Budget Velo Builds

  Been a while since I posted anything.  Still really waiting on parts and things.  I've received a few incidentals, like a saddle, and some valves and cables, tools, etc., and I may do a post on all those at once, once I get it all. But today I received my groupset .  If you don't know cycling terms, and I didn't not that long ago, the groupset is essentially the drive train of the bike.  Sometimes it includes the brakes as well, as they connect to the same levers, but you can buy the pieces separately.   This set contains a 50x34 crankset and bottom bracket, an 11x34 cassette, rear and front derailleurs, and the gear/brake levers and shift cables. One thing I only found out recently is that shift cables and brake cables aren't the same thing, and are different sizes, so I found that interesting.  I have brake cables as well, with my incidental things, including housing, which I'll explain more then too. The crankset is by a brand called Senicx, of which I really h

My frame arrived today! This is a CFR 1056 frame from  Carbonda.com   It's matte black, size 56. Has internal cable routing, carbon fibre fork and seat post.  I didn't realize I needed a headset, and my handlebars will unfortunately not work, so will try to sell those, and replace with ones that do. I am thinking I may try to paint the internal form and rear wheel areas to look something like this, but I'm really not sure its something I have the talent to do. (PS: If you know anyone that does, let me know!) While I'm not trying to be totally as light as possible, I am trying to see how light I can be with what I hope are decent, though low budget parts. I've not weighed the fork or seat post yet, but the frame, including some guides for routing and a cap to protect the seat tube, weigh in at 1087 grams.  So thats pretty light in my books. I am still hoping to order one or the other of wheels or groupset next month, and the other the month after. Still need a few to

  UPDATE: I will have to sell these as I misunderstood integrated to mean internal routing, and they will not work with my frame. The first real part for my bike build has arrived!  These are from Ali Express , and yes, maybe I am crazy to buy lower tier carbon fibre parts,   but have been researching online and trying my best to follow recommendations.  And if others can be successful, why not me? In any event, even if it all blows up, I'll have learned how to assemble a bike, and I'm sure I'll have spent more on less. These are 400mm wide, with a 100 mm integrated stem, and built for internal (well not through the stem) routing. I kinda wanted a 90mm stem, but they didn't have one in stock, and I didn't want to wait. They came with bar tape, which I'll likely not use as I am going with my orange themed set. And also with multiple mounts for underbar for computers and cameras and the like. I was going to weigh them, but apparently my scale has stopped working

  I can't build a bike without tools!  I likely don't need a ton, but I do need somethings.  So today, I bought a small set and a rack at Decathlon .   I have to admit, I'm not even sure what they all are yet, but will learn with time, reading, and youtube videos once I actually get everything together.

Well if you can call it a part anyway.  But the first thing I've ordered for my bike build has arrived.  Handlebar tape! I am going with a matte black frame, and hoping to add some orange trim. I have a vision in my head, not that I can necessarily make it work. This will be a fairly long term project. But hoping to have the parts maybe by Christmas, or early in the new year. In any event.  No "unboxing" video for these, as there's not much of a box! But here's what they look like in the case, and an image from Amazon on how they should look on the bike,

Since 2019, I've become a semi-avid cyclist. At age of 54, I decided I wanted to get back in shape, but living in a very hilly area, I was unable to actually ascend them. So I started with an e-bike, and have progressed, as my fitness increased, and my weight decreased, to using a gravel bike (Giant Revolt 0) and an endurance road bike (Canyon Endurace CF SL 7 Disc). I'm very happy with my bikes, but being higher quality than the old CCM targa 10 speed from high school, I really don't know "exactly" how to service them. To learn to do so, I've decided I'm going to build a new bike, totally from scratch, as a "winter" project. I DO want a decent set of materials, but I also DO want to be cheap. So, after much research, I've decided to go for a "cheap chinese" carbon fibre build.  I've not actually bought anything yet, but have been researching some options from sites such as  Chinertown  and YouTube videos such as from  TraceVelo