With all the components gathered, now I can assemble everything onto the Crius folding bike frame! Instead of writing too many words, let us just look at the pictures.
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There were no major issues detected during component assembly, which is good. Some other information which I discovered were:
1) Head tube inner diameter roundness is not good, making it difficult to press in the head set cups.
2) Rear frame opening is a few millimeters wider than 130mm, which means that you can probably fit in a 135mm OLD rear hub if you need to.
3) Diameter tolerance between seat tube, seat post shim and seat post is not ideal, as the metal shim can move inside the seat tube quite easily.
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Actual weight of the bike is 9.6 kg inclusive of the pedals, which is the same as the calculated total. It is possible to cut down the weight further, as many of the components that I used are a good balance between weight and price. With a larger budget, the overall weight can be reduced by quite a bit.
Additional weight savings possible, without going to extreme levels (boutique/custom parts):
Wheelset: -200g
Tires and inner tubes: -100g
Grips: -100g
Brake levers: -50g
Handlebar: -50g
Cassette: -50g
Brake calipers: -50g
Saddle: -100g
Pedals: -50g
Remove kickstand and magnetix: -250g
Further weight savings possible, with a boost in budget: About 1 kg!
With this hypothetical "what-if", this folding bike project is completed! Although the bike is not mine, I still enjoyed sourcing for the parts and assembling the bike, and finally tuning it to run as smoothly as possible!
Shimano 105 CS-5800 11-32T 11 speed cassette mounted onto the Wheelsport rear wheel
With the Litepro headset installed, and Fnhon handlepost assembled onto the Crius bike frame
Another view of the handlepost. Inward folding type for a compact folded size. Also note the 3M sticker applied to prevent scratches.
Ultegra-grade SM-BBR60 Hollowtech II road bottom bracket
With the 1x11 speed Shimano 105 crankset with Wolftooth chainring installed
11 speed drivetrain assembled! A front single drivetrain looks neat.
New 11 speed chain on the Wolftooth 48T narrow wide chainring
Smooth cable routing to the Ultegra R8000 rear derailleur
Chain on the smallest 11T sprocket on the 11 speed cassette
Chain on the largest 32T sprocket, with the rear derailleur cage stretched out.
Setting the gear to gear distance between the 32T sprocket and the guide pulley. A distance of 5 to 10mm is usually ideal.
Shimano LX V brake calipers mounted. The ideal setting is for the brake arms to be parallel when the brake pad touches the rim.
Front V brake caliper mounted. Plenty of clearance to fit mudguards if required!
View of the Wheelsport front wheel with Schwalbe Kojak tires
Litepro Monster handlebar installed, with the shifter and brake levers mounted.
Using cable wrap to make the routing neat and tidy
Another view of the shifter, brake lever and Ergon grips
Litepro seatpost and Selle Italia Q Bik saddle
Wellgo M111 flat pedals with quick release adapter
There were no major issues detected during component assembly, which is good. Some other information which I discovered were:
1) Head tube inner diameter roundness is not good, making it difficult to press in the head set cups.
2) Rear frame opening is a few millimeters wider than 130mm, which means that you can probably fit in a 135mm OLD rear hub if you need to.
3) Diameter tolerance between seat tube, seat post shim and seat post is not ideal, as the metal shim can move inside the seat tube quite easily.
Clearance between the left crankarm and the kickstand is quite small, at less than 2mm. This is mainly due to the shape of the kickstand leg.
Picture of the fully assembled bike! All black as requested by the rider.
With a 1x11 speed drivetrain, shifting operation is straightforward and yet has a wide and well spaced drivetrain for efficient pedaling.
Folded size, with the handlebar tucked in between the frame for the most compact fold.
Full component specifications for this 1x11 speed Crius folding bike, and the final weight.
Actual weight of the bike is 9.6 kg inclusive of the pedals, which is the same as the calculated total. It is possible to cut down the weight further, as many of the components that I used are a good balance between weight and price. With a larger budget, the overall weight can be reduced by quite a bit.
Additional weight savings possible, without going to extreme levels (boutique/custom parts):
Wheelset: -200g
Tires and inner tubes: -100g
Grips: -100g
Brake levers: -50g
Handlebar: -50g
Cassette: -50g
Brake calipers: -50g
Saddle: -100g
Pedals: -50g
Remove kickstand and magnetix: -250g
Further weight savings possible, with a boost in budget: About 1 kg!
With this hypothetical "what-if", this folding bike project is completed! Although the bike is not mine, I still enjoyed sourcing for the parts and assembling the bike, and finally tuning it to run as smoothly as possible!