Lazyass

Those wheels are alright but I wouldn't want them in a crosswind. I was surprised how light the stock wheels felt even with the tires and rotors on them when I took them off. Whenever I replace the tires I'll take the rotors off and put them on the scale. For clinchers they're more than good enough for me. If I replace them it will be for tubulars and I have the build planned. Alu HED Belgium Dics rims, 105 R7000 disc hubs and DT Comp spokes. I might even get a complete R7000 hydro group and use the parts on it now for a CX build.

jordanair45

Stock wheels are 1681 grams. The stock wheels are fantastic. I just like my bikes to look cool.

I rode in heavy winds yesterday and surprising they do very well in the wind. Not as bad as one would imagine.

noodle soup

Not exactly high praise.

38-40mm is all I would ever use regularly as a front wheel, but 50-60mm is fine on race day if conditions permit.

Lazyass

That actually doesn't surprise me. They felt way lighter than I expected. Most 105 level bikes come with low end wheels that weigh like 2000g at least.

WhyFi

Keep an eye on those wheels, though. I think that they're the same as what came on my Haanjo - HED Tomcat rims, nothing special hubs and straight gauge spokes. I've had both the front and rear pop way out of true only to find one or more spokes completely untensioned. A quick and dirty truing didn't hold although they've been fine since I really spent some quality time with them and a tension meter. Tension was all over the place and I think that some of the spokes were a bit wound up. HED doesn't make them, BTW - I contacted them and they said that the rims were made to their spec but the whole process was farmed out to whomever by DB.

Lazyass

The ones on my E'Tape have Flanders rims. When I pull the cassette off I'll try to see who made the hub. Although not listed in the specs, the spokes are clearly butted at both ends. Going off the spoke head ID chart, they are Mac Elite spokes. If I had a digital gauge (my cheapo one is mechanical) I would be able to tell if they are the double or triple butted version. Probably double.

WhyFi

Hmmm, the wheelset on my bike are called HED Flanders - not a SKU that you see available at retail. Yours are probably still largely the same and almost certainly not built by HED. Again, just keep an eye out.

Lazyass

Mine have 450 miles and are good so far, none feel loose. I do need to get the adapter for thru axles so I can put them in my stand. If you squeeze your spoke with two fingers and slide it all the way up and down you can actually feel if they're butted at the ends. Some are hard to tell just by looking at them, especially if the difference in diameter is just 0.2mm. I can't see the butting on mine unless the light is at a certain angle.

These are the mac Elite's.

jordanair45

Stock wheels are light but I will say as soon as I swapped them out , a good set of wheels made a huge difference. Mainly with the hub.

The stock wheels were a PITA to change tires. I would Dread getting a flat on the stock wheels .I kept getting flats with my stock Flanders and has to install a thicker rim tape.

Loving the new wheels.so far.

Lazyass

Has anyone removed/installed the derailleur cables yet? I want to shorten the housings but I'm wondering if it's a PIA to route the cables through the frame. Looks like it could be. I just finished shortening my brake hoses.

GuitarBob

Any chance it has sleeves inside the frame for the cables? I ask, because I've changed shifter cables on two bikes with internal cables. One, a Ridley, had a set of sleeves, so routing cables was trivial. The other, a Specialized, did not. Do-able, but a minor pain in the ass to ensure that I didn't cross the cables.

Lazyass

I don't know, I think it must but that's what I was hoping to find out. The cable guide on the bottom of the BB shell is covered with a little door secured with an allen bolt. When you remove it you can see there is no room to use fingers to pull and guide a cable through. If it does have sleeves it should be a no brainer.

GuitarBob

On the Ridley, the cable sheath is visible -- at first I wondered what it was. If you trace the FD cable around the bottom bracket to where it exits the frame and heads to the FD, you might see it there. On the Ridley, a white tube surrounding the cable sticks out of the frame about 1/4". On the Specialized, there is a plastic guide in the same spot, but it's part of the plastic cover (like you're showing), and not a separate sheath.

Good luck.

noodle soup

Once the cables are removed, the guide piece that is under the cover plate can be removed. This will allow the cables to be fished through easily, then the guide is put back in place. Cable tension holds the guide in place, then the cover plate is screwed back on.

noodle soup

Did you ever get this sorted out?

Lazyass

Okay, I shortened the cable housings. It was pretty easy. First, I suggest to place a drop of super glue on the tips of the cables so they don't fray when you're routing them through (I always do that anyway).

There is no sleeve inside the downtube for the cables but that's okay because when you remove the "door" on the BB shell covering the cable guide you'll see there's an open slit that the cables come out of. Hard to describe it but you'll see it when you do it. So my cables came right out so I could put them in the guides.

When you get the cables in the guides you'll see two tiny holes you route the cables through to get them all the way to the derailleurs. The only somewhat tricky part is for the rear cable. Where it comes out of the chainstay you need to unbolt and remove that little plate the rear housing attaches to. When you do you'll see the cable inside of the chainstay, so just get a pair of needle nose pliers to grab it and pull it up. Then route it through the plate you removed and bolt it back on. Then you're basically done.

noodle soup

Sounds like you did it the hard way, but you got it done anyway.

MSignore

motosonic

This is a nice looking bike

Lazyass

It's pretty crazy how the rim brake version is $500 more than the disc, but most sizes are out of stock now. The Ultegra Vitesse Disc is only $80 more than the regular E'Tape. I'm actually tempted to get the Vitesse. I'm 50 years old and want to make sure I have this exact frame under me for the rest of my life, I don't want anything else and at some point it will be discontinued. Hopefully the one I have lasts forever.

MSignore

MSignore

Lazyass

Did you actually measure the tire? The stock 25mm Conti Ultrasport on my HED rims measure exactly 28. A 28 version would probably be huge. I don't know if they normally run wide or if it's the rim. On my frame I still have 5mm of clearance on each side of the tire at the tightest point of the chainstays.

MSignore

Bah Humbug

Really? I may be the worst bike handler in the 41 and I run Jet 5s in the wind at COTA and out north of town.