Rotwild R.S2 2012

[incog24]

Cheers everyone . I'm not sure I've seen this much KCNC before either, at least on a bike in real life anyway. It all comes in nice presentation boxes with fancy labels which is a nice touch. It gives it a very premium feel, which considering the prices are actually really reasonable is a nice touch. Clee Cycles have been excellent too. They're very quick with the deliveries and extremely honest when providing advice and support. For instance, it was refreshing to discuss the RD2 crankset creaking issues with them totally candidly. There's enough coverage on the internet that obviously people know about product problems if they do any research, so its reassuring that a company is open and honest about them and is clearly going to offer very good support if there are any issues. The K3 is new and re-designed though and apparently their test model has been working without a hitch so far.

I'll do my best to give an honest opinion on the parts, but I think it could be tricky as there's so many parts I haven't used before it'll be difficult to compare and isolate the performance of individual parts. At least the weights are absolute though.

Unfortunately I don't play the piano lcoolb, just the oboe and violin. I'm currently at my folks house for Easter and my mum is a piano teacher. That one is actually for sale at the moment as there's a baby grand behind the photo that gets used instead, so if you're based near Cambridge in the UK and interested...I think that is pretty much the definition of OT though! Best stay on track to avoid getting this locked...

[Krull]

i see, we musicians seem to have a very similar sense of taste : this bike is getting really nice, cant wait to see the completed build.
regrettably the rotwilds geometry doesnt fit me at all, considering its aesthetics, i would love to have one.

[RMcC]

Very interested to see how it feel through the stem and bars.

Is anyone selling the Rotwild frames or bikes in the UK?

How fiddly were the skewers to fit, and how well did they fit? They look like a set of tokens I was about to buy but they had mixed reviews on fitting quality and adjustability.

Thanks

[incog24]

So the final bit, the crankset, has arrived...Clee Cycles claimed 727g for the crankset + BB for a compact 175mm version, so this coming in at 712g complete is pretty much spot on. Looks pretty insane too!



I'll have a chance on Friday to put it all together and possibly ride it, but until then here's a final part list. The weight is in red if I've done it, black if not. If I've missed something let me know, but hopefully this is relatively close to the final weight...

1305g Frame + stock SC + stock headset + shimano BB86: Rotwild R.S2
343g Forks: 3T F340 Team + bung
223g Bars: KCNC SC Force Scandium
106g Stem: KCNC SC Scandium wing (110 mm)
44g Bar Tape: Deda (Black)

222g Brakes: KCNC C6 (Black)

310g Shifters: SRAM Force
180g Cables: Jagwire (Black)
88g Front Mech: SRAM Force
178g Rear Mech: SRAM Rival + KCNC jockey wheels

209g Saddle: Ritchey WCS Streem
166g Seat Post: KCNC SC Pro Scandium Layback 350 mm (27.2)

620g Cranks: KCNC K3 RD Cobweb 53/39 172.5 (Black with Gold bolts)
253g Chain: KMC X10L
220g Cassette: SRAM 1070 11-26
310g Pedals: Ultegra 6600
92g Bottom Bracket: KCNC BB86 (Gold - can't see it but why not...)

46g Bottle cages: Blackburn Slick Racing x2

1456g Wheels: American Classic 58 tubs
490g Tyres: Vittoria evo cx 320tpi 21mm x2

Total: 6811g

So I'm missing a few weights there, but I've used the listings to try and get it as accurate as possible. Couldn't find anything other than claimed for the cages so if anyone has a weight for those it'd be appreciated. Realistically though I think I'm looking at more like 6900g. The total weight there doesn't include the KCNC BB (92g) but does include the stock shimano one in the frameset. I think the shimano one is possibly 20g lighter but I'll weigh it when it comes out. I forgot to weigh the tyres or wheels before gluing them on which is frustrating, but I'll weigh them complete in the near future. I think if I choose to look for weight savings I'll start by swapping the saddle for a Selle Italia SLR XP that I've got handing around. I've been meaning to test it for a while. Switching from the stock seat clamp to a KCNC one along with getting a KCNC lock ring (saves 10g according to Clee) will probably be the best value £/g wise. Otherwise a KMC X10SL TiNi off ebay would be an obvious choice, and I could opt for a KCNC cassette that'd save a chunk. Pedals could change too, but it'd be a bit of a faf. Anyway, nearly there!

@RMcC: I'll give you the low down on the stem bar combo when I get out. The skewers though seem pretty easy. Requires a little more thought that a beefy shimano one, but its hardly taxing. They look great too so I've got no qualms about running them. Rotwilds are currently available in the UK through the guys running the team. Check the website in my sig and pm if you're interested in more information.

Soooo excited about riding the finished build! Back with pictures at the weekend...

[RMcC]

Thanks for that. I think I'm definitely going for the stem but the Easton bars I had ordered are going to take ages to come so a set of kcnc ones may be a better option.

I'd like to hear what the whole set up is like with road buzz and vibration on tubulars.

Thanks

[incog24]

Done! Finally got into a shop to get the BB out on Saturday and finished off the build on Sunday:













I weighed it without the chain or bottle cages on Saturday and it came in at 6.6kgs, so it should be just a tad under 6.9kgs fully built up. That's also with the wrong cassette (a 1050 11-26) which I think is fairly heavy at 290g claimed. I'll weigh the cassette and bottle cages tonight hopefully to update the final parts list. I'm happy with that weight as I haven't made any compromises at all on the usability of the bike, and it is an XL after all. I'd quite like to get under the 6.8kgs, but its not a massive issue, and for hill climb season I'll source some <1100g 20mms I think that'll bring the weight down loads.

Colour scheme wise its fairly busy, but I think it works. I like the gold highlights, but a couple more might help. Possibly a gold lockring and a KCNC seatpost clamp with a gold bolt. I'll see...

I haven't really ridden it properly yet, but first impressions are that its surprisingly comfortable. I had the tyres (21mm) up at 120psi so I expected it to be harsher. However, that was with the new wheels so I'll stick my training ones in soon for a better comparison. Despite that it seems to maintain the snappiness under power and steering response you'd expect for a race bike. The geometry is spot on for me too. I need a slightly shorter top tube than most XLs spec, but more seat tube than most Ls, so the 59cm seat tube and 59.5cm top tube works well.

Early days yet for ride analysis yet though, I'll put up some more thoughts after I've done ~500miles and a few races. Can't wait!

[lcoolb]

Looks great, busy but ballsy. A real racing machine!
Those chainrings look rather delicate, aren't they flexy?

[billspreston]

Very unique build.

LOL at the "German Cycling Device" text.

[mjduct]

Looks great, busy but ballsy. A real racing machine!
Those chainrings look rather delicate, aren't they flexy?

would like to know this as well?!?!?!

[incog24]

Quick update to answer questions, I'll do a proper one soon.

- Frame is a beaut, stable, stiff, absorbs the big hits. I'm not tour mag so I can't comment on absolute stiffness but there's no issues there at all.
- Chainset doesn't appear to be flexy at all as far as I can perceive and draws lots of positive comments.
- Wheels, no complaints, but a little more stiffness might be nice there.
- Bars, great climbing on the hoods, even when pulling the bike around a lot, but the drops flex too much when sprinting. In context though I'm riding the 44cm bars and am pretty lanky (so loads of leverage) so if you're short and on the 40cm you might be ok.

Hope that helps in the short term.