Specialized Aethos: Assembly Part 3

Finally, the Specialized Aethos has been completed! I started from the bare frame and fork, and assembled every component myself. The assembly was started with Part 1 and Part 2, and Part 3 will show the completed bike.

This bike is equipped with the full Dura-Ace Di2 12 speed groupset, except for the crankset which is the older R9100 11 speed version.

Final part of the assembly is to install the bar tape. Shown here is the PRO Sport Control bar tape, which weighs about 70 grams per pair.

Exposed hydraulic hose routing, but no Di2 wires. I prefer this to routing the hoses internally through the headset.

PRO Vibe Superlight handlebar

Specialized S-Works SL Stem

Dura-Ace R9270 Di2 shifters, which communicate wirelessly with the rear derailleur.

The curvature of the handlebar is a bit weird as I cannot get a smooth transition from the hoods to the top of the handlebar, no matter how I rotate the handlebar or move the shifters.

Roval carbon seatpost and a generic temporary saddle.

PRO Stealth Team Saddle

Based on my bike fitting at LOUE Bicycles, I have to shift the saddle all the way to the front, to offset the stock seatpost which has a rear offset. Normally I use a seatpost with zero offset.

Dura-Ace C36 front wheel and GP5000 tires, using TPU inner tubes.

Drivetrain with Dura-Ace rear derailleur and 12 speed 11-30T cassette.

Dura-Ace R9270 hydraulic brake calipers with XTR MT900 160 mm front rotor.

Same brake caliper at the rear, but with 140 mm rotor. Note the recessed thru axle design.

Full Dura-Ace Di2 drivetrain!

Dura-Ace Di2 R9250 front derailleur, and the older R9100 crankset which is much lighter.

Plenty of frame clearance for the R9100 left crank arm with 4iiii power meter.

Close up of the Dura-Ace Di2 R9250 12 speed rear derailleur.

Very clean brand new Dura-Ace R9200 11-30T 12 speed cassette.

The Focus Paralane has a shorter top tube length, but the Brand X handlebar used has a longer reach.

Both bikes are using 90 mm stems. The Aethos has a longer top tube reach but shorter handlebar reach, which gives a resultant shifter position that is almost the same as on the Focus Paralane.

The shifters on the Aethos is tilted up slightly more, to help smoothen the transition from the shifter hoods to the handlebar.

In the next post, I will show the detailed bike specifications and the final bike weight!