Thou I just scanned the thread, don’t think anyone mentioned USE!

USE are British. selection of posts and bars, stems a nice as well, they also do wheels.

Or maybe a Pro bar & stem all in one combo?

Prologo do some nice saddles, with CPC/colours

I wouldn’t put USE on my road bike or any bike for that matter, I’m still emotionally scarred from their crap alien heads.

Oh and wheels, Fulcrum have some new carbon clinchers out,
Also have a look at Token wheels, sold a set of 55 (or where they 5omm?) start of the year, nice, ceramic bearings. good value for money,

I’ve got a 10 year old Alien on my Madone still, it’s perfect. One of the old 2-bolt ones as well. I can’t imagine I’ll ever manage to get the bolts undone to change the saddle mind!

They’re not a great design though, and I think their newer graphics are a bit meh, not insurmountable though.

The alu stems they did 7-8 years ago looked nice though if I recall, and they’re local. Wouldn’t rule them out, but think they make better lights than kit!

Wheels I’m as good as sold on Chinese ones, it just depends on the brand! I can build wheels, so having something built isn’t really an advantage (indeed proprietary parts and shonky builds irritate me!). Token look to be £900 or so, and their 50mm offerings are knocking 1700g. Don’t really tick any boxes for me, thanks for the suggestion though.

The frame you’re looking at should be good for Di2. On that subject, the new 11 speed junction box is much tidier than the old unit, for a start it goes under the stem rather than zip-ties on to a brake cable. When you say internal Di2 battery you mean seat tube? If so, you can buy a cheap adapter for most seat posts that’ll hold it in there, with the cable exiting via the bb shell if needed. Unless its totally internal, in which case you use the internal junction box and push it into one of the tubes (downtube on mine). It does look pretty neat and you only need a hole in the front or back of the seat tube for the front mech then. Only downside to the internal battery is that it doesn’t last as long as the old external one. But charging is easier (via the box under the stem) and you can use the cable to reprogram shifting sequences, shift speed and stuff which you can’t do on the old version. Shimano don’t want you know this apparently, as then they can’t charge you for the kit to do it..you probably know all this already though.

At the front, apart from the new Madone and Venge, I’ve yet to see Di2 cable routing that looks neat – even the Dogma’s look a bit cobbled with the Heatshrink holding the di2 cable to the rear brake cable. Mine is normally a birds next but at least it doesn’t rub the frame like a normal gear cable

Excellent, I’d seen those universal seatpost mounts for the battery. Was envisaging using a stem-mounted junction box, but wasn’t entire sure where all the wires needed to go and if you needed something special to use the internal battery.

I guess you have:

– Battery to junction box running internally
– junction box to each mech running internally
– junction box to shifters under bar tape?

By which I guess it makes no difference if the battery is in the seat tube or under the chainstay. I’ve never actually paid that close attention to the routing. Agree the new Madone (and the Speed Concept) do it very well indeed, but most look a bit shonky!

So on the later Di2 you have 2 boxes – one is just a 4-way connector flat thing that goes down near the bb area somewhere (external on the old stuff, internal on the newer stuff if you frame takes it). From this you run a cable to the internal battery, one to the rear mech (cable exit before the drop out) and one to the front mech (exit normally on the front of the seat tube). Another cable runs up the downtube (that sounds wrong) and exists near the headtube to be plugged into the back of the main junction box (the one with the charging port). Two extra cables run out the front of this, under the bar tape to the shifter. Then you can run satellite shifters plugged into the main ‘sti’ unit, either on the drops (sprint) or on the tops (climbing).

That made more sense (and had less brackets) in my head than typing it…

That made more sense (and had less brackets) in my head than typing it…

Nope, that makes absolutely perfect sense, ta!

Thomson

[/runs away]

Easiest thing is that when you get it, give me a shout and I’ll walk you through it. Also when you’re ordering the cable lengths let me know – its easy to either order too many or not enough and its a pain in the arse waiting for more to turn up.

It took me a good few goes to get it right but once you’ve got it, its way quicker than setting a mechanical system up

Deda or 3T look good! Deda do an adapter for internal Di2 battery as well, which is another plus…

Would you not be choosing the integrated seatpost battery for a new build; or did you mean ‘connector gubbins’?

Do you use a Garmin? There’s a 3T with a neat integrated mounting solution.

So what bottle cage…? 😀

(I’m actually only partially joking as it’s that sort of small stuff that takes me the longest to decide on!)

So what bottle cage…?

I’ve used a few and Arundel Dave-O matte black (either 3k or uni weave depending on other bits on the bike) are the nicest.

Might be nice but does it go with the bike. On some bikes that would look very wrong.

Easiest thing is that when you get it, give me a shout and I’ll walk you through it. Also when you’re ordering the cable lengths let me know – its easy to either order too many or not enough and its a pain in the arse waiting for more to turn up.

Ta may well do that! Beyond have done loads, and they stock all the cables, so I should be able to go and sort it all there.

Would you not be choosing the integrated seatpost battery for a new build; or did you mean ‘connector gubbins’?

Yes, but as I understand it (which could be wrong – as evidenced above I’ve yet to really look into the finer points) I thought you needed some sort of adapter to actually keep the battery in place, rather than just cramming it into the seatpost/tube and hoping for the best? I’d seen the Ritchey mount, but wasn’t sure how universal they were. I happened to notice that Deda seatpost specifically said it came with a doofry so you could attach the seatpost battery.

Do you use a Garmin? There’s a 3T with a neat integrated mounting solution.

Neat mount, appended to a really gopping stem 😉

So what bottle cage…?

(I’m actually only partially joking as it’s that sort of small stuff that takes me the longest to decide on!)

Either Mt Zoom ti, for understated quality or something plain (and probably carbon). Tacx Taos are very nice, although the carbon ones are a daft premium over alu.

Neat mount, appended to a really gopping stem

Yeah, you might have a point there… 😀

Don’t know if you are/have chosen saddles yet (suspect you have a favorite already)
Well, I’ve always used Fizik for years the fit but I’ve just in the last month changed to Prologo Nac’s. I’m using the NacPro on the roadie which is bloody loveley and that Nac grip is proving already to be a boon in climbing and long flat drags, and I’ve just put a NacTT on the CX’er (which has slightly more cushioning and a shorter “nose”, again with the Nac grip but this time al over the seat so on the top and seat area.

Come in Black or White, I’ve chosen Black.

Just sayin in case you opt for the familiar.

😀

Forget how it rides/performs, this bike better look nice! Awaits build pics.

Oh and Arundel cages are ace, theres some ENVE ones out now… 😀

I’ve not even ordered the damn thing yet, may be a little while! I do keep having thoughts of more sensible things to do with the money too. But… New bike!

You have committed us to 100 posts about a road bike, we want something stunningly understated.

Hahaha! I’m not sure that’ll be the word, it’s not gonna be plain black after all.

Then you can run satellite shifters plugged into the main ‘sti’ unit, either on the drops (sprint) or on the tops (climbing).

gets hideously expensive as well, shifters, wires, d-fly, 2x junctions and on and on

don’t get the 9000 cassette though its shit according to a million post long thread on weight weenies, i sent mine back and got an Ultegra as much as it pained me,

…….are we not due a Dura-Ace upgrade next year?

We are, but nothing yet. This is also a factor, particularly as I’ll probably build the bike in time to put it away for winter!

Good shout on the DA cassette, was thinking I’d just go Ultegra as so many folk seem to have problems.

It was a Deda Superleggera that broke just for the record.

flange (sorry njee20) The Volare is fine and I’ve almost finished a season racing on mine. 853 Enve tapered forks, OS tubes at the BB. It isn’t up to a modern carbon race frame, but it’s comfortable and has sublime handling and that often gets me a place or two up the group.

njee20 Like to hear about the climbers wheels. Im lucky enough to have some Lightweights and at 1kg a set and aero they really climb. However I don’t like using them on windy days. Quite fancy light low pro full carbons.

Volare for flange and Deda for njee20

I’m a fan of 3t though their carbon bars are a little fragile (torqued to 6nm instead of 5 as I set the meter wrong = crack and mucho swearing)

Where are you buying the deng fu frame from? Is it via eBay? I’m thinking about a to frame, like the one earlier in this thread.

The Lightweights (and the Deda stuff) look great Oldgit, interesting they struggle in the wind though, old school blunt profile i guess. My Bontragers were similar.

Was gonna buy direct through Dengfu, have been exchanging emails with them, they seem very good. eBay just seems to add complexity.

Fancy treating myself to a new pair of bars…

Too much for a non-aero frame/set up?

I keep looking at those, go and buy the 40’s and give ’em a measure for me…just want to double check the centre to centre on tops and drops 😉

Would also require a service course SL stem of course…and possibly a seat post…

njee – rode a Fabric ALM saddle over the weekend – by far the most comfortable saddle i have placed my backside on.