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Kinesis Aithein Build

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  • July 29, 2014 at 9:37 am #22014
    Mrmiik

    Dear all,

    I am about to embark on a build of a Kinesis Aithein, with a focus on weight and aggressiveness- this ain’t gonna be no all day tourer. 😀

    At present I am also struggling to decide on the colour – black is drawing me in, but those other colours are slexy too!

    Any riders of Aitheins – please give me your advice and feedback on the bike, how is the sizing etc? I’m around 5,8 and will be going for a 53cm frame – probably with a 110mm or 120mm stem.

    Most likely I’ll be going for SRAM Force 22, although may get drawn on a bit of Campy Chorus if the mood takes me… 👿

    Regarding wheels. I see alot of builds with Reynolds attack or assault on the bike. However, I’m struggling to source these wheels – any advice or feedback? I like to climb, but I live in Belgium, so if I run carbon wheels, they will need to stand up to being battered on pavé.

    With best,

    Mik

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  • August 2, 2014 at 7:58 am #806263
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    mtbtomo

    This was mine:

    I’m now
    This was mine:

    https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-WKIugso8wL4/UgVXSRmpzEI/AAAAAAAAA6M/K86e4qqbzqg/w539-h518-no/IMG-20130809-00089.jpg

    I’m now looking to build up this 🙂

    https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9Frk9LT-p40/U3zLofiUVkI/AAAAAAAABKk/RTaDot53lL4/w691-h518-no/IMG-20140520-00296.jpg

    August 1, 2014 at 7:12 pm #806261
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    mtbtomo

    @ DrJDog – its a 31.6mm
    @ DrJDog – its a 31.6mm seatpost, not a 34.9mm

    August 1, 2014 at 2:41 pm #806259
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    Cyclist

    Daveyraveygravey

    Daveyraveygravey wrote:
    [quote=Cyclist]

    All in the garage ready for my autum winter project.

    ……

    How can you wait?! I’d be taking time off work/phoning in sick to get it on the road![/

    It’s strange but now I have all the parts I am just savouring the fact that it’s all there ready to build. I have my other bikes, so no need to rush it as I am doing it all myself.

    August 1, 2014 at 12:05 pm #806257
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    Daveyraveygravey

    Cyclist wrote:
    All in the

    Cyclist wrote:

    All in the garage ready for my autum winter project.

    ……

    How can you wait?! I’d be taking time off work/phoning in sick to get it on the road!

    July 31, 2014 at 7:45 pm #806255
    0
    Cyclist

    Burnt orange frame
    Ultegra 11
    Burnt orange frame
    Ultegra 11 speed groupset (Dura Ace 53-39 standard crank)
    Shimano RS81 C35
    ITM Pathom Wing bars
    ITM Pathom Stem 110mm
    ITM Pathom seatpost
    Selle Italia Flite Kit Carbonio Saddle

    All in the garage ready for my autum winter project.

    Seems aluminium is on the up……

    July 31, 2014 at 7:12 pm #806253
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    Daveyraveygravey

    Merlin cycles doing half
    Merlin cycles doing half price Campag wheels at the moment…

    July 31, 2014 at 5:08 pm #806251
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    DrJDog

    The BB in mine is the
    The BB in mine is the standard press fit GXP BB86 bottom bracket. Easy enough to fit, but be careful because the drive side is slightly wider than the other, so you could end up having to do it again, not that that would happen to anyone.

    I have a carbon post in mine, an SL-K one, but it’s 34.9mm, so you’re not getting much of the give of carbon with that, I don’t think.

    My wheels I got Mark at Spokesman Wheels to build on Novatec hubs. They seem good so far, I don’t notice any flex and I am close to the upper limit of the Aithein’s weight limit.

    I’ll take a picture when I’ve chopped the steerer tube. It’s sticking up a bit at the moment..

    July 31, 2014 at 5:00 pm #806249
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    Mrmiik

    Looks like a toss up between
    Looks like a toss up between Spada (http://roadcyclinguk.com/gear/spada-stiletto-wheelset-review.html) and Shimano RS81 C24s… (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-wh-rs81-c24-carbon-laminate-clincher-wheelset/)

    July 31, 2014 at 1:26 pm #806247
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    Mrmiik

    Certainly will send pics!
    I
    Certainly will send pics!

    I went for SRAM Force 22 in the end. Now the waiting game begins…

    Last thing is to decide on a new set of wheels. I am seriously seriously tempted by wheelsmith – look at the weight of those wheels for the price.

    However, this would be my first ever set of tubular AND carbon wheels. Should I just stick to clinchers?

    July 31, 2014 at 12:07 pm #806245
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    Daveyraveygravey

    Can we have pictures of all
    Can we have pictures of all these Aitheins please?! I would love one myself…

    July 30, 2014 at 8:09 pm #806243
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    mtbtomo

    Just be aware that the
    Just be aware that the lettering on the anodised black is essentially raw aluminium (albeit laser eteched) and mine corroded – the finishing went all mottled and I couldn’t get it to clean up. So keep the downtube well cleaned and possibly use some alloy wheel wax or a similar protective liquid to keep it fresh and clean.

    Dom at Kinesis sorted me out with a new one though under warranty, no quibbles. I went for the orange one as a replacement. Ashamed to say I haven’t built it up yet though 🙁

    I’d definitely go a carbon seatpost of some kind, and I swapped from Planet-X wheels to Wheelsmith Race23’s when I did have it built up. Might not be wise to use a wheel builder in another country, but they do offer “free spokes for life” which suggests they’re happy to endorse their wheels as unlikely to fail in normal use.

    July 30, 2014 at 4:36 pm #806241
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    Mrmiik

    Cheers – can I ask what
    Cheers – can I ask what bottom bracket you have in for your SRAM crankset? Never had a BB86 bike before!

    I was seriously tempted by the orange, but I really have felt the need for a stealth bike in the stable for a while now 😉

    July 30, 2014 at 3:34 pm #806239
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    DrJDog

    I have one in Orange with
    I have one in Orange with black H Plus Son Archetypes, and a mixture of Red and Force. The orange is really nice, metallic, and really stands out. It’s 59cm with a 90mm stem so I can’t help you too much with sizing.

    I did consider very expensive wheels, then thought better of it. I think 7.5kg is light enough for me. I don’t notice any difference between my stolen Canyon SLX on Ksyrium Elites and this in terms of weight, the Canyone definitely a little more comfortable.

    Looks great, IMO, goes great, is very stiff (possibly a little too stiff with road buzz, but I run with a little less tyre pressure to compensate). I really like it. Doing a time trial on it later this evening.

    July 30, 2014 at 10:09 am #806237
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    Mrmiik

    Well I’ve ordered it in black
    Well I’ve ordered it in black now.

    Only thing decided on is a cinelli dinamo stem so far – trying to decide on a decent set of bars for around the £50 mark.

    Hmmm… I was trying to decide between Force 22… maybe splurging on a bit of Chorus or hell, push the weight right down with Red 22!

    This Aithein build is going to end up better than my best crabon bike… :O

    July 30, 2014 at 9:11 am #806235
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    therevokid

    Chorus 11 … it’s the dogs
    Chorus 11 … it’s the dogs thingies … 🙂 oh and Acid green all the way !!

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