Vaast R1 ride review (magnesium road bike)

[vertr]

OP, could you post some photos of the Rival bikes? Don't even see that spec on the VAAST site.

[benb]

It looks like lots of marketing around Magnesium but somehow I am guessing this is mostly an aluminum alloy with a small amount of magnesium in it, but somehow different from the similar alloys used in the past and marketed as "Magnesium".

The price looks good IMO. Material is interesting. The bikes themselves are not that interesting to me personally I guess.

I guess a good benchmark for the real world would be if Baron would share what size he rode and how much the built up bike weighed? We know all these materials can be made into nice bikes, but the market seems to move on how much the final product weights balanced out against aero I guess.

[EB]

Originally Posted by benb

It looks like lots of marketing around Magnesium but somehow I am guessing this is mostly an aluminum alloy with a small amount of magnesium in it, but somehow different from the similar alloys used in the past and marketed as "Magnesium".

In this particular case ("Allite Super Magnesium"), this is not true - the alloying content is 8% aluminum and 1% rare earths for AE81, which is one of the two "weldable" alloys and what I assume they are using for these bike frames.

By "weldable" they mean it will melt at 1200 F instead of exploding, like Mg normally does.

I am skeptical of most of the claims made by Vaast, but this actually does seem to be primarily Mg.

The main use of Mg in the bike industry today is cast mountain bike fork lowers, but in that use case, there is no need for welding, and the Mg alloy has advantages in terms of casting, so these "super magnesium" properties aren't needed.

[dgauthier]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba

(...) Not explosive from the get-go, but plenty reactive once you get going (...)

I'm surprised no one has yet commented on this part of Baron Blubba's review of a magnesium bike. Worthy of The Onion, IMHO...

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by benb

It looks like lots of marketing around Magnesium but somehow I am guessing this is mostly an aluminum alloy with a small amount of magnesium in it, but somehow different from the similar alloys used in the past and marketed as "Magnesium".

As noted above, it appears that VAAST is using a mostly magnesium alloy. And they are not the first to make frames by welding magnesium tubing. Merida made magnesium frames for many years, and Pinarello also made magnesium frames for a bit. Probably one of the least apt usages of magnesium in the bicycle industry were the American Classic magnesium rims. These were very light (sub 300 grams for a clincher rim), but a quite fragile. Worse yet, they would start to fall apart without even riding them. The brack tracks were bare magnesium, and since magnesium corrodes easily, the brake tracks would corrode away easily just from exposure to the atmosphere.

[ridethecliche]

Originally Posted by dgauthier

I'm surprised no one has yet commented on this part of Baron Blubba's review of a magnesium bike. Worthy of The Onion, IMHO...

What does this even mean?

[Mark McM]

Compared to other structural metals, magnesium is chemically quite reactive, and even flammable/explosive in some situations.

[Baron Blubba]

Originally Posted by vertr

OP, could you post some photos of the Rival bikes? Don't even see that spec on the VAAST site.

Pics are here.
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=309061

The weight for a size M (54ish) without pedals, cages, or mounts is 18 lbs 10 oz.

Dgauthier, I am way too wholesome to fathom your depths.

[72gmc]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

Probably one of the least apt usages of magnesium in the bicycle industry were the American Classic magnesium rims. These were very light (sub 300 grams for a clincher rim), but a quite fragile. Worse yet, they would start to fall apart without even riding them. The brack tracks were bare magnesium, and since magnesium corrodes easily, the brake tracks would corrode away easily just from exposure to the atmosphere.

"Lighter every day!" The headlines write themselves ...

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by offrhodes

My question is Vaast going to be around? For the price it does not really matter, but it would be nice to know if a company will be around if you need them. I know they are owned by the same parent company as Niner, so there is money behind them. All the deals that can be found on these bikes is making it hard not to pull the trigger.

honest question- other than the seatpost it sounds like, why would it matter if they are around in 5 yrs or not? I mean I have/had a few Serottas, mostly after they folded and I've never had an issue where that mattered.. I could see if the bike had a lot of VAAST-only parts, and the seatpost might keep me away if a VAAST-only product (and just not some non-round post that others may use), but that would be about it.. at least for me, YMMV..

[dgauthier]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba

(...) Dgauthier, I am way too wholesome to fathom your depths.

You don't fool me Baron! I know you're secretly a world class comedian.

For those who don't know how much fun you can have with magnesium:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3DK-jEWQg0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSusDFuaAms

Originally Posted by EB

(...) By "weldable" they mean it will melt at 1200 F instead of exploding, like Mg normally does. (...)

As EB pointed out, the frame is welded, so in reality there's no chance this Mg alloy bike will wipe out a city block...

[offrhodes]

Originally Posted by fourflys

honest question- other than the seatpost it sounds like, why would it matter if they are around in 5 yrs or not? I mean I have/had a few Serottas, mostly after they folded and I've never had an issue where that mattered.. I could see if the bike had a lot of VAAST-only parts, and the seatpost might keep me away if a VAAST-only product (and just not some non-round post that others may use), but that would be about it.. at least for me, YMMV..

To some people warranty support, customer service support, etc. do matter. For a road bike it is a lot less important, IMHO, than for a mtb. I have had to use a warranty issue on only one bike part in my entire life (A WTB rear hub) and am not concerned too much with this Vaast bike. Like I said at the end of that post, the deals are making it hard to ignore them.

[vertr]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba

Pics are here.
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=309061

The weight for a size M (54ish) without pedals, cages, or mounts is 18 lbs 10 oz.

Dgauthier, I am way too wholesome to fathom your depths.

Does the fork have fender mounts too?

[merckxman]

Those Pinarello Dogma AK61 magnesium frames were very desirable back in the day. However, some developed cracks.

[peanutgallery]

Magnesium is flammable you know

Magnesium is a been there done that for the the industry. As others have alluded, they cracked. Like most of what was sold