Specialized Aethos: Frameset Replacement

As one of the top level framesets in the road bike industry, the Specialized Aethos is favoured for its excellent ride quality and low weight. In fact, many non-competitive road cyclists prefer the Aethos over the faster SL7 or SL8 due to the more comfortable ride.

I have previously built the Aethos from scratch using the frameset, you can read all about it here. Unfortunately, I recently discovered some problems with the appearance of the frameset.

As you can see from the pictures below, there are some strange defects on the S-Works logo on the frameset. I love the colour of this champagne pink frameset which makes it so unique. It comes with silver coloured logos on the frame as well.

However, while cleaning the bike, I saw some black areas and specks on the silver logo. Somehow it only happens on one side of it, giving the wording a shadow effect. I have only used water to clean the bike, without any chemicals at all, so it is unusual to see this happening. Check out the original appearance of the silver logo here.

One side of the silver logo turned black, which gives it a shadow effect.

Unintended 3D effect on the silver logo?

The silver logo and wording at the front of the head tube also has the same problem.

Given that this is the top level Aethos S-Works frameset, this is not acceptable. I contacted the Specialized dealer in Singapore and showed them this problem. I was not sure what a possible solution could be, short of changing the whole frameset.

When the dealer got back to me, they told me that it looks like corrosion on the silver logo, which is made of metallic material. Apparently the earlier batches that came from the factory did not have a protective coating on it, which allows it to corrode naturally over time.

Other frame colours don't have a metallic silver logo, so they don't have this problem. Since the frameset is less than 1 year old, it is fully covered under warranty. I had initially thought it would be hard to get the whole frameset exchanged under warranty due to a defective logo.

I was surprised when the dealer offered to exchange the frameset under warranty, in order to solve this problem. This is excellent as this means that Specialized is willing to absorb the cost of fixing the defective frameset. In any case, the cost would probably be footed by the OEM factory that allowed this to happen.

What I had to do was to bring the old frameset back to the Specialized dealer, and get a new one in return. I could choose from any of the Aethos S-Works frameset that is in stock, of the same size. This is an excellent chance for me to change the colour of the frameset!

Although I love this champagne pink colour, I don't mind trying out another frameset colour given the chance. The troublesome part is to disassemble the bike completely, so that I can exchange the frameset.

Disassembled the Aethos frameset completely in preparation for the frameset exchange. Other than the defective logo, the rest of the frameset is in pristine condition.

There were not many colour choices in my frame size for exchange. One of the available colour was the same champagne pink, but I was worried that the same problem might occur again. In the end, I chose the Maroon colour instead of the other boring black colours.

It turned out to be a good choice as it looks really good under sunlight! It looks almost like black when it is dark, but looks amazing under good lighting. Check out the pictures below!

Brand new Aethos S-Works frame in Maroon colour!

Check out the amazing glitter in the paint job. S-Works logo is protected by the gloss clear coat on the paint.

Smooth joints around the head tube, with a lovely gloss Maroon paint.

Aethos logo at the front of the head tube.

More pictures of the beautiful Maroon paint job!

Although the fork did not have the same logo corrosion problem, I also have to exchange it together with the frame as a complete frameset. This means that I have to return the champagne pink fork as well.

New Maroon fork for the Aethos S-Works!

Glossy Maroon paint that fades to black at the bottom of the legs.

Amazing glitter that is visible when viewed up close.

More pictures of the new Maroon fork.

Bottom of fork legs are black, which is fine as it helps to hide the dirty area near the brake rotors.

Weight of the Maroon frame is 655 grams, inclusive of front derailleur bracket only. The seat post clamp and rear hanger are not included.

Weight of the new Maroon fork is 302 grams, before cutting to length.

Comparing the weight of this Maroon frame to the previous Champagne Pink frame, there is an increase of 56 grams, as the previous frame only weighed 599 grams! The fork weight is nearly the same at 302 grams, which is already very lightweight.

Overall, I am happy with the frameset replacement, as I get a brand new frameset in a new colour at no cost to me. The only thing it costs me is time and effort to disassemble and later reassemble the bike, which I don't mind doing so for a new frameset. Also, I am impressed with the Specialized warranty which stands by the quality of their product.

12 Speed Road Cassette Comparison: Dura-Ace R9200 vs Ultegra R8100

One of the most common questions that cyclists ask is whether it is worth upgrading from an Ultegra cassette to a Dura-Ace cassette? The Dura-Ace cassette costs around 3 times more than the Ultegra version, which is a pretty big difference. Why is there such a big price difference?

Today I will compare the Dura-Ace R9200 12 speed cassette versus the Ultegra R8100 12 speed cassette. The cassette details can be found in the individual posts, as I will mainly be comparing the similarities and differences. If you like side by side comparisons, there are a lot more at this page.

Comparing the bigger 11-34T cassette instead of the 11-30T cassette.

Colour looks very different, due to the different materials and surface finishing used.

Dura-Ace cassette is on the right with some dark grey sprockets.

Construction is similar, as both use 2 spiders for 7 sprockets, while the other 5 sprockets are loose.

Ultegra CS-R8100 11-34T cassette weighs 341 grams. Heavier than the Dura-Ace and also the SRAM Force XG-1270 11-36T cassette.

Dura-Ace CS-R9200 11-34T cassette is much lighter at 256 grams. A whole 85 grams lighter.

Aluminium lock rings look similar, just with different laser engraving / pad printing.

The 11, 12, 13T sprockets are similar, but the larger sprockets are slightly different between the Dura-Ace and Ultegra versions.

On the Dura-Ace 14T sprocket (right), there is a groove cut into the sprocket to reduce a bit of weight.

Ultegra 14T sprocket is 12 grams.

The groove on the Dura-Ace 14T sprocket saves 2 grams.

The 12 speed B spacer is different. Dura-Ace uses the aluminium version on the right, while the Ultegra version uses a resin spacer.

Same for the 15T sprocket, the Dura-Ace version has a groove all around.

Ultegra 15T sprocket weighs 13 grams.

Dura-Ace version with groove is 1 gram lighter.

On the 11-34T cassette, there is no 16T sprocket. Instead, it is replaced by a 34T sprocket at the end to expand the gear range. Check out this post for a comparison between the 11-30T and 11-34T cassettes.

The 17-19T sprockets are riveted onto a small aluminium spider. The spider looks the same, but the sprockets are different!

The Dura-Ace version on the right has a titanium 19T sprocket that is riveted to the steel 17T sprocket, while both the sprockets on the Ultegra version are made of steel.

Ultegra 17-19T with both steel sprockets weigh 45 grams.

Dura-Ace version with a titanium 19T sprocket weighs 9 grams less.

Next, we move to the last spider on the cassette, where the 5 largest sprockets are riveted together. These 5 sprockets are 21-24-27-30-34T.

Dura-Ace uses titanium for its 6 largest sprockets, shown here are the 5 that are riveted together. Ultegra uses steel for all its sprockets.

Titanium sprockets have a smooth dark grey finish, compared to the sand blast satin nickel finish on the Ultegra sprockets.

Lots of rivets holding the 5 sprockets to the aluminium spider!

The Dura-Ace cassette spider on the right has a better looking surface finish, while the Ultegra version on the left looks rather unfinished.

If you look closely, the rivet head looks different! Dura-Ace uses rivets that are non-magnetic, which might be titanium, although it might also be stainless steel.

Ultegra cluster of 5 sprockets weigh 236 grams. This makes up the bulk of the Ultegra cassette weight (341 grams).

Dura-Ace cluster is much lighter at just 162 grams for the 5 largest sprockets! This is 74 grams lighter than the Ultegra cluster.

It is clear that most of the weight savings come from the cluster of 5 large sprockets, as this sub-unit alone accounts for 74 grams out of the total weight difference of 85 grams. This is possible due to the use of titanium sprockets, which are much lighter than steel sprockets.

Titanium has a density that is 4.5 kg/m3, compared to 7.8 kg/m3 for steel. If the material volume is the same, the titanium sprockets will weigh about 42% less than the steel sprockets. That is how the titanium sprockets enable big weight savings.

However, this comes as a cost, as titanium is much more expensive to procure and manufacture when compared to steel sprockets. This is part of the reason why the Dura-Ace cassette costs 3 times more than the Ultegra cassette, since half of the sprockets (6 out of 12) on the Dura-Ace cassette is made of titanium.

If you are looking for weight differences between the Dura-Ace and Ultegra groupset, the cassette contributes a big amount to it. Correspondingly, the cost difference is also big.

Is it worth paying more for the Dura-Ace cassette? Only if weight reduction is your priority. Otherwise, the Ultegra cassette would work just as well in terms of shifting performance and durability.

12 Speed Road Cassette and Chain Comparison: Ultegra R8100 vs Force XG-1270

Quick and simple side-by-side comparison between two different 12 speed cassettes. The Ultegra R8100 is the second-tier road cassette from Shimano, while the Force XG-1270 is also the second-tier road cassette from SRAM. Being at the same grade makes it a fairer comparison, although I think the SRAM cassette costs more than the Shimano cassette.

For detailed information on each of the cassettes, check out their individual pages through the links above!

SRAM 10-36T cassette on the left, with the largest sprocket in black, and others in nickel chrome. 

Shimano 11-34T cassette on the right, with sand blast finish on all the sprockets. Looks very different!

SRAM cassette uses a pinned construction to link all the 12 sprockets together, while the Shimano cassette uses aluminium spiders and loose sprockets.

One way to check if the cassettes are cross compatible is to check the spacing between the sprockets. If they are similar, at least we know that the rear derailleur can shift the chain across the sprockets consistently.

Of course, there are other factors such as the sprocket thickness, teeth profile, the type of chain, the rear derailleur exact movements, but if the spacing don't match, no point checking all the others.

Spacing between sprockets on the Shimano cassette is about 1.8 mm.

Similar 1.8 mm spacing on the SRAM cassette as well. 

With a similar spacing between the sprockets, it might be possible to swap a Shimano cassette for a SRAM cassette, or vice versa. Only by testing it out on the actual bike would it be possible to know how well it works.

SRAM cassette is lightweight at 310 grams, for a relatively large 10-36T gear combination.

Shimano cassette is heavier at 341 grams. But I think it is cheaper as well.

The 12 speed chains are also different. SRAM has its own AXS Flattop 12 speed chain, which has larger rollers that makes it incompatible to many cassettes and chain rings. I made a detailed comparison and study of the Flattop chain, you can check out the measurements in the other post.

Comparison between a Shimano 11 speed (not 12 speed) and the SRAM AXS Flattop 12 speed chain.

One thing I wanted to test was whether I can use a Shimano 12 speed chain on the SRAM 12 speed cassette. If that is possible, I can theoretically widen the gear range of a Shimano 12 speed road drivetrain from 11-34T (max) to 10-36T, which is a big increase from 309% to 360%.

Seems that the Shimano CN-M9100 12 speed chain can rest nicely on the SRAM 12 speed cassette!

Side by side comparison of the 12 speed chains.

Another view of the chains. Different plate shapes, plate thickness, roller sizes, etc.

I didn't do any deeper comparison of the cassettes and chains, as I didn't see anything else worth comparing. Check out the individual posts for details on each of the components.