Parlee RZ7

[FactoryMatt]

@itsacarr, i can't reply to your PM b/c i'm too new on here apparently...

but Cyclist Mag liked the bike alot. said it had a clean ride quality and "rebounded softly" on the road. aero and comfortable. also said the bike was laterally "very" stiff, much more so than the Altum.

the tester subjectively felt the bike looked generic or something, or didn't otherwise carry the panache of a custom parlee, for whatever that's worth.

8kg with that weird force axs group and AR41 wheels.

[FactoryMatt]

pulled the trigger on the Parlee. will update with pics and weights when it comes in. super stoked. decided that all the other aero-ish lightweight-ish bikes are starting to look the same. you could argue this looks like a Venge, but then the Venge has some odd lines to me (and is way expensive).

[itsacarr]

Congrats. Look forward to seeing the build.

[FactoryMatt]

teaser pics or what not. took plenty more of the small bits. overall VERY impressed with the build quality of the frame. i happened to see a Factor being built today and was really let down. This, however, is as good as i've ever seen. overall, i wish it were a bit lighter. my bh ultralight evo is 6.45kg. it's going to be really tough to keep this under 7.5, and my cross bike is 7.4

245g seatpost. seatpost clamp is really heavy. using PoP yokes and M5 thomson bolts saves 65 grams. not sure if it's worth it though.


bare frame (w/ only FD hanger) is bang on 1000 grams. size large. the hanger bolts are pretty much bonded in there. not sure i can get them out safely to replace with Ti. Parlee claims 870 grams for a Medium bare frame; paint unspecified. is 110ish (subtracting FD hanger) grams more for a large reasonable? 60 or 70 grams more than a Venge...


452g uncut. fork is really really beefy. i cant believe how much material there is on the disc side. not that it's a fair comparison, but the UL Evo fork is under 300.


238 uncut bars. long drop extensions. 35mm clamping area. bar is acutally more oval on the tops than i thought. it's got a nice shape to it.

[LewisK]

Nice! I had a Z5 in 2012, can't fault the build quality of a Parlee!

[jkonst]

teaser pics or what not. took plenty more of the small bits. overall VERY impressed with the build quality of the frame. i happened to see a Factor being built today and was really let down. This, however, is as good as i've ever seen. overall, i wish it were a bit lighter. my bh ultralight evo is 6.45kg. it's going to be really tough to keep this under 7.5, and my cross bike is 7.4

Excited to see this! I was considering the RZ7 but can't quite swing it based on the price from my LBS - but look forward to a bit of vicarious living through your updates.

[itsacarr]

This reminds me a bit like some Pinarello sun the way that it's a bit portly but the return is ride quality. Glad to see the finishing is up to snuff though.

[FactoryMatt]

teaser pics or what not. took plenty more of the small bits. overall VERY impressed with the build quality of the frame. i happened to see a Factor being built today and was really let down. This, however, is as good as i've ever seen. overall, i wish it were a bit lighter. my bh ultralight evo is 6.45kg. it's going to be really tough to keep this under 7.5, and my cross bike is 7.4

Excited to see this! I was considering the RZ7 but can't quite swing it based on the price from my LBS - but look forward to a bit of vicarious living through your updates.

PMd

[FactoryMatt]

More pics. still waiting on the stem though.




bottom of headtube detail. no steering stops. just some heli tape.






11mm top cap. too heavy. very structural.


tall topcap. 35mm?? wayy too heavy.


comp mount. nice piece. delrin i guess. really hard to tell a difference between cnc alloy. very dense. you can see the alloy wedge that goes behind the stem faceplate.


sorry for that bad contrast. the most complicated expander plug ive ever seen. nicely made though. the hydro and di2 wires thread through the upper piece. it uses a concentric hollow 5/6mm bolt like specialized plugs do.


32g. front axle. nicely made. there's a knurled floating washer on the head side. nothing countersunk tho. for a shorter OAL id guess.


42g. rear axle. pretty short for a 12x142 bike.


11g w/ M4 countersunk bolt. RD hanger is nice. properly fixed INBOARD of the dropout.


seat wedge. very nice piece. knurled where it contacts seatpost. uses a 9x15 barrel nut and M6 hardware (same as seatpost). very beefy. i have some titanium barrel nuts coming to save some weight.


Parlee-supplied hardware for the flat mount calipers and caliper shields. i think the washers supplied for the caliper bolts are undersized. just not enough surface area. Specialized uses a one-piece plate, for example. this is the only underbuilt spec of the whole bike though.

[FactoryMatt]

more pics, final build, and thoughts so far.


THE GOOD:

Finish: really really nice. Very scratch resistant.

Customer Service: really great. they answered all my weird questions and even changed the geo table when i pointed out a discrepancy. i kinda thought about buying a focus izalco max on ebay or ordering a new scott, but this put it over the top for me. they really do seem to have top notch support. great folks.

Add-ins: Some thoughtful inclusions like frame protectors and a set of Arundel Mandible cages, as well as a topcap to fit a conventional stem.

Overall: Bike definitely feels exotic and apart from a few niggles just due to the low volume really feels like they put max effort in. Feels special. Most of the design is nice. The Axles are nice. Speed shields fit well and add an exotic touch.

I do wish the cables were routed like the scott and even Parlee's own ttir in front of the steerer instead of THRU the steerer. Hose clearance under the BB could be better. The rear brake hose comes fitted to the caliper but if you install the hose back-to-front, you can't get the anti rattle sleeve on thru the head/downtube. sooooo, i learned the hard way that you have to install the rear brake hose FRONT to BACK with the anti rattle sleeve already on it. doing it this way makes it very hard to get the hose under the bottom bracket and back up through the chainstay whilst keeping the sleeve in place through the entire downtube and not overly kinking the hose. Very much a pain in the ass.

Also bummed the bike just seems to be about 200-300 grams more than equivalent venge. Weight penalty over the Venge: Seatpost-70 Frame-40 Fork-60. Expander plug-30
This is a heavy fookin bike. I'll list my entire spec below, but outside of maybe the cassette and going full dura ace with the shifters and derailleurs, there's just nowhere to save weight. i'd have to go SiSL2 crankset with a 4iii power meter to save any major weight really. the Cosmics aren't too bad for daily-durable 45mm depth wheels at 1533g. i'm really just blown away this is a full-on 7.8kg bike with pedals and cages when my last bike was less than 6.5.

A couple other complaints i guess:

-Comp mount awkward. it just sits up really high. for an aero bike, it should be in PLANE with the stem, not above it. it is thoughtfully made though, and i like the way it interfaces with the stem.

-Seatpost creaks unless you apply a prodigious amount of grease to the wedge cavity and fiber grip inside the seat tube. the seatpost itself is just a bit too loose inside the frame and is prone to a slight bit of rocking. gotta love wedge clamps...

-the plastic BB guide and downtube cable junction cap are pretty useless. the latter rattles and interferes with the brake hose when you turn the bars. on one hand i feel a little 'factory pro' with a bit of tape here and there, on the other hand, i shouldn't have to use tape on a $4,500 frame.

-Caliper-bolt washers are too small. they just need more surface area. this was a big oversight on Parlee's part. like i mentioned a few posts back, Specialized uses a one-piece plate washer here and Parlee needs to figure something out besides a home depot hardware drawer solution.

-Everything weighs too much: Expander plug, saddle clamp machanism, stem faceplate, even the seatpost wedge feels like it's made from a chunk of steel. the axles aren't too bad at least.

My spec and *where* i think i can maybe save some weight?

bars, stem, seatpost - all Parlee integrated
Saddle: S-Works Power
Wheels: Mavic Cosmic Pro SL Disc UST
Tires: Panaracer Race A Evo4 25c clincher -tubeless ones are supposed to weigh the same *80g* to lose the tubes?
Tubes: Vittoria Latex
Cassette: R8000 11-32 - SRAM XG1190 or 9100 11-30 *saves 80g*
Rear Derailleur: Ultegra GS 8070 Di2 - DA9170 saves 40g
Front Derailleur: Ultegra 8070 Di2 - DA9170 saves 30g
Shifters: Ultegra 8070 Di2 - DA9170 saves 40g
Crank: DA9100 175mm 50/34 + 4iii one-sided pwr - Cannondale SiSL2 saves 120g
Bottom Bracket: Kogel - BBInfinite saves 50g
Chain: DA9100 110 links
Calipers: Ultegra 8070 - DA9170 saves 30g
Rotors: Ultegra 8070 - Ashima + CL adapter saves 40g
Pedals: DA9100. not changing.

soo, all-in, i could reasonably get from 7.8kg to maybe 7.3kgish? that's about what a stock sworks Venge is with wheels that are 100g lighter (that i wouldnt really trust). not terrible, but would make for a very very expensive 16lb bike..


7.8kg all in. painters tape on the chainstays until i figure out where the heels are rubbing.


the downtube plug and BB guide are pretty useless. they don't fit that well and the DT piece rattles.


was able to get the stock red loctited FD bolts out with an impact and replaced with some nice torx head ti bolts


routing the cables through the stem was a PITA. really uncomfortable with the acute angles the hoses have to make through the fork and stem here




21g. cane creek AER IS52 1.5'' bottom bearing


18g. cane creek AER IS47 1.25'' top bearing


Shitty Kogel 6805 bearing sleeve. was so out of spec it wouldn't fit over the splines. had to sand it out with a dremel. after this and an over-spec Kogel wheel bearing, i'm convinced Kogel just imports over priced cheap shit. never again.


146g. Kogel PF30-24 bottom bracket. wayyyy heavy here. an equivalent BBInfinite is about 50g less. never buying Kogel again.


186g. this stem is just wayyyy too fking heavy. i don't even know what to say. the shouldered Ti bolts are super nice though.


17g. stem cover.

[spdntrxi]

I know you stem is not aero... but atleast it's sub 200g... owner if the venge and timemachines are well over that.
Parlee's stock BB is less grams... surprised you didn't go with that..
I want to say one of Parlee's hose's go through the stem on the TTir, it's been awhile since I built it. I'll be redoing it soon to go from mech disc to hydro disc. Yes the angle of the bends are worse for housing then hoses.

[FactoryMatt]

The bar stem combo is same weight as venge claimed. These do look better imo than the venge for what its worth.

The stock bb uses slower enduro bearings. I forgot to weigh it before i sold it though.

The front hose probably.

Yea the rz7 comes with a cable stop for the downtube if youre using housing. it wouldnt shift too well with those two 90 bends.

[kode54]

@FactoryMatt

Nice detailed build and weight scale of parts. Thx for that. I was interested in the RZ7 to replace my ESX...but might wait a bit to see if they get all the bugs out.
Excellent documentation for those interested in it.

[FactoryMatt]

@FactoryMatt

Nice detailed build and weight scale of parts. Thx for that. I was interested in the RZ7 to replace my ESX...but might wait a bit to see if they get all the bugs out.
Excellent documentation for those interested in it.

Thank you! I'm probably overstating the niggles. If this was a venge, i'd probably have even more criticism. Really overall its a very very impressive bike. There's nothing that's a deal breaker or that isnt fixable. I do wish the cables were routed thru the head tube only, but that would require a heavier more complex frame*. The seatpost doesnt seem to rock at 6+nm (spec is up to 8nm). For anyone reading, you can buy with confidence.

*i think the Scott Addict engineers have this nailed with their new steerer design, but they have huge resources. The next Foil will probably be THE bike to be honest, but i value U.S. presence and support, something Scott doesn't care to commit to our market. Addict rc framsets and creston ic bars are VERY hard to come by for example.

Ride report coming as soon as it stops raining!

[jkonst]

Good stuff, looking forward to the ride report. My LBS was really impressed with the RZ7 ride quality (not that that should be big surprise, coming from Parlee!).