cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/36603267

This is part 2, check out part 1 first!

Building

I expected this to be easier (or at least more fun) than the buying process, but sadly it was mostly very annoying. In particular because it turned into another shopping experience, and a worse one for that matter.

The parts

Other than the frame, the groupset seems most relevant here. I opted for a non-electric Shimano 105. Thought about going electric and maybe even Chinese OEM as well here, but it didn't seem like the right thing for me. Biking is primarily leisure time fun, and I don't want to mess with another app and think about charging batteries when I'm getting ready to ride. Rather I'll be turning some screws and fiddle with my shifter for a bit. For the wheels I got TPU tubes from RideNow and Continental Grand Prix 5000S (30 wide). Both with no deeper knowledge, but just based on a good review or two I had seen online.

That's it for the obvious parts (from my POV). My groupset order did not come with discs (which I could have deduced from the images), so I got some 160mm ones. It did not come with sleeves for shifter cables either. And my frame could only handle 140 discs in the rear by default, so I had to get an adapter (now while writing this I'm wondering: Do bikes usually come with smaller rear disks? Some do, some run an adapter. I just checked... ). All of these things I realized when trying to assemble, which got frustrating really quick. I had to stop every time and start ordering AGAIN. I don't blame anyone but myself for not checking my orders better, but this made for a very unpleasant building experience. And that was only half of the annoyance...

The tools

You will have heard about the EUs push towards unified cables for electronic hardware producers. They should look into bike parts next if you ask me!

I knew ahead of time, that I would need a tool for the Shimano centerlock and the bottom bracket. I managed to order 3 wrong tools for the bottom bracket and the wrong centerlock tool. Naive me just counted the notches on the bottom bracket and ordered the first bottom bracket tool with "Shimano" somewhere in the description. I'll spare you the details, but to get the right one I measured across my bottom bracket and then checked the manufacturers site to find infos about the diameters (shops did not really list these). Just like with the parts, this stopped me in my tracks multiple times and was very unpleasant. Also you might want 1 or 2 torque wrenches, some grease, carbon assembly paste, oil and a bleeding kit for the break lines (which also didn't fit the first time). Some of this I already had, but now I almost feel like a bike shop. Still I'm 100% certain, that the three bottom bracket tools I now own will not be sufficient to service the next bike rolling into my "shop".

The assembly

With the right tools (and parts) at hand, the actual assembly was mostly straight forward. Getting the cables and break lines into the handlebars was a proper pain though. Other than that: Apply the proper torque, mind the directions, grease up a little and listen to your gut. If something sounds, feels or looks wrong, it probably is. Take a step back and think for a minute. A quick internet search will likely help you in finding everything you would want to know.

Even though the mechanical shifting was a concious and deliberate choice, I'm still convinced: Adjusting your gears properly is sorcery. I spent quite some time on it, the bike strapped up in my power rack, youtube videos left an right. Then I did some more adjusting while out on the road and that's were it finally felt like I achieved something decent. Cheers to the two fellow bikers who stopped while I was fiddling with my bike and asked if everything was all right!

Resume

I did not enjoy this project very much. And this has nothing to do with the ordering or the OEM frame. But the special tooling and all the tiny bits and bobs is what really got me. With many other projects, I feel like you can work around lacking tools or material. But in particular the wrenches and nuts are just so specialized (and I didn't want to attack my new gear with a pipe wrench), that I just had to get more and more stuff. Also it didn't help that I'm impatient and apparently bad at reading. When ordering parts and tools, just take some time. This would have saved me at least some of the pain. All the proprietary wrenches and fittings should still be forbidden though.

Now don't get me wrong: I'm glad I did this and I'm very happy with the result. The frame, the wheels, the paint job - everything there worked out like I imagined and I would order one again. I really love the frame! I'm also happy with all the new knowledge and tools, which will help me maintain my bikes in the future. Like bleeding the breaks or changing the bottom bracket was nothing I had done before, and this just pushed me to do it (it's not hard btw). But I guess I had this romantic image in my head where the frame arrived and then I just assemble it in one or two days and then get to go on a ride. Which maybe could have happened, if I had spent more time on checking what I needed. Anyhow: frame good, ordering good, bike tooling and bike parts bad.

The money

This will be split into two parts:

• Cost of the bike
• Everything I actually got/had to get

In neither case I went hunting for the best price or product for that matter.

Cost of the bike

Money that went into making this a functional, rideable bike.

• Light carbon order: ~1.490 €, split up into:
  • Frame, handlebars, seat post, bottom bracket: 840€
  • Carbon wheels: 320€
  • Bottle cages: 26€
  • Shipping and fees: 300€
• 105 group set: 430€
• Discs + spacer + pads: 100€
• Tubes: 8€
• Tires: 92€
• Handlebar tape: 8€
• Pre waxed Chain: 36€
• Outer shifting cable: 10€

Makes ~2200€ in total. I had a saddle and pedals at hand, so consider this, but these would not come with a store bought bike either...

Cost of building the bike

This will be everything I had to get, to go from "doing some maintenance on a gravel bike" to "assembling a bike".

• Chain pliers: 10€
• Chain wrench: 32€
• Bleed kit & oil: 32€
• Centerlock tool: 20€
• 3* bottom bracket tool: ~100€
• Carbon paste: 10€

So at least 200€ more, while all of these could have been borrowed. The torque wrench I had gotten (a little ahead of time) would almost double that, since I'm seemingly unable to go cheap. The second torque wrench is a friends. This really is individual and mostly relevant to myself.

Was it worth it?

This is hard to judge, since this bike does not exist on the market. So I started thinking about it this way:

• Would I have gotten a road bike, if not building it? Yes. Maybe not this year, but within the next 1-3 years for sure.
• Would I have least a bike? No. I believe in owning stuff, and my job doesn't offer it anyway.
• How much would I have spent on a bike? I'm in love with the Canyon Aeroad ever since I saw it, which ain't cheap.

I don't think I would have dropped 4-8k on an Aeroad, even used they are a little too pricey for me atm. Also, even when not considering differences in frame and wheels (that I can't judge), I have cheaper components than any version of the Aeroad. That said, I have a hard time finding a carbon frame (and wheels) for around 2k new. So I like to imagine that I did indeed save some money (not billing my time ofc). A highly subjective verdict obviously.

If you are looking for guidance and the above is not enough: I would not recommend doing this for your first bike. Rather get a "complete" bike, go out riding, enjoy summer, learn something about bikes first. If you already have a bike, some tools, friends with tools, an open bike shop close by, this might be something for you. You can learn a lot, and I feel a lot more confident in maintaining bikes now.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/36603267

This is part 2, check out part 1 first!

Building

I expected this to be easier (or at least more fun) than the buying process, but sadly it was mostly very annoying. In particular because it turned into another shopping experience, and a worse one for that matter.

The parts

Other than the frame, the groupset seems most relevant here. I opted for a non-electric Shimano 105. Thought about going electric and maybe even Chinese OEM as well here, but it didn't seem like the right thing for me. Biking is primarily leisure time fun, and I don't want to mess with another app and think about charging batteries when I'm getting ready to ride. Rather I'll be turning some screws and fiddle with my shifter for a bit. For the wheels I got TPU tubes from RideNow and Continental Grand Prix 5000S (30 wide). Both with no deeper knowledge, but just based on a good review or two I had seen online.

That's it for the obvious parts (from my POV). My groupset order did not come with discs (which I could have deduced from the images), so I got some 160mm ones. It did not come with sleeves for shifter cables either. And my frame could only handle 140 discs in the rear by default, so I had to get an adapter (now while writing this I'm wondering: Do bikes usually come with smaller rear disks? Some do, some run an adapter. I just checked... ). All of these things I realized when trying to assemble, which got frustrating really quick. I had to stop every time and start ordering AGAIN. I don't blame anyone but myself for not checking my orders better, but this made for a very unpleasant building experience. And that was only half of the annoyance...

The tools

You will have heard about the EUs push towards unified cables for electronic hardware producers. They should look into bike parts next if you ask me!

I knew ahead of time, that I would need a tool for the Shimano centerlock and the bottom bracket. I managed to order 3 wrong tools for the bottom bracket and the wrong centerlock tool. Naive me just counted the notches on the bottom bracket and ordered the first bottom bracket tool with "Shimano" somewhere in the description. I'll spare you the details, but to get the right one I measured across my bottom bracket and then checked the manufacturers site to find infos about the diameters (shops did not really list these). Just like with the parts, this stopped me in my tracks multiple times and was very unpleasant. Also you might want 1 or 2 torque wrenches, some grease, carbon assembly paste, oil and a bleeding kit for the break lines (which also didn't fit the first time). Some of this I already had, but now I almost feel like a bike shop. Still I'm 100% certain, that the three bottom bracket tools I now own will not be sufficient to service the next bike rolling into my "shop".

The assembly

With the right tools (and parts) at hand, the actual assembly was mostly straight forward. Getting the cables and break lines into the handlebars was a proper pain though. Other than that: Apply the proper torque, mind the directions, grease up a little and listen to your gut. If something sounds, feels or looks wrong, it probably is. Take a step back and think for a minute. A quick internet search will likely help you in finding everything you would want to know.

Even though the mechanical shifting was a concious and deliberate choice, I'm still convinced: Adjusting your gears properly is sorcery. I spent quite some time on it, the bike strapped up in my power rack, youtube videos left an right. Then I did some more adjusting while out on the road and that's were it finally felt like I achieved something decent. Cheers to the two fellow bikers who stopped while I was fiddling with my bike and asked if everything was all right!

Resume

I did not enjoy this project very much. And this has nothing to do with the ordering or the OEM frame. But the special tooling and all the tiny bits and bobs is what really got me. With many other projects, I feel like you can work around lacking tools or material. But in particular the wrenches and nuts are just so specialized (and I didn't want to attack my new gear with a pipe wrench), that I just had to get more and more stuff. Also it didn't help that I'm impatient and apparently bad at reading. When ordering parts and tools, just take some time. This would have saved me at least some of the pain. All the proprietary wrenches and fittings should still be forbidden though.

Now don't get me wrong: I'm glad I did this and I'm very happy with the result. The frame, the wheels, the paint job - everything there worked out like I imagined and I would order one again. I really love the frame! I'm also happy with all the new knowledge and tools, which will help me maintain my bikes in the future. Like bleeding the breaks or changing the bottom bracket was nothing I had done before, and this just pushed me to do it (it's not hard btw). But I guess I had this romantic image in my head where the frame arrived and then I just assemble it in one or two days and then get to go on a ride. Which maybe could have happened, if I had spent more time on checking what I needed. Anyhow: frame good, ordering good, bike tooling and bike parts bad.

The money

This will be split into two parts:

• Cost of the bike
• Everything I actually got/had to get

In neither case I went hunting for the best price or product for that matter.

Cost of the bike

Money that went into making this a functional, rideable bike.

• Light carbon order: ~1.490 €, split up into:
  • Frame, handlebars, seat post, bottom bracket: 840€
  • Carbon wheels: 320€
  • Bottle cages: 26€
  • Shipping and fees: 300€
• 105 group set: 430€
• Discs + spacer + pads: 100€
• Tubes: 8€
• Tires: 92€
• Handlebar tape: 8€
• Pre waxed Chain: 36€
• Outer shifting cable: 10€

Makes ~2200€ in total. I had a saddle and pedals at hand, so consider this, but these would not come with a store bought bike either...

Cost of building the bike

This will be everything I had to get, to go from "doing some maintenance on a gravel bike" to "assembling a bike".

• Chain pliers: 10€
• Chain wrench: 32€
• Bleed kit & oil: 32€
• Centerlock tool: 20€
• 3* bottom bracket tool: ~100€
• Carbon paste: 10€

So at least 200€ more, while all of these could have been borrowed. The torque wrench I had gotten (a little ahead of time) would almost double that, since I'm seemingly unable to go cheap. The second torque wrench is a friends. This really is individual and mostly relevant to myself.

Was it worth it?

This is hard to judge, since this bike does not exist on the market. So I started thinking about it this way:

• Would I have gotten a road bike, if not building it? Yes. Maybe not this year, but within the next 1-3 years for sure.
• Would I have least a bike? No. I believe in owning stuff, and my job doesn't offer it anyway.
• How much would I have spent on a bike? I'm in love with the Canyon Aeroad ever since I saw it, which ain't cheap.

I don't think I would have dropped 4-8k on an Aeroad, even used they are a little too pricey for me atm. Also, even when not considering differences in frame and wheels (that I can't judge), I have cheaper components than any version of the Aeroad. That said, I have a hard time finding a carbon frame (and wheels) for around 2k new. So I like to imagine that I did indeed save some money (not billing my time ofc). A highly subjective verdict obviously.

If you are looking for guidance and the above is not enough: I would not recommend doing this for your first bike. Rather get a "complete" bike, go out riding, enjoy summer, learn something about bikes first. If you already have a bike, some tools, friends with tools, an open bike shop close by, this might be something for you. You can learn a lot, and I feel a lot more confident in maintaining bikes now.

This is part 2, check out part 1 first!

Building

I expected this to be easier (or at least more fun) than the buying process, but sadly it was mostly very annoying. In particular because it turned into another shopping experience, and a worse one for that matter.

The parts

Other than the frame, the groupset seems most relevant here. I opted for a non-electric Shimano 105. Thought about going electric and maybe even Chinese OEM as well here, but it didn't seem like the right thing for me. Biking is primarily leisure time fun, and I don't want to mess with another app and think about charging batteries when I'm getting ready to ride. Rather I'll be turning some screws and fiddle with my shifter for a bit. For the wheels I got TPU tubes from RideNow and Continental Grand Prix 5000S (30 wide). Both with no deeper knowledge, but just based on a good review or two I had seen online.

That's it for the obvious parts (from my POV). My groupset order did not come with discs (which I could have deduced from the images), so I got some 160mm ones. It did not come with sleeves for shifter cables either. And my frame could only handle 140 discs in the rear by default, so I had to get an adapter (now while writing this I'm wondering: Do bikes usually come with smaller rear disks? Some do, some run an adapter. I just checked... ). All of these things I realized when trying to assemble, which got frustrating really quick. I had to stop every time and start ordering AGAIN. I don't blame anyone but myself for not checking my orders better, but this made for a very unpleasant building experience. And that was only half of the annoyance...

The tools

You will have heard about the EUs push towards unified cables for electronic hardware producers. They should look into bike parts next if you ask me!

I knew ahead of time, that I would need a tool for the Shimano centerlock and the bottom bracket. I managed to order 3 wrong tools for the bottom bracket and the wrong centerlock tool. Naive me just counted the notches on the bottom bracket and ordered the first bottom bracket tool with "Shimano" somewhere in the description. I'll spare you the details, but to get the right one I measured across my bottom bracket and then checked the manufacturers site to find infos about the diameters (shops did not really list these). Just like with the parts, this stopped me in my tracks multiple times and was very unpleasant. Also you might want 1 or 2 torque wrenches, some grease, carbon assembly paste, oil and a bleeding kit for the break lines (which also didn't fit the first time). Some of this I already had, but now I almost feel like a bike shop. Still I'm 100% certain, that the three bottom bracket tools I now own will not be sufficient to service the next bike rolling into my "shop".

The assembly

With the right tools (and parts) at hand, the actual assembly was mostly straight forward. Getting the cables and break lines into the handlebars was a proper pain though. Other than that: Apply the proper torque, mind the directions, grease up a little and listen to your gut. If something sounds, feels or looks wrong, it probably is. Take a step back and think for a minute. A quick internet search will likely help you in finding everything you would want to know.

Even though the mechanical shifting was a concious and deliberate choice, I'm still convinced: Adjusting your gears properly is sorcery. I spent quite some time on it, the bike strapped up in my power rack, youtube videos left an right. Then I did some more adjusting while out on the road and that's were it finally felt like I achieved something decent. Cheers to the two fellow bikers who stopped while I was fiddling with my bike and asked if everything was all right!

Resume

I did not enjoy this project very much. And this has nothing to do with the ordering or the OEM frame. But the special tooling and all the tiny bits and bobs is what really got me. With many other projects, I feel like you can work around lacking tools or material. But in particular the wrenches and nuts are just so specialized (and I didn't want to attack my new gear with a pipe wrench), that I just had to get more and more stuff. Also it didn't help that I'm impatient and apparently bad at reading. When ordering parts and tools, just take some time. This would have saved me at least some of the pain. All the proprietary wrenches and fittings should still be forbidden though.

Now don't get me wrong: I'm glad I did this and I'm very happy with the result. The frame, the wheels, the paint job - everything there worked out like I imagined and I would order one again. I really love the frame! I'm also happy with all the new knowledge and tools, which will help me maintain my bikes in the future. Like bleeding the breaks or changing the bottom bracket was nothing I had done before, and this just pushed me to do it (it's not hard btw). But I guess I had this romantic image in my head where the frame arrived and then I just assemble it in one or two days and then get to go on a ride. Which maybe could have happened, if I had spent more time on checking what I needed. Anyhow: frame good, ordering good, bike tooling and bike parts bad.

The money

This will be split into two parts:

• Cost of the bike
• Everything I actually got/had to get

In neither case I went hunting for the best price or product for that matter.

Cost of the bike

Money that went into making this a functional, rideable bike.

• Light carbon order: ~1.490 €, split up into:
  • Frame, handlebars, seat post, bottom bracket: 840€
  • Carbon wheels: 320€
  • Bottle cages: 26€
  • Shipping and fees: 300€
• 105 group set: 430€
• Discs + spacer + pads: 100€
• Tubes: 8€
• Tires: 92€
• Handlebar tape: 8€
• Pre waxed Chain: 36€
• Outer shifting cable: 10€

Makes ~2200€ in total. I had a saddle and pedals at hand, so consider this, but these would not come with a store bought bike either...

Cost of building the bike

This will be everything I had to get, to go from "doing some maintenance on a gravel bike" to "assembling a bike".

• Chain pliers: 10€
• Chain wrench: 32€
• Bleed kit & oil: 32€
• Centerlock tool: 20€
• 3* bottom bracket tool: ~100€
• Carbon paste: 10€

So at least 200€ more, while all of these could have been borrowed. The torque wrench I had gotten (a little ahead of time) would almost double that, since I'm seemingly unable to go cheap. The second torque wrench is a friends. This really is individual and mostly relevant to myself.

Was it worth it?

This is hard to judge, since this bike does not exist on the market. So I started thinking about it this way:

• Would I have gotten a road bike, if not building it? Yes. Maybe not this year, but within the next 1-3 years for sure.
• Would I have least a bike? No. I believe in owning stuff, and my job doesn't offer it anyway.
• How much would I have spent on a bike? I'm in love with the Canyon Aeroad ever since I saw it, which ain't cheap.

I don't think I would have dropped 4-8k on an Aeroad, even used they are a little too pricey for me atm. Also, even when not considering differences in frame and wheels (that I can't judge), I have cheaper components than any version of the Aeroad. That said, I have a hard time finding a carbon frame (and wheels) for around 2k new. So I like to imagine that I did indeed save some money (not billing my time ofc). A highly subjective verdict obviously.

If you are looking for guidance and the above is not enough: I would not recommend doing this for your first bike. Rather get a "complete" bike, go out riding, enjoy summer, learn something about bikes first. If you already have a bike, some tools, friends with tools, an open bike shop close by, this might be something for you. You can learn a lot, and I feel a lot more confident in maintaining bikes now.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/36017235

March 2026 I watched a video about bike frames from China, or rather: Chinese OEM (frames). It is in German, but talks about how Chinese biking equipment brands are trying to establish themselves, rather than just producing for others. So, with a like for crafting, making, building and biking, I started the journey of building a bike around a carbon frame from a Chinese OEM.

Disclaimer

• I'm not qualified for any deeper quality insights other than the "look and feel" of things.
• While I learned a few things from maintaining my gravel bike, I'm no professional in working with bikes.
• I did not do any price comparisons ahead of time, but will try to give one at the end. Everything was paid for by myself. This is purely a fun and passion project (including the write up).
• This is about the buying/ordering of things, Part 2 will be the build

The ordering

Unable to get the video out of my head, I did more and more digging. And everything I found seemed so positiv! So much so, that I actually started the buying process of a frame. And a process it was! Where you would expect a price tag on the website and a button for adding a component to the cart, there is an email address. And I don't know if it's like that for all manufacturers, but it was for the two or three I checked. And to me, this seemed super weird! If not for all the positive experiences online, I would have stopped right there.

Start of April I sent a mail regarding a frame I liked, starting a conversation that would end with me buying a frame and a set of wheels. With the time zone difference it was mostly one mail per day, but for the next few days and weeks, all my questions got answered, we figured out what was required, what would be included and how the payment and shipping would work. All in all it was an unusual but very nice online shopping experience and I would feel confident to do it again in the same manners. I think it's always good to make sure you receive a proper invoice at the end and check whether everything you want is on there. It helps if you know something about bikes, but the sellers were always helpful and provided answers where I felt like things were unclear.

The order

I went with the LCR018-D frame from lightcarbon. For the sizing I utilized the usual guides and references. To go with the frame I ordered two bottle cages, their 44mm deep carbon wheels and a bottom bracket.

Everything else was ordered through more "traditional" online shopping: This includes a Shimano 105 groupset and all the tooling mostly, which will get it's own fun chapter.

The package

Shipping took three months or so, due to the frames popularity I was told. Also the handlebars were not in stock anymore, which was communicated nicely - I just went with some wider ones in my case (happy UCI noises), but I could also have gotten some cheaper ones + a refund. I was not in a rush, but definitely something to consider. And to be honest here: I was relieved when the package arrived! There was not a point were things felt sketchy, but it was still a lot of money to me.

Oddly enough, the frames and wheels were shipped separately. As per the seller: To prevent damage to either. This was communicated from the beginning (since you also pay for two packages, not one). When it arrived, all was well protected and without a scratch. Axles, bolts, mounts for bike computers, seatpost - everything included. As well as a torque spec. Never ordered a frame before, but from my unprofessional POV it had everything I wanted.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/36017235

March 2026 I watched a video about bike frames from China, or rather: Chinese OEM (frames). It is in German, but talks about how Chinese biking equipment brands are trying to establish themselves, rather than just producing for others. So, with a like for crafting, making, building and biking, I started the journey of building a bike around a carbon frame from a Chinese OEM.

Disclaimer

• I'm not qualified for any deeper quality insights other than the "look and feel" of things.
• While I learned a few things from maintaining my gravel bike, I'm no professional in working with bikes.
• I did not do any price comparisons ahead of time, but will try to give one at the end. Everything was paid for by myself. This is purely a fun and passion project (including the write up).
• This is about the buying/ordering of things, Part 2 will be the build

The ordering

Unable to get the video out of my head, I did more and more digging. And everything I found seemed so positiv! So much so, that I actually started the buying process of a frame. And a process it was! Where you would expect a price tag on the website and a button for adding a component to the cart, there is an email address. And I don't know if it's like that for all manufacturers, but it was for the two or three I checked. And to me, this seemed super weird! If not for all the positive experiences online, I would have stopped right there.

Start of April I sent a mail regarding a frame I liked, starting a conversation that would end with me buying a frame and a set of wheels. With the time zone difference it was mostly one mail per day, but for the next few days and weeks, all my questions got answered, we figured out what was required, what would be included and how the payment and shipping would work. All in all it was an unusual but very nice online shopping experience and I would feel confident to do it again in the same manners. I think it's always good to make sure you receive a proper invoice at the end and check whether everything you want is on there. It helps if you know something about bikes, but the sellers were always helpful and provided answers where I felt like things were unclear.

The order

I went with the LCR018-D frame from lightcarbon. For the sizing I utilized the usual guides and references. To go with the frame I ordered two bottle cages, their 44mm deep carbon wheels and a bottom bracket.

Everything else was ordered through more "traditional" online shopping: This includes a Shimano 105 groupset and all the tooling mostly, which will get it's own fun chapter.

The package

Shipping took three months or so, due to the frames popularity I was told. Also the handlebars were not in stock anymore, which was communicated nicely - I just went with some wider ones in my case (happy UCI noises), but I could also have gotten some cheaper ones + a refund. I was not in a rush, but definitely something to consider. And to be honest here: I was relieved when the package arrived! There was not a point were things felt sketchy, but it was still a lot of money to me.

Oddly enough, the frames and wheels were shipped separately. As per the seller: To prevent damage to either. This was communicated from the beginning (since you also pay for two packages, not one). When it arrived, all was well protected and without a scratch. Axles, bolts, mounts for bike computers, seatpost - everything included. As well as a torque spec. Never ordered a frame before, but from my unprofessional POV it had everything I wanted.

March 2026 I watched a video about bike frames from China, or rather: Chinese OEM (frames). It is in German, but talks about how Chinese biking equipment brands are trying to establish themselves, rather than just producing for others. So, with a like for crafting, making, building and biking, I started the journey of building a bike around a carbon frame from a Chinese OEM.

Disclaimer

• I'm not qualified for any deeper quality insights other than the "look and feel" of things.
• While I learned a few things from maintaining my gravel bike, I'm no professional in working with bikes.
• I did not do any price comparisons ahead of time, but will try to give one at the end. Everything was paid for by myself. This is purely a fun and passion project (including the write up).
• This is about the buying/ordering of things, Part 2 will be the build

The ordering

Unable to get the video out of my head, I did more and more digging. And everything I found seemed so positiv! So much so, that I actually started the buying process of a frame. And a process it was! Where you would expect a price tag on the website and a button for adding a component to the cart, there is an email address. And I don't know if it's like that for all manufacturers, but it was for the two or three I checked. And to me, this seemed super weird! If not for all the positive experiences online, I would have stopped right there.

Start of April I sent a mail regarding a frame I liked, starting a conversation that would end with me buying a frame and a set of wheels. With the time zone difference it was mostly one mail per day, but for the next few days and weeks, all my questions got answered, we figured out what was required, what would be included and how the payment and shipping would work. All in all it was an unusual but very nice online shopping experience and I would feel confident to do it again in the same manners. I think it's always good to make sure you receive a proper invoice at the end and check whether everything you want is on there. It helps if you know something about bikes, but the sellers were always helpful and provided answers where I felt like things were unclear.

The order

I went with the LCR018-D frame from lightcarbon. For the sizing I utilized the usual guides and references. To go with the frame I ordered two bottle cages, their 44mm deep carbon wheels and a bottom bracket.

Everything else was ordered through more "traditional" online shopping: This includes a Shimano 105 groupset and all the tooling mostly, which will get it's own fun chapter.

The package

Shipping took three months or so, due to the frames popularity I was told. Also the handlebars were not in stock anymore, which was communicated nicely - I just went with some wider ones in my case (happy UCI noises), but I could also have gotten some cheaper ones + a refund. I was not in a rush, but definitely something to consider. And to be honest here: I was relieved when the package arrived! There was not a point were things felt sketchy, but it was still a lot of money to me.

Oddly enough, the frames and wheels were shipped separately. As per the seller: To prevent damage to either. This was communicated from the beginning (since you also pay for two packages, not one). When it arrived, all was well protected and without a scratch. Axles, bolts, mounts for bike computers, seatpost - everything included. As well as a torque spec. Never ordered a frame before, but from my unprofessional POV it had everything I wanted.

I needed a racket for some tennis like sport. Since the sport is kind of local to my area, there is only few offers for these rackets, and some have quite high waiting times. Since they are made from plywood anyway, I decided to make it myself.

The melamin plywood I picked was a pain to work with, and I fiddled quite a bit with tape on the wood, drill speeds and everything, to avoid tearing the surface. I still did on the back, propably pushing too hard, so I scraped off the first layer. The clean black melamin would have looked better I think, but at some point I got so annoyed that I'm happy I was able to make it at least look decent.

TL;DR DietPi has an easy to configure kiosk mode to boot up opening a website. E.g. your gallery displayed with ImmichFrame

The photos

Part of my post vacation workflow involves collecting all photos taken, sorting out the 90% duplicates and blurry ones, and slapping the remaining into an album. There they can sit until some unlucky person asks me about my last journey, or I get an urge to look at them again (about once every three years).

Since using Immich I get these flashbacks a little more often, since it has this memory feature that shows photos from x years ago (folders don't have that. Yeah I used folders before). This still involves opening the app on my phone though, which I'd like to use less in the first place. If only there I had a big screen somewhere in my home that could display images at a decent resolution...

The frame

There is digital frames for that, but I don't want to make room for one. Maybe later. What I realized is: My TV displays this one (pseudo) artsy drawing whenever I turn it on. Instead of seeing this same boring image 5-10min every day: Why not enjoy my photos?

There might be a TV app for that, but I don't want to be opening/installing apps on the TV - I need my photos to show in the 'default' mode (which might be possible with an app, but I didn't bother to check). Instead I grabbed an old RPi3 and installed Raspbian RaspberryPiOS (it has been a while...) and ImmichFrame. A promising looking app that is meant to take my Immich albums and display them. Everything worked super quick, but opening the browser to display the ImmichFrame page hosted in Docker. While messing with a script to open the browser on boot, I noticed that everything felt a little (a lot) laggy. (In hindsight I was probably overheating my little PI due to missing cooling. Fixed this later as well)

The diet

Looking at lightweight OS for the Pi, I discovered DietPi and gave it a quick install. It is very convenient to configure via the console, and while messing around there I stumbled across something-something kiosk mode. That's exactly what I needed! Lucky me didn't know about such things, but it makes sense I guess. Just configure a URL and it will display that page on every boot. Currently ImmichFrame is hosted on the PI as well, so I added a little wait loop into the startup of the kiosk mode, but that's all. Performance is ok right now, but if it continues to lag, I'll just host ImmichFrame on my server.

The Pi gets plugged into the TV and is running all the time, since I could not think of a smarter way. Now I have a neat solution that is fully under my control.

For longer touring and casual sport cycling I want to finally get my hands on a bike computer. Have used my phone so far, but I don't like

• battery life
• water situation when it's rainy
• arguably not too good for the camera stabilizer

My requirements are not too high I would say, but I would like

• connectivity to some peripherals (ANT+ I guess)
• ability to add GPX files and also extract them
• not buy myself into some cloud (or otherwise fenced) solution

What it boils down to: What would be the least restrictive brand out there?

I am aware of https://github.com/hishizuka/pizero_bikecomputer but currently I don’t see myself tinkering that much – since I do longer tours I need some kind of decent case, a way to take it off and be a little tough.

(Sorry if this is not he perfect place, I could not think of another community that would fit well)

Who doesn't love opening a loot crate? Not the gambling stuff (well it's still kind of gambling), but the ones in game. The ones that give shitty loot and guns you don't know how to play. The ones that make you end up with a bullet in your head 50% of the time because you drive into the middle of nowhere to get them.

Ok this will not be about stupid PUBG references, but thoughts and images of the process of making a "PUBG loot crate" for a friend of mine. For everyone unaware, it looks something like this:

Goal:

• build a small loot crate that vaguely resembles a PUBG loot crate
• make it from wood (3D printing would have been an option here, but I just don't like the look and feel too much for such a project)
• improve my wood finishing & painting skills

Not goals:

• make an exact copy of the in game loot crate from PUBG
• spend tons of time and money on it
• get 50 new tools

The box

While making a wooden box is indeed a skill to learn, having it heavily painted and modified made me not want to spend too much time on it. So I just bought one and sanded it smooth (not enough).

To add some depth to it, I went to add a bottom and some ridges to resemble the corrugated panels of metal containers. The ridges were cut by hand and everything was sanded (almost enough) before glue up. I used normal wood glue and clamps, no nails or screws. For alignment I had done some marking with pencil and it ended up fine. For a more precise project, I would have made small spacers and nailed everything in place with a nail gun (which I don't have). Getting rid of the glue with a wet cloth was crucial here, because hand sanding all the inside edges would not have been fun. Some wood filler was used to even out small imperfections, but I should have used even more here. In the finished product I can see where I did a good job and where I got lazy.

Each vertical piece was glued on as one, just because that seemed easier. Of course I had to split the box again, which was easy enough with a hand saw.

The paint

After the glue up, paint was up next. 3 coats of primer went on with sanding in between. 180 and later on 240. It still showed some wood pattern at this point, but I would not know how to improve this. Not buy cheap ass primer? Sand more? Even more coats?

After that, I sprayed it with red paint and also lightly sanded with a 320 grid sanding sponge. This ended up looking just about how I wanted, but could still have been a little smoother. Painting is hard. Also I need to build some painting triangles, because it got stuck to the underground twice.

The finish

Last paint related thing was the rough look. With nothing else on hand, I dabbed on acrylic paint. It did not seem to stick in the beginning so I went all in. To an extend that I thought I had ruined the piece when it was all dry. Looked like a cheap ass camo clothing pattern designed by a 3yo (or something even worse).

First I tried to carefully remove only the top coat of acrylic, but this quickly hurt the lower coats until even the primer showed. So I just went to town with all my sanding paper and even a paint scraper. Took way more time than I wanted, but at least it turned out ok. A sanding sponge came in clutch here for reaching all the crevices. Definitely a worthwhile 'tool' to have. This is the part where I would be interested in other approaches to achieve this look - something I have to look into.

The extra bits

For the straps I just ordered some 10mm wide nylon band. Could have payed more attention here: The straps are not simply cut and go, but I had to get out the sewing machine to attach the plastic bits.

Also simply no one seems to own one of these blue IKEA bags anymore, so I had to cut up some old apron for the blue top. Not exactly what I was looking for, but got it close enough.

The resume

Fun project, that of course took longer than expected. My learning with the paint is once again: Take your time! I think I would have needed to spend more time on almost every step to get that 'perfect' finish. But for the first time it felt achievable with my equipment on hand. That's encouraging! Since, on this project, everything was roughed up anyway, it did not feel like a failure. The rest was pretty straight forward and it was a really enjoyable project with minimal space and tool requirements.

TL;DR: This is a ramble about my old and new keyboards, with some finger pain along the way.

• Hotswap has it's drawbacks
• QMK is nice
• I like macro keys

Due to my job and love for gaming, I spend quite a bit of time in front of a keyboard. With that in mind (and also some enabling colleagues) I went on a big long search for the perfect keyboard. Quickly I became interested in split designs and finally pulled the trigger on a Mistel Barocco MD770. It's now 1.5 years later, and this text was not typed on the Mistel.

The old

The Mistel Barocco MD770 is a super nice keyboard. I like the clean look, the split form factor and the fact that I can 'merge' it into a 'normal' keyboard. This saves me from messing with the whole keymap when gaming. What I had to fiddle with however, was the keybinds while not gaming. There is no GUI for that and you have to do it by combinations of key presses. It worked, but I had to check the manual every time I wanted to change something. Also the bluetooth connection often took some time (no issues when wired) to get going. So it had it's minor drawbacks, but not enough for me to go out searching again. After over a year with the board however, an issue pressing enough came up.

The issue

Being a gamer all my life, I never really had issues with hand or finger pain. But getting older and/or really diving into FPS about half a year ago messed with that. After longer gaming sessions I started to notice pain in the fingers of my left hand. Since I also do climbing, it took quite some time for me to figure out, that in fact the gaming is the issue. It seems I press WASD like a mad man when running around. Press less hard then - duhhh! I tried, but the MX Brown switches just didn't give the feedback my fingers needed.

I like climbing, I like gaming and I wanted this fixed quickly. My best idea, apart from tying to press less hard, was to find switches with a clearer feedback. This is when I discovered, that the Mistel sadly does NOT have a hotswap PCB. Which leads us to chapter three.

The new

With virtually endless options for keyboards and some money to throw at the problem, I was not quite ready to desolder my whole keyboard. So I went out there with my requirements figured out:

• split layout that can mesh together (for the reason above)
• hotswap (because that's what made me end up here)
• staggered is fine
• QMK support
• (macro keys)

The rest was mostly a gut decision - I found the Keychron Q11, liked the mostly clean look and the macro keys and just went with it.

With it I ordered some Cherry MX ERGO CLEAR, some cheapish keycaps that at least support this split layout and some O-rings. Most important answer first: Yes it helped with the finger pain! The actuation point is way more recognizable and the O-rings make the bottom out a lot less hard. I love the switches and also the sound is quite nice. The dedicated macro keys including a GUI to set them all up are also a major improvement in my books. I use them for media management and some undo-redo action which is super convenient. The keyboard itself is also quite beefy with its aluminuim body - not a super big deal but it feels nice. Last thing I want to talk about are the hotswap sockets: You just push in your switches and are ready to go - sounds super easy. And it is. Unless you don't have any feeling in your fingers (duhhh again) and just smash them in. I broke some sockets. Nothing that could not be fixed with some solder, but I was not even aware that this is an option. My fault but still something to watch out for at least.

This year I did my first bike packing trip. For starting out I had rented some equipment, but with the goal of doing more trips in the future, getting some bags of my own was clearly on the list. With the idea of using panniers for my main storage, I wanted to add some fork bags to balance out the weight a little. Also they are the least obstructive (other than frame bag maybe) from my POV. Somewhat enjoying DIY, the idea of designing the cages myself grew on me.

What this is

Some insights and thoughts on the process of designing and making some aluminium cargo cages for a bike.

What this isn't

A guide on how to design and make aluminium cargo cages for a bike. I have no professional training on anything I did here. This is my first time doing something like this.

Designing

After making some sketches on paper, I quickly jumped into 3D modelling on the PC.

The software

The software I choose was OpenSCAD. Reasoning was that I like open source software and I don't know any CAD software anyway. With it being a non-interactive tool, I hoped to somewhat make use of my coding knowledge/background. You write a script and the tool compiles it into a 3D model.

This however, did not work out very well. Going into it without much of a plan, I ended up with a very confusing file with loads of duplicate code and lots of guessing when trying to figure out dimensions. This was not the fault of the tool, but only my own. Not saying I'll never go back to it, but for the next job I will try some more interactive tooling. Some more structure and thought out process would benefit any tool however, so that's a learning I'll take with me.

The looks

Hard requirements were the screw positions for mounting to the fork and space for some straps where the bag is attached. In the middle of designing I noticed, that I might want some material running from the screw attachment points across the whole width of the piece (this might not have been required since the 3mm aluminium I used was plenty strong).

The whole design evolved around these requirements and some hexagons I wanted to add. Everything was kept symmetric and I tried to pick up the angles from the hexagons in the other angled pieces.

For sizing, I tested my dimensions on some cardboard cutouts and went with what felt right.

The issues

• The lower part was meant to be bent around and then welded at the seams. However I failed to provide additional material for the bending, therefor it was cut of and completely welded in the final product.
• The lower part is too wide. Instead of taking a second to think about it, I just kept the lower piece wide with the idea of grinding of the excess. I should have made the diagonal piece of the notch the same length as the vertical line it will get welded to.
• The straps of my chosen bags do not line up perfectly with the cutouts on the cage. There is enough space to make it work and not look super off, but it would be smarter to get the 'target bag' first.

Also I think it turned out a little like any cage you can buy in a shop. Wish I had made it a little more unique, maybe carry the hexagon idea along the edges...

Fabricating

Having access to at least some of the tools required for fabrication made the project seem somewhat reasonable in the first place. I would not know how to go about this, if you don't have a welder (other than designing a part that does not require welding).

Laser cutting

The whole idea heavily evolved around the idea of using a laser to cut my model from some aluminium sheet. However the laser I planned to use was not available anymore by the time the design was finished. No big deal I thought, there are ordering services for just about anything online. Which there are. But many of them ask a heavy fee for low part counts. To a level that would shut down the whole idea. It took quite some searching until I found someone willing to do the job for a feasible price. Had I not found a laser, filling and cutting with a saw would have been my last resort. Luckily it didn't come to that.

Other than the design issues mentioned above, it turned out just like I wanted!

Welding

You should find someone else to tell you about TIG welding. On the photo you can see the lower base that turned out too wide and never got ground off. Also the lower base that was cut off instead of bend due to missing clearance.

Painting

3 base coats, 3 top coats of matt black. Some deburing beforehand would have helped the final look as well. I always underestimate how much all these details show up after painting.

Bags

For bags, I decided on Cube ACID PACK PRO 3 (which are 3 liter bags). Even though I bought these, this was not the super easy part. Going into this project my thought was that it will be super easy to find fitting bags. But I had to do quite some digging to find something I liked. 3 liters per site are plenty for my setup, since I just want to spread some weight forward. I have seen these cages used with 5 liter bags, which worked fine as well. The straps do not line up perfectly with the cage, but there is enough wiggle room to make it work.

Final thoughts

It was a fun project and I will hopefully get to enjoy these cages for a long time. Without having done most of the things required to tackle this project, it took me quite some time to do. But I learned a lot and will surely go into my next CAD/metal/fabrication project with more of a plan!

I hope someone can get something out of my post. This checklist should help if you consider doing a similar project (maybe even any DIY project at all)

Don't do this if you

• want to save money
• need some cages quickly

Do this if you

• enjoy making stuff!

Recently I quit Strava and started using OsmAnd to do my routing and also recording of bike trips.

I can store and view the tracks fine, but the interface really is just for viewing single tracks. I would like to organize my recorded trips a little better, in a fashion that e.g. Strava allows:

• add some meta information
• compare tracks and all the related info
• extract some further data from the tracks and compare them (something like "your fastest 2k")

Is something like this out there? (I did not deep dive into GPX itself, maybe I am looking for something that is not even in the data)

Happy usenet user for while but finding german content has been somewhat hard. I would be happy to receive a DunkenSlug invite and will be happy to share back!

Review of my bikepacking gear I brought on a 5-day trip around northern Germany. Starting at the end of March, temps were still kind of low (from 7 to 15 degrees Celsius during the day), no prediction for rain. Weight of the bike was around 10 kg, with gear I hit a total of 23 kg - so 13 kg worth of gear.

Handlebar bag

• Naturehike 2-person tent

The space it gave me was worth the extra size/weight. Especially with it being kind of cold, I rested in the tent quite a bit. Never used any other light tents, so no clear reference there. I was happy with my choice: It's kind of stealthy, has some decent ventilation (which I didn't need), and I can take it down from the inside out (which is nice with rainy days).

Fork bag 1

• Sponge and soap bar
• Air pump (never had to use it)
• Lights
• MSR Fuel bottle

Not much to say here, soap might be replaced with something smaller next time. Never used the lights or the pump, but would always bring them. The fuel bottle was transported with the pump installed; the normal lit stayed at home.

Fork bag 2

• Sea to Summit ultralight sleeping pad

Had to get it for the trip and loved it! Due to space issues, I had to leave my foam sleeping pad at home, which had me concerned about the cold and comfort, but these were no issue whatsoever. Would still like to bring the foam pad next time, to just throw it somewhere on the ground and lay down for a minute.

Frame bag

• MSR whisperlite burner
• Repair stuff (for: tube, cooker, sleeping pad. Some rope)
• E-reader
• Zip-ties
• Folding lock
• Socks
• Toiletries
• First aid kit

The MSR whisperlite multifuel is totally overkill (for where I was at least) - I could save quite some space and weight here, but I love it! It just works; I don't have to buy tanks that get trashed after they are empty; it's cheap to run, and I love the thought that it will last me a lifetime (hopefully). Repair stuff speaks for itself, wish I had brought some tape though. E-reader instead of carrying 2 books. The folding lock might be replaced by something lighter later on. It's a fine lock, but it never gave me a feeling of safety when I left my bike and all my stuff somewhere. Something that really allows the bike to be locked around a pole might be better. I don't expect people to cut a lock in broad daylight here, and if they want my stuff or carry the bike away, a beefier lock is not stopping them. Thin socks were never used due to the cold. I wore some merino socks all the time and loved it. Had two pairs and might have gotten away with one. Toiletries and first aid kit.

Top tube and phone

• Phone for navigation
• Cables and charger
• Powerbank
• Cash

Photo of the top tube pack is missing, it's some random waterproof with a zipper. I don't love the access the zipper gives, but perfect for the price. For navigation, I only used my phone mounted with a Nite Ize squeeze. Great holder, no extra case or stuff you have to add; I never feared that my phone could come off. OSMand was the navigation software of my choice and it worked very well. Awesome because I could use what I had and did not have to buy some new tech that gets outdated in 2 years. Trip recording also worked fine. Some voice instructions got confusing, but I turned the screen on in cities, which helped a lot. Never used Google Maps or a bike computer for navigation, so no reference here. I made the conscious decision to not bring headphones, and it was fine with the speakers just turned up. Don't forget your coins when you end up on a German camping ground ;)

Seat pack

(filthy clothes not shown)

• Rain pants
• Rain jacket
• Shoe covers
• Sleeping bag (not compressed on the photo ;))
• 3 Shirts
• 2 pairs of socks
• Sweatpants
• Merino long sleeve

No rain on the trip, but the rain gear was used on the cold last day. The sleeping bag is a Cumulus 350 quilt. First time quilt and I had no issues with it whatsoever. One shirt for sleeping, two for riding. I could've gotten away with my one Merino shirt for riding maybe. Too much underwear as well. Was always riding with my bike shorts and showered before changing clothes, one or two pairs of underwear would be sufficient. Always wore shorts above the bike shorts as well, which I prefer when getting off the bike and walking around places. There was a hoodie I was wearing most of the time, as well as two buffs. Very important for comfort, even while sleeping.

Backpack / on top of seat pack

• Dry bag
• Adiletten
• Fork and spoon
• Toaks 1100 ml pot with bail handle
• Dishwashing detergent
• Spices
• Swiss army knife
• Tea
• Instant coffee
• Rain jacket

Due to space issues, all of this ended up in a backpack and later on in a dry bag strapped to the seat pack. Not fun, make sure everything fits before you take off! Some shoes to use while showering/the day is over. Bulky but a must have for me. Foldable fork and spoon, the SAK was the only knife I brought but never needed it. The Toaks titanium pot was something I had to buy and I am very happy with it. Perfect for some pasta, also used it as a cup multiple times a day. The instant coffee is something that might make me bring a mocka pot on the next trip. If you need coffee: bring it along. If you enjoy coffee: don't. Grab coffee somewhere or bring a dedicated setup. Tea became the warm beverage of my choice and it was very nice to sit on some bench in the forest and enjoy a nice warm cup of tea.

Bags

The bags were rented, which was an awesome opportunity to check it out without spending hundreds of euros on bags. And I am happy I did it that way! I guess it was a combination of my gear selection, packing skills and the weather, but space got super tight. And I know you are meant to squeeze the seat pack, but I just didn't like the packing and unpacking process and trying to get everything to fit. Panniers seem much more to my liking. Still, all the Apidura bags felt very well-made, sturdy, the zippers were good, and I am sure they could deal with some rain!

Final thoughts

For the gear, I tried to go with what I had and add as needed. Very happy with my selection all around and I don't see the need for any drastic changes (apart from the panniers!). Even without washing I could cut down on some clothing. On my next (warmer) trip, I will just bring some soap. Stove situation is also kind of bulky, but like I said: I just love it. Before departing on the trip, I made sure to take a long ride with cleats and decided against them. They caused me some knee pain, so I just went with normal shoes, which worked out perfect. Before the next trip I will get some bike fitting done, but even then I might just do my bikepacking with normal shoes!

That's about it, maybe this helps someone with their setup. It felt great to stop thinking and start riding!