Merida Scultura Disc 4000

[TheOnlyAaron]

Hello all, after stalking around this forums for months, I have finally bought my first "legit" road bike and look to catalogue it's life here.
Without further ado, let me present to you my Scultura Disc 4000.

[Updated as of 140722]

Frame Scultura CF2 Disc (XXS, I am 1.60m with 70cm inseam)
Fork: Scultura CF2 Fork (Steerer cut to 15mm topcap)
Shifters: ST-R7020
Calipers: BR-R8070 (Front Pad and Back: L03A)
Rotors: MT900-SS (140mm) - Changed from RT54 (160mm)
Headset: Merida M2231 Neck
Handlebar: FSA SL-K Carbon Compact Dropbars 38mm(380mm)
Stem: Kalloy UNO stem (90mm, 7 degree)
Grip: FIzik Vento Solocush Tacky (2.7mm)
Front Derailleur: NIL
Rear Derailleur: RD-R7000-GS (Medium Cage, Modded with Short Cage)
Crank: Rotor Aldhu 24mm (165mm) with SIgeyi Power Meter - Changed from FC-R7000 (50-34, 165mm)
Chainring: Pass Quest Aero Chainring (42 teeth) - Fourier Narrow Wide (42 teeth)
Seatpost: Hylix Zero Setback (27.2mm)
Saddle: Pro Stealth Team (142mm) - Changed from Pro Stealh Carbon (142mm)
Chain: XT CN-M8100 - Changed from KMC X11-SL
Cassette: CS-R8000 (11-30) - Changed from CS-R7000 (11-30)
Bottom Bracket: SMBB72-41
Pedals: ES-600
Wheelset: Light Bicycle AR46 Flyweight with DT240EXP - Changed from Fulcrum Racing 4DB, of course with decals removed)
Tires: Continental GP5000 (28mm) - Changed from Continental GP5000 (25mm)
Bottle Cages: Elite T-race - Changed from Elite Cannibal
Other fun bits: Ridenow Tubes & Lucendi SUB1 barplugs

Weight: 7.51kg (14 Jul 22) 7.73kg

That's all for now, feel free to ask questions or make suggestions.
Thanks for reading

[TheOnlyAaron]

So as I came home after a ride today and stood back to admire my ride (as we all do).

I wondered if there would be any complications if i removed this aluminium cooling fin for the rear caliper.

Where I ride, "hills" are no higher than 20m and I am <50kg so not sure how much the cooling helps, but the budget weightweenie in me doesnt mind losing some metal off the bike.

Also, does anyone know is there a need for this quick joint hydraulic thingy or inline cable adjuster since the derailleurs already have built in adjustment?

Thanks for reading

[coreyaugustus]

I wondered if there would be any complications if i removed this aluminium cooling fin for the rear caliper.

I doubt you'd lose some significant amount of brake performance, but it looks like you'll have to replace it with washers or shims or something to get the capiler to sit at the correct position. Depending on what you have to do that, may not really be worth it.

Either way, enjoy the ride. That's what counts.

[Mr.Gib]

Those aren't cooling fins, those are air brakes.

[brackc]

Also, does anyone know is there a need for this quick joint hydraulic thingy or inline cable adjuster since the derailleurs already have built in adjustment?
WhatsApp Image 2019-04-10 at 22.33.55 (1).jpeg
Thanks for reading

That hydraulic quick join is there so bike companies can swap the bikes front/rear brakes for various countries preferences. IMHO they look ugly as hell and are not needed. Remember to take them off you'll need a full brake hose kit including new olives and barbs, then also you'll need to bleed the brakes afterwards, so it's not a very cheap job.

Inline barrel adjusters are a bit of a pain to use, front derailleurs don't have a barrel adjuster built in, so it could be going to that one. If it's going to the back, then it's not needed, just make sure you pre-tension the cable for a bit before indexing when you replace the cable housings.

[TheOnlyAaron]

I wondered if there would be any complications if i removed this aluminium cooling fin for the rear caliper.

I doubt you'd lose some significant amount of brake performance, but it looks like you'll have to replace it with washers or shims or something to get the capiler to sit at the correct position. Depending on what you have to do that, may not really be worth it.

Either way, enjoy the ride. That's what counts.

Thank you for your advice, I'll leave it on then, looks cool anyway.

[TheOnlyAaron]

Also, does anyone know is there a need for this quick joint hydraulic thingy or inline cable adjuster since the derailleurs already have built in adjustment?
WhatsApp Image 2019-04-10 at 22.33.55 (1).jpeg
Thanks for reading

That hydraulic quick join is there so bike companies can swap the bikes front/rear brakes for various countries preferences. IMHO they look ugly as hell and are not needed. Remember to take them off you'll need a full brake hose kit including new olives and barbs, then also you'll need to bleed the brakes afterwards, so it's not a very cheap job.

Inline barrel adjusters are a bit of a pain to use, front derailleurs don't have a barrel adjuster built in, so it could be going to that one. If it's going to the back, then it's not needed, just make sure you pre-tension the cable for a bit before indexing when you replace the cable housings.

As far as I know, in the manuals on the shimano site, you don't seem to require a barrel adjuster for the front or rear derailleur. Will change it when they wear out.

Still have to figure out how the OT-SP41 to OT-RS900 in a full cable housing routing.

[TheOnlyAaron]

Anyway I recently noticed that my KMC X11-1 chain that came stock on the bike was rusting.

Turns out, KMC DOES NOT recommment scubing the chain as it will (as I qoute) "immediately ruin it".
Who knew.

So I bought a new KMC X11-SL chain at discount at USD30 and saved 15g.

Stock KMC X11

KMC X11-SL

Hopefully this last longer but I would love to know how to prevent rusting on the outer plate without coating them in dry lube.

[brackc]

Anyway I recently noticed that my KMC X11-1 chain that came stock on the bike was rusting.

Turns out, KMC DOES NOT recommment scubing the chain as it will (as I qoute) "immediately ruin it".
Who knew.

So I bought a new KMC X11-SL chain at discount at USD30 and saved 15g.

20190425_203203.jpg
Stock KMC X11

20190425_203159.jpg
KMC X11-SL

Hopefully this last longer but I would love to know how to prevent rusting on the outer plate without coating them in dry lube.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but bike chains are made from non-stainless or 'regular' steel that is protected from rust with your lubricant of choice. Occasionally they'll put coatings on the chain to help protect it from rust or to minimise friction, but even these will wear out.
Check out Zerofrictioncycling's website for all things about chains and lube. You can save MANY more watts on a chain with good lube than you will save via skimping weight on your lubrication. You're looking at 20-25w losses for an un-lubricated chain at 250w (FrictionFacts). That's up to 10% of your power output!

[Klaster_1]

Also, does anyone know is there a need for this quick joint hydraulic thingy or inline cable adjuster since the derailleurs already have built in adjustment?

You can remove inline adjusters, FD-R7000 has adjustment mechanism built in. Same goes for hydraulic joints, but people already commented on that. You can drop a decent chunk of weight with open mold carbon saddle/seatpost/bars/rims and on budget. Your pedals are boat anchors, there are lightweight SPD road options (shameless plug: check out my build list). If you are limited in budget, I advise to make a spreadsheet of every part and replace components based on weight loss to price ratio. Second hand market might be a good option too. Take your time with new parts research.

[TheOnlyAaron]

Also, does anyone know is there a need for this quick joint hydraulic thingy or inline cable adjuster since the derailleurs already have built in adjustment?

You can remove inline adjusters, FD-R7000 has adjustment mechanism built in. Same goes for hydraulic joints, but people already commented on that. You can drop a decent chunk of weight with open mold carbon saddle/seatpost/bars/rims and on budget. Your pedals are boat anchors, there are lightweight SPD road options (shameless plug: check out my build list). If you are limited in budget, I advise to make a spreadsheet of every part and replace components based on weight loss to price ratio. Second hand market might be a good option too. Take your time with new parts research.

Thanks so much for the advice, friend.

I'm looking to get some advice regarding open mould seat post, bars and stem (university costs a bomb).

From what I've gathered, I plan to get a hylix seat post from eBay but it seems that even on this forum, there isn't too much positive reviews on it. Any suggestions for 27.2 seat post with 7x9 clamp for carbon rails?

Also, for my handle bar and stem, I'm a small guy, so I'm looking for a 80mm stem and a 380mm bar. I know Uno makes super light stems but all the 80mm 7° stems seem out of stock and I'm will still have to look for a bar. Was hoping for a compact bar with internal routing for hoses and cables.

I saw this China bar, that seems quite legit from the youtube video I saw it on (https://youtu.be/NuCW4oArpUU). Costs USD150 so saving is required but it's available in the size I require.

Also as much as I love titanium pedals, yours are way out of my budget so I'm waiting to buy Shimano ES600 pedals when the money comes in.

[TheOnlyAaron]

Just an update, I had an offer of buying a new pair of Fulcrum Racing 4 DB for quite a steal USD220 compared to the usual USD365.

So the weight of my stock wheels including the rotor lock rings as the fulcrum ones are proprietary:

Front: 780g
Rear: 935g
Total: 1715g

which was actually quite surprising. I was expecting > 2kg given the 28 spokes.

The Fulcrum Racing 4 DB

Front: 810g
Rear: 918g
Total: 1728g

Right. Amazingly I managed to put on some grams in my attempt to save weight. XD but I did gain an depth improvement from 22mm to 33mm and from 17mm wide to 22mm.

After riding around 500km on them I am actually quite happy with the wheels. They seem to allow me to maintain a higher speed when alone, from 30~31km/hr to 33~35km/hr. (Could always just be placebo but speed is speed)

The rear hub is a lot quieter and, surprisingly I'm not blown around by the wind as I was used to on my old biked 30mm cosmics. So overall, I'm quite happy with them.

Also as a small tack on, I got this Chinese rear axle from AliExpress to get ride of the ugly handle on the stock one for "marginal gains".

The old axle was 71g and the new one is <40g (forgot to take the cap off). So funnily enough it makes uo for the weight gain by the wheels.

As the scultura has a super wide front axle 138mm total length, I had to order a custom one so it's still on the way.

Looking forward to more weight losses.

[TheOnlyAaron]

Right. The missus decided to gift me a Hylix Inline Seat post for our anniversary so that's one thing off the wish list.

270g to 183g, 87g saving.

This is with the entire length of seat post. Planning to cut 100mm off it as I have quite the small stature.

I imagine I'll save around 100g from this seat post and it allows me to have the saddle in a more aesthetically pleasing position as I had to push the saddle to the maximum forward position on my 25mm set back stock seat post.

[citrusparty]

How's the tyre clearance? I see that you've got 25's on, but how wide do you think you can go? Would be great if you could take a couple of pictures.

Currently have access to a good deal but want to ride at least 28's

[LewisK]

Right. The missus decided to gift me a Hylix Inline Seat post for our anniversary so that's one thing off the wish list.

20190604_190634.jpg

20190604_190622.jpg

270g to 183g, 87g saving.

This is with the entire length of seat post. Planning to cut 100mm off it as I have quite the small stature.

I imagine I'll save around 100g from this seat post and it allows me to have the saddle in a more aesthetically pleasing position as I had to push the saddle to the maximum forward position on my 25mm set back stock seat post.

Should save about 30g with the cut!