Seven Axiom SL, eTap specific

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solarider
Posts: 577
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 9:08 pm

by solarider

I am a big ti fan. In fact specifically I am a big Seven Cycles fan. On the eternally disappointing quest for the perfect bike, I have tried lots of other options over the last few years. Carbon, steel, ti from different manufacturers. I have tried mechanical and electronic shifting. I have tried rim and disc brakes. I have tried Campagnolo, Shimano and SRAM.

And after all of that, I have concluded that:

1) Discs have a place off road and on a winter/gravel (whatever that is!) bike. But there is still a place for rim brakes on my 'road' bike.

2) Electronic shifting rules the roost, and the future is wireless.

3) Carbon is OK but lacks soul. Steel is OK but Ti is better. There are many good ti manufacturers, but on balance Seven are the best (at least to me).

In short, after a long and expensive (but fun!) journey I have arrived pretty much back where I started. And with a 1 year old and a new house on the horizon, this might be it for a while at least.

A small but perfectly formed collection of ti bikes for every occasion. Based on all of the above, I have slimmed down the collection to a Jones Spaceframe off road, a Seven Evergreen for winter and dodgy road conditions, a Brompton just because and my new addition.

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Perfect fit, light (6.9kgs including pedals, cages and Garmin), cutting edge and a ride that is simultaneously comfortable where it needs to be and stiff where is needs to be. I went for a bold move of making it wireless specific, so there's no going back. I made a firm vote for rim braking on the basis that discs have their place, but not on a thoroughbred road bike.

A few initial conclusions:

SRAM eTap is amazingly simple and exquisitely elegant when coupled with a frame specifically designed not to have holes or cable stops in place. Any talk of it being slow to shift is ill informed. The hoods are just as comfortable as Campagnolo, and the whole groupset works beautifully.

The Obermayers are indeed nice, and certainly light, but it's hard to beat a decent set of handbuilts in terms of feel and comfort. But they do make a huge difference to weight and are very stiff. Fitting more robust quick release skewers than the ones supplied with the wheels might seem anti-weenie, but they make a reassuring difference to stiffness and safety.

Seven's build quality never disappoints.

So I am (finally) a very happy man. Just need to start on baby George's collection.........

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
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RichTheRoadie
Tinker, Taylor, Tart
Posts: 2070
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2008 8:00 pm
Location: Sydney, Aus.

by RichTheRoadie

solarider wrote:SRAM eTap is amazingly simple and exquisitely elegant when coupled with a frame specifically designed not to have holes or cable stops in place. Any talk of it being slow to shift is ill informed.

The eTap shift absolutely *is* slow compared to Di2, or even compared to a finely tuned mechanical setup - the key, though, is that we are talking fractions of seconds; and it is not in any way a problem or issue.

Lovely bike regardless. Like, *really* lovely. Pretty much exactly what I would buy right now if I could be bothered to wait for custom again.

jmh
Posts: 362
Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2004 1:57 am

by jmh

Juanmoretime wrote:Well done! If Sram would come out with a 11-23 11 speed cassette I would be all over E-Tap.


Any reason why a Shimano cassette in that size would not work?

Marin
Posts: 4035
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:48 am
Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

Juanmoretime wrote:None, it would work just heavier than the Red cassettes.


http://www.edco.ch/en/products/componen ... peed-11-23

sawyer
Posts: 4485
Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:45 pm
Location: Natovi Landing

by sawyer

Nicely done!

Could we have a build list please?
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Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!! :thumbup:

ronderman
Posts: 173
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:17 pm

by ronderman

I'm about in the same boat. I have a ti firefly and a Colnago C59. I find myself going back to the firefly. The C59 is a great and refined ride, but with my 50mm Bora wheels my hand falls asleep - this doesn't happen on my ti frame. The ti frame has such a pleasant and lively ride and the weight difference isn't a factor.

Wireless is probably coming, though electric has gotten so refined - my C59 is one of the few "electric only" frames and it looks 95% wireless with the advantage of one battery that holds a much longer charge. Still, SRAM did well.

That's a great bike. Enjoy it.

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

by kgt

It looks great. I 'd try to remove the enve decals if that's possible.

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jbaillie
Posts: 684
Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 4:17 pm

by jbaillie

Custom FD clamp?

by Weenie


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

www.starbike.com



solarider
Posts: 577
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 9:08 pm

by solarider

Thanks all.

I am absolutely loving this bike. The ride quality is sublime and the fit is spot on. eTap is lovely, the levers are comfortable and shifting crisp and accurate.

I totally agree on the forks, which will be off for a respray to get rid of the logo overkill.

It's just a Parlee front mech clamp.

Build as follows. The only slightly odd spec is that I use steel DT RWS skewers rather than the super light Obermayer skewers, just for added security.

Frame - Seven Axiom SL
Fork - ENVE 2.0
Headset - Chris King Inset 7 (black)
Chainset - SRAM Red 22 (175mm, 52 / 36t) - note the change from the 172.5s pictured
Bottom Bracket - Chris King Threadfit 24
Pedals - Look Keo Carbon Ti
Front Derailleur - SRAM Red eTap (Parlee band)
Rear Derailleur - SRAM Red eTap
Shifters - SRAM Red eTap
Brakes - SRAM Red 22
Chain - SRAM Red 22
Cassette - SRAM Red eTap (11 / 28)
Hubs - Lightweight Meilenstein Obermayer
Rims - Lightweight Meilenstein Obermayer
Spokes - Lightweight Meilenstein Obermayer
Quick Release - DT RWS Cromo
Tyres - Continental Competition (25mm)
Stem - Fizik R1 (110mm)
Bars - Fizik Cyrano R1 Bull (420mm)
Seatpost - Fizik R1
Saddle - Fizik Arione 00
Bottle Cages - King Titanium
Grip - Fizik 2mm

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