And Blake will stand at the starting line for his first road race and realise that his carbon wheels haven't even got discs. It seems hard at this price point to get something competitive, but I guess it's more "just go for it!" than to beat yourself up about it.
The T550 is a direct mount rimbrake frame, you'd need to invest in different calipers than the ones provided in that 105 groupset. I was ready for you guys to not bring up that the Ekar requires a campy N3W freehub but y'all caught yourself 🙌
Don’t forget the long swapping time of swapping two different brand wheel sets with disc brakes and different manufactured hubs. Will have to reset Callie’s and rear derailleur every time.
@@christianwparkeruse brake disc shims. Its a horrible PIA to set up but once it is, you can use different brand wheelsets without adjusting the calipers each time .
BUILD IT YOURSELF, BUY A FRAME, WHEELS AND GROUPSET (can often get 2nd hand everything on ebay deals).. built myself an S-Works SL7 Snakeyes from 2021 (2050£ frame and handlebars, 800£ wheels (hunt 50 carbon aeros (30mm external width + gp5000 s tr included in cost) and Rival Groupset (800) upgraded the crank for 380 to force D2 with PM (didint need to do that so can remove this cost as the groupset had a left sided PM).) - overall cost: just about £4000 GBP or $5000.. will out perform anything off the shelf thats up to like 8 sometimes ever more like 10k..!
For the higher price ranges, frame-up builds are the way to go, but you can find some extraordinary closesouts on complete bikes in the US$3000-4000 range. A Lauf Uthald with Rival AXS is $3390 direct from Lauf. A Felt FR with R8150 is $3199. A BMC Kaius 01 Three with Rival AXS is $3999 at the same shop Blake found that cheap Grevil at.
@@kidsafe still think its worth spending slightly more and actually choosing contact points and wheels rather than settling on what you get IMHO. If you do 10,000km or more a year this will pay for itself in comfort and performance.
Great advice on new builds Jeff. I went the DIY route and was able to build up a 2019 S-Works SL6 rim brake for less than 4K. Direct mount Dura Ace brakes, Rotor cranks, SRAM Red 22 WiFli upgraded to 12-speed using the Ratio Technology parts, Cadex stem, Enve bars and new Pertual wheels from Panda Podium. I can run 30mm, but choose to run 25 up front and 28 in rear. The Pertual wheels have a 21 internal width, so the actual size of the front is 27 and the rear is 29.5. The end result is 58cm high-end aero race bike that weight in at 7.3kg. I realize this route isn't for everyone, but if you want to fine tune your build and maintain your own bike, you can get yesterdays superbike at very low prices.
The biggest issue I see with crit racing the gravel bike is chainring size. You're going to run out of gears even with the 9 tooth cog, plus the cadence gap from 9-11 teeth is going to be huge and might actually pose a problem in a crit, and having a smaller chainring only makes it more likely that you're going to be in that gear to begin with.
I have that Ryet knockoff saddle (but the cutout version). It's good, nose is a bid wider than my Selle Boost 3D printed but it's comfortable. Also a friend has ridden one for 2 years, won many races on it and hasn't had an issue.
I just got the Cube Litening Aero. It‘s more than 4000 (5300 Euros) but it has Shimano Ultegra Di2, Powermeter and 66/60 mm Aero Wheels from Newmen. I am super happy with that
Yeah but Cube just cut a lotttt of their dealers off. We don’t have a single Cube distributor where I live. Same could be said for neighbouring countries 😅
I just purchased a new 2023 Grevil F. I went with the ALU wheels (cheaper as I will replace) and I went with the 1x SRAM Rival groupset. I am in the process of buying 2 sets of carbon wheels (1 for gravel, 1 for road), I am changing the bars to the Coefficient RR bars. swapping the seat to the Sella Italia Boost and adding a single-sided Favero Assioma MX set of pedals.
I bought a Pinarello Grevil as a do it all bike and I love it. I like both picks. Jeff's bike is a crit race machine and more focused, but I would sprung for the disc brake edition (rain, future proofing). Blake's bike is a great do it all (fondo, general riding, racing). Good video.
Personally watching things over the last few years I would now only look at the pre-owned market these days. Brands are price gouging and there is huge value to be had if you're prepared to do the legwork on pre-owned. Know what to check for (steerer ring of death, micro cracks, creaky BB, half broken mech hanger etc etc) and make a fair offer and you can pick yourself up a great deal. Oh, and stick with rim brakes - they don't squeak and squeal every time you ask them to do their job.
I bought an SL7 sport (12speed mechical, hydro disc) brand new last year for 3K, then added a used Rovel wheel set, The new bontrager flared aluminum bar, and some on sale sworks t2/t5 30mm tires, used power sale, and a use single side power meter.... Less than 4k.It's my crit banger
ive been running a set of super team wheels for 2 years now and they are great for the price. they are basically the same price as a good set of alloy rims but lighter and more aero. As someone who has a very cheap bike (relatively) and is really hard on equipment, these wheels have held up amazing. I run them year round, training, racing, group rides, and no issue. plus if one of them does get blown up in a crash, you can replace them in 2 days with a new set off amazon for $400 lol
Last year I bought a cannondale systemsix with hollowgram sl64mm wheel, ultegra di2, disc breaks and gp5000. The bike was from 2019 and i bought it from a guy at my cycling club for 2200$!!
On my main bike I've got the S-Works Romin Evo Pro Mirror saddle, for my trainer bike and spare road bike I've bought the Ryet "replicas" on Ali Express (the 75 $ one) out of curiosity. They look very similar, product quality seems to be really good, too. The different padding zones of the saddles feel very similar. One difference is the base/underside of the saddles. The S-Works is a lot more flexible and thus more comfortable. I've ridden the Ryet several times on the trainer and on the road and found no problems or downsides. The S-Works feels more comfortable because of the more flexible construction but the paddings feels quite similar.
TCR - Ideally rim brake (lil searching). electronic (dont like the mech shifter cables into top of downtube vs previous gen, they hit legs when outta saddle). Decent wheels (rider specific). 28-32 Contis. Last gen TCR can take 32s - to be safe on clearance of 32s use the non-series Shimano brakes (451s? iirc - they are on mine). Shimano rates them to clear 32s, so does Giant on the last gen frame (both the SL and the Pro Compact which is an advanced with the pro fork in it making it a pro in year's past and a lower price w00t). -U10
Last month I bought a second hand 2022 model Trek Checkpoint SLR for $3600 with brand new HED Emporia wheels, Dura Ace crank with Ultegra di2 for all other group set components, 36mm Bontrager aero bar, rolling on 35mm GP 5000 AR tires with a spare set of 45mm gravel kings. Don't think I could ever find a better deal on a bike that I am planning on racing gravel on but training 100% on road.
Just got a T1550 gen 1 rim brake frame + integrated cockpit for $~900 on their black friday sale. I have some extra wheels and saddles, so I just ordered an Ultegra 8150 for $1400. If you need wheels you can add Hypers for 900-1300. But that's a 2-$4000 build depending on your finishing components, and it's a just as fast and quality crit bike as the $10k+ builds.
I basically just done this. In summer I bought tcr advanced 1 with 105 di2 for 2,6k. Stock wheels and tires were really bad and wanted some carbon aero handlebars so I just bought elitewheels drive 50d, continental gp5000s wheels and prime primavera aero carbon handlebars. With some additional bits and peaces I spend exactly 4k for whole bike and it's as good as it gets at this price point.
Been riding the Bucklos knock-off 3d printed saddle for about 1000 miles and haven't had problems on gravel or road. Also running a 30 dollar carbon seatpost from OG Evkin and with carbon paste its been great, before the paste it would loosen up over time.
I know at least 2 bike stores within 10km who offer giant tcrs with 40%, now at 4000 with ultegra or force, powermeter, nice carbon wheels and handlebar, unbeatable
You can get a Cube Agree C:62 Pro for €3300 ($3450). That gets you Ultegra Di2, carbon frame, wheels & bar, conti 5000 and a sub 8kg bike. Add in a power meter plus a different saddle and you're completely done.
I know this is a one off. But I'm pretty happy I just bought a brand new $7,500 2023/2024 BMC Teammachine SLR01 FIVE for $3,800. I'm going to switch out the 25 Vitorias for 30 Continentals and that puts me a little over $3,900. The bike comes with the premium carbon frame, forks, and seat post along with CRD-351 35mm carbon wheels and Ultegra di2 and a 52/36 Ultegra crank. I haven't had a chance to ride it yet because I literally just got it and it came from the warehouse. I believe they still have some available at Trek Miami / City bikes if you happen to be a size 54 and like the iron grey / black color. The promotion runs through the weekend.
Man prices are still so high. In 2020 I bought a complete mainstream western brand carbon bike with 11-speed ultegra mechanical, disc brake, and chonky alloy wheels for like $3700. No pedals included and stock tires were bad, but that can be fixed for under $300. (No gravel capability either, but that's not what I was shopping for.)
I probably have 10 ryet saddles. My power mirror saddle has been shelves because it's to heavy. When you have a lot of bikes, you can't be dropping 300-400 on saddles. Honestly saddle prices are out of control
I am testing RYET saddles at the moment...frankly it's incredible, I've used it outside (4h rides max..it's winter here) but also indoor (IMO even a more telling test) and I have been genuinly impressed..only question mark is durability, if the mesh looses its shape it will be terrible to ride..weight is spot on the one declared on their Aliexpress page
I own a ryet saddle, not 3D printed, but with carbon rails. Very comfortable, nice look and it weights just 112g. It was cost about 30/40€, I don't remember cause of I own it for more than 2 years and more than 15.000km, if in the future I need a new saddle, for sur I will buy the same.
Ryet carbon saddle. +1 recommendation from me. I have the Cr-Mo 7x7 rail version (S27 seatpost) and have done about 1800 km on it. Comparison to Specialised Power and Fizik Aliante, and I prefer Ryet.
Had my bike stolen last christmas along with my car. Bought a new 2022 giant defy adv 0 with sram rival axs. Upgraded the crappy pr2 alu wheelset with a 50mm carbon wheelset from carbon speed cycle and gp5000 str tires. Added the sram powermeter. All in $3,900. Highly recomend.
I have the original specialised power saddle and several AliExpress knockoff versions and I actually prefer the knock off ones because because they have more compliance built into them
theres many great deals to be had out there I wouldn't buy new in this bike market. just got a 2021 s-works venge with sram red aswell as roval CLX 64 1s, with a quarq power meter, dura ace pedals and fresh tires, and everything for 3000
Giant TCR (got mine for £1499 and its the 2025 model) with all the finishing kit, deals on sram red/force with Reserve 40/44 with 350 hubs str/ttr conti's and I ponied up for a ceramic speed BB to, to top it all off! 4268 great British pounds, and we get stung on bike stuff over here I dont think thats bad at all at this moment in time. take off the BB and just add a standard BB it would be bang on 4k
Superteams are okay. But theyre carbon spokes are something to probably stay away from on that set. Ive had to fix two now. But i am building a T1550 Gen2 thx to this channel, with Hyper D67 and Zero SL bar stem. Hyped. Will put over 10,000 miles on it next year.
Great options and a useful video. Might want to get those Winspace items (or any Chinese-manufactured parts) before the potential incoming tariffs make those items more expensive than the Italian bikes...
Maybe do some of both? Spend 50-75% on a used bike and then use the balance fixing/upgrading. You said no sponsors, so maybe Buycycle wouldn't be an option under the rules for this video? Cheers!
If I were building a new bike, with out a power meter bundled into the groupset, I thought it would make more sense to buy power meter pedals like the assiomas, rather than pedals and replacing a crank. (Not to mention they are more accurate 😅)
Crazy idea: you put an airtag in the bike before it was stolen so you can track it and steal it back (total cost: 0$ + a sick story for your riding buddy)
I would take a wild guess that by now the thieves are smart enough to know airtags are put into bikes, and remove them immediately when the bike is stolen, unless you put it right above the bb, that might give you an additional few minutes before they take it apart and find it, right?
I tried the Ryet Power Knockoff because I didn’t want to have to buy another 3D Printed power saddle. The Ryet has a much lower profile 3D printed “pad” on it, which is stiffer, and doesn’t have density variation by location as the Specialized one does. If you’re only after the shape, you’ll probably like it, but for me it felt like it had a really hard edge transition and I didnt get along with it.
I think is a mistake get a rim brake frame in 2024; a cheap second hand disc brake gravel frame, PRO VIBE Alloy handlebar and Stem, SHI 105 Mech with alloy wheels you can got a very good value to improve in time and i guess this set up is less expensive than 4 grands.
The 105 R7000 is great but the set you showed had no cranks. How do you plan to pedal 🙂? (I notice because I've been shopping groupsets and got faked out by pricing on incomplete sets before)
The Amazon Ultegra pedals are counterfeit - ask me how I know... I ordered them and they lasted a month before grease spilled out of the spindles and the pedal almost fell off the spindle. Ordered a legit set of Ultegra s to replace them - night and day difference.
Those were genuine Shimano pedals. There are no Ultegra fakes that look even close to the real thing. This is what Shimano pedals do sometimes, with their stupid overcomplicated loose ball bearing axles. I also had one that forced all the grease out in 2 months and started grinding in there, so I got the proper tool and tried to disassemble it. The plastic nut was so stuck it broke clean off and the pedal was trash. Never again.
Yo Jeff- I'm recovering from a knee surgery...could I buy now, and start later? Need a few months to ramp up to some basic level of fitness before I could feasibly start.
yes of course. I'd consider buying now that the bike market is selling old models for cheap, and before whatever tariffs may hit later. As for the C2C masterclass, you pay once and have lifetime access so get it while it's on sale! Don't train through injury, get well and start on a lower tier training plan like 1 or 2 then you can switch to 3+ at any point, i have athletes do this all the time 👍 lmk if you have anymore questions.
Two dead end builds. Ekar is completely dead end. You can't even upgrade. With Shimano and Sram, you can slowly upgrade as budget allows and there are tons of options and sales out there for both. Rim brake? Again, dead end and I can't believe a Norcal guy would recommend rim brakes with all the great mountain descents there. There are so many upgrade options for disc. Disc Winspace or even a SL7, TCR or other brand name frameset, mechanical 105 and just upgrade as budget allows. Leaves plenty of room to grow and upgrade.
that's a good option too, especially if you like the stock stuff that comes with the allez, plus you won't have to build it yourself. aluminum vs carbon is the big thing, which is mostly fine for crit racing
First of all, Campy is the worst choice anyone can make. If I had a friend come up to me asking where best spend their money and they said Campy or Walmart, I would direct them to Walmart.
You'd be a fool to buy a new bike and pay full price. Right now bike shop are making crazy deal with the end of the year and the black friday. For example, you can buy a brand new Ridley Fenix 105di2 for 2500€ or 1800€ with the mechanical 105groupset and you'll not need to build it yourself. Merida has been making crazy deal too. Just stay away from brand like Trek, Specialized, BMC... overpriced stuff.
I recently sold my gen 6 madone slr and that bike was a rocket ship. I haven't gotten my hands on the new gen 8 one yet so can't speak to it. That being said, the gen 6 madone was the best looking one no questions asked.
for a brand new race ready build it is. If you want to go cheaper i encourage folks to check out the used market where you can get some incredible details. We discuss this topic in the video
@@NorCalCycling Maybe for a Cat 1 guy like you but not for lower cat guys and those are the guys who will actually be paying for these things themselves
Would love to buy masterclass, but I’m a college student. And I hear you say that there’s scholarships for collegiate athletes, but my school is small. We don’t have a team, therefore I’m whenever USA cycling is concerned, I’m a solo rider, meaning I’m also ineligible for the scholarship
scholarships are granted individually, my course is not affiliated with USAC or a university. check the link in the description the scholarship application will most likely be approved and it takes less than 5 min.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Been using the Ryett saddle for last 1000 miles. Carbon rails. Faultless and SO well made and finished.
Every year the optimal "price performance" budget moves up by 1k
inflation sucks. but honestly because of the covid-era overstock you can find good deals right now in the bike world
And Blake will stand at the starting line for his first road race and realise that his carbon wheels haven't even got discs. It seems hard at this price point to get something competitive, but I guess it's more "just go for it!" than to beat yourself up about it.
@@matteodiluce9387 Blake could swap the e11even wheels for superteam
So 4 years ago budget was 0$?
The T550 is a direct mount rimbrake frame, you'd need to invest in different calipers than the ones provided in that 105 groupset. I was ready for you guys to not bring up that the Ekar requires a campy N3W freehub but y'all caught yourself 🙌
Yea that chain stay rear brake is very annoying
Don’t forget the long swapping time of swapping two different brand wheel sets with disc brakes and different manufactured hubs. Will have to reset Callie’s and rear derailleur every time.
@@christianwparkeruse brake disc shims. Its a horrible PIA to set up but once it is, you can use different brand wheelsets without adjusting the calipers each time .
BUILD IT YOURSELF, BUY A FRAME, WHEELS AND GROUPSET (can often get 2nd hand everything on ebay deals).. built myself an S-Works SL7 Snakeyes from 2021 (2050£ frame and handlebars, 800£ wheels (hunt 50 carbon aeros (30mm external width + gp5000 s tr included in cost) and Rival Groupset (800) upgraded the crank for 380 to force D2 with PM (didint need to do that so can remove this cost as the groupset had a left sided PM).) - overall cost: just about £4000 GBP or $5000.. will out perform anything off the shelf thats up to like 8 sometimes ever more like 10k..!
For the higher price ranges, frame-up builds are the way to go, but you can find some extraordinary closesouts on complete bikes in the US$3000-4000 range. A Lauf Uthald with Rival AXS is $3390 direct from Lauf. A Felt FR with R8150 is $3199. A BMC Kaius 01 Three with Rival AXS is $3999 at the same shop Blake found that cheap Grevil at.
@@kidsafe still think its worth spending slightly more and actually choosing contact points and wheels rather than settling on what you get IMHO. If you do 10,000km or more a year this will pay for itself in comfort and performance.
that's what i did, so i'll take that as a vote for jeff ✅😂
Great advice on new builds Jeff. I went the DIY route and was able to build up a 2019 S-Works SL6 rim brake for less than 4K. Direct mount Dura Ace brakes, Rotor cranks, SRAM Red 22 WiFli upgraded to 12-speed using the Ratio Technology parts, Cadex stem, Enve bars and new Pertual wheels from Panda Podium. I can run 30mm, but choose to run 25 up front and 28 in rear. The Pertual wheels have a 21 internal width, so the actual size of the front is 27 and the rear is 29.5. The end result is 58cm high-end aero race bike that weight in at 7.3kg. I realize this route isn't for everyone, but if you want to fine tune your build and maintain your own bike, you can get yesterdays superbike at very low prices.
@@diskzero01super nice, good on ya for sticking with rim brake
I really appreciate all the shop talk around the choices, very educational for someone new like me
The biggest issue I see with crit racing the gravel bike is chainring size. You're going to run out of gears even with the 9 tooth cog, plus the cadence gap from 9-11 teeth is going to be huge and might actually pose a problem in a crit, and having a smaller chainring only makes it more likely that you're going to be in that gear to begin with.
I have that Ryet knockoff saddle (but the cutout version). It's good, nose is a bid wider than my Selle Boost 3D printed but it's comfortable. Also a friend has ridden one for 2 years, won many races on it and hasn't had an issue.
I just got the Cube Litening Aero. It‘s more than 4000 (5300 Euros) but it has Shimano Ultegra Di2, Powermeter and 66/60 mm Aero Wheels from Newmen. I am super happy with that
Yeah but Cube just cut a lotttt of their dealers off. We don’t have a single Cube distributor where I live. Same could be said for neighbouring countries 😅
@@ariffau direct to consumer is the future
@@littleshadyify although over budget that is a nice bike. Congrats!
If u want to go below budget u should consider the cube c:62 slt. Ultegra di2, 7,9kg, Newmen carbon wheels. For 3300$. Insane value
@@oscarboman1Definetely a good option i just prefer the race geometry of the litening
I just purchased a new 2023 Grevil F. I went with the ALU wheels (cheaper as I will replace) and I went with the 1x SRAM Rival groupset. I am in the process of buying 2 sets of carbon wheels (1 for gravel, 1 for road), I am changing the bars to the Coefficient RR bars. swapping the seat to the Sella Italia Boost and adding a single-sided Favero Assioma MX set of pedals.
I bought a Pinarello Grevil as a do it all bike and I love it. I like both picks. Jeff's bike is a crit race machine and more focused, but I would sprung for the disc brake edition (rain, future proofing). Blake's bike is a great do it all (fondo, general riding, racing). Good video.
Personally watching things over the last few years I would now only look at the pre-owned market these days. Brands are price gouging and there is huge value to be had if you're prepared to do the legwork on pre-owned. Know what to check for (steerer ring of death, micro cracks, creaky BB, half broken mech hanger etc etc) and make a fair offer and you can pick yourself up a great deal. Oh, and stick with rim brakes - they don't squeak and squeal every time you ask them to do their job.
i personally think 500usd for 105 r7000 mechanical in 2024 is outrageous. the hydraulic 7020 is literally 450 on sale
I mean, yeah, but then that means a more expensive frame and wheels, which defeats the purpose of getting the rim brake bike.
@@AndrewG99 i'm not saying to get hydraulic instead, i respect that choice. i'm just saying 500 is a horrible price for that groupset atm
yeah i was thinking that whole time that that actually really isn't a very good deal
@@Carftymk That's fair.
It's not even a full group. No crankset...
I bought an SL7 sport (12speed mechical, hydro disc) brand new last year for 3K, then added a used Rovel wheel set, The new bontrager flared aluminum bar, and some on sale sworks t2/t5 30mm tires, used power sale, and a use single side power meter.... Less than 4k.It's my crit banger
Good job Jeff with the rim brakes and mechanical. Your friend took the easy route lol
ive been running a set of super team wheels for 2 years now and they are great for the price. they are basically the same price as a good set of alloy rims but lighter and more aero. As someone who has a very cheap bike (relatively) and is really hard on equipment, these wheels have held up amazing. I run them year round, training, racing, group rides, and no issue. plus if one of them does get blown up in a crash, you can replace them in 2 days with a new set off amazon for $400 lol
+1 for the they saddle. Mine has gone through stage races with no issue
Last year I bought a cannondale systemsix with hollowgram sl64mm wheel, ultegra di2, disc breaks and gp5000. The bike was from 2019 and i bought it from a guy at my cycling club for 2200$!!
On my main bike I've got the S-Works Romin Evo Pro Mirror saddle, for my trainer bike and spare road bike I've bought the Ryet "replicas" on Ali Express (the 75 $ one) out of curiosity. They look very similar, product quality seems to be really good, too. The different padding zones of the saddles feel very similar. One difference is the base/underside of the saddles. The S-Works is a lot more flexible and thus more comfortable. I've ridden the Ryet several times on the trainer and on the road and found no problems or downsides. The S-Works feels more comfortable because of the more flexible construction but the paddings feels quite similar.
TCR - Ideally rim brake (lil searching). electronic (dont like the mech shifter cables into top of downtube vs previous gen, they hit legs when outta saddle). Decent wheels (rider specific). 28-32 Contis. Last gen TCR can take 32s - to be safe on clearance of 32s use the non-series Shimano brakes (451s? iirc - they are on mine). Shimano rates them to clear 32s, so does Giant on the last gen frame (both the SL and the Pro Compact which is an advanced with the pro fork in it making it a pro in year's past and a lower price w00t). -U10
4k and you want rim brakes? There's one born every minute...
You don't need 4k for that
Yes, i like rim brakes. i could prolly do it for less too. If fact i think i did…
You could go for magene pes505 base power meter crankset for 250$. Absolute no brainer
Yep. Sold my used stages, and got a more accurate better looking brand new power crankset!!
#NoBrainer
Last month I bought a second hand 2022 model Trek Checkpoint SLR for $3600 with brand new HED Emporia wheels, Dura Ace crank with Ultegra di2 for all other group set components, 36mm Bontrager aero bar, rolling on 35mm GP 5000 AR tires with a spare set of 45mm gravel kings. Don't think I could ever find a better deal on a bike that I am planning on racing gravel on but training 100% on road.
That is a great Deal!
Just got a T1550 gen 1 rim brake frame + integrated cockpit for $~900 on their black friday sale. I have some extra wheels and saddles, so I just ordered an Ultegra 8150 for $1400. If you need wheels you can add Hypers for 900-1300. But that's a 2-$4000 build depending on your finishing components, and it's a just as fast and quality crit bike as the $10k+ builds.
I basically just done this. In summer I bought tcr advanced 1 with 105 di2 for 2,6k. Stock wheels and tires were really bad and wanted some carbon aero handlebars so I just bought elitewheels drive 50d, continental gp5000s wheels and prime primavera aero carbon handlebars. With some additional bits and peaces I spend exactly 4k for whole bike and it's as good as it gets at this price point.
I have the RYET saddle on my CRUX and raced an ultra gravel event on it. Strong amd comfy and served me well💪
Been riding the Bucklos knock-off 3d printed saddle for about 1000 miles and haven't had problems on gravel or road. Also running a 30 dollar carbon seatpost from OG Evkin and with carbon paste its been great, before the paste it would loosen up over time.
I know at least 2 bike stores within 10km who offer giant tcrs with 40%, now at 4000 with ultegra or force, powermeter, nice carbon wheels and handlebar, unbeatable
You can get a Cube Agree C:62 Pro for €3300 ($3450). That gets you Ultegra Di2, carbon frame, wheels & bar, conti 5000 and a sub 8kg bike. Add in a power meter plus a different saddle and you're completely done.
I know this is a one off. But I'm pretty happy I just bought a brand new $7,500 2023/2024 BMC Teammachine SLR01 FIVE for $3,800. I'm going to switch out the 25 Vitorias for 30 Continentals and that puts me a little over $3,900. The bike comes with the premium carbon frame, forks, and seat post along with CRD-351 35mm carbon wheels and Ultegra di2 and a 52/36 Ultegra crank. I haven't had a chance to ride it yet because I literally just got it and it came from the warehouse. I believe they still have some available at Trek Miami / City bikes if you happen to be a size 54 and like the iron grey / black color. The promotion runs through the weekend.
Man prices are still so high. In 2020 I bought a complete mainstream western brand carbon bike with 11-speed ultegra mechanical, disc brake, and chonky alloy wheels for like $3700. No pedals included and stock tires were bad, but that can be fixed for under $300. (No gravel capability either, but that's not what I was shopping for.)
I use this Ryet saddle, it's great.
Ryet saddle is legit. Got one, Carbon rails, works fine, feels strong.
I have six bikes in my stable and two of the those Ryet saddles. I love them! I have a fizik 3D saddle I do not use. I use both of the Ryet saddles
I probably have 10 ryet saddles. My power mirror saddle has been shelves because it's to heavy. When you have a lot of bikes, you can't be dropping 300-400 on saddles. Honestly saddle prices are out of control
I am testing RYET saddles at the moment...frankly it's incredible, I've used it outside (4h rides max..it's winter here) but also indoor (IMO even a more telling test) and I have been genuinly impressed..only question mark is durability, if the mesh looses its shape it will be terrible to ride..weight is spot on the one declared on their Aliexpress page
I had a V3Rs with Boras and Super record for £3500. New frame, and kit second hand. Epic bike
I own a ryet saddle, not 3D printed, but with carbon rails. Very comfortable, nice look and it weights just 112g. It was cost about 30/40€, I don't remember cause of I own it for more than 2 years and more than 15.000km, if in the future I need a new saddle, for sur I will buy the same.
Ryet carbon saddle. +1 recommendation from me. I have the Cr-Mo 7x7 rail version (S27 seatpost) and have done about 1800 km on it. Comparison to Specialised Power and Fizik Aliante, and I prefer Ryet.
Can’t go wrong with superteam on a budget. Have those with the gp5000 and couldn’t be happier with multiple sets. Also great with the P-zero.
The Crux is a dope bike,with road wheels and tires, it moves on the road
The RYET knockoff 3d romin saddle is even better!
just watched your episode about the 8k bike today and here's a similar new video! Thanks, Jeff
Glad you enjoyed both!
Only because Blake has Roots in Davis… Blake’s Bike Crushes Yours Jeff 🤔💪🚴♂️🚴♀️🚴♂️🚴♀️
Hey I’m a ucd alumni do I get a pass?
Had my bike stolen last christmas along with my car. Bought a new 2022 giant defy adv 0 with sram rival axs. Upgraded the crappy pr2 alu wheelset with a 50mm carbon wheelset from carbon speed cycle and gp5000 str tires. Added the sram powermeter. All in $3,900. Highly recomend.
Perfect timing, this is exactly what I’m doing right now…4k for a road/gravel bike. Still gotta make a choice.
I have the original specialised power saddle and several AliExpress knockoff versions and I actually prefer the knock off ones because because they have more compliance built into them
You can get a 3T Exploro Ultra or Racemax with SRAM for less than three thousand.
You know how rough the bike industry has gotten when these are the lengths you need to go to spend 4k on a ‘race build’
you can get very capable race bikes for cheaper, but you're probably better served looking into the used market.
Finally a descent priced video
Not that I would spend 4K but it’s realistic
I spent 2500 used. And got lucky
theres many great deals to be had out there I wouldn't buy new in this bike market. just got a 2021 s-works venge with sram red aswell as roval CLX 64 1s, with a quarq power meter, dura ace pedals and fresh tires, and everything for 3000
Giant TCR (got mine for £1499 and its the 2025 model) with all the finishing kit, deals on sram red/force with Reserve 40/44 with 350 hubs str/ttr conti's and I ponied up for a ceramic speed BB to, to top it all off! 4268 great British pounds, and we get stung on bike stuff over here I dont think thats bad at all at this moment in time. take off the BB and just add a standard BB it would be bang on 4k
Superteams are okay. But theyre carbon spokes are something to probably stay away from on that set. Ive had to fix two now. But i am building a T1550 Gen2 thx to this channel, with Hyper D67 and Zero SL bar stem. Hyped. Will put over 10,000 miles on it next year.
What happened to the wheels
Great options and a useful video. Might want to get those Winspace items (or any Chinese-manufactured parts) before the potential incoming tariffs make those items more expensive than the Italian bikes...
pro tip here 👆
For 4k you get the brand new Cube AGREE C:62 SLX with Sram Force eTap, Carbon Wheels, etc.
Maybe do some of both? Spend 50-75% on a used bike and then use the balance fixing/upgrading. You said no sponsors, so maybe Buycycle wouldn't be an option under the rules for this video? Cheers!
Racing crits with a CX/gravel single chainring setup - makes sense...
I'm going with a Time frame
at 3.8k you can get a vanrysel with 105 di2 with carbon wheels and a power meter. I'm pretty sure if I were to spend money thats the bike I would buy
If I were building a new bike, with out a power meter bundled into the groupset, I thought it would make more sense to buy power meter pedals like the assiomas, rather than pedals and replacing a crank. (Not to mention they are more accurate 😅)
Crazy idea: you put an airtag in the bike before it was stolen so you can track it and steal it back (total cost: 0$ + a sick story for your riding buddy)
Even crazier if you had just been paid out;)
I would take a wild guess that by now the thieves are smart enough to know airtags are put into bikes, and remove them immediately when the bike is stolen, unless you put it right above the bb, that might give you an additional few minutes before they take it apart and find it, right?
I tried the Ryet Power Knockoff because I didn’t want to have to buy another 3D Printed power saddle. The Ryet has a much lower profile 3D printed “pad” on it, which is stiffer, and doesn’t have density variation by location as the Specialized one does. If you’re only after the shape, you’ll probably like it, but for me it felt like it had a really hard edge transition and I didnt get along with it.
I think is a mistake get a rim brake frame in 2024; a cheap second hand disc brake gravel frame, PRO VIBE Alloy handlebar and Stem, SHI 105 Mech with alloy wheels you can got a very good value to improve in time and i guess this set up is less expensive than 4 grands.
The 105 R7000 is great but the set you showed had no cranks. How do you plan to pedal 🙂? (I notice because I've been shopping groupsets and got faked out by pricing on incomplete sets before)
Came here to say this, Jeff built a balance bike for $4000 hahaha.
I go with cipollini dolomia/canyon aeroad/merida reacto :)
You guys forgot, glasses, helmets, gloves and uniform. Just joking, but I actually got robbed and they took helmet and my glasses, pretty sad day. 😂
Van Dessel cycles Arch65 w/ 105Di2 on sale $2339.40 Extras from there
Have 2 carbon rail ryet saddles and they work perfecty fine and are very light(105g)
The Amazon Ultegra pedals are counterfeit - ask me how I know...
I ordered them and they lasted a month before grease spilled out of the spindles and the pedal almost fell off the spindle. Ordered a legit set of Ultegra s to replace them - night and day difference.
Those were genuine Shimano pedals. There are no Ultegra fakes that look even close to the real thing. This is what Shimano pedals do sometimes, with their stupid overcomplicated loose ball bearing axles. I also had one that forced all the grease out in 2 months and started grinding in there, so I got the proper tool and tried to disassemble it. The plastic nut was so stuck it broke clean off and the pedal was trash. Never again.
I bought a Honda XR 150L for less.
you're def winning all the bike races on that 😂
So here's Jeff, riding his fancy carbon bike without bar tape on XD
Jeff, you're missing bar tape, water bottle cage.
Anyway how can you knock back a Pinarello with Campagnolo? Also it comes with bar tape.
Are you sure you can fit 30mm conti tires in 105 brake calipers with these wheels and frameset?
All my 5 of my bikes are worth maybe 1000 dollars.but given 4k id probably get a sick Brompton and a really nice adventure gravel bike
Yo Jeff- I'm recovering from a knee surgery...could I buy now, and start later? Need a few months to ramp up to some basic level of fitness before I could feasibly start.
yes of course. I'd consider buying now that the bike market is selling old models for cheap, and before whatever tariffs may hit later. As for the C2C masterclass, you pay once and have lifetime access so get it while it's on sale! Don't train through injury, get well and start on a lower tier training plan like 1 or 2 then you can switch to 3+ at any point, i have athletes do this all the time 👍 lmk if you have anymore questions.
You should buy the decathlon pro team stuff and rate it .
Two dead end builds. Ekar is completely dead end. You can't even upgrade. With Shimano and Sram, you can slowly upgrade as budget allows and there are tons of options and sales out there for both.
Rim brake? Again, dead end and I can't believe a Norcal guy would recommend rim brakes with all the great mountain descents there. There are so many upgrade options for disc.
Disc Winspace or even a SL7, TCR or other brand name frameset, mechanical 105 and just upgrade as budget allows. Leaves plenty of room to grow and upgrade.
Winspace will have complete bikes for the US market very soon. It's going to be a game changer.
why wouldn’t you just go allez sprint with 11spd or 12spd 105 mechanical upgrade the wheels with the left over 1-2000 and call it a day
that's a good option too, especially if you like the stock stuff that comes with the allez, plus you won't have to build it yourself. aluminum vs carbon is the big thing, which is mostly fine for crit racing
@@NorCalCyclingyour group set doesn’t come with a crank.
How are you going to fit 30mm tyres with rim brakes. I believe Shimano rim brakes are only compatible with 28mm
lol we have two of those grevils in the shop for service right now
Jeff's bike has no bb, no right crank arm/chainrings, and no brakes.
I would buy a used CAAD/Allez and some carbon wheels for $2k and then spend $2k on reg and travel
Okay, how are you going to fit the 30mm gp5000 inside a rimbrake
Edge 540 is 250$ currently, is the 50$ saved worth it? I already have a Garmin Fenix series so I'm familiar with the UI and ecosystem
Nice. But no cassettes for 2nd wheelsets?
Next vid suggestion: browsing fb marketplace for a good and/or not stolen bike.
Do those R7000 brake calipers and the winspace frame even clear 30mm tires?
i think so, but if they don't then get the 28mm
best saddle ive had so far :)
Interesting video, but is everything free of tax? Free shipping? not sur, I think they can add an extra $500. So, more like $4500 bike
I have flip phone really cheap that makes calls just as good as my I phone lol … you must know your audience better than I.
And the cassette for Blake's road wheelset?
additional brake discs? etc etc
For the rest I like the dual puropse bike idea ;)
First of all, Campy is the worst choice anyone can make. If I had a friend come up to me asking where best spend their money and they said Campy or Walmart, I would direct them to Walmart.
What are the bike weights on the final build?
Thanks
You'd be a fool to buy a new bike and pay full price. Right now bike shop are making crazy deal with the end of the year and the black friday.
For example, you can buy a brand new Ridley Fenix 105di2 for 2500€ or 1800€ with the mechanical 105groupset and you'll not need to build it yourself.
Merida has been making crazy deal too. Just stay away from brand like Trek, Specialized, BMC... overpriced stuff.
what do you say about the new Trek madone gen 8 - other youtube channels are saying that "you cant race that bike".
Whats your call on the Bike?
I recently sold my gen 6 madone slr and that bike was a rocket ship. I haven't gotten my hands on the new gen 8 one yet so can't speak to it. That being said, the gen 6 madone was the best looking one no questions asked.
I need lighter wheels that will get me into "god mode.." Best line in the video...
4k on a crit rig is a bit much to me for something that, sooner than later, you'll crash into the ground.
Hey Blake!
Jeff’s bike with no bar tape or BB. 😂
4k is not a budget build
for a brand new race ready build it is. If you want to go cheaper i encourage folks to check out the used market where you can get some incredible details. We discuss this topic in the video
@@NorCalCycling Maybe for a Cat 1 guy like you but not for lower cat guys and those are the guys who will actually be paying for these things themselves
Lightly used, still the way to go.
you def can find some really good bikes for much cheaper than 4k in the used market. gotta know what you're looking for though
Would love to buy masterclass, but I’m a college student. And I hear you say that there’s scholarships for collegiate athletes, but my school is small. We don’t have a team, therefore I’m whenever USA cycling is concerned, I’m a solo rider, meaning I’m also ineligible for the scholarship
scholarships are granted individually, my course is not affiliated with USAC or a university. check the link in the description the scholarship application will most likely be approved and it takes less than 5 min.