# matte white and carbon, a match made in heaven



## mitchy (May 12, 2013)

*no longer matte white, just carbon.*

*FRAME* - Flyxii FR-602 Disc CX (carbon fibre)
*FORK* - Flyxii FR-602 Disc CX (carbon fibre)
*HEADSET* - ZS/ZS
*STEM* - Flyxii 80mm x -6° (carbon fibre)
*BARS* - Easton Haven 711mm 20mm rise (carbon fibre)
*GRIPS* - Prologo foam
*BRAKES* - Hope Stealth Race Evo X2
*BRAKE ROTORS* - Avid HS1 160F/160R
*SHIFTER* - Sram X9 10 speed
*REAR DERAILLEUR* - Sram Rival 10 speed short cage
*BOTTOM BRACKET* - Token w/- GXP bushes
*CRANKS* - Sram S950 compact (carbon fibre)
*CHAIN RING* - AbsoluteBLACK CX 38T
*PEDALS* - plastic jobs
*CHAIN* - KMC X10-L
*CASSETTE* - Shimano Ultegra 6700 10 speed 11-28t
*RIMS* - 29" Crank Brothers Cobalt 3
*HUBS* - Crank Brothers QR front, QR rear
*SPOKES* - Crank Brothers
*TIRES* - Continental Gatorskin 700x25c
*SEAT POST* - Flyxii 31.6mm (carbon fibre)
*SEAT CLAMP* - Hope 34.9mm
*SADDLE* - Toiga Spyder Twin Tail
*CABLE HOUSING* - Jagwire
*HYDRAULIC LINES* - Jagwire
*BIKE WEIGHT* - 7.1 kg


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Quick question... Where are the fenders at ? Can't call it a true commuter without fenders and mud guards ! Pretty sure you can find some carbon ones that will add aero-dynamism to the bike too 

So it sure is a nice build, although I am worried about the 700c wheels vs the trail mix setup. Is it mostly for country roads or are you gonna go play trough downtown traffic and city parks on your way to work everyday ? Locking the bike out of sight or keeping it with you all day ? Racing underground street creeds throughout the city at night ?

I'm really curious what is your main use for that build haha

None of the less, you must have a good job to finance this operation, although it's probably still cheaper than owning and driving your car instead


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## aBicycle (Jun 13, 2012)

How the crap did you do this for under a grand? When I built up my cross check the frame alone was like $500 or so after the headset and frame prep. Then the wheels brought it to about a grand before anything else.


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## darinmg (Feb 16, 2012)

Read his post again....he trippled his budget, and isn't done yet

Sent from my Note 2


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## mitchy (May 12, 2013)

fenders and mud guards need not apply... they would ruin the sleek lines, not to mention add unnecessary grams. 
i work from home, so fortunately it's not left anywhere often, mainly for cruising around town and running errands.

not even close to 1k! the initial build with minimal carbon was around the 2k mark, and came in just under 10kg... then i tried to get to 9kg and thought i would stop. now i'm so close to 8kg.... (could easily drop off 300 grams on wheels, and ~3-400 on frame, but i'm not giving up the cobalts as the style suits the build so well. carbon disc CX frame will coming later though... just need to find something that has cable routing for hydraulic brakes)

here are iterations 1 and 2...


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## aBicycle (Jun 13, 2012)

It's pretty at least.


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## Mirrorsaw (Jul 7, 2013)

It's a very nice bike!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Very pretty.

And I've just got to say that I'm loving my narrow/wide ring. For an invention that's 40 years old, I don't know why it took until 2013 for manufacturers to start releasing it for singlering setups. The last few winters I just ran an ss ring which worked pretty well, but there was always the threat of it dropping. But I've had a raceface narrow/wide on my hardtail for the last month or so, and it's been fantastic.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It sure looks like a nice rocket. I`m always envious when people post bike weights under 10KG. I`ve been able to push one down uder 25 lb from time to time, but end up putting on so much crap that Im unwilling to live without that they always creep up and settle somewhere around 30 

What`s a "wide-narrow" chain/chainring? I started hearing that recently and am too lazy to look it up.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> What`s a "wide-narrow" chain/chainring? I started hearing that recently and am too lazy to look it up.


I looked it up and it appears to be thicker and thinner teeth on the same chain ring sucking the chain tight so that chain slap doesn't drop the chain. At least that is my take.


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## mitchy (May 12, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> It sure looks like a nice rocket. I`m always envious when people post bike weights under 10KG. I`ve been able to push one down uder 25 lb from time to time, but end up putting on so much crap that Im unwilling to live without that they always creep up and settle somewhere around 30
> 
> What`s a "wide-narrow" chain/chainring? I started hearing that recently and am too lazy to look it up.


the wheel's are the one item i wont change... i could drop under 8kg with a lighter set of 29er/700c wheels, but the crank brothers are purely there for looks.
my next purchase is going to be carbon X0 cranks if i can find the black/shadow logo ones somewhere... i've also been having dreams of going to a carbon disc CX frame with internal routing... :ihih:
truth be told, it's probably mostly an exercise in futility. the very first iteration came in a hair under 10kg's. it was fast then, and its fast now... whether it was worth the additional $1500-2000 to get it to near 8kg... probably not, but eh!

the narrow-wide ring uses the same concept as XX1. narrow and wide teeth that fit the profile of a standard chain to keep it attached. as much as it's a great idea, it was also essential for my build as i did not want to run a chain guide (ruins the smooth lines of the frame!) so i opted for a SRAM direct mount ring like this.


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## aBicycle (Jun 13, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> I looked it up and it appears to be thicker and thinner teeth on the same chain ring sucking the chain tight so that chain slap doesn't drop the chain. At least that is my take.


For some reason this sounds like voodoo to me.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

aBicycle said:


> For some reason this sounds like voodoo to me.


But they work SO well.

It's based on a patent somebody filed in the 70s, and now wolftooth, raceface and sram are all making narrow/wide rings. But like I said above, 1x setups have been popular for a few years, and I'm surprised/annoyed that it took so long for these to be available. They work a billion times better than a non-ramped, singlespeed ring does.


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## mitchy (May 12, 2013)

newfangled said:


> But they work SO well.
> 
> It's based on a patent somebody filed in the 70s, and now wolftooth, raceface and sram are all making narrow/wide rings. But like I said above, 1x setups have been popular for a few years, and I'm surprised/annoyed that it took so long for these to be available. They work a billion times better than a non-ramped, singlespeed ring does.


indeed they do. certainly wont be going back to a 'standard' ring any time soon.
i'm just waiting for someone to bring out a 38/40T direct mount ring... obviously not a heavily popular market unlike 32/34T is at the moment.


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## mitchy (May 12, 2013)

more photos..

rims had issues, so they went back and i got upgraded to cobalt 3's for a ripper price. seat finally arrived, swapped to HS1 rotors as i warped the kcnc razor ones pretty quickly, and changed the X9 mech to the X0 off my commencal... 8.1kg, 100 grams to go!


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## mitchy (May 12, 2013)

matte white frame is gone. 

to make up for it i bought a carbon frame, carbon fork, carbon crank, carbon seat post, carbon bars and a carbon stem... should be just a smidgen over 7kg now, ~800 grams saved on the last version.

just needs the rear brake added (hydraulic line routed through the frame) and a few little touch ups (like the missing lower headset bearing  )


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Sick looking bike. My only concern would be the wheels with 25mm tires. The tires are likely too narrow for the wide rim width of a 29er wheel. I did some research on this when I recently built my CX bike. There's no exact ratio, but I think you're likely pushing it. Might want to go to at least 32mm tires.

Edit: Just looked up the width:

width (int / ext)	21mm / 24.9mm

21mm inner rim width an 25mm tires is probably not a great idea. Even Stan's says not to run anything narrower than 30mm on their Iron Cross wheels which have a 19mm inner width.


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## mitchy (May 12, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> Sick looking bike. My only concern would be the wheels with 25mm tires. The tires are likely too narrow for the wide rim width of a 29er wheel. I did some research on this when I recently built my CX bike. There's no exact ratio, but I think you're likely pushing it. Might want to go to at least 32mm tires.
> 
> Edit: Just looked up the width:
> 
> ...


i was just looking at the crank brothers website to check out the carbon cobalts... but i swear my rims (which are the 2013 version) are only 19mm internal, seems the website has changed recently.

according to sheldon brown, he says 28mm is the minimum on a 19mm rim... but i've read more up to date articles on which the latest trend is wider rims. ie eastons new 19mm internal aero clinchers (presumably designed around a 23/25mm tyre)
EC90 Aero 55 Clincher - Wheels
i had 28mm detonators before, these dont feel unstable compared.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

mitchy said:


> i was just looking at the crank brothers website to check out the carbon cobalts... but i swear my rims (which are the 2013 version) are only 19mm internal, seems the website has changed recently.
> 
> according to sheldon brown, he says 28mm is the minimum on a 19mm rim... but i've read more up to date articles on which the latest trend is wider rims. ie eastons new 19mm internal aero clinchers (presumably designed around a 23/25mm tyre)
> EC90 Aero 55 Clincher - Wheels
> i had 28mm detonators before, these dont feel unstable compared.


I'd feel a lot better with 19mm than 21mm. Might still be worth asking Crank Brothers. Going downhill at 40mph isn't when you want to find out the hard way that it was a mistake.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

mitchy said:


> the wheel's are the one item i wont change... i could drop under 8kg with a lighter set of 29er/700c wheels, but the crank brothers are purely there for looks.


I understand this completely. That is how I feel about my Aerospoke. I know it is heavy, and not really ideal for a commuter, but I love the look of it, and now that I have it, I will not give it up.

Beautiful bike btw - you did a really nice job with it.


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