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After several months of waiting for my aliexpress frameset + wheelset to arrive, I eventually gave up on it and got a refund via Visa.
I decided to buy a Winspace frameset + wheelset. I went with the G2 frameset and Grapid wheelset. The G2 is very similar to the frameset I was going to buy, but has a few more mounting options. They have a few colors to choose from (1). I chose black because I was curious about their raw carbon finish. I couldn't find any details on this online so I took the risk and purchased that frameset.
Frameset review
Here are my observations of the frameset.
Finish quality. The surface finish is amazing; reminiscent of a cat's eye marble. I'm guessing this is a top layer just for aesthetic purposes as it doesn't resemble prepreg sheets I've seen. I could be wrong though. From a distance it looks matte black. Some issues I have with the frame are small voids in the headtube headset recess. The pictures below show voids in both the top and bottom headset. I've taken apart a few carbon bike headsets and haven't seen this before.
The image above is the top headset recess void
The image above is the bottom headset recess. I didn't measure the hole diameter as the headset bearing use a slip fit and it felt close enough. Looking at the voids/holes, this isn't great, but my guess is that something pinched near the lip while vacuum packing. I've sent this to Winspace to get their opinion and will update at the bottom.
The decals are negative graphics which is really cool. They are recessed into the frame and give an indication of the clearcoat thickness. The clearcoat is not a high gloss finish, but doesn't lack luster either. The internal finish quality seem well polished. This makes me think they use EPS (2).
There is no protective film on the bike so I used clear gorilla tape for that job for now. I'll switch over to more appropriate tape once it arrives. I only put a bit on the right chainstays. The tape is pretty thin so it can't take that much of a beating.
Wheelset Review
The wheelset is the Winspace LUN grapid wheelset. It has custom hubs that are loud for those into loud hubs. The wheels are true out of the box. You get a few freebies such as a tubeless ready out of the box and spare spokes. The wheel uses steel cartridge bearings and Pillar bladed spokes. The tires I put on the wheelset are an old pair of Maxxis mud wrestlers. They are super easy to get on most wheel I've had before, but was a real struggle to get onto this wheel.
Preparation
On to the build. I'm going to start off with things I would have found helpful right off the bat.
Spare bolts. For the rear flat mount brake, the parts vendors has to guess how thick your chainstay is. They guessed wrong with this frameset... I ended up needing M5x45mm bolts.
Cassette spacer. Even using 11 speed hub with 11 speed cassette, I had to add a spacer with this cassette.
Cut the steerer tube as soon as possible. It'll save you the hassle of assembling and disassembling the front end.
Cable routing. Getting a cable routing guide is really nice, but a neodymian magnet to guide cables works well in a pinch.
Stick to local when buying bar tape. I ordered black bar tape off aliexpress and got yellow...
Other than those comments, everything else is pretty cookie cutter for bike building.
Issues
Things to note about the build:
One of the rotors is not flat. Eyeballed the flatness may be off by as much as +/- 0.5 mm. The rotors don't lay flat on a surface because there are rivits protrusions near the mounting points. It's unlikely to make that much of a difference.
Some of the supplied bolts do not fit in the designated location. Per above, the flat mount bolts don't fit into the frame. And then there are the torx bolts that have non concentric bolt heads...
The bolts supplied do not all have corner relief. It's sometimes referred to as flank drive socket. The non flank drive bolt socket makes them more susceptible to rounding/stripping. More info on flanked sockets (3)
The steerer tube expansion plug is really short. It' doesn't fully clear the stem when fully expanded. With both specialized and biachi issuing recalls for steerer tube issues, I'll be keeping an eye on this. Because of the short length, I won't be stacking any spacers on top of the stem as it leaves less plug material to resist inward compression of the steerer tube.
The cassette has one sprocket that wobbles even with the cassette spacer in. So far it's slightly affecting shifting performance. Sometimes I need to downshift then upshift to get it engaged in that sprocket.
The integrated rear derailleur barrel adjuster does not have indexes on the derailleur body. This will more than likely lead to detensioning of the rear derailleur over time. I'll keep an eye on this.
The rear derailleur cable exit was not thought out at all. The cable hits a dead end and I guess they are expecting the user to figure out where to put the excess cable.
Build Breakdown
Component | Description | Cost |
Frameset | Winspace G2 size large. Black Friday Special | $1500 |
Wheelset | Winspace Lun Grapid wheels 700c | $800 |
Tires | Maxxis Mud Wrestlers | free |
Stem | Giant Contact 110mm | $40 |
Handlebars | Giant Contact 440mm | free |
Handlebar Tape | Random aliexpress | $15 |
Saddle | Giant Contact SLR | $20 |
Shifters | Sensah SRX 1x11 speed (comes with shift cable installed) | tallied at line 14 |
Rear Derailleur | Sensah SRX | |
Cassette | Zrace 11-50 11speed | |
Bottom Bracket | Zrace dub BSA | |
Crankset | Zrace 44t 175mm crank arm | |
Brakes | Zrace cable pull hydro | |
Rotors | 140mm 6 bolt with centerlock adapter | $450 |
Shift Housing | Shimano SP41 | 8 |
Brake Housing | Shimano BC-9000 | 10 |
Brake cables | Shimano SUS SLR | $15 |
Pedals | Shimano xt m8000 | free |
In total, the bike build was less than $3000. A few things were lying around the house, the groupset was from aliexpress, and few parts here and there from shops locally. If you want to run full hydraulic, a set of Sram Apex 1x11 shifters + brakes would run you ~$400 retail and those would be compatible with the rear mech.
After just a short break in ride, there's a few things to note.
Breakpads and rotors need a long wear in period. Or the pads / brakes are no good.
Shifters are not comfortable to hold with bare hands. The hoods almost feel slippery
Tension adjusting for the rear derailleur is a hassle.
The bike is incredibly stiff. Both vertical and lateral compliance are dialed to aggressive in my opinion. I personally prefer that, but may not suite everyone.
Winter is upon us. Salt, gravel, snow, and rain for the next few months. I should be able to put this bike through it's paces and write a long term review...
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(1) Winspace website: https://www.winspace.cc/g2-gravel.html
(2) info on EPS: http://www.twitterbicycle.com/En/News/detail/id/392.html
(3) flank socket info: https://sites.google.com/site/harkosworkshop/technical-posts/bihexsocketsvsinglehexsockets
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