Scored this cool frame a few months ago for $158 + ship bid on Ebay. 950g in size 54cm ,loved the colors, brand new, sold via BicycleBlueBook....was too good to be true



In 2013 this bike had a whopping $4300 srp, 10spd di2 drivetrain, junk wheels and junk kit.

Thought, how cool would it be to build up my first bike for a fraction of the bikes srp, making it as light as possible with choice and newer parts? I'm sure a common POV for building in general, boy has it been a fun process to say the least.

This will be my long day, climbing events and Gran Fondo bike. A balance of keeping weight minimal and compliance was the goal. This would be my first compact crankset too, setting it apart from my other roadies.

I know the cosmetics are not for everyone in 2018. In this day of solid colors, stealth and fluoro.

...But a little insight. My first road bike was a used 2009 Trek Alpha 1.5 Triple that had a similar but reverse scheme (White frame with red and black graphics) Had a love hate here, absolutely fell in love with road cycling. The frame was weathered and scratched, rusty bottom bracket shell, and like anyone with a white or black paint car...you'd understand . But man, i could ride that bike all day, it was comfy.

Still the trio of colors has a spot in my heart and i love that i get to build it from scratch and and have a choice on every detail. Didn't quite realize it at the time i pulled the trigger, but yeah...the inspiration comes from the simple start.






I have most of the build accumulated but i'll be sharing sharing pics on this thread along the way. So stoked for the end product.

The many angles of this busy frame.

Wow, what an incredible deal! Looking forward to more pictures and final bike!

Some parts on the scale:

GIANT Contact SLR Forward saddle 138mm (185grams)



FSA K-Force Light Nano K 44cm (190grams)



FSA K-Force Light Brakeset (279.7g with pads)

Love the weight weenie builds

Thanks!

I didn't have the budget for new Etap or full DA Di2 here, and piecing everything...man didnt realize how spendy the Di2 wiring bits and pieces were.

Initially i was looking at a budget 6870 approach and hoping to finish the bike with $1600.

Thru a FB group , i came across a great deal i thought, for $1000 shipped for everything below:

The Giant Contact CarbonSaddle
Dura Ace R9150 Shifters
Ultegra R8050 Rear SS
Ultegra Front Mech
All wiring, junction boxes , seat tube battery, charger etc...( ~$350 cost)

At that point i needed a crank. This being a PF30 frame, going with Shimano meant weight and adapters adding further. DA crank raised cost significantly but the weight savings over Ultrgra would be offset by the adapter/BB. Same with Ultegra, putting it over 700grams. Praxis and Rotor also in the 700g range. I wanted something lighter after reducing weight in the trim kit areas.

This mint FSA SLK Light 50/34T 172.5mm crankset showed up a few days later on ebay for $150. Not sure the full weight, but below 600g. I believe in the 570-590g range.

Love it!

I just moved into the plastic bike era with a Focus Izalco from the same time frame - really like the looks and ride

Awesome to hear!

Had my eyes on Focus for while, was originally looking at Izalco Ergo frames and i stumbled upon this one.

Looking forward to my first ride!

You have a keen eye :-)

Love the build so far, subscribed!

I love the Focus bikes. I think you got a great bike on you hands for a good price. I am excited to see the final product

Thanks gents.

I think the crankset is going to look good and open up my options on wheelset swaps. The Industry 9 classic wheels i have on my BMC have polished spokes, so the swap will give it the occasional new look.





Some other parts are due in the coming days, will follow up with some pics and weigh what i can.

I'm calling this the Full Moon build...haha. It's going to be the busiest and wildest looking of my bunch.

The aluminum oem seatpost was not able to accomodate the carbon rails on the saddle, and had a milder setback than my other bikes. It was also about 275 grams.

I found this Vision Metron SB25 carbon Di2 seatpost for $68 at RandomBikeParts. I thought it was a great grab!

Not the lightest, but for the money it saved me some good 60grams and addressed various criteria: di2 battery placement, setback, compliance, carbon rail support, and theme.

Loved my Focus Cayo Evo. One thing to look out for is the spacing in the rear chainstays when the rear wheel is mounted up. Mine was off by a 2-3mm to the left. I couldn't physically feel it, but could see a lot of tire rub on the left side.

Can't wait to see the finished build!

Thanks! I'll def keep an eye out for that now.

What does WIP mean, "west in peace"?

No, silly. Wank In Progress.

These just arrived. Another great grab if i say so .

Look Keo Blade Carbon Aero pedals.

Were not part of the choices i had originally in mind (was looking at Max 2/Max 2 Carbon's) but fell in the budget range . When i saw them on a FB Group for $85 shipped (new ) and a quick search showed they were $170-$250 online/$390 list srp(wtf)...NO BRAINER...haha.

No orig box , nor cleats included, but i have extras.

As you can see not the lightest at under 240g for the pair considering what they ask for these, but still a pretty svelte set.

You can get Easys for under $30 a pair. Or could a couple of months ago.

Are you sure the SLK is that light?

I hope so!! lol. I researched a decent bit as i was looking at these and K-Force Light ones.

I took a ballpark from this 586g listing (keep in mind this is an Evo386 with longer axle and a 53/39T, while mine is a smaller crankset BB30 50/34T):

https://www.randombikeparts.com/prod...yABEgIrYPD_BwE

This lists 614g for a 53/39T:
https://www.wiggle.com/fsa-sl-k-light...uble-chainset/

An a forum post on weightweenies regarding a 52/36T:

"Presently, I have a SL-K light chainset installed with mid-compact FSA rings. I haven't found it lacking in stiffness or shift quality. My other points of reference would be an FSA Omega (Relatively speaking, an anchor, nowhere near as nice, lacks stiffness and shifting a bit clunky) and a 5800 105 set (quite nice, shifts very well). I have weighed the crank at 590g excluding bearings."


If i can I'll get a hold of a larger scale and properly weight it, i will...now i'm curious.....

For what i paid i'll be happy with sub Ultegra weight either way, since using Shimano crank on this frame meant a 40+gram BSA adapter + BSA BB ....or a much heavier and expensive conversion bottom bracket. I wanted to keep the BB connection as simple and straight forward to both keep weight low and avoid possible creaking issues down the road from spacers or adapters.

What FB page .. may need to check all these sources out !! Like the looks

Ok, able to weigh the stuff over 250g with this other scale.

Very surprised by this $150 crank

575g with the washers on the spindle and crank arm.

Finally able to weight the framset. Frame itself seems to be close to the advertized 950g weight.

Frame (with hanger and prep wiring) and uncut fork weights.

Should save some more weight from that fork after trimming that huge steerer. Looks like it's got room for more than 55mm of spacers