Chinese Open Mold Gravel / CX Bikes

The spirit of Grav-lo-cross. No but seriously, cyclocross and gravel go here!

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robeambro
Posts: 1829
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2018 6:21 pm

by robeambro

Hi all, I currently have a crappy gravel bike and an Aethos 54 (so 544/384 stack/reach), is there any "established" frame that would basically be either:

- a good road bike with aggressive geo similar to the Aethos, possibly even 1cm lower , relatively snappy and fun, with clearance to comfortably take 38mm tyres when riding or racing gravel (think: Aethos with slightly better tyre clearance)

- an aero gravel bike with aggressive, road-like geo, which will be decent to be ridden mainly on tarmac.

A key point: I would not want to struggle an awful lot to build the bike because of poorly designed stuff like headsets, ports, etc.

I don't mind about cable routing either way but would appreciate not having proprietary parts, would like a threaded BB, and I would rather have a surdy rather than an hyper light frame. But I also don't want a bikepacking rig full of mount points. As I said, in an ideal world it would be Aethos + Aero + Clearance, with as little compromises made to geometry as possible, basically just what necessary to allow wider tyres.

Any suggestions? Most of the stuff I've seen had either too relaxed geo (and, at 178cm height, I'd worry about having to pick a 51cm frame), or lacked in other areas.

Roadbiker10
Posts: 495
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:22 am

by Roadbiker10

Hi. I just got a Ridley Kanzo Adventure, which is a 696 Carbonda frame.

There are no specs on how tight the thru axles should be. I just tightened them to 10Nm as on my other bikes. I read somewhere that the front is supposed to be 10Nm and rear 5Nm, which is pretty strange.

Maybe the thru axles aren't the same on the Ridley as the 696?
Scott Addict RC 20 2021
Ridley Kanzo Adventure 2022

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



emotive
Posts: 613
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 10:40 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

by emotive

Roadbiker10 wrote:
Sun Aug 14, 2022 11:20 am
Hi. I just got a Ridley Kanzo Adventure, which is a 696 Carbonda frame.

There are no specs on how tight the thru axles should be. I just tightened them to 10Nm as on my other bikes. I read somewhere that the front is supposed to be 10Nm and rear 5Nm, which is pretty strange.

Maybe the thru axles aren't the same on the Ridley as the 696?
I have Hardlite thru axles on my CFR696, and tighten mine to about 6nm front and rear, and never had an issue with them coming loose. When my bike shop services the bike they do them up so tight I can't undo them with my multi-tool, I need a longer Allen key for leverage. My bike is 3 years old, 30,000km, and never had an issue, so the frame and fork can handle 10Nm and more.

Roadbiker10
Posts: 495
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:22 am

by Roadbiker10

emotive wrote:
Sun Aug 14, 2022 12:17 pm
Roadbiker10 wrote:
Sun Aug 14, 2022 11:20 am
Hi. I just got a Ridley Kanzo Adventure, which is a 696 Carbonda frame.

There are no specs on how tight the thru axles should be. I just tightened them to 10Nm as on my other bikes. I read somewhere that the front is supposed to be 10Nm and rear 5Nm, which is pretty strange.

Maybe the thru axles aren't the same on the Ridley as the 696?
I have Hardlite thru axles on my CFR696, and tighten mine to about 6nm front and rear, and never had an issue with them coming loose. When my bike shop services the bike they do them up so tight I can't undo them with my multi-tool, I need a longer Allen key for leverage. My bike is 3 years old, 30,000km, and never had an issue, so the frame and fork can handle 10Nm and more.
Thanks. I only weigh 66kg so maybe I don't need that tight, I could try 8 then. It's strange that they don't have anything writen on them like other bikes do.

Lately I have also been having the issue of not being able to remove the front axle from my Addict RC with supplied tool. Maybe I could go lower on the Addict too? It says 10Nm on the axles.
Scott Addict RC 20 2021
Ridley Kanzo Adventure 2022

Aesch
Posts: 332
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:09 pm

by Aesch

I follow guidelines of the axles, 12nm front and rear. Also to keep brake alignment consistent.

uilewuit
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2022 3:43 pm

by uilewuit

Quick non-drive-side picture of my fully integrated Carbonda CFR 707.
Super happy with how it rides.

Only minor downside is keeping the headset tight.
I can tighten it up without issues, but always seems to come loose again after a certain amount of time.

Image

ooo
Posts: 1590
Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 12:59 pm

by ooo

is your expander centered to stem clamp? try longer expander
'

Roadbiker10
Posts: 495
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:22 am

by Roadbiker10

Hey. Does anyone know what dimension the smaller silver bolts are on the 696? I think they are for the fenders. Also what dimesnion are the black ones on the fork and underneath the downtube?

I'm looking to replace all those with nylon screws, since I'm not using them. I've seen someone in another thread claim that saved 60-70g by doing that.
Scott Addict RC 20 2021
Ridley Kanzo Adventure 2022

uilewuit
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2022 3:43 pm

by uilewuit

uilewuit wrote:
Fri Aug 26, 2022 9:40 am
Quick non-drive-side picture of my fully integrated Carbonda CFR 707.
for anyone wondering about weights:

fully painted XL frame out of the box: 1300g
uncut fork painted: 550g

(sorry mdeth1313, can't reply to your pm)

jayjay
Posts: 395
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:07 am
Location: Germany
Contact:

by jayjay

Does anyone recognise this frame set? Is this an open mold frame?

(it is a bit different to the Carbonda CFR696!)

https://www.basicbikes.de/rahmenset
Image

garbageman
Posts: 216
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2020 6:08 am

by garbageman

Looks like the Tantan GR029

joejack951
Posts: 1162
Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 6:50 pm
Location: Wilmington, DE
Contact:

by joejack951

uilewuit wrote:
Fri Aug 26, 2022 9:40 am
Only minor downside is keeping the headset tight.
I can tighten it up without issues, but always seems to come loose again after a certain amount of time.
How are you setting the preload? In the past I had issues with cartridge bearing headsets coming loose on me, then I learned how to avoid it. Rather adding preload until you can feel the play is gone, add preload until you start to feel the bearings bind, then back off just enough to relieve the binding. Cartridge bearings with their tapered seats (and likely inaccuracies in fit) require way more preload than older, loose ball bearing headsets in my experience.

jayjay
Posts: 395
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:07 am
Location: Germany
Contact:

by jayjay

garbageman wrote:
Tue Sep 06, 2022 5:30 pm
Looks like the Tantan GR029
Looks like it. Thanks!

hardbread
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2019 8:35 am
Location: Stockholm, Sweden

by hardbread

Thought I'd add this here built my wife a gravel bike from LT Bikes http://www.ltbikes.com/product/97.html

She named it Explosive diarrhea (because nothing is faster than it) and picked the paint colour herself

Image

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



User avatar
robbosmans
Moderator
Posts: 2780
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2018 12:40 pm
Location: Central Belgium
Contact:

by robbosmans

With all due respect, maybe get her a bike fit?

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