Awesome project! I'll be following closely.

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Trek 5500 - 13.75lbs on a $1400 Budget
20 gram 1x10 chain guide

Wheel parts arrived yesterday. I'll build up a set of the Kinlins this weekend and post weights, photos, etc. I haven't made any modifications to the frame yet. That could be a weekend project too. I have to find a place to have the frame sandblasted after I've drilled the holes and removed the cable stops. Depending on how it looks when stripped, I'll decide if it is worth polishing or if I am going to have it resprayed.

This will be a pretty slow project. I expect at least another month before I am ready to unveil the completed bike. In the meantime, my son has been having a blast on his mountain bike.

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=108562&hilit=alpinestars

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

I've spent the past few hours building wheels. 3 of 4 complete. I never weighed the carbon rims before now and was disappointed to find them way overweight. Advertised weight was 380g but mine weighed 402g (20h) and 432g (24h). Very strange. The Kinlins came in at 399g (20h) and 389g (24h). So while the 20h rims only differed by 3g (between alloy and carbon) the 24h rims differed by 43g!

The Kinlins built up into a 1279g wheelset (567g F / 712g R) with Dati hubs and 20/24 CX-ray spokes. Pretty good for the money (US$352.00). That means the carbon clinchers should come out to 1322g which is still pretty light but at a higher price (US$520.00). The front is finished and weighs 569g. I will say though, the carbon rims are very nice in appearance. We'll see how they hold up.

Once I've finished the final wheel, trued and dished them all, I'll post some photos.

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

Nice project,
What's size frame is it?
I have here a 13" Independent collecting dust .
Intressted?

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weight weenie wannabee

Frame is 40cm with a 49cm top tube.

PM sent.

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

Miscellaneous bits and pieces are arriving. This weekend's project will be to finalize cable/wire routing and drill necessary holes. Once that is completed, I'll send the frame/fork out for paint.

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

I have removed all the cable stops and am working out where to drill for the internal routing. Unfortunately, the front derailleur mount hasn't arrived yet so that is holding things up a bit. I was hoping to mount the battery under the chainstay, but I think it will be better to mount it under the downtube. My concern is that it will be directly in any spray from the front wheel. Because the frame is so small, there is no space to mount it inside the front triangle without losing a water bottle mount.

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

Just a quick update...

All parts are in hand. This weekend I'll finally be drilling the holes for the internal wiring. Then taking the frame to be sand-blasted and resprayed. I've been toying with the idea of a really slick custom paint job as my son should be on this bike for a couple of seasons and his younger brother will be able to ride it later on. Otherwise, I'll go with a basic black to keep it simple.

Hopefully I'll have it built and ready for photos by the end of the month.

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

All the holes are drilled for the internal wiring, except for the battery. I think I am going to run the battery cable up through the seat tube, out the top of the post and to the battery mounted on the back of the seatpost using these Specialized water bottle mounts. This saves me drilling three more holes in the frame. Tomorrow I'll post some photos of the drilled frame and mocked up wiring. Then I'm going to run it out for sandblasting and paint. Due to budget constraints, it looks like I'm just going with a straight black spray at the local auto repair shop.

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

Getting the bike professionally sand-blasted and repainted is a non-starter. Cheapest I can find is nearly 300 euros for a single color. Tomorrow I break out the paint stripper and a can each of primer and metallic black spray paint. Gotta stay in budget...

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

Hmmm... that didn't work. I tried an industrial paint stripper and it didn't do anything after 4 hours. I may wind up hand-sanding this frame. Not my idea of a fun day....

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

What about blasting it (should only cost around $50) and then painting it yourself.

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BIG DADDY B FLOW
AERO & LIGHT is RIGHT

Cervelo SLC 5890g/12.98 lbs

Until a few minutes ago I couldn't find anyone to sandblast it locally. But I just got a note from a guy who can sandblast and powdercoat (single color) for 80 euros. He does restorations of vintage motorcycles, scooters, and cars. I'll be bringing it by on Friday.

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

Great news and that is a great price if I do say so myself.

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BIG DADDY B FLOW
AERO & LIGHT is RIGHT

Cervelo SLC 5890g/12.98 lbs