Eric F 

Agreed. Kind of an odd look to that one.

jaseyjase

thats on the plan!

no kidding about the bull ants too ! hahaha

SoSmellyAir

Finally got it out of the box and assembled. Thanks to Caliwild for the recommendation. This may the only time this bike is perfectly clean.

revcp 

Well, brand "used/take off" build.

Vaast A/1 Frame (Magnesium) and Fork (Carbon)
Mason/Hunt Wheelset with Goodyear Gravel Tires, 42mm
105 11 speed shifters
GRX 810 FD and RD
Praxis Works Zayante Aluminum Crankset, 48/32
Praxis Works T-47 Bottom Bracket
Juin Tech F1 Brake Calipers
Ice Tech 160mm Rotors
Crank Brothers Eggbeater Pedals
Sram Chain
Sram 11-34 Cassette
Thomson Seatpost, Stem, Topcap
PNW Coast Handlebars, 52mm
Fizik Aliante Saddle
Supacaz Gravel Bar Tape
Yokozuna Compressionless cable Housing

Only things new are the chain, cassette, cables and housing, bar tape and topcap
Wheelset, Tires, Crankset, Handlebars, Pedals, Rotors and saddle are from the Kona Rove AL that this build replaces
New Take Offs: Bottom Bracket, FD and RD, Brakes, Seatpost, Stem
Used: Frameset (600 miles), Shifters (200 miles)

I didn't build it with weight in mind, so I'm surprised that it comes in at exactly 21 pounds. It's too bad the sun was not shining when I took the pics, as the paint job is superb.

Caliwild

That came out fantastic. Love that color! Opposite of boring...

Jughed

Giant TCX with basic Sram 1x11. Love this bike on and off road.

Phatman

Hot damn that's a lot of spacers. Is that a carbon steerer tube?

SoSmellyAir

I thought so too, but my road bike came with and allows up to 55 mm of headset spacers (including the top headset bearing cover); maybe the Vaast A/1 full carbon fork is similarly generous?

Phatman

I put on some Farsports carbon wheels, I知 officially a huge fan of wide internal width. Seriously, I can run 10 psi less without any wiggle, improve grip and ride quality with no rolling resistance downside.

kach

my author ronin

no67el

Very cool bike--- how do you like the Vaast? I was intrigued by the magnesium frame, but now I'm planning a similar build around a Fairlight Secan frame: Praxis crank, Juin Tech F1 brakes, etc, Ultegra mechanical shifting... a bike for long/remote rides where failed hydraulics or batteries are not a good idea....

mstateglfr 

Thats basically how I set my Fairlight Secan up for the first year I had it. Praxis Zayante 48/32 crank, JuinTech F1 brakes with compressionless housing, and 2x11 Shimano drivetrain with an Ultegra RX clutch RD. The shifting was even more luddite than Ultegra STI as I had Gevenalle shifters at the time. Pic below has a Shimano 46/34 crank that was on the bike for all of a week before I installed the Zayante.



The Gevenalle shifters and drivetrain were all a swap from my old bike, which had canti brakes, which is why I went with the Juintech brakes. After a year, I wanted to swap the brakes and went 105 hydraulic. Still miss the Gevenalle shifters, but not enough to want the old setup back.
I love the feel of mechanical shifting, and sure its more reliable in that a battery cant die, but its less reliable in that cables can get chewed up. As for the brakes, to each their own on that, but my hydraulic brakes havent been touched since setting them up 2.5 years ago. Cant say there is any concern of failure during use.
Genuinely though- to each their own when it comes to bike setup. Post pics of the bike once its complete!

revcp 

I'll let you know after the snow and ice clears and I'm able to get out for a ride! -21 this morning in the Twin Cities, so it won't be real soon. I'm really looking forward to that first ride. Your build sounds great. Pics?

no67el

Beautiful Secan!

I have Ultegra R8000 hydraulics on my first gravel bike (Jamis Renegade Elite), and I have to say they have been flawless and nearly maintenance-free for three years. They feel great. But there is something in me that objects to the increasing levels of complexity in bikes--- and since I had a caliper fail on my SUV just last week, leaking DOT3 brake fluid everywhere and leaving me with ZERO brakes, I am curious/interested to try the Juin Tech brakes. I may end up just moving the Ultegra hydraulics over in the end, but worth the experiment, I think....?

no67el

Waiting on the Fairlight frame, collecting parts for the build!

And yeah, a bit cold for riding--- it is -15 here in Vermont this morning, so I have a date with my indoor trainer in the (chilly) basement later today....

I find those VAAST bikes really interesting--- let us know how it rides!

N

revcp 

I will report back.

Not so much too cold for riding as too snowy and slick for a gravel bike. I'm on my fat bike quite a bit. And I just returned from northern Minnesota, where I volunteered at the finish line for the Arrowhead Ultra. The top finisher came in about 1.5 hours before number 2. Unheard of.

no67el

OK wow.

This is off-topic, but that race is super impressive--- I ride my road bike down to about 10-15 degrees here. But sub-zero outstrips my gear-- I guess bar mitts would help. And yeah, the ice/snow and the road salt makes riding a bit miserable on the roads. I generally shift to xc and downhill skiing combined with the turbo trainer for January and February, then get brave again in March sometime..

Enjoy the VAAST, and yeah tell us what it is like-- the various reviews online are interesting, and the frame material seems worth exploring further.

Thanks!

Hiro11

2018 Seven Mudhoney Pro frame, which is is made from filament-wound carbon tubes (I think made by Enve) and titanium lugs made by either Seven or Paragon Machine Works. Parlee gravel fork. The drivetrain is 11 speed mechanical Super Record with Spyre SLC mechanical disc brakes. Quarq D-Zero power meter/crank, Ultegra cassette. Enve SES4.5AR rims on DT Swiss 240 hubs with 32mm GK slicks. Deda seatpost/stem/bar, King Cage TI cages, XT pedals. It weighs a hair over 17lbs as shown without the bag. This is a cross race bike with very fast handling. I'm currently using this bike for "light" gravel (crushed limestone paths) and Z2-type road stuff.

Germany_chris

I think I知 done futzing

SoSmellyAir

What happened to the non-padded weight weenie CF saddle?

Eric F 

That chainring setup is pretty extreme. Big range, minimal range overlap, and small steps. What cranks are those?

Eric F 

Current condition. 1x is coming soon.

Germany_chris

same place the Romin they池e fine, great even if I don稚 move around on the bike, I had this and was tired of spending money trying to find something else.

Germany_chris

White Industries VBC square taper

tFUnK

2015 Trek Boone
Picked up this bike recently. Wanting to upgrade the wheels but having a hard time finding quality wheels with standard QR. Are QR endcaps commonly available for modern wheels, or am I stuck looking for used wheels at this point?