fishboat

I ride/prefer steel bikes from an era when 9-speed was a stock set up. While not so interested in more modern bikes, if I did pop for something new..Vaast has my attention.

I've heard about the Mg corrosion issues..Vaast addresses this on their website.. You think the issue has been resolved?

From Vaast:
"The main disadvantage of vintage cast magnesium wheels was their low corrosion resistance. Since then scientists and engineers have investigated the superior characteristics of magnesium to find a solution to the problem. Today, new magnesium surface treatment technologies have completely resolved the issue, allowing manufacturers to provide extended warranties on magnesium wheels (up to 10 years in some cases). As an example, in 2014/2015 60% of buyers of Porsche 918 Spyder have opted for the forged magnesium wheels package."

"Before paint, all of our Super Mag™ frames are treated with a proprietary Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) coating that produces a hard, dense finish optimized to provide corrosion protection, wear resistance, improved hardness, strain tolerance, and improved fatigue performance inside and out…and a better bonding surface for durably cool colors and effects."

jetboy 

I would say nothing has intrinsically changed: I am sure coating tech has improved but still any chip or damage of any sort that penetrates is an entry point - so its just something to be aware of. I am not sure Porsche 918 drivers take their car off road -which the very purpose of a gravel bike - also car wheels are cast and quite thick. it could take years for the corrosion to spread till breaking as the sheer volume of magnesium it needs to eat through(maybe 10!- thus the warranty) bike frame tubing is very thin and relies on its shape and integrity to maintain its structure. it would take far less for it to fail. .

Again, I have a magnesium bike so don't take this as a hater. Just be informed and take care and inspect your frame -- titanium it aint.

EnzoRWD

cyclezen

SO after 10 weeks of having to be completely non-mobile, because a cager ran a stop sign and T-boned me, resulting in multiple fractures to foot, ankle and lower leg.
Labor day deals rolled around and I figured a New Bike was just what the doctor ordered....
SO I ordered me one of these

NINER RLT RDO 2-STAR
Looked at a bunch of other CF bikes (and the VAAST...) and decided this was the one for me - had everything I wanted in the config I wanted.
Got the OK to try some light load mobility on my left leg - Doc was thinking some shuffling around with a walker (which I did do also...)
I also figured 'one-legged' cycling would be an appropriate therapy for my recovery... 3 days on a fluid trainer convinced me, again, how awful a trainer can be...
So, gingerly, I got on my older gravel bike and rode around the neighborhood for 2 days. All good! That's when I got the 'New Bike itch'.
Voila !
Just enough pressure on the bad foot/leg to keep the sandal on the pedal during a pedal rev, and the right leg doing 97% of the work...
Low gears, mostly road w/ some light gravel path also, and a comfortable spin for any terrain - but no serious uphill...
So, after 2.5 weeks 'cycling therapy' and 300 miles, using flat pedals, wearing a river/water sandal on my bandaged foot/leg and a flat MTB shoe on the other - I love this bike!
I really like the APEX 1 drivetrain/brakes, saddle is middlin but ok.
Mostly I'm super happy to be out of 'isolation' !
I will be selling an older (1 yr old) Gravel bike - the NINER suits me very well.
When things are not quite as rosy as one could hope for - going for a ride, is again, a great way to love life !
Rode On
Yuri

Russ Roth

I don't think I ever showed off the kid's bikes in here, just my rock lobster. Since today is the first time ever taking pics of just the bikes, here they are waiting for the hose down.

10yo's is a Worx aluminum frame/carbon fork with 12sp rival and hydraulic disc. Its running 1x since there's no 145mm 12sp double crankset I've found, went with a bmx crank. Wheels are my wife's old touring wheel, XT hubs with WTB inferno 23 MTB rims built 32h with wheelsmith XL spokes so not too heavy. Bar tape is purple in case you can't tell.


13yo is running a Milwaukee frameset with a mostly Rival groupset. After her first grand fondo I had to ditch the 1x and she was tall enough, so I bought a previous gen Force crankset. Wheels are Mavic CXP pro carbon rims, 35mm deep built with King hubs.


Little upscale for the usual kid's bike but the 10yo snagged 4th while the 13yo podiumed in 2nd and they don't mind getting them muddy. Tomorrow I'll have to rewax the chains I suspect.

EnzoRWD

chain_whipped

1972. 8 speed IGH. Dyno front hub. 700x42c.


Kubota 4130 chrome molly butted tubing

Sierra_rider

The main gravel bike:


This abomination that I built, it's also my CX bike:



Finally, one of my road bikes with its "groad" wheel set up. 99.9% of the time it's running 50mm deep hoops with GP5000s, but occasionally I throw a cheap alluminum wheelset on with 32mm tires(for light gravel.)

tgenec86

My latest project - classic steel Salsa El Mariachi MTB has been sitting, unused for years now since I started riding my full squish MTB's. My friends do a lot of gravel riding in the winter and encouraged me to join in the fun, so I decided to convert. It's a "mullet" in every sense of the word - mix of Shimano, SRAM, MicroShift, TRP, and Sunrace, but everything works perfectly and after a few rides, I'm loving it. That classic steel frame and longer wheelbase is really comfortable, and it's smooth and fast. A bit of a weight penalty, but I'm not racing - it's a winter bike for training, fitness, and fun.

BTW - the MicroShift 110 levers are specifically designed to work with Shimano 11s mountain bike derailleurs - and I can attest that they are a perfect match. Once tuned up, I never miss a shift. Worthwhile - and much less expensive than a full gear swap.

top506

I liked my Domane SL so much that I got its country cousin:




Top

Eric F 

New frame!!!...with (mostly) parts from the old frame. Niner RLT 9 RDO (53cm).


The build of this thing became a battle. Everything went smooth and easy until the final step of installing the brakes. With the old calipers, I blew out a seal on the front, and couldn't get it resolved, so I took it as an excuse to update to newer Ultegra 8070 calipers. Mounting the new rear caliper, the threads for both mounting bolts stripped, which cost me another new caliper. Bleeding the rear was a bit of a pain, but it got resolved, and I got decent performance out of it pretty quickly. With the front, I could not get a decent lever feel, not matter what I did, and once I finally got it to be moderately usable, the pads would glaze almost immediately, and the brake would howl something fierce. I cleaned the rotor with alcohol multiple times, changed pads, sanded pads, and changed pads again. I finally just took it for a ride...

...and everything was fine.

The front brake bedded in, and bumping around shook the bubbles out of the system, I guess. Whatever it was, it worked.

The handling is a little quicker than my previous bike, but I like it. Being able to run up to 50mm tires is a definite bonus. I'm currently running the 40mm version of my favorite combination - Pirelli Gravel H and M. They're a little more sluggish on the road than the 35s I was using before, but not bad. The additional cushion in the dirt is definitely appreciated.

jonathanf2

That's a nice frame! It's probably one of the last carbon gravel frames that allow a clamp on FD. If you want to get a few more bubbles out of the hydraulic hose lines, you can attach a funnel with some mineral oil to the shifters and squeeze out any additional bubbles. I even slightly tilt my bike to force more bubbles out. Works great without having to do a full bleed. I'd also consider fin brake pads later on. I find they actually help keep the calipers cooler on the steep single track trail descents.

Eric F 

I've done all of that...and more. Since I was running new hoses in a new frame, I had no choice but to do a full bleed. I hunted down every trick and tip I could find regarding brake bleeding, and tried it all. In the end, it sorted itself out, and I greatly expanded my knowledge of hydraulic disc brake systems. The L05A pads that come standard with the new Ultegra 8070 calipers are finned. They are the same pads as the older Ultegra calipers, too.

t2p

L05A pads replaced the L03A pads (which replaced the L02A pads)

had squealing issue with one bike equipped with contaminated L03A pads - no amount of cleaning / sanding / scuffing / alignment of pads or rotors would correct … new L05A pads solved the issue