Note: I built up this bike myself. For the details of that build, see this post.
I suspect twenty miles is nowhere near enough with a bike to adequately review it. With that said, some initial impressions…
I am not being fair. I had a very hard ride this past weekend – I am sore and weak. Obviously not the best condition to experience something new. Additionally, I have experience on but one road bike – my older Giant OCR 2 – so my perspective is incredibly thin.
The R-028 is SMOOTH! There was no mistaking the feeling. The cracks and sharp dips were MUCH more tolerable on the R-028. The OCR is rather harsh and transmits every variation in the road right into your body. At one point, I was aiming for some rough road just to see how the R-028 would feel – it ate it up.
The R-028 is much more stable than my Giant OCR 2. The Giant will dart and turn with a thought, one really doesn’t move the handlebars – more like steering with your hips. The R-028 does not do that, one must start the turn. One significant difference between the two bikes is a 100mm stem on the R-028 and an 80mm on the Giant.
Speed? Well, that is an area I did not feel any improvement. As noted, my legs were already toast. Add to that getting used to the 22 speed (from the OCR’s 27) and I was really searching to find the gear and cadence that I prefer. So, I probably shouldn’t even talk about speed until I recover and get some more miles on the bike.
Leaping ability? I occasionally read how some bikes just leap forward when you stand on the pedals. I suspect my OCR 2 is a bit like that. I did not have that feeling with the R-028. It is no slouch, of course; but the sensation of launching wasn’t there.
More to come…
Hi!
Thank you for your posts regarding Velobuild and the R-028.
I ordered a R-028 in start september 2014 and late in october it is still in “awaiting fullfilment” state. Not a single word from Velobuild about delays or anything else. They did manage to withdraw the money, but that is about it.
I gave up asking about the delay. The frame has been “in painting” for almost 3 weeks now and it is going out This week everytime I ask. In short I lost patience. An email explaining the delay or where they were in the proces would do wonders.
I gave up on the forum at Velobuild. I do not even get a confirmation email and are not able to log in.
I have a question for you: if the frame ever arrives what size and type of BB did you use? I chose bsa and if I understand the draving correct the bb should be 70mm – but 70 mm is italian thread or am I wrong here?
Best regards
Jan
Hi Jan. I’m very sorry to hear of your problems with VeloBuild – I hope you get the parts that you paid for soon! Excellent question on the BB. I’m afraid I am not certain. I ordered the BSA with British threads and the 105 groupset to match (and it did). This is the 1.37 x 24 thread and 68mm. If you ordered with 70mm, I believe you are correct – Italian thread. However; I am far from an expert so could be very wrong.