Loading…
The only semi-real two problems I've noticed are the chainstay bridge bolt hole wasn't faced super well and the cable guide bolt being too long and interfering with my BB install, as shown in the second pic. For fake problems, the only thing uglier than the gray fork is the seatpost collar.
What are people using for fenders? I test fit my 29er Planet Bike Cascadias (65mm) and they fit easily in the frame and kinda in the fork. I'd have to really bend the hell out of the brackets to get them to line up to the fender mount holes which are located mid blade on the inside.
Bike's finally finished. 22.2 pounds with an uncut steer tube, 2 bottle cages, pedals, and bar end mirrors (for Fredly commuting). That's about the same as my Vaya when I had a carbon fork on it. I think if I swapped out my Thomson x4 stem, got new cranks, took off my pedals/cages/light mounts/etc it'd be right around 19.
Ride quality wise it's a lot stiffer than the Vaya, so I shouldn't have the same hub issues I mentioned before. I find myself pushing a harder gear than before. No toe overlap on the 47mm rake fork on a 56 with 44c tires. I have the rear wheel in the far back position (440 chain stay length) and it feels a bit sportier than the Vaya, even with the carbon fork.
I didn't get any pics because as soon as I got home from my 16 mile commute to the gym the wife riled up our bees and I had to go inside.
500 mile update!
My knee has bad weeks and good weeks, so my mileage is all over the place. I think I've ridden enough to form a general opinion though.
PROS-
It's pretty compliant for my weight of 200ish lbs (but then again, I'm running 42c compasses so anything would be)
It has massive clearance (probably 2.1s comfortably. The new Hiili fork that I haven't put on yet can take a 2.35.
It's a lot stiffer in the BB than my old Vaya, so my lopsided leg strength hasn't caused any issues.
Stainless so it shouldn't rust, but I'm having a few knee surgeries this fall and will be out most of the winter, so I won't be able to test that for sure.
CONS-
The chainstays flare out too close to the BB. I wear size 46/46.5 shoes and my cleats as far back as they go. Bigger shoes or cleats up near your toes and you may get so many heel strikes that the bike is unrideable.
The cable guide thing under the BB doesn't fit the derailleur cable housing (according to my mechanic) so i had to use a zip tie. That's pretty amateur, if true.
The seatpost clamp is ugly. This isn't a subjective opinion. It really is.
1600 miles in and I updated it with shinier parts to go with the white crap that'll stick around for 6 months.
Owly- My wife and I have 4 cats in a Brady Bunch type situation. It's kind of annoying because whenever I take a picture outside there's a cat in the shot, then when I go to sell bike parts on FB the post gets flagged as trying to sell an animal, which is against their rules. It takes patience and timing.
Ridemagnetic- 40 front and an 11-32 Ultegra cassette. I may try a 34t cassette when this wears out, and if that doesn't work I'll put on a Wolf Tooth Roadlink. Full length regular housing on Campy shifts terribly. I have the same grouppo on my road bike and it's fast and just clicks. It's a VAST improvement with these Elite Links by Jagwire, but still not quite the same.
And no, I haven't taken out the internal stuff yet. As it stands it gives me something to play with when I'm stopped at stop lights and the symmetry is good for my OCD.
I'm bumping my post because it's a great bike and Otso dropped the price by a crapton. Frame, fork, headset, and ugly seatpost collar for 1099.
https://otsocycles.com/products/warakin-frameset
EDIT- I'm not affiliated with Otso in any way other than I once borrowed Brendan's multi tool.