Stoked! Exp001 - 5671g/12.47lb

Who are you (no off-topic talk please)

Moderators: MrCurrieinahurry, maxim809, Moderator Team

Post Reply
User avatar
prendrefeu
Posts: 8580
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 10:32 pm
Location: Glendale / Los Angeles, California
Contact:

by prendrefeu

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

The build is based on the following principles:
1. Budget and seeking the most value - both in performance and weight savings for the price.
2. Endurance racing & riding foremost. While hill climbs are nice, the goal for ultra-light is, for me, more of a long term benefit. Over the course of 200mi/320km rides and races, weight ends up being a significant factor. Simultaneously whatever I use must be relatively durable and repairable wherever I may be. Which is why tubulars won't always work: if I'm caught without any spare in the middle of nowhere, I'm more likely to find someone or a shop with another tube to purchase than a tubular. While I usually carry two tubes, pump, micro-tool, spare boots and patches, there have been occasions where I've given away those things to fellow riders along the course while riding in areas that have no mobile reception at all. Practicality foremost.
3. Make it my own.

And, really, it's an open canvas to experiment. I'm still tinkering with the rear derailleur. The hoods on the levers are a work in progress that, if successful, will be sold as a product. I'm also experimenting with different options to allow Powercordz use on these brakes... which isn't easy so far. Just a canvas to experiment with, really. Logo included, which is a brand concept I've been playing around with. So it's my own design for wordmark and logo. Being the person I am, I already did a mini-side project and designed the brand's full identity suite, letterhead & stationary, everything. Why not be thorough about it? I don't like to half-ass anything in my life.

About the frame: This is/was a Figmo 900 RD. Figmo is a housebrand of Edge-Design out of Taiwan. They design & sell frames for the OEM market, not open-mould although these can be found on occasion from a sample lot. That said, I like it a lot. I've ridden quite a number of quality frames in my time, and certainly there are many that remain on my wish list (Parlee Z5, BH Ultralite, Neil Pryde Bura) but I'll be quite honest that the differences in performance between this and those is not yet significant enough to warrant a purchase. This frame is stiff enough for my needs and I certainly can't deflect it while I do put out some decent power for my weight. It has the right amount of comfort as well - I've ridden this for the past year over smooth roads, off road dirt paths, cracked streets and pavement slabs from the 1920's all without issue for hundreds of miles in a single ride. I absolutely love riding this frame and I appreciate it even more when I know that it cost me a very small fraction of what an equivalent frame might be. The frame was entirely stripped of its original paint, re-coated with 2K clearcoat, then sanded down again to a satin finish. Doing this revealed two things: there was a lot of paint on it and the carbon layup is surprisingly perfect.

I have another set of wheels I can switch to, a custom build which uses Alpha340 rims. If I use the Alpha340 build I lose about 40g but gain an alloy braking surface. I'll be using those wheels for days where I anticipate some wet weather.

Low priority component switches to reduce weight in consideration:
-Brakes -> Gravitas SL
-Cordz -> Powercordz
-Handlebar -> Something significantly lighter with a 'flatish' top and ample clamping surface
-Stem -> Extralite OC.

As it stands now, this build has a $/g ratio of $0.68/g (USD, everything included such as tax, shipping and anodizing costs).

Happy riding!
Exp001 || Other projects in the works.

User avatar
Powerful Pete
Moderator
Posts: 4132
Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2004 10:22 am
Location: Lima, Peru and the Washington DC area - it's complicated.

by Powerful Pete

:thumbup:

Not much to add, really...
Road bike: Cervelo R3, Campagnolo Chorus/Record mix...
Supercommuter: Jamis Renegade...
Oldie but goodie: De Rosa Professional Slx, Campagnolo C-Record...
And you can call me Macktastik Honey Pete Kicks, thank you.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



User avatar
Werdna
Posts: 91
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:45 am

by Werdna

I like this a lot.
Not to go off topic, but what advances have you made in terms of using powercordz with the Planet X brakes? I would like to be able to do this as well.

User avatar
Drea
Posts: 47
Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 4:47 pm
Location: Denmark

by Drea

Very good lookning :)

wolfesquire
Posts: 339
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2011 3:03 am

by wolfesquire

Why did you go clincher instead of tubular?
I understand the "fear" of being caught in the middle of nowhere, but between the weight savings and living in SoCal...
Last edited by wolfesquire on Mon Oct 15, 2012 8:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

KB
Posts: 3967
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 12:32 pm
Location: HULL UK

by KB

Bike of the year for me for a number of reasons. It looks great although I would have gone full Ninja black; you've taken the trouble to do some nice mods and alterations (love the work on the rear mech); but the clincher is getting to that weight for that cost.

Chapeau.

NiFTY
Posts: 1493
Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 11:26 pm

by NiFTY

Lovely. I dig the pink.
Evo 4.9kg SL3 6.64kg Slice RS 8.89kg viewtopic.php?f=10&t=110579" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

deltasierra
Posts: 131
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:41 pm

by deltasierra

Like!
Big crankarms for that frame size. Big power!

User avatar
kgt
Posts: 8749
Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2006 10:29 am
Location: Athens, Greece

by kgt

Really nice!
Do you use this saddle for 200+ km rides?

EKIMIKE
Posts: 78
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2011 5:18 pm
Location: Bristol, UK

by EKIMIKE

Seems like you've gone through a lot of deliberation with this and it's paid off. It has a very cohesive look - nothing looks out of place. I think that's a real difficulty for bike builds. Very well done!

User avatar
prendrefeu
Posts: 8580
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 10:32 pm
Location: Glendale / Los Angeles, California
Contact:

by prendrefeu

Thanks everyone!

@wolfesquire - Well I ride everywhere, so sometimes "middle of nowhere" is in the Sierras or in Death Valley (just within this state - I also ride out of state). Besides, tubulars are nice but pricey both on initial purchase and in repairs compared to tires and decent tubes. I'll have a set of tubular wheels eventually just for 'special' rides.

@Werdna - nothing yet, it's on the plate of things to tackle. I tried a simple knot underneath the bolt, but it slipped out. I tried using a carbon tube, but it crushed, so it's back to aluminum. Still working on it...
Exp001 || Other projects in the works.

artray
Posts: 1347
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2011 2:08 pm

by artray

My Kind of bike . Very cool . Nice colour touch, looks classy. Im with you on the clinchers . Nice tune work .
10 out of 10 :thumbup:

Mr prendrefeu sir , keep us up to speed on the hoods and how they are performing . I would def be up for a pair if they work out ok. :beerchug:

stevec1975
Posts: 552
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2009 12:37 pm
Location: London

by stevec1975

Super nice build, love the finishing touches and colour highlights, and the effort on the extensive modifications.

Is that heat shrink on your ilinks at the contact points?

CarpetFibre
Posts: 556
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 10:24 am

by CarpetFibre

Superb build. Well thought out and fantastic weight considering you're running clinchers too.

You're clearly a man who's done their homework here.

Nice work with the 'hand of god' too - but I can find the clone brushing if I go looking for it. :wink:

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



User avatar
prendrefeu
Posts: 8580
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 10:32 pm
Location: Glendale / Los Angeles, California
Contact:

by prendrefeu

:lol: I ended up using a Trader Joe's bottle of vitamins. It was the perfect height, wide enough stance for stability in windy conditions, but man did it distort shadows!

@KGT - Yes, so far the longest ride I've done on this saddle was just over 234km (146mi) and it was comfortable all the way through. It has a lot of flex in the design.

@steve1975 - Yep, heat shrink over the iLinks. I'd rather have the frame protector on the housing than on the frame, makes for easier cleaning and protects the frame no matter where the cables move. Heatshrink was also used in place of crimps for the ends of the brake cables, but since I had two spare crimps for the shift cables I had those anodized in the batch and made use of them. When I put in new cables they will have heat shrink'd ends.
Exp001 || Other projects in the works.

Post Reply