Pilot Bikes, Dutch Ti frames

[Soltydog]

I'm 100kg so not exactly a featherweight myself I tend to be sympathetic to wheels though, never had any major wheel related traumas anyway Hopefully if my weight loss continues at it's current rate I'll be nearer 90kg by the time I get the bike together, its months off as yet. I reckon June would be the soonest I could get my hands on a custom frameset based on what I've been told to date

Had to work out what my weight is in kg Currently 95kg, probably been as high as 105 over the last few years, but never as low as 90kg , maybe this year?
Looking back at my 2nd set of wheels with the DT nipples I reckon it was about 3 years before any issues & probably quite high(ish) mileage, maybe close to 10k, but it was not winter miles

 

[JhnBssll]

Had to work out what my weight is in kg Currently 95kg, probably been as high as 105 over the last few years, but never as low as 90kg , maybe this year?
Looking back at my 2nd set of wheels with the DT nipples I reckon it was about 3 years before any issues & probably quite high(ish) mileage, maybe close to 10k, but it was not winter miles

I would count 3 years and 10k between rebuilds as a great success for my early attempts at wheel building

Found a half decent picture of the frameset I'm interested in, they seem fairly rare so not many photos about which is one of the things that attracts me to it, and also one of the things that concerns me slightly

I'm interested to know how they suggest a full internal Di2 version will work - the rear mech wire will have to run through the chainstay but the tube finishes well short of the mech so there would potentially be a length of saggy wire to deal with

 

[StuAff]

I would count 3 years and 10k between rebuilds as a great success for my early attempts at wheel building

Found a half decent picture of the frameset I'm interested in, they seem fairly rare so not many photos about which is one of the things that attracts me to it, and also one of the things that concerns me slightly

View attachment 452414

I'm interested to know how they suggest a full internal Di2 version will work - the rear mech wire will have to run through the chainstay but the tube finishes well short of the mech so there would potentially be a length of saggy wire to deal with

No, that looks absolutely rubbish. You won't like it one little bit......

 

[JhnBssll]

Pilot have been in touch with the lbs and told them to expect some demo bikes by mid March - they're attending a trade show in the first week of March and will forward a few of the display bikes on to them to try out

I had a confirmation through from AliExpress yesterday to say my rims have shipped so I'll be keeping tabs of them as they make their way across the globe

I decided my best bet was to sell the Roubaix as a whole bike rather than a frameset. I only want the new Ultegra Di2 bits off it anyway plus a few odds and sods so spent some time working out the most cost effective way of doing it. I realised the Di2 cable lengths may be wrong and I had spare junction boxes so I had a look around on eBay and found some bargain R785 hydro Di2 shifters and a pair of R6870 mechs so snapped them up I also found a pair of used shimano brake rotors for 20 quid and bought them so I can keep hold of the much more pricey Hope floating road rotors currently on the Roubaix.

Those bits arrived today so I swapped the mechs over this afternoon. Unfortunately Di2 went wonky so I've popped it in to the lbs to reset as my charger only has limited functionality for fixing things. I know what I did wrong - I put the replacement mech on whilst it was in the bottom position but the control box thought it was in 9th. The result was it wouldn't shift up on to the top two sprockets. I worked out what I'd done and how to fix it whilst on my way back from the lbs after dropping it off, D'oh!

These are the replacement mechs in the listing:

They seem in good condition after a cleanup and some touching up with black paint on the scuffs, no pictures until I get the bike back. The R785's are bulkier and nowhere near as pretty as the new Ultegra they're replacing but will do the job and are in excellent condition - I've not fitted them yet, another job for tomorrow once the bike is home.

It'll be an interesting comparison when its back up and running, I wonder if I'll notice any difference functionally. To be honest I doubt I will. I feel much more comfortable about selling a complete working bike that I'll have covered several hundred miles on to check all is well than a collection of expensive parts

More bits coming together now for the new bike, including the K-Edge chain catcher that I took in to the lab at work today and machined out slightly to fit some more purple ti bolts It's all in the details...

I also cleaned up the mechs and fitted some purple ti jockey wheel bolts that nobody but me will ever know are there

Last but not least I cleaned up the cassette and brake rotors and loosely popped them on to the new hubs. All ready to build when the rims arrive

 

[Harry Jacques]

hi JHnbassll, I m new here and dutch. last Friday i visited the famous bikefair in Holland, Bikemotion. One off the mean reasons to go was that i wanted to see my three favorite bikes: e.g. the Pilot Veturi and the J.Guillem Orient, Van Nicholas Zephyr. Guillem wasn t present there, but the Veturi is beautifull. It was the first time thas i saw the new bike in real. They updated their new website recently, they told me that not all the functions are perfect already. Within a few weeks is is possible to make your 'custom bike'. The one i saw was with Ultegra, but my wish is SRAM Force. The People of Pilot where very nice, and gave good technical information (also about the improvements they made in the last model 2019) , they were much more interested and better than the people off Van Nicholas. But...i saw the new Van Nicholas Zephyr, thats their endurance model (not the skeiron, is is mory racy!) and the new Zephyr hals also discbrakes and better looks, cables more and nicer inside than the Veturi. But the Veturi is a awesome bike in real! But also J. Guillem is very nice...I wil decide within a few months wich bike i m gonna buy (i lossed my job so i cannot buy it at the moment :-().

 

[Harry Jacques]

Here a link to a dutch article about the Veturi, interesting are the photos of the bike (2018), the 2019 version is a little bit adjusted....http://www.bikeandtrekkingmagazine.nl/nieuws/16476/pilot-veturi-2018.html

 

[JhnBssll]

Thanks very much for the information, very interesting! I believe Pilot are sending a few of the display bikes from that show to my local bike shop so I will soon see the exact bike you looked at

I have not seen any information regarding the 2019 model yet, I'm waiting for them to send some details and photos but I know they are busy currently with the show

I'm sorry to hear you have lost your job, I hope you soon find another one

 

[JhnBssll]

I collected the first of my chinese carbon experiments for the Ti bike build from the post office this morning, a pair of handlebars that have cost me around £45 including postage and import duty. They were very well packaged...

The final unwrap was quite exciting as the bars were slowly revealed and first impressions are very good indeed. They look very similar in construction to my Deda superzero carbon aero bars, they're light but stiff and the carbon layup looks fine. Of course I won't really know until I go to fit them and ride them for a while, but there's certainly nothing to suggest there's a problem at this stage

These were from a china based eBay seller but I've got another pair that were only £18 inc. postage on the way from an AliExpress seller, it will be very interesting to see what they're like in comparison I'm off out for a bit now but will fit some bits to them later on today and report back for anyone thats interested

 

[JhnBssll]

Just ordered a Di2 cable and some hydraulic brake hose so I can finish connecting the shifters and wrap them but looking good so far

 

[JhnBssll]

Couldn't resist starting the bar tape off...

 

[JhnBssll]

The hydraulic hose and di2 cable arrived today so I've just spent some time in the garage having a play. Rather irritatingly I only had one olive and barb, thought I had more, so i could only finish one side That said the Di2 side of things is all connected up and junction box fitted so progress none the less I'm really pleased with the bar tape, looks exactly as I imagined it

 

[Harry Jacques]

beautifull purple!! Have the pilot bikes arrived at your LBS and did you already have your first experience/impression?

 

[JhnBssll]

beautifull purple!! Have the pilot bikes arrived at your LBS and did you already have your first experience/impression?

Thanks, I always think purple goes well with Titanium

The bikes haven't arrived yet, as I understand it my LBS emailed Pilot recently so I hope to hear more very soon. Quite exciting! I have also emailed them with some questions a few days ago and am waiting for a reply, I think they are busy with new customers from all the shows they have been to

I had a look on their webpage a few days ago and noticed they have some new photos up - the frame design has changed significantly around the rear dropouts and the seat stay bridge has gone, although it still states fender and rack mounts in the description Not too big a deal as I'm sure they'll put the bridge back in for me if asked as it'll already be customised with the Di2 internal routing. It looks rather lovely still, if anything I prefer the new dropout detail and it will be better for internal routing.

In other news I got some more barbs and olives today so the bars are now finished

 

[JhnBssll]

Second pair of (even cheaper) aero bars arrived today and they look good on first inspection These ones were the princely sum of £18.84 inc delivery and duty

These ones are going to a mate as freebies, he'll inspect them and run them on his turbo bike for a bit to see if hes happy with them. He's ordered the same bar tape I used but in orange to go with his bike, should look ace

No Pilot related updates as yet

 

[Milkfloat]

These ones are going to a mate as freebies, he'll inspect them and run them on his turbo bike for a bit to see if hes happy with them.

If he lives to tell the tale, could you post a link to your source?