My Zhongwei R-002

JoostG
JoostG Posts: 189
edited May 2016 in Your road bikes
Grotefoto-6B6QUVKB.jpg

Grotefoto-FUSTXPPE.jpg

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Frame and fork: Zhongwei R-002 (currently R-022), size 58

Campagnolo Chorus 11 speed

Farsport 50mm full carbon clinchers, 23mm wide (Sapim spokes and Novatech hubs)

Schwalbe Ulremo ZX tubeless

Look Blade Carbon pedals

Seat post, integrated bar and saddle: Zhongwei

Weight: 7.1 kg

I builded this bike last winter and use it currently as my 'good weather' bike. I rode her approx. 5000km this season in Holland, Luxemburg, Italy and France (La Marmotte). Every time I'm stunned by her looks. She didn't disappoint me a single moment and really happy with her. :lol:

Comments

  • diamonddog
    diamonddog Posts: 3,426
    Very nice looking bike.
  • snowley
    snowley Posts: 149
    Lovely looking bike.

    How did the wheels handle the descents whilst doing the Marmotte? Or did you change to other wheels??
  • JoostG
    JoostG Posts: 189
    snowley wrote:
    Lovely looking bike.

    How did the wheels handle the descents whilst doing the Marmotte? Or did you change to other wheels??

    Different set of wheels: campa eurus.

    I've done plenty of descents with these wheels. And I will do it without hesitation as long as I know it will remain dry, and I've the road more or less to myself.
    The weather during the Marmotte turned out fine, but it rained the evening before and the forecast showed an occasional shower.
  • Calpol
    Calpol Posts: 1,039
    You did a great job on that. Nice to see Campagnolo and the red details work well. That saddle also looks pretty cool. Did you source the frame via Velobuild.com?
  • jordan_217
    jordan_217 Posts: 2,580
    Darth Vader wants his bike back. Very nice
    “Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”
  • bianchimoon
    bianchimoon Posts: 3,942
    very very neat looking machine, like it
    All lies and jest..still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest....
  • jameses
    jameses Posts: 653
    Even if the whole 'murdered' thing has been done to death, that's still a very good looking bike! The red detailing sets it off nicely. How is that saddle to ride, though? It looks very...unforgiving?
  • Miles253
    Miles253 Posts: 535
    That's a stunning build, i still am not sure ive the guts for the Chinese thing...
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  • Calpol
    Calpol Posts: 1,039
    Miles253 wrote:
    That's a stunning build, i still am not sure ive the guts for the Chinese thing...
    I have a Chinese frame for my second bike. Seriously its been fine for 2000 miles. Lighter and stiffer than my Wilier but not as comfortable to ride on longer distances. In all my research I haven't seen any more evidence of frame failure with the bigger more established chinese distributors as you do with the oem. I mean for all the people that buy Canyons there must be a dozen on here that have had issues with cracked seat tubes or slipping posts.
  • cubedean
    cubedean Posts: 670
    This looks so nice, completely agree with the comment regarding darth vader.

    A friend of mine had dengfu frame which snapped at the chainstay after 15 miles, however they did replace it within a week.....at which point he had lost faith and bought a kenisis.

    I think they are like anything some good & some bad, it's just they don't have the big brand name history behind them to get away from the failures that do happen.
    Transition Bottlerocket
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    That is lovely - how do you find the bars/stem combo and you have any weights for them offhand?
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • gbr236
    gbr236 Posts: 393
    nice
    where is the best place to order the wheels?
  • JoostG
    JoostG Posts: 189
    Calpol wrote:
    You did a great job on that. Nice to see Campagnolo and the red details work well. That saddle also looks pretty cool. Did you source the frame via Velobuild.com?

    I did see it for the first on Velobuild.com. The moment I wanted to purchase the frame set, velobuild mall was offline for a long time. I went straight to ZhongWei and was able to place the order directly.
  • JoostG
    JoostG Posts: 189
    To answer the other questions...

    The saddle; more forgiving to me than anything else I had before. I even swapped my Selle Italia on my other bike for the same carbon saddle. And it's light, less than 100 gram.

    No guts for a Chinese; I can imagine as you're taking a bigger risk than with 'European' suppliers. In my case it turned out into the best price versus quality deal I could imagine.
    I agree with some replies: in the end most carbon frames/products are produced in China, where the most experienced companies/workers are located for such a new technique/material. The costs are high to start producing frames, so a smart Chinese will have knowledge and experienced employees.

    The integrated handlebar is approx 400 gram. Guess if your first priority is weight, there are better options (at higher costs :D ). I like them, looks and handling (flat on top, what's better for my hands, arms and shoulders).

    The wheels: wheels far.com. That's the webshop of Farsports (manufacturer).

    Let me know if you've more questions.
  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    Great looking bike, not a catchy name though! I fancy a set of the farsport rims for one of mine, what are they like to deal with? I'm still a bit weary of full carbon clinchers so may go for some Alu/carbons. Do you mind if I ask how much the wheels were?
    Road
    MTB
    NEW Cross
    Track/Grass Track/Winter bike
  • JoostG
    JoostG Posts: 189
    Paul 8v wrote:
    Great looking bike, not a catchy name though! I fancy a set of the farsport rims for one of mine, what are they like to deal with? I'm still a bit weary of full carbon clinchers so may go for some Alu/carbons. Do you mind if I ask how much the wheels were?

    I quess you worry about braking with full carbon? At the start I used the brake pads supplied by Farsports. Ok, but in comparison to my campagnolo eurus with campa brake pads less. I swapped the Chinese brake pads for blue Reynolds and this set up feels and acts just as good as the campa set up...... as long as it's not raining. A little bit of moisture isn't a problem, but when it's raining cats and dogs you can't call it braking anymore :D Not a problem to me as I grab another bike when I expect bad weather.

    How much? Door to door (including shipping and import duties) this set costed me € 524,00.

    Carbon in combination with alu has some downsides as well, keep that in mind.
  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    It was more the actual bead against the carbon sidewall I was worried about as these will be for a fixed wheel bike so the brake will only be on the front and for emergencies. Is the carbon rim hook as strong as alu? 524 Euros is not bad at all!
    Road
    MTB
    NEW Cross
    Track/Grass Track/Winter bike
  • JoostG
    JoostG Posts: 189
    Paul 8v wrote:
    It was more the actual bead against the carbon sidewall I was worried about as these will be for a fixed wheel bike so the brake will only be on the front and for emergencies. Is the carbon rim hook as strong as alu? 524 Euros is not bad at all!

    I don't know if it's as strong as an alu rim, but I don't think you have to worry. I ride these carbon wheels with Schwalbe Ultremo ZX Tubeless. It took me ages and the help of a dutch cycling forum to mount these tyres: first I mounted them on my campa eurus rims for a couple of days and then with the help of a VAR tyre lever, energy, force and a lot of cursing I was able to get it done. This particular set is tubeless ready, so I imagine they kept the bigger bead of tubeless tyres and the different forces in mind while designing the rim.

    In most cases the alu of a carbon rim with alu braking pad, is just glued on the rim.
  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    Cool, sounds like they should be OK then.
    Road
    MTB
    NEW Cross
    Track/Grass Track/Winter bike
  • conor_lynch
    conor_lynch Posts: 6
    Hi, that looks outstanding. I've been trying to decide what frame to go for and the r-002 is top of my list so far.
    What size seatpost does it take? I have a spare 31.6mm so that'll seal the deal hopefully.
  • JoostG
    JoostG Posts: 189
    conor_lynch wrote:
    Hi, that looks outstanding. I've been trying to decide what frame to go for and the r-002 is top of my list so far.
    What size seatpost does it take? I have a spare 31.6mm so that'll seal the deal hopefully.

    You have a winner! :D

    I ride it with a 31.6mm seat post.

    Go for it!
  • englishgomez
    englishgomez Posts: 1
    That looks great. I have the frame (R-022) and am just now putting it together with SRAM Rival components I had before I ordered it.

    The front derailleur I have is made for a braze-on, but I think I can get an adaptor that clamps onto the seat tube. Do you know what the seat tube diameter is?
  • Phildog
    Phildog Posts: 8
    That's beautiful. I have an R002 as well. I find the frame to be very stiff and stable. I'm running 11spd Shimano 105

    Here's mine...

    R002-7.jpg
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    What aero benefits do you get from those wheels with such a high frontal setup?
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  • Garry H
    Garry H Posts: 6,639
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    What aero benefits do you get from those wheels with such a high frontal setup?

    The same as with any set up. The wheels don't know what's going on with the stem :D
  • kawaspresso
    kawaspresso Posts: 106
    Nice TT wheels.

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