Sub5 with clinchers, Yet Another Aethos Build

[takolino]

My Ashima Aineon 160/140 are 138g excluding bolts. No noise (haven't tried in wet weather yet) and being 'floating' rotors they should manage heat better if you want a change in the future.

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Thanks for the tip. I forgot these were as light as the Ai2 and two piece. My experience with the Ai2 are mixed. Sometimes, they are great. They will be noise free for a while. Then all of a sudden, they get noisy, even when they are not hot. If these give me trouble, I'll try the AiNeons. Do you have steep and long descents?

[takolino]

Thought I'd share my experience with the Trickstuff C22 brakes.
Trickstuff makes powerful and lightweight brake calipers and levers for MTB mostly but they have the C21 caliper which comes in both post mount and flatmount so it will fit the Aethos... almost. More on that later. Lightweight and powerful sounded good.

You find all the cool kit Takolino.. I know, in your Strada post you mentioned light weight Pads.. Do these come with steel or alu backed pads? Obviously, if its steel backed you know you can shave another 10 grams per pad set with Alu backed pads. I am using Jagwire Yellow pads on my Sram Red and Force calipers and they are about -11 grams per pad set.

I have also noticed the Jagwire pads have performed really well in the wet and the cold.. They are less noisy and a bit thicker than stock pads for quicker engagment.

Thanks gSporco,
The Trickstuff pads are aluminum backed and weigh around 11g with springs. Once I wear them out, I may try the Jagwires. Less noise is good. The caliper clearance seem pretty tight so I'll have to be careful with any thicker-than-spec pads. Those light weight alu pads on my Strada can be noisy at times but I'm not sure what to blame, the pads or the Ai2 rotors. Could be the combination.

[Kayrehn]

Do you have steep and long descents?

Unfortunately no, I don't even need 160mm upfront actually, just used it because it was around. I I only have steep but very short descents and I think any rotor will work fine on those.

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[AnkitS]

Oh wow I didn't realize Aineon were 2 piece, that's probably worth the weight penalty then.
I know that for the riding around us, I wouldn't trust ai2s on a road bike. They seem to fade too quickly and really excel in applications where you are on and off the brakes a lot. They cool down REALLY fast which is cool but have little to no power when they are hot. Your experience might be different than my own. This is all really hypothetical because I haven't had them on a road bike.
The good thing is that they are dirt cheap so if they don't work you can always replace them.

[takolino]

Direct mount dropout will save a few grams for a small sum.
The standard hanger and the extra link on the D/A derailleur are 21.5 grams. You can replace the hanger and the link with a DM hanger from Specialized. They can be had for $12 in the US from most stores. At 18.2g, you only save about 3 grams but it reduces parts and looks better. If you want to use your drill and dremel, you can take off an additional few grams. I got mine down to 14.2 grams for a whopping 7.3 grams savings! I was hoping for more but I did not want to weaken the dropout too much and risk damaging the expensive frame and my face when the derailleur breaks off at high speed.
In the mean time, I wait for the Sigeyi SPD-TH1 via Aliexpress.

[takolino]

Quick update on the Aethos so far. I've got it to a point where it's built up with most of the parts from my build list with a few remaining items still in packages or in transit. I'm still waiting to receive the Darimo seat post. After that arrives, I'll switch the rest of the parts and do a final weight check, hopefully this week.
Some weenie parts came last week and I'll list weights and photos below.

The Sigeyi DM hanger finally arrived. It's a really nice looking part and is very light at 12.7g, 1.5g less than my modded Specialized DM hanger.

Machined and gray anodized

I also ordered some crazy light cages at the same time on Ali and they are truly amazing, especially for $50 shipped. Only 7grams each! I took them out for a ride and they seem pretty solid. No dropped bottles on a 60mi ride. Very satisfied with this purchase.

The other one was 7.4g.

Two cages with bolts, less than 20g

One more weenie item for today: the Xpedo Thrust SL. At 164g claimed, they seem to be the lightest standard cleat pedal out there. I ride Look pedals so it was a no brainer. Saves about 30g over the Keo ti. Took it for a ride today and had no issues. It might be slightly easier to get into than the Look but that could be due to the fresh grease in the bearings.

Claimed weight exact on my scale.

So I've been riding it for the last few weeks in it's current state and really enjoying the ride. The bike handles wonderfully and just feels light and tossable. High speed descents inspire confidence, especially with the DA + Trickstuff brakes which give the most power I've ever felt on a road bike. On Kings Mountain (a fun descent in the Bay area), I typically need 100% focus to keep things under control. This on rim brakes but on my best setup. With the Aethos, It's like a walk in the park (relatively speaking). One of my ride partners is a younger guy who push me pretty hard but I felt great on this bike on my last ride with him. Likely new bike effect but it's all good.

Work in progress.

[takolino]

The Darimo seatpost actually came in last week but I had a really busy week so posting a bit after the fact.
I've been wanting to get one for a while but never got around to it until now. Ordered it in January and finally it's here and it was worth the long wait.

no frills packaging

Until now, I've been mostly using seatposts like Schmolke, Mcfk and similar Chinese seatposts from ebay and they all hover around 100g after a bit of tuning. They are reasonably light but seem to all have one weakness which is that the yoke tends to loosen over time. I've never lost a saddle but have had them start to rattle on rides at which point, I have to pull over and tighten the tension bolts. So, I was very excited to try the Daromo T1 with the loops.

lightest seatpost I've ever owned

Wow! I'm very impressed with the weight. 73 grams for a 300mm seatpost is simply amazing. It wasn't cheap but it wasn't the most expensive either. It's appropriate for this build. The dyneema loops weigh next to nothing. It's the same material as the Berd spokes and it's nice to have both on one bike. The way it wraps around the rails makes me feel more confident about reliability over time compared to the yoke style posts. If dyneema can hold tension on the wheels, it should easily handle the saddle rails.

I paired it with an equally impressively light Selle Italia C59 which I've been riding for a while on my Strada without any issues. It's the same comfortable shape as the SLR and fits me well. I bought a second one brand new shortly after I got a used one for the Strada and paid even less for it. It was an opportunistic purchase and I'm glad I jumped on it. Swapped out the already light SLR Tekno and the Mcfk seatpost and netted a savings of around 60 grams.

So, the moment of truth. Sub5 goal achieved? Yes! I'm glad to report that the current build is 4987 grams on my 5kg compact scale. just barely squeaked below the 5kg mark. I'm sure there's still some weight to be shed but I'm pretty happy with where the build is now. It's a reasonably reliable build with fairly standard, though some hard-to-source components and modifications. It's a slightly heavy 56cm frame at 645g but more than made up for it with a 1x drivetrain. The removable front derailleur hanger was a bonus feature and definitely influenced the Aethos decision. The DA levers really do the hard work keeping things light and making the ride feel refined. I'm enjoying the compactness of the hoods and the smoothness and control of the brakes. It's really my favorite part of the bike at the moment. Quality you can feel right off the bat. There's definitely more to say for the bike but for now, I'll enjoy the ride and perhaps, share some additional thoughts and photos soon.

Light enough to be measured on my compact scale

[robbosmans]

Are those bottle cages stiff are do they flex “open” like thin carbon cages?

[Pabloldv]

also interested in those bottle cages

[takolino]

They are much stiffer than the typical thin carbon ones. I haven't ridden on anything rough but I have not lost a bottle yet. It looks a bit thin and weak around the bolt holes but they seem to hold up ok so far.

[Pabloldv]

they look very similar to the carbonworks replica, I don’t know which ones will be better

[kode54]

The Darimo seatpost actually came in last week but I had a really busy week so posting a bit after the fact.
I've been wanting to get one for a while but never got around to it until now. Ordered it in January and finally it's here and it was worth the long wait.
IMG_0441.jpg
Until now, I've been mostly using seatposts like Schmolke, Mcfk and similar Chinese seatposts from ebay and they all hover around 100g after a bit of tuning. They are reasonably light but seem to all have one weakness which is that the yoke tends to loosen over time. I've never lost a saddle but have had them start to rattle on rides at which point, I have to pull over and tighten the tension bolts. So, I was very excited to try the Daromo T1 with the loops.

IMG_0442.jpg
Wow! I'm very impressed with the weight. 73 grams for a 300mm seatpost is simply amazing. It wasn't cheap but it wasn't the most expensive either. It's appropriate for this build. The dyneema loops weigh next to nothing. It's the same material as the Berd spokes and it's nice to have both on one bike. The way it wraps around the rails makes me feel more confident about reliability over time compared to the yoke style posts. If dyneema can hold tension on the wheels, it should easily handle the saddle rails.

I paired it with an equally impressively light Selle Italia C59 which I've been riding for a while on my Strada without any issues. It's the same comfortable shape as the SLR and fits me well. I bought a second one brand new shortly after I got a used one for the Strada and paid even less for it. It was an opportunistic purchase and I'm glad I jumped on it. Swapped out the already light SLR Tekno and the Mcfk seatpost and netted a savings of around 60 grams.
IMG_0443.jpg

So, the moment of truth. Sub5 goal achieved? Yes! I'm glad to report that the current build is 4987 grams on my 5kg compact scale. just barely squeaked below the 5kg mark. I'm sure there's still some weight to be shed but I'm pretty happy with where the build is now. It's a reasonably reliable build with fairly standard, though some hard-to-source components and modifications. It's a slightly heavy 56cm frame at 645g but more than made up for it with a 1x drivetrain. The removable front derailleur hanger was a bonus feature and definitely influenced the Aethos decision. The DA levers really do the hard work keeping things light and making the ride feel refined. I'm enjoying the compactness of the hoods and the smoothness and control of the brakes. It's really my favorite part of the bike at the moment. Quality you can feel right off the bat. There's definitely more to say for the bike but for now, I'll enjoy the ride and perhaps, share some additional thoughts and photos soon.

IMG_0461.jpgIMG_0462.jpg

Nice DIY bike stand you have there. Smart!

BTW, since you got the Darimo post for this bike, did you ever get a Darimo for your 3T Strada?

[Jwoodward]

Awesome build, congrats on the Sub5! Is it possible to get a few more pictures of the seat post and the frame? Some UD Matte looks grey where yours in the above pic looks black (and perfect), really tricky to see what the actual colour is in real life!

[chris14]

True weenie... inspiring

[Klaster_1]

@takolino great build, although I expected a couple of hundred grams less, I guess everyone compromises in different ways. All those 6+kg Aethos are rather boring.

Did you weigh the battery connector? I went safe with mine, but might consider hard-wiring it too.

@Kimmoth removed junction A case and connectors, this might be a viable mod too.

I was hoping to further lighten the DA levers with Schmolke carbon lever clamps but unfortunately, they don’t fit.

Damia promised to make 9170/9120 CF clamps a couple of years ago and I even sent him Shimano and Schmolke clamps as samples, but he never delivered due to COVID. Maybe if multiple people nag him often enough he'll find the time?

The Aethos special flat mount adds around 12 grams to the front calipers.

@mauar82 designed a 7g Aethos adapter, might be worth a look.

The contact was not too major so I decided to take a file to the calipers to make room

A similar problem happened to me too, except that the interference was caused by too much clearcoat, so I filed the frame instead of a caliper. Makes the calipers easier to sell later.

What seatpost height do you run? Given the sloping Aethos top tube, I wonder if my 25cm T1 will be long enough to achieve 73cm on a 56cm frame.