Poseidon X Gravel Bike
 

So these have been sold out for a while, however they came back in stock in batches last week so I decided to order one. I went with the frameset options as I have plans of completely replacing my now discontinued Nashbar CX frame with this one. The only concern that I had was the geometry with the shorter top tube and head tube for the size, and even though my size 58 frame matched more closely to the XL Poseidon frame I decided to go with the large for better stand over clearance.

Ill post pictures once I have the frameset in hand, as well as compare tire clearance to see how much of an “upgrade” it is compared to my current frame + fork. That said I also wanted to see if anyone else has had any experience with this bike whether it be stock build or custom frame up build.

why did they design the frame with such aggressive geometry? Even their model have to ride with the stem flipped up

My coworker has a Poseidon X. He got the full build. He has been upgrading it ever since. FYI it comes with quick release wheels which he has set up tubeless (even tho the wheels are not apparently tubeless ready).

Poseidon X Large
 

I have a Poseidon X in large as tdilf mentioned. I'm 6' tall and have an inseam of 33.5" it fits me well and I'm really happy with it. It's a great bike for the price. The stock drop bars were really uncomfortable with cheap tape so I upgraded them pretty quickly. I've also upgraded and the rear drivetrain, and disc brakes to hydraulic.

I have Schwalbe G-One All Arounds setup tubeless on the stock wheels and they work well, although I'm looking to do a wheel upgrade in the next fews weeks for something lighter and thru-axle. By my calculations the wheels that come on it weigh in at 2,972 g for the set so that's a great place to shed some weight.

Woah! That is a great place to drop some serious weight. Even midlevel priced wheelsets that will still last a long time are in the 1800g range.

do you still have your toughroad?

I got the Poseidon X because it had quick release, as well as tire clearance. My Nashbar has QR and I have a 700c and 650b wheelset.

Sure do. Currently at the LBS getting the Conduct system replaced with dedicated Hydro levers. Running it with 700x50mm Gravelking SKs. It's my comfort gravel bike whereas this (should) lend itself for more faster riding.

So the frame came in today and I had a chance to unbox it and see what it looks like:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d8291f8a8d.jpg

Packaging was clever and well done; they actually stuck the fork between the frame for shipping. When I got everything unpacked I was..... surprised. It came with the headset which I expected, however there were a few changes with the frame and fork that I noticed. The part of the top tube that meets the seat tube seems to have been flattened from the original frames. This should add some compliance as well as making it way more comfortable for shouldering if you plan on using this for CX.

Now the fork, originally is was a carbon fork w. alloy steerer. Now it's full carbon and I'm kinda mixed on this. It feels light, however I've only used alloy steerers for fear of failure from the steerer tube. I guess I have to be more careful on how many spacers I run. I was also surprised it wasn't cut down like in the photo on their website, which is good because I can probably add an extra spacer to up the stack of the front. Still carbon steerer so idk how many spacers I'm safe to put on here.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a3f0ca1172.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...95c76fc5ce.jpg


My plan now is to take it to my LBS to have them prep the frame and install the headset as well as cut the steerer down. Then, we build.

Tire clearance comparisons:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0824e4e52.jpeg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3129f198f.jpeg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a5009e8a8.jpeg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...54de12ffc.jpeg

Idk why but while on my other fork the tire sat rather centered on the Poseidon for it seems to sit closer to the left side close to the brake caliper. I’ll check with my other wheel to see if I just sat the tire wrong in the dropouts.

Updated pics with the bike back from the shop & further along with the build:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b66d2f7c3.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f4e85adc5.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...03ae6e7dd.jpeg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c492a3d65.jpeg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...56fae72cc.jpeg

I threw my 700c tires in to see if if the wheels were aligned properly and it *looks* better than with the 650bs but it might just be the smaller volume. I thought I would be able to use my 172.5 FSA cranks but looking at that chainstay clearance looks like the Metrea crank is going back on here...

So I finally got everything put together on the bike so got the cranks swapped, and the brakes are in and working fine with some tweaks.

What I will say about the build process is that I seriously miss having external routing bc setting this bike up was a PITA to say the least. My rear brake cable since it has full length housing had some friction but I think I worked the kinks out so it works much smoother now.I'm not sure if I measured my shift cables too long, however I set it up so that it doesn't contact the frame. The only cable that hits the frame is the rear brake so I'll put some tape on to protect it.

The brake calipers were a tight fit. I re-used my post mount Spyres and the rear caliper is super close to the frame near the mounting point. The front caliper was tricky due to the internal routing (this was the easiest internal routing to do btw lol). I had to use the Jagwire "EZ-Bend" housing that I took off the bars and they work just fine.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...92d2063a3d.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...27d341d211.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ce50786248.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7050170c83.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5b303035a7.jpg

I really like the component choices that I made with this build. The Hover Flare riser bars allow me to have a better stack height for the front end, and I guess running 40mm of spacers helps too. If you're wondering why I'm running a flipped stem: it's the only direction I can run the stem, and I just really like the look considering what I wanted from this bike. I also ordered some flat mount TRP Hy/Rd's as I wanted to stick with mech. brake levers but I wanted some better braking and better mounting for the brakes.

If I could change anything about this bike it would be better chainstay crank clearance, and figuring out a way to squeeze out more tire clearance. That said having this set up with fast rolling 38mm 700c tires and going down to a 47mm 650b (The Gravelkings stretch out to 51-52mm) is a good versatile combination in my few short test rides. I would have preferred an alloy steerer tube but I'm hopeful nothing catastrophic will happen as long as I pay more attention to it.

Overall I am pretty satisfied with how this bike came out. My biggest concern was with sizing as I didn't know if the top tube would be too short compared to my Nashbar frame, however it fits me very well. I'd say this is a pretty good successor to my discontinued Nashbar CX frame, and I'm glad that this sort of budget option is available for others looking for a very capable adventure bike.

I'm going through the rear thru axle conversion right now. I can tell you the $30 conversion kit has a thread pitch of 1.5. A 171mm axel is too long. So from the process of elimination the rear axle after conversion is 12 x 163mm with a 1.5 pitch. Will confirm this after it shows up next Tuesday.

I never intended on going to TA just due to the hassle of rebuilding my wheels. But let me know how you get on

Hey I am trying to swap the crank on my Pos X. Are you saying that 172.5 was too long? was it touching up against chainstay? Just eyeballing it on mine (stock 170 crank currently on) it looks like it would be close. Let me know. Thank you!

It depends on the q-factor of your crankset. I don't know what cranks you are using so I can't say for sure.

I'm building a Pos-X that I converted to thru-axel. I also stripped the paint and polished the frame. I have not been able to get any SRAM cranksets (170mm) to work without being crazy close to the non drive side chainstay. I used SRAM GXP BB and and a Hope GXP with a 10spd Force, Force 1 and Rival 1 cranks. The Rival one has a pretty wide Q-fatcor. I've heard of similar issues with FSA cranks as well. I ended up using a Shimano CX50 crankset and it clears just fine. Hope to get it cabled and fork cut down soon. I'm also going 1x and 650b.

Btw, the rear TA is definitely a 12mm x 163mm with a thread pitch of 1.5.

build sounds epic, pls post pics

I emailed Poseidon and Luis said that 172.5 would likely rub. Did not discuss Q... I was gonna buy FSA gossamer pro cuz it's cheap and light. Not sure of its Q factor

I'll definitely post once I get it finished...and a few more posts.

Locked In (YouTube'r) got a Sram crank to work with some modification to the crank. I don't know exactly what he did as he didn't answer when I asked.

Hi. Question about integrated headset
 

Hello. I am a little late to the party but I am doing a build with this frame. I was wondering if you had any problems with the stock integrated headset you received with the frame.

I destroyed the bottom bearing when removing it (completely my heavy handed fault) and replaced it with a Cane Creek 40. I really need to post more so I can post pics of it.

That's what I did too. In researching integrated headsets, it seemed that the bearings might have been too tight for the headset because they aren't supposed to be like pressed bearings. Anyway, I too ended up getting a Cane Creek 40. Now...just waiting to put it together. How are you liking your bike after these past 8 months?

I have not ridden it...or any bike due to my work schedule over the past 6 months. Coincidentally, once the pandemic hit, we got crazy busy. I hope to play around with it this week and will have some details. I can tell you that I am concerned about my heel hitting the chainstays and the rear derailleur cable because of where it exits the stay.

Post #9

Post #10

Here is a quick quick pic of the build. Excuse the poor lighting and pre flooring installation shot

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8684ed7862.jpg