ve wondered if the power meter is also on when the bike is say, on a vehicle bike rack, or even when I reshuffle my bikes between my basement rooms (which happens more often than I’d like). There’s probably enough movement and vibration to trigger it.

This was my suspicion, that the Stages doesn’t have a well-tuned sleep mode. My Vector pods get much better battery life, but almost go to the other sleep extreme by occasionally going to sleep in the time between calibrating and actually getting on the bike (the lack of BT on the Vectors could contribute as well).

[hozn]

To borrow the “adventure bike” term here, I’ve decided to go ahead and build (have built) a custom titanium frame with S&S-style couplers (they’re not made by S&S, but threaded design looks similar). I’ll take it to Europe for a couple months this summer. And then I likely won’t need the travel aspect of the frame very often after that, but I think it’ll be nice to have the option.

Partly this was an excuse to replace/rethink my commuter frame. I’ve really loved my Habanero frames, but have been thinking about building a frame with some of the modern features I want (supporting thru-axle, being primary interest) and Habanero is deliberately and respectably a little slow/resistant to adopt.

I’m using Waltly again, as they delivered exactly what I wanted for my road bike and it was easy to work with them. I learned a lot from the previous experience, so expect this to be a pretty quick design process.

Main frame features:
– Geometry copies my Habanero. 73.5/72.5 ST/HT angles. 78mm BB drop (pretty low, but it works for me, great handling with bigger tires IMO).
– Couplers installed on top- and down- tubes.
– 44mm head tube, to support tapered fork. Thru axle is such a better experience and I can’t find a thru-axle, straight-steerer fork.
– 142×12 thru-axle dropouts. My road bike has Shimano (E-type) axle setup, but new frame will use “DT Swiss” standard; threads are cut right into the DS dropout.
– Post mount for 160mm rotors on the seat stays. (Mostly because I like routing the cable along top tube and fender stays don’t interfere with my calipers.)
– 68mm threaded BB. I wouldn’t want anything else.
– 38mm down tube (compared to my current 32mm down tube)
– Mounting points for rack & fenders.
– Cables run above top tube and on inside of seat stays. All cable stops are zip-tie stops, to hopefully make it easy to break down for packing.
– No FD cable routing.
– Clearance for 40+mm tires. (We’ll see what the design supports and maybe play with the bends a bit to make for a frame that handles 27.5×2.1 and 700×45.)
– Clearance for a 46t X-Sync ring. We’ll have to see what sort of chain line they spec. Supporting that size chunky N/W ring with a 45.5mm chainline would be nice.

I’m looking forward to the build. The couplers are not cheap ($500 for a set) so the total cost after fees and shipping pushes up into the “I could have bought a off-the-shelf coupler frame for less” territory, but this will be titanium and exactly what I want, so I think it’s worth it. We’ll see. I have to start looking for 26x26x10 travel bags to hopefully find a used one.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@hozn 155528 wrote:

To borrow the “adventure bike” term here, I’ve decided to go ahead and build (have built) a custom titanium frame with S&S-style couplers (they’re not made by S&S, but threaded design looks similar). I’ll take it to Europe for a couple months this summer. And then I likely won’t need the travel aspect of the frame very often after that, but I think it’ll be nice to have the option.

Partly this was an excuse to replace/rethink my commuter frame. I’ve really loved my Habanero frames, but have been thinking about building a frame with some of the modern features I want (supporting thru-axle, being primary interest) and Habanero is deliberately and respectably a little slow/resistant to adopt.

I’m using Waltly again, as they delivered exactly what I wanted for my road bike and it was easy to work with them. I learned a lot from the previous experience, so expect this to be a pretty quick design process.

Main frame features:
– Geometry copies my Habanero. 73.5/72.5 ST/HT angles. 78mm BB drop (pretty low, but it works for me, great handling with bigger tires IMO).
– Couplers installed on top- and down- tubes.
– 44mm head tube, to support tapered fork. Thru axle is such a better experience and I can’t find a thru-axle, straight-steerer fork.
– 142×12 thru-axle dropouts. My road bike has Shimano (E-type) axle setup, but new frame will use “DT Swiss” standard; threads are cut right into the DS dropout.
– Post mount for 160mm rotors on the seat stays. (Mostly because I like routing the cable along top tube and fender stays don’t interfere with my calipers.)
– 68mm threaded BB. I wouldn’t want anything else.
– 38mm down tube (compared to my current 32mm down tube)
– Mounting points for rack & fenders.
– Cables run above top tube and on inside of seat stays. All cable stops are zip-tie stops, to hopefully make it easy to break down for packing.
– No FD cable routing.
– Clearance for 40+mm tires. (We’ll see what the design supports and maybe play with the bends a bit to make for a frame that handles 27.5×2.1 and 700×45.)
– Clearance for a 46t X-Sync ring. We’ll have to see what sort of chain line they spec. Supporting that size chunky N/W ring with a 45.5mm chainline would be nice.

I’m looking forward to the build. The couplers are not cheap ($500 for a set) so the total cost after fees and shipping pushes up into the “I could have bought a off-the-shelf coupler frame for less” territory, but this will be titanium and exactly what I want, so I think it’s worth it. We’ll see. I have to start looking for 26x26x10 travel bags to hopefully find a used one.

Have you checked out eTap as a way to minimize cabling across the couplers?

[hozn]

@TwoWheelsDC 155540 wrote:

Have you checked out eTap as a way to minimize cabling across the couplers?

I’ve considered it, but two things:
(1) I don’t have that kind of money This is already a bit of a budget stretch, but relies on moving over all my current components and selling my current ti frameset to offset the costs.
(2) I’m not sure that eTap supports wide range cassettes yet — last I looked they did not. I guess another way to say that eTap isn’t 1x yet. (I do believe that the hydro option is out now, though not 100% sure if consumers can order that yet or if it was just announced.)

Of course for (2) I could use a FD without needing any cable stops, so really (1) is the biggest impediment. I’d love to do etap, though.

(And I believe that the gravel cyclist folks have an eTap Ritchey Breakaway for exactly that packing benefit.) I’ll only need to decouple two cables, though, which should be quick. Sounds like I would really need to take of the RD anyway and taking off the rear brake caliper won’t be an insurmountable pain. If the main focus were travel rather than a good do-it-all frame, I’d probably stick with mechanical rim brakes for simplicity.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@hozn 155541 wrote:

(2) I’m not sure that eTap supports wide range cassettes yet — last I looked they did not. I guess another way to say that eTap isn’t 1x yet. (I do believe that the hydro option is out now, though not 100% sure if consumers can order that yet or if it was just announced.)

Just came across this. eTap medium cage derailleur supporting cassettes up to 32t. Not quite wide range, but getting there.

https://www.sram.com/stories/keys-etap-wifli-setup

[hozn]

@TwoWheelsDC 155597 wrote:

Just came across this. eTap medium cage derailleur supporting cassettes up to 32t. Not quite wide range, but getting there.

https://www.sram.com/stories/keys-etap-wifli-setup

I am sure that they will have a 1x option for eTap before long. They seem to be pushing it hard. Honestly, though, I would be fine with 2x eTap on the road bike, but for this bike there is definitely advantage to not having the extra part to potentially get misadjusted in transport, etc.

And I really like 1x for mixed-surface.

That said, I did drop my chain once at Monster Cross. It is quick to put a chain back on a 1x, though. I caught back up. (To be fair, hitting the rock patches also rotated the bars forward in the stem clamp so I had to use only drops for the last 20 miles and I dented my rims a bunch of times; so I probably would have dropped the chain more than once with a double.)

[hozn]

[IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4xmcrdCVCEiemPtpktf4fbhoDRvACbFMJeryI-pltQRMy_hWjzpob9V6yvRqV40oekxVQvyXf0BpMTGHzgkGcnnS_vT3g3PjY0DVQSGvkwU7t4zj8Q_3FA6OcW3oQKktA6So3UZY0_uehxBrsGQGkFsR8BkqM6AgoI_vf7Rg9XvQ3rauAROVhwNoZ1I8-Hy7Pa0SJiEcB-jgt-mhPRbFMdfxpCj8MIX3r3qmCHk4mXAoKeJWpkA3X39YxEBs1nCysYhWmtDYfqt5hk4hh-rBJazYPue3lWS90BJR0kNWBIWdQEvnsJuzCHLBd5WT9rAQizGQ7haAfF_hL7_yVBFT6NDYv5OClZUK6n7FjJJHssf6zSy6oONyW-kw-tAkKMVTh5wZNHMBXlpQqsb7eCiFnr08z57NxCtJxuP4wWyg5-z1CguEOBYikTM6SKue456b2FKAmAXNNPtdxzMVzRCyiJwN9GRD32OeEZlZJjoFrUTB5XtwpaNfRJfP47SUf-lfbA4G_uYgQpBcg1mU4VPPpxpGhYb-BwaeYxfYyA5fMg-7aqblxVgPAJePsHu_HcQXJVXZoBdWY38w53gklB1M8BsF6yBqo5pxfgt7_278okAXyiV5sr77LA=w1754-h1239-no[/IMG]
Version 1 of the frame design. Using couplers ended up restricting my tube size options. I’m going w/ 35mm top/down tubes; my other option is 44mm, which is just ridiculously huge.

Otherwise, it’s pretty close to nailed.

Changes to this design include, switching to a seat stay bridge in this style:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13945[/ATTACH]

And swapping the cable routing to the top of the frame, as my current frame does. Routing on top of top tube and inside seat stays sounds about perfect. The Foundry Overland still ranks up there as the perfect frame in my mind:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13946[/ATTACH]

This frame will end up being pretty similar to that frame, actually. Other than geometry and of course the travel couplers.

[Vicegrip]

Man I sure like looking over your frame build prints. They need to figure a good way to route the hydro brake tubing internally. Bends and turns don’t mater with fluid. Front could run inside the H bar, stem, right down the steerer to the caliper. That and electronic shift would make for a real clean bike

[hozn]

@Vicegrip 155791 wrote:

Man I sure like looking over your frame build prints. They need to figure a good way to route the hydro brake tubing internally. Bends and turns don’t mater with fluid. Front could run inside the H bar, stem, right down the steerer to the caliper. That and electronic shift would make for a real clean bike

Oh, they can route cables internally. For this bike, given the couplers, I didn’t want to deal with disconnecting the hoses (and probably having to rebleed the disc brakes on install), so zip-tie “stops” everywhere. On my road frame the hoses are routed internally in the down tube (with little tubes inside the tube, which makes it pretty hassle-free). It’s not quite as clean as it could be since that bike is setup to use a front derailleur and only 2 of the three cables are routed internally – there are zip-tie stops for the brake hose, but since I’m running 1x the hose is using the FD routing inside the tube. On the chain stay, I opted to avoid internal routing (though they can do it), figuring I probably don’t want to compromise the structure of those little tubes for a small aesthetic improvement.

Here’s a recent example of someone (also using Walty) doing internal routing: http://www.spanner.org.uk/2017/02/manojs-titanium-gravel-om-bike-by-waltly/

(In general that Spanner blog / the author, Andrew is a great resource for this stuff.)

[hozn]

[IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_VhLL_zikeF-xaHId9-ipwMNmgr-YubzaHe6mKTTTCwM9v_mc-EwL3tooB93DkmqHSYNi6vqX0fuE1Xnn-J5cKKeNhD69bPB4OD1uDrk3J2u0_HP281YHX2jMwJqSQDMWMwwfQ09uQFbNsYfox_u06MZ-ti6sAS1ByjxmL0r0GbeaTqsy7fDvdxCGcTYONaZj-cWLmvcYJvNoO8Ax8H_pr5rIU1fvxuGJQtzkbOGtLoAiszUO_cxfi5uTLu9x01zkJk8VzvRr3O-wPSL_F_s9jnV3sNlahtoUdgIgMKQhD7v2DhOko_Q85b47sKyHWtMx3KbyXGszQXN5oWXr7fjC5JgkDqIyfObrptwOztwU1ZebSjBcm9JQlUAFHgiy-5tneY1eUoEtPaNAECBNXAyMz5jGjAWTH94Xx4_SuHNb9LlmPpwhPy3D0FxdfGSu3ZkruQ8Hlrm1lZVy7ejC78OTOytf77TreJjyrOkoGONUKRfSEMmxtAulMkZW6KsT4_TMlb_F8ljZ9KZrPmET_2HPu93of9nIn0e0G3Es-TFfaF96MPpFDtIPtS58LvDwJjcr6rcph2hzkZy927vJTARIU0uM9scKE8yblSsIpcwXkRMfj1q4MOfTw=w1636-h1155-no[/IMG]
I think that’ll be the final version.

This seatstay bridge looks a lot classier (and more functional with my removable fender setup).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14014[/ATTACH]

[hozn]

Now for the fork!

I have a great fork now (the Spot CX fork), but it’s QR and I would really rather have a thru-axle front fork. Now that the frame will support a tapered head tube, this becomes possible. (AFAIK, there are no straight-steerer thru-axle forks.)

Here’s a fork that’s pretty hard to find:
– Full carbon, CX a2c length (395-400mm)
– Clearance for 38+mm tires
– Tapered steerer
– External cable routing (because travel frame)
– Post-mount disc-brake (flat-mount could work, but prefer to use what I have and the adapters for 160F look ridiculous)
– And, the real unicorn, fender mounts

As far as I know there are only a couple name-brand forks that fits these criteria. The new/redesigned Whisky No. 9 CX fork:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14056[/ATTACH]

And the Niner RLT Gravel

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14057[/ATTACH]

Those are great options, but they’re very expensive ($500-550) and very rarely show up on the used market (e.g. ebay).

I also looked at CX forks from TRP (internal routing), Ritchey WCS (no fender), Parlee (I think no fender?), and anything else I could find.

I also looked at the the open mold offerings and contacted Hongfu, Miracle, LT Bikes, Carbonal, and probably a couple other folks to see if they had something that fit the specs.

Nancy from Hongfu proposed the FK288:
[IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wk_UmtWm_Uo5ON_qmv206P8WiaJOiMabeVDUQAvrR5O8Z6ecY_6oDy2p2l4dTZzVBdgiHHlJKraR54_IX_dj5bUvwYTVuQNwF0R8Ch4jrvJEAIutp_-PbxhyzP33Hs_u5ipZi889qoV-BDBYhLwoe8_IOsnYlWarw7uIY-KXvAw36q3s9Kb5zDR83Spex89w7rNKjY5AGrGCpXWnSaCTPSer-CknZ6lKHOcHZO1Q1AjoGV_F_NGU7-ToXjIJL8ZNkVr90dZvfe6FjxCgyG7UaKmlEUX7YIuPGK4J6sUPfqsMTE5yn_az_hMs1pSUWP80-lohzzIhzKdV9yDw1p_FFDHCPPjtcHR_WEZDbpa_xX4ZDb3M4IjJ6X0JKhBEc3Ro1k7K6TAt8m8nUBTXB02dz0lIR0cwjxEEDvy-HUaR_g2-2Ic5pyIf2fyR4IRndVbmSpcnH1TQ4wGQEQz3b8UE6uN3X20RNOlIPCCGN1IT2xpaf30IOxfI7AycMDZvgY7IWxtflcQtCTgp7HPIl8GaN_n9IBYi3Sjt7g_2Z92u_hHf1Jrnl8dxQA5b4F9bfICbtOkfSCIdx-m7ll_6xNeMMD2-Acp5u7iSsn_SdIzsAuQ1LTqmim3Vw=w1698-h1199-no[/IMG]

Sure, that looks great, except no fender mounts. (This is also the fork — or an identically named version that has slightly different geometry(?) — that other sellers, such as Miracle, offer.)

But Nancy indicated that this is available with fender mounts upon request. Awesome!

[IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/zfSRMbGDABLZvoPYoRWcJZr1lU2yoQBRyTs_foGC1IxmTioMoA4wOqBExS_5sNS9LPDdOE2ZlJFMntqObMlNzGcTrtm7qauzZtN2ISEHXuyn28WStuzNe_muf6zp4lRGwCfV_vjorwHEoq5ZxKnJoObUdeENTiQwEq9kONqaGGM1Zy8fJjF7ogi2RMTZWH02fzg60-HoZe7NIQsmW4lKy5_ROexOgOPYRB6SiBbne2FaogxO30nik56aQ9V3ANxh2KGKw3q0HlEyUu3VMOm2iSpc7XmRRqNG8T6dtrA6oizONm1Wm-eddy_TdpNJSMBFC3CKJx92vkYGnKeD-ns7tD-kP6P_zUDr1tShmhcmiYvDefCuiVy5GolH8tJmuQF_sIPGESjhszXb-Y5Cn5ThW0rqKtMhFmieGMxPiC3Y10SV3Vv1VZqqVu25OlweYaK41kj7Pvbau0AUTnL7CEZhAK3zjd4p8lbjxPm5vZq5hEwqXS1C9B0DHis50tTo38matkt3R4JlM9qMyIPjsSsopqQddL6SDyWh3aQKd_KkpLNcZgA5-0eGLalLN0dpsmR8_zPAoowxxTbwjrmxigGmKUtpgp86IpisON3guzXw1_OVhhmbC9o9hg=w1008-h441-no[/IMG]

They’re a little higher on the fork legs than I might have spec’d if I were choosing it myself, but it looks like there will definitely be no concern with caliper interference up there. And since fenders are a part-time affair for this bike, I’m not particularly worried about the aesthetics of the fender-stay angle.

The Whisky No 9 would be my first choice. But for 1/4 the price, I’ll go the Hongfu route and maybe upgrade later. (Looks like the Whisky will clear larger tires, whereas the Hongfu might be a tight fit for a 40mm tire.) I’m really happy with my Hongfu road fork. They make solid stuff (usually a little heavier than the name-brand stuff, but in my sample size of 1, I’ve found that Whisky’s claimed weights are significantly — e.g. 10% — lower than actual weights.)

[Harry Meatmotor]

@hozn 156158 wrote:

Now for the fork!

OK. I know you’d be more than capable of installing some metric nutzerts on any of those forks in the position specified on the Hongfu. SRSLY. Measure 19 times. Then just be careful drilling, pilot first, then step up 1/8″ at a time, then drill to final bore with a drill-stop (e.g., blue painter’s tape wrapped around the bit at the depth you want to drill to) so there’s no chance of drilling into the opposite inner face of the fork leg. Many bike shops have metric nutzert pliers to install them—takes maybe 5-10 minutes per side. DO EEET.

[hozn]

@Harry Meatmotor 156195 wrote:

OK. I know you’d be more than capable of installing some metric nutzerts on any of those forks in the position specified on the Hongfu. SRSLY. Measure 19 times. Then just be careful drilling, pilot first, then step up 1/8″ at a time, then drill to final bore with a drill-stop (e.g., blue painter’s tape wrapped around the bit at the depth you want to drill to) so there’s no chance of drilling into the opposite inner face of the fork leg. Many bike shops have metric nutzert pliers to install them—takes maybe 5-10 minutes per side. DO EEET.

Yeah, I probably should have just plowed ahead with that plan But I’m fine with them doing that for me, since it doesn’t cost anything.

I also found this in my research:

[EasyRider]

That fender looks like trouble. Tire clearance is minimal, and no safety breakaway tabs. Plus coverage is poor. Does Calfee offer those or was that an owner’s modification?

[vvill]

Probably an older photo but such a nice frameset and wheels with… BB7s?

My Warbird’s fork is thru axle with external routing and hidden fender mounts I think. Never looked too closely for the fender mounts though.

[Author]

Posts