Ridley Fenix disc / 1x11 build

So i got this frameset for free and decided to build a cheap sub UCI limit bike. This frame was crashed and beutifully repaired once and after that was hanging in a shed for more than 3 years. The paint is gone at this point, it is yellowing out and scratched up pretty badly. It has some weird non standard direct mount brakes which are missing on this frame and are not available anywhere to buy so gonna be a headache for another day.

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I don't want to be too negative but are you sure about this? This is/was Halfords home brand right? I heard bad things about this model, are you sure you want to spend money on repainting it and getting the brakes and stuff?

Yes, it was halfords home brand and I read some bad things too but since I got it for free and will do the work by myself it should not get very expensive. By the way i'm not repainting it. Brakes are kinda sorted already but that is a post for another day.

Sub 6.8??? Wow I wanna c this

Got a budget in mind?

1 kg wheels have got much cheaper lately. The choice used to be tiny but now they seem to be everywhere.

There must be lots of broken carbon bits in bike shop bins. If you have the courage to mend bars and seat posts and cranks and saddles you could get to 6.8 for very low £.

Since i have wheels, cranks and finishing kit already, should be able to get the rest for under £600

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So before going all out making this frame look good I wanted to figure out the brakes. I bought a set of direct mount brakes from aliexpress as they seemed like a good option for modifying.

I thought only the spacing was wider on my frame and after a small cut i will be able to spread the caliper appart. Unfortunately that was not the case the bolt holes were bigger too. So I needed a solution. Started 3d printing studs to replace that connecting part and quickly realized that these studs look really close to oldschool mtb ones. So I bought M8 titanium studs from ali and after cutting them to length they weigh 4g per stud.

Total weight per caliper 136g.


I do have one problem tho, spreading the caliper appart means i had to spread the spring too and now I don't have enough clearance for 25c tires.

So back to the drawing board and I will try to make them clear the tires by cutting spring in half and 3d printing a bracket to hold the ends of the spring in tension.

don't fuck around with brakes, period.

Get the dodgy Ciamillo brakes from AliExpress, they're half the weight.

I think I got this

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I think I got this

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Worrying

This whole project makes me uncomfortable. A carbon Halfords bike with modified AliExpress brakes with 3d printed parts ☠️

3d printed part is only keeping the spring in tension. It is not crucial for brake operation and in a case of failure the brake should still work just fine.

Anxiously awaiting the “U’ve been Indra’d” post in a couple of months.

Seems to me that cheap carbon made in China components are more durable than much of the alloy and steel European stuff we used to ride. Cyclists are killed and injured by drivers rather a lot, but I can't remember the last time that a shoddy bit of carbon made the news.

This is ace. Love this type of build.

No turning back at this point. I did cut the springs to size and refined a 3d part a bit. After printing it in fiber filament it looks like it is going to work.

By the way for anyone wondering the 3d printed bridge weighs 4g.

Unlucky 13 all over the frame too!

Don't worry it is upside down!

One more problem, this frame was designed for cx style open cable brake at the back so i need to do something about that.

What's your 3D print material, is it Markforged? If you have access to this kind of material you probably know this already but lots of the carbon fiber reinforced materials out there are nylon based, which means they swell and weaken with moisture. Conformal coating/paint does a good job of stopping this.

Not trying to be mansplain-y, just speaking from the experience of having printed bike parts fail and not wanting to see you need a face transplant!

This is a satin fiber filament by fiberlogy, it has a good flex to it and i had great results with it on other structural parts. Will see how it goes.

Brilliant stuff, keep going!

Can you post a higher res pic of that cable entry? I think its just a matter of looping the housing to get where you need to be. See on my TT bike:

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