Dream build Sworks Aethos (Now 5.98kg)

[Bianchi10]

Yup that'll do!

[MarkTwain]

This is really nice. Very interested to know how it rides compared to the Tarmac. Eyeing off one of these for a while. The build spec of them (threaded BB, etc) plus the weight makes them very appealing.

As for 'looking like a TCR'?? goodness me

[Bianchi10]

Here she is. Currently sitting at 13.98lbs/6.34kg

I had plans for some uber light bottle cages, but they didn't fit the bottles. I'm in the works with Alpitude and sounds like they are going to send me a Gardena saddle and bottle cages as well. I've always been curious to try a carbon saddle.

I've also got a wheel builder on social media who reached out to me and wants to get some exposure to his company. He is going to build up 2 wheelsets for me. 1 for my rim bike and 1 for my disc. Both will be clinchers and both should be sub 1200g.

And for the show stopper, Im going to be ordering a THM Power meter crankset with Carbon-Ti chainrings. Not only will it save some massive weight, but it will be beautiful.

I'm hoping to see close to (If not below) 13lbs after these changes!


I still need to cut the steering tube, but for the sake of photo/aesthetics, I photoshopped the tube so I/you could see what it will look like when it's cut.


Now for the ride report:
Life has been BUSY so I have only had 1 ride on it. I need to get some more time on the bike and experience different types of terrain with it. Get in some good climbing and descending to see how it feels.

Without going into too much, here is my 1 ride evaluation. The bike felt really good. BUT, my SL6 flet really good. What can one expect when going from an SL6 to an Aethos that has the exact same geometry, same components, same position and same wheels? The bike felt very similar to my SL6, but the ride I did was pretty flat and didn't require much from me. As mentioned, once I get more time I'm sure I will notice the benefits of this bike.

When I get something new like this, I find myself being hyper aware. Meaning I focus to much on trying to feel the difference instead of just riding and feeling it. I have a feeling that 3 or 4 rides from now, I will have much better feedback. But aside from those new bike day vibes, I still can't help but be realistic and say that coming form a really good bike to riding another really good bike with all the same parts will not be a mind blowing experience.

There was a very long time I didn't like how the Aethos looked. That aggressive sloping top tube and more traditional features made me think it was more relaxed than I'd like, but I'm really loving how this came out! Even though I was a little concerned on how the Aero bars would look on this frame, I find the Aerofly II bars look great (In my opinion).

[wolflikeme]

Really nice build, I was going to slap some Aeroflys on my Aethos as well !

[MarkTwain]

This is super nice

[chris14]

Looks great! Thanks for sharing. Weird how satisfying it is to see cool bike parts on scales.

[Bianchi10]

I hate to post this, but I mucked up bad.

We are in the process of moving and as I was packing up my garage I made an error in judgement. I was propping up my roller platform to unscrew the cable guides for my extension cables. Had this platform leaning against my treadmill at what I thought was enough lean. I unscrewed everything and as I turned to place the handful of screws on my counter, my hip brushed the 160lb platform and before I could do anything, it landed on the top tube of my new bike. The REALLY frustrating part about this is that I had already moved my bike prior to this to avoid anything falling on my bike. I just didn't anticipate anything falling in that direction.

Couple lucky things here:
1) The crack is not very bad. But a crack is a crack is a crack.
2) Ruckus carbon repair is here in my hometown and have already dropped it off for them to repair. They are going to do an ultrasound test on it to identify if it is just surface or deep structural damage. I told them either way I want it fixed.
3)Ruckus says turn around time is about 3 weeks which isn't as long as I figured it would be.
4)Ruckus said that when finished, nobody will be able to tell the difference.

UGH.....So many times I have thought back to this moment and kicked myself for not doing this or that. Oh well, we live and we learn (Hopefully).

[Kumppa]

Damn bad luck. Good thing is that is pretty small and so on probably easy fix for Ruckus.

[Bianchi10]

More goodies while I wait for the frame to get prepared

Got these from AliExpress. $50 for 2. Feel very solid. Installed on my Tarmac to test and bottles fit nicely!

[Bianchi10]

Got a good deal on these Carbon-Ti Chainrings. These are the version 2 which has better shifting than the V1.

These will sit in the box though until I get my THM Power Meter crankset. Fairwheel bikes said they should get an order of them in within the next 2 months, so here is to hoping the timeline is right! Otherwise if I go through THM, they state 36-40+ WEEKS!

[Attermann]

You need to use counter sunk bolts on that bottle cage

[Klaster_1]

You need to use counter sunk bolts on that bottle cage

Second this, the original Carbonworks comes with countersunk bolts.

[mrlobber]

The Aliexpress clones used to come with countersunk bolts too, unless they really started not bothering to do proper copies now.

[jaclipse]

Some aliexpress sellers bundle with the countersunk bolts but others dont. "Covas bike store" on aliexpress do come with titanium ones.

[Bianchi10]

You need to use counter sunk bolts on that bottle cage

Second this, the original Carbonworks comes with countersunk bolts.

I'm using the Sworks Bolts because they were lighter than the ones that came with the cages.