ARC8 Escapee build

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fruitfly
Posts: 187
Joined: Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:40 pm
Location: Wet coast

by fruitfly

I completed a build of my ARC8 Escapee (57cm) frameset. It is more or less stock build, so there is nothing remarkable or innovative here. I chose this frameset because it was different, I liked the background and design strategy of the designer, it is cheaper than "big brand" framesets, and for the graphic design. I am 66 and was looking for one bike to do it all for fair weather riding, to go with my winter bike with fenders (Domane SL 2017). I haven't ridden it yet, but it is reasonably light, reasonably aero, and supposed to be reasonably comfortable. I rode a long charity ride on chipseal on my SL5 S-Works Tarmac, and was exhausted by the road vibration, so I am hoping this will give me at least some of the comfort of an endurance bike.

Weights (I don't have a scale to weigh the bike-the parts were weighed to an accuracy of 1gm), so total weight should be reasonably close. Parts are Dura Ace unless otherwise specified

Frame 911 (with FD mount)
Fork 385 after cutting
Hanger 20
Expander and cap 32 + 6
Headset bearings (ARC8) 54
Seatpost clamp (ARC8) 10
Seatpost cut (ARC8) 170
Seat (Berk Lupina) 73
Integrated bar/stem (ICAN) 364
Spacers (ICAN) and topcap (ARC8) 35
Bartape (Supacaz) 72
Bottle cages and bolts (Supacaz) 51
di2 Cables, battery, junctions 126
Calipers and hydraulic lines 321
Rotors 233
Caliper fixing bolts F+R 28
Front derailleur 106
Rear derailleur 198
Crankset (50/34) 629
BSA Bottom Bracket (Hawk Racing) 94
Chain (after shortening) 261
Brifters 346
Cassette (11-30) 213
LG Flyweight AR Wheels 35mm
/Carbon Ti hubs/Sapim spokes: F:561; R:667
LG Flyweight AR 55mm
Carbon Ti hubs: F:612; R 712
Through axles (ARC8) 78
Goodyear F1 SS 25c front tire 257
Goodyear F1 28c rear tire 310
Sealant (both tires) 60
Speedplay Ti pedals 158
Polar/computer mounts+bolts 43

Nominal Total (bike not weighed): 6.9kg with 35mm wheels; 7.0kg with 55mm wheels)
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IMG-2316.jpg
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by Weenie


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Mr.Gib
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by Mr.Gib

Fantastic looking bike. And that's a good weight for a mostly standard Dura Ace disc build.
wheelsONfire wrote: When we ride disc brakes the whole deal of braking is just like a leaving a fart. It happens and then it's over. Nothing planned and nothing to get nervous for.

fruitfly
Posts: 187
Joined: Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:40 pm
Location: Wet coast

by fruitfly

Thanks Mr. Gib!
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Lozaen
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Location: Switzerland

by Lozaen

Nice,

Like Arc8 for the same reasons you already pointed out.
Looks very traditional, yet clean => no bad thing at all :)
Interested in buying Carbonsport Lightweight wheels with broken spokes.

BMC Teammachine SLR01 Disc Team 2018|Ridley Helium | Kuota Kross|Cannondale Scalpel 29 Hi-Mod

Knightyboy27
Posts: 267
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2020 9:06 pm

by Knightyboy27

Can't say I've heard of Arc before but looks good.

Loving the paint job, reminds me a bit of the new BikeExchange Bianchis
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fruitfly
Posts: 187
Joined: Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:40 pm
Location: Wet coast

by fruitfly

Knightyboy27: I had never heard of it, but learned about it on this website in a thread started by Mr. Gib last year, so I thank him! And sure enough, it woiuld lbe interesting to know if the BikeExchange copied ARC8 or vice versa, or if it is coincidence. They have a new gravel frame coming that if anything is more similar to the BikeExchange version, but in different colours.

Lozaen: Perceptive comment, and I guess it reveals my age.....
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Mr.Gib
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by Mr.Gib

ARC8 definitely deserve attention. They built a bike that satisfies a variety of criteria that often don't come in a single bike. This isn't a unique approach, but ARC8 seem to have done it better than others. For people that prefer a single main bike, the Escapee is a great option.
The one thing that gave me pause was the very short chainstays. I contacted the designer asking for an explanation of the motivation behind this design feature and received no response. I'm sure handling is great, but I do worry about shifting at the extremes with 400mm chainstays on a disc bike. A few bikes do just fine with short chainstays, but it must be noted that Di2 locks out the two smallest cogs for this reason. Makes me curious about the bike with a mechanical drivetrain. Not much of an issue, but it would be nice to hear from the company about this.

Fruitfly, I don't know if you built up this bike yourself, but could you comment on the quality of fit and finish, was the inside clean, alignment, etc. Also, we want a ride report after you have some time on it.
wheelsONfire wrote: When we ride disc brakes the whole deal of braking is just like a leaving a fart. It happens and then it's over. Nothing planned and nothing to get nervous for.

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jbaillie
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by jbaillie

fruitfly wrote:
Sun Jan 31, 2021 5:54 pm
Knightyboy27: I had never heard of it, but learned about it on this website in a thread started by Mr. Gib last year, so I thank him! And sure enough, it woiuld lbe interesting to know if the BikeExchange copied ARC8 or vice versa, or if it is coincidence. They have a new gravel frame coming that if anything is more similar to the BikeExchange version, but in different colours.
Arc8's "release" bike from two years ago had this color scheme, so fair to say they did it first. Though I don't know if Bianchi necessarily copied it, they were likely just trying to keep a fair bit of celeste on a nominally black road bike. It's a good color combo either way.

fruitfly
Posts: 187
Joined: Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:40 pm
Location: Wet coast

by fruitfly

Mr.Gib, I did build this myself (first time), mostly because I have decided to do my own repairs in the future and I wanted to learn. Slow in Covid times, partly because of not knowing what I needed, and partly because once I knew, things were hard to find, and longer to get.

I looked carefully at the head tube, BB, and at the top of the seat stay and there was no extra material anywhere. The one thing that wasn't perfect was that the top of the head tube wasn't perfectly level, so there is a little gap between the top cap and the HT of about 1 cm at the front. The other minor issue was that the top cap needed to be sanded down a bit to get a perfect fit, but no big deal. To my eye, it is at least as good as my Trek and S-Works

BB alignment was perfect. Won't know about other issues until I ride without hands and descend fast, but nothing stood out to the eyeball, or by measuring. As the designer worked at BMC, and now lives in Taiwan, and designs open moulds, I would guess that he has good relationships with a factory...

The designer didn't comment on the short chainstays other than to confirm that they were to provide snappy handling given the longer wheelbase and slacker ST and HT angle. I have set up the di2 to avoid cross-chaining, especially on the small ring and first three small cogs, but that was for the W loss/chain life mostly. There is not a ton of space between the chain stays where the tire is, so 28c is max at rear-lots of room at front.

jbaillie-thanks for checking. I hadn't seen anything similar before I saw the ARC8.
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Mr.Gib
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by Mr.Gib

fruitfly wrote:
Sun Jan 31, 2021 9:39 pm
There is not a ton of space between the chain stays where the tire is, so 28c is max at rear-lots of room at front.
Curious, how big does your rear tire actually measure on your rims? If it is not far from 28mm, then the lack of space between the chainstays is a concern. I think for a do-it-all road bike, you need to be able to run 30mm actual measure in the rear with adequate clearance all-round, and space for 32mm is not in any way overkill. I was under the impression that tire clearance was one of the key desing goals for the Escapee. (My O2 VAM rim brake takes 30mm actual measure no problem and there is probably room for 32mm.)
wheelsONfire wrote: When we ride disc brakes the whole deal of braking is just like a leaving a fart. It happens and then it's over. Nothing planned and nothing to get nervous for.

fruitfly
Posts: 187
Joined: Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:40 pm
Location: Wet coast

by fruitfly

Mr. Gib, the 28C rear tire measures 29.3mm actual (28mm rim, 21mm internal). The designer says max actual clearance is 31.5mm to meet ERTO 4mm clearance on either side, so I think one could do actual 32mm, and 33 if not riding gritty surfaces.
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Mr.Gib
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by Mr.Gib

Ok, so that's excellent clearance, all you really need IMO. If you are located in the Pacific North West, (Wet coast?) I imagine you be out on it pretty soon. Looking forward to your impressions. Judging by your signature, you have some experience with a range of bikes so you will have some interesting points of comparison.
wheelsONfire wrote: When we ride disc brakes the whole deal of braking is just like a leaving a fart. It happens and then it's over. Nothing planned and nothing to get nervous for.

fruitfly
Posts: 187
Joined: Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:40 pm
Location: Wet coast

by fruitfly

Mr. Gib, Yes, the lower mainland. Hoping for this week. Can't wait...
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Mr.Gib
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by Mr.Gib

I'm on the Island. You might have to wait until Wednesday.
wheelsONfire wrote: When we ride disc brakes the whole deal of braking is just like a leaving a fart. It happens and then it's over. Nothing planned and nothing to get nervous for.

fruitfly
Posts: 187
Joined: Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:40 pm
Location: Wet coast

by fruitfly

I did my first ride today, 60 km, mostly flat, with some hills (600m), solo. I wasn't going very hard since I wanted to make sure that my build was OK and everything was working as expected, and because I am new to di2.

Nevertheless, I found the frame to be just as advertised. The designer said that it was optomized first for torsional rigidity, and then made as aero, light, and compliant as possible without compromising that torsional stiffness by more than 5%. Sure enough, this frame is at least as tight and responsive to power input as my S-Works Tarmac. I am not a watt monster (1000W max) by any means, but it responded well to all out efforts up steep hills, and sprints on the flat. I didn't take it on a lot of rough roads, but it is much more compliant than the Tarmac, and not a lot less compliant than my Domane with iso-speed front and rear, so that's a plus. I can't evaluate aero at this point.

I didn't go down a long, fast descent with curves, but I went down a short, steep descent with 2 bends, that is also a rough chip seal, that tests handling and compliance (can't steer if you aren't in contact with the road!), and it did fine. The Trek Domane is reliable and confidence inspiring, but let's say "stately" going around bends, whereas the ARC8 was stable and more responsive.

I have large feet (size 47) and if I wasn't paying attention my heels contacted the stays. No problem with toe overlap, but I am glad that I am trying out cleats further back, which will solve the heel problem and not give me too much of a toe overlap.

For me at least, my position is better than on the Tarmac, or what it would be on the Ostro. I'll report again once I do a longer, harder ride with a bunch of fast riders.
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by Weenie


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