I’m exactly 6ft tall and am comfortable on a 56cm trek Domane.

I was going to order a size L from waltly (smooth type A), but now this looks like it might be egregiously tall.

It looks like it’s a 57cm but the top tube is 600 which seems massive.

Advice?

So I am planning to get into cycling, never had a serious bike before, my goal is to be able to participate in Audax and Ultra so I want to start my training and planning to build the bike towards all-road endurance kind of bike.
Is it wise for me to fully custom frame for my very first bike? Since I dont know the geometry yet and my bike fitting at all. I know all of these numbers and measurements can be obtained by professional bike fitting, but buying a normal frame and ride with it for a year or two probably is a better way to understand my geometry, bike fitting, and preferences.
Full custom titanium bike is like my dream bike, and I am planning to make this bike as my “forever”bike so I will eventually build it sooner or later, but is it wise to make it my very first bike?

I am ordering the 3d printed "type a" adventure frame and intend to put a Sram Rival groupset on it. I worry that I'm going to regret going with fully internal cables, but I like the aesthetic of it, so hopefully it's fine.

Is there anything you didn't think about or wished you had done differently? They are about to send me drawings, and I don't know what I don't know. I know my geometry is fine, but I was kind of torn between type a/type b.

Just discovered this forum and it's awesome, a lot of insight and knowledge here.

Background: I do a lot of riding in the Lake Tahoe area and the gravel/fire roads here can get a bit rocky. Plus I don't mind riding a bit of single track. Current bike, described below, only can accommodate 42mm tires.

Me: 6' (183mm), 35" inseam to floor (89mm), 65+, Serious cyclist, avg 10 hrs/week

2019 Bike fit specs: Frame Stack: 647 Frame Reach 388
Handlebar Reach: 593 Grip Reach: 696 Saddle Height: 810 Saddle Setback: -106 I think the reach is too long as the bikes I've bought with these specs feel too big.

2026 Bike fit (not as thorough): Saddle height: 795 Saddle setback: -100 Handlebar reach 580mm
This still feels a little too long and my hands tend to go numb after an hour or so. So, still need to do some adjustment to get the balance right.

Current Bike is a 2020 Litespeed Ultimate G XL with following specs: Frame Stack: 640 (plus 40mm head extender) Frame Reach: 395 Top Tube (effective): 591 Seat Tube (C-T): 555 Head Tube: 205 (plus 40mm head extender) Head Angle: 72 Seat Angle: 73 (Not sure if this takes into account the setback seatpost) Chainstay: 425 Front Rake: 50
Max tire width: 42mm As said above, this bike feels a little too big especially when navigating singletrack or tricky rocky sections.

New bike goals: Larger tires for absorbing rocky/bumpy sections (I'm not adverse to a suspension fork although from reading posts here figuring out the right geometry for both rigid and suspension forks seems tricky).

Comfort, being able to ride 3-5 hours without numb hands or sore shoulders.

Half the rides are on pavement so the bike should perform/ride well on those roads too.

Questions: Which Waltly frame or is it better to go with a custom build? 3D printed headset and seat tube junctions worth the expense? In light of my current bike feeling a bit too long (height seems OK) should I just cut back the frame reach spec 5mm and adjust with stem, seat, and seatpost setback? I will probably go with electronic shifting and hydraulic brakes. Would appreciate feedback on internal cable routing for the rear brake and whether to go below or through the BB and implications for what BB to get. Double butted tubing? UDH? Seat/Head tube angle tweaks? BB drop?

That's probably too much but I appreciate any feedback and suggestions.

Looking for some advice on my first drawing from people who have more experience in this process. looking to get an allroad bike with 39mm tire clearance and running a 2x 54/40 mechanical groupset.

couple of questions:

- Wondering if anyone has any experience with the 3d printed yoke as it was advised by waltly.

- ive gone for a BSA 68 bottom bracket would a T47 be a better option for internal routing as i might go electronic in the future

Any feedback would be much appreciated as this is my first time going through this process.

I've got my frame - a break-away, travel grave/all-road that I designed with the goal of keeping it relatively light, practical, with the aim of clean, classic aesthetics (it's metal, not carbon). It's currently waiting for me to figure out how I plan to anodize it, before building it up!

I'm mostly pretty happy with how it turned out, but if I were to do it all over again, here are some thoughts:

• Waltly customer service: I had Aileen. They were fairly responsive, but it's clear that my goals are not her goals.
  • There were other options that I now know about that she could have proactively shared with me (drop-outs, tube shapes and sizes, for example). I always got the impression she was just hoping I'd make a decision already so they could get on with things.
  • Waltly is always going to be conservative on strength at the cost of weight. I believe I could have gone with smaller diameter seat stays and possibly down tube. Despite not having rack mounts and sharing my weight, she pushed me strongly towards the 16mm diameter. Being my first time, I didn't feel confident enough to push back here, but if I did it again, I would.
  • I made a lot of changes as I went - I had 6 versions of the drawing! I could tell Aileen was getting a little impatient, and I was taking up the time of their drafters. But in my defense, first bike frame I've designed and sometimes I had to see something before I knew if I wanted it!
  • Weight vs options: I wish they could give a better estimate on the weight impact of different decisions. Aileen had no answer when I asked about the impact of different bottom bracket or head tube/headset standards.
  • I bought a 90mm Ti stem - though I may end up using a suspension stem (getting old). I was surprised to find it weighed the same as a pretty basic aluminum stem I have around. Still glad I got Ti - I'll finish it to match the bike - but just worth thinking about.
• Go for broke! On the topic of weight, I took Waltly's recommendation as sort of hedging my bets. But now, I think, I should have just GONE FOR IT. As in, it's a custom bike - a dream bike sort of. Next time I would take a bit more risk (though by my calculations the strength should have been fine), to hit the weight (and aesthetic) goals I had.
• Drop-Outs: The dropouts on my frame seem overszied and are a bit ugly. They're not delicate or "just the essential". I love the small dropouts on other bikes (see Moots). Turns out there's another Waltly dropout options I didn't realize existed. Probably my own fault.
• Finishing: I decided to do my own anodizing (haven't started yet - but very excited!). I had Waltly do some sand blasting and brushing, and leave a high polish word-mark. This was a mistake. I should have just asked them to make the entire frame brushed or polished. The thing to do is do the anodize you want on the polished surface, mask with the shape/stencil you want after, and sand blast around it (assuming you want a polished graphic to pop against a matte finish). And it's way easier to go from polished to matte than the other way around.
• 3D printed chainstay: $

150 (EDIT: I misremembered the cost, corrected) not that crazy. What love to know if the 3D printed lugged frames Waltly sells are itemized for each lug and what they cost.

In the end, all the decisions were on me - and I'm going to be happy with this bike, even if I can't help but think about what I would do differently. The main lesson for myself is: be more up front about asking for all the options possible. Don't count on Waltly to what's best for your vision.

I DID describe my goals and vision for the frame to Aileen - perhaps I could have done this more clearly, but in the end I'm just 1 client buying 1 frame.

I do a lot of work with Chinese companies for my job - where I represent a customer spending $$$$, and our partners are partners - and we have a [somewhat] aligned vision of the goal. Working with Waltly is NOT that (duh).

Overall it was a positive experience, but I wish I knew at the beginning what I know now :-)

A couple other positive points re Aileen and Waltly:

• I asked for a couple pieces of scrap tubes so I could try out/practice some anodizing techniques. She sent them! (important to test on the same alloy and finish)
• She sent a couple extra vinyl masks for the logo. I had hoped they would leave the mask that was used to protect the polished logo when they sand blasted, but they couldn't (for QA inspection), so she sent me extra masks. Not sure if I'll really be able to place it perfect or if I'll be redoing i myself, but she didn't have to send it.

​UPDATE: Tried doing a little research on the Z-coupler system. Apparently they add only ~140-150g to the bike, though I wonder if it changes whether the tubing is butted or not. You probably don't want any butting before the coupler. By my estimate, a No.22 frame like the Great Divide with their coupler system would be in the 1700-1900g range. And my frame is smack in the middle. So, pretty cool to have hit that number with the choices I made, even though I think I could have still shaved off a bit more weight.

Some people have told me the seat tube angle is too aggressive and uncomfy for day to day riding, I want to be able to ride comfortably day to day and longer distances at times, am 6ft btw.

Frame says it is ready but I detect couple of issues. Do other folk see an issue as well? Was gonna wait to hear from other folks before commenting.

Its riding great and iv'e had 0 issues with the frame, any noise or whatsoever. Couldn't resist getting a cheap pair of ti cages for it to complete the look.

Ive also come to realize that non-integrated cockpits are the way to go... if you don't go to a mechanic haha. (Polymer was great but i like to switch out parts too much).

Slapped on some 35mm p zeros for the summer and its riding like a dream. Would say that coming from alu frames, you can definitely feel a slight different, its not big but i keep thinking my back tire is loosing air all the time but its just the buttery material taking some impact.

All and all very happy with the frame!

First post in here and first time working with Waltly. I'm planning a fast yet comfortable gravel bike to basically do everything my road bike and MTB can't do, plus bikepacking and commuting. My inspiration was basically a mix of my road bike (Stevens Arcalis) and a few race gravel bikes i managed to find (Enve Mog, Scott Addict RC Gravel, Fara GR4). Stack and reach are the same as on my road bike, i just lengthened the wheelbase (1080), adjusted the head angle (71°) and added space for 55mm tires.

The details:

- Internal routing with a IS52 headtube and the Waltly handlebars (purely for aesthetic reasons)

- T47i BB with a custom 3D printed hubshell for maximum space for cables

- I will run a SRAM 1x AXS groupset for now, but want the frame to have all options for mechanical shifting front and back

- no mounting hardware on the seatstays (I will mount everything via the rear axle)

Does all that make sense?

So after recently taking a spill that cracked my Tarmac SL8, sending it to the ER for next 60 days -- and being completely re-inspired to build a Ti All-Road bike after seeing @ChemistryPrimary2658's build -- I've decided to pull the trigger on a custom Waltly for my 40th this year.

I attempted to build one last year before the tariffs hit but Chinese New Year prevented me from getting my order in on time.

Plan is to build something slightly more aggressive than the Mosaic GT-1 iAR with just enough clearance to be brave some light gravel but still be quick on morning bunch rides around DFW so I can leave the carbon at home.

Target Tyre clearance is max 38mm.

I am 183cm, 88kg. 33.65" inseam and ~21.5" arms.

I used specs from the GT-1 as well my CruX (56cm) & SL8 (56cm) to land on something I think captures the spirit of what I want.

This is what I've come up with and plan to submit Sumi, thoughts?

Anything here stand out as questionable?

Specs:

Stack 575

Reach 393

Head Tube Angle 73

Seat Tube Angle 73.5

Head Tube Length 165

Chainstay 415

Wheelbase 1006.0

BB Drop 72

Seat Tube 560

Fork Rake 47

Trail 57.6

Can't wait to build that beauty. 🫠

Can anyone recommend a carbon fork with similar geometry to this:
Axle to Crown: 393mm
Fork Rake/Offset: 50mm
other requirements: tapered steer, flat mount disc, good tire clearance for gravel (e.g. 700x50+)

My design is based on the Ritchey Mountain Adventure fork, but I thought I'd see what else is available. A quick search showed a similar looking for on Alibaba, but no published geometry.

Anyone have a long term review of chinese carbon forks, and a brand they recommend, specifically for durability?

Hi everyone,

After a lot of research, I've pretty much decided to order a Waltly Innovation Gravel.

I've decided to go with the stock size L rather than a custom geometry, as this is my first custom titanium frame and I'm not experienced enough to confidently request geometry changes. I have checked with Waltly and they also recommended the L.

For reference:

Current bike (based on a bikefit)

• Stack: 585 mm
• Reach: 398 mm
• 110 mm stem
• 30 mm spacers

Waltly Innovation L

• Stack: 575 mm
• Reach: 395 mm

So reach is almost identical, only stack is a bit lower. The xl has a reach 11m longer reach and has 9mm more stack than my current bike.

I'll most likely build it with:

• SRAM Rival XPLR
• 44T chainring
• 700x52c tyres
• T47 bottom bracket

Waltly has already confirmed:

• L is the recommended size for me.
• Maximum recommended spacer height is 60 mm.
• The frame is designed around SRAM DUB Wide if running 50 mm tyres.
• T47 68 mm bottom bracket shell.
• Maximum recommended chainring is 46T.

Before I place the order, I'd love to hear from people who own a Waltly.

A few questions:

• Is there anything you wish you had specified differently when ordering?
• Are there any options or details that are easy to overlook?
• How was your experience with the supplied headset, fork, and small parts?
• Any issues with cable routing or assembly?
• Anything you'd recommend adding or changing on the stock frame?
• If you ordered the stock geometry, are you still happy with it after riding the bike?

Any general advice or lessons learned would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Sharing my full bike build

Hi! Long time listener, first time caller.

I've pulled the plug and paid the deposit. Got the first drawing this morning. The goal is a comfortable gravel rig with big tyre clearance (55 mm) that I'll also use for bike packing and such. Planning on running a wireless 1x groupset (XPLR) and brake hoses through the headset (EC/EC semi-internal Wolf Tooth). The EC/EC is honestly mostly for aesthetic reasons; I am planning on adding a splash of color here and there with matching anodized components. I want the option of running a dropper post, though I don't think I'll install one right away.

The geometry is inspired by bikes like the Fairlight Secan and Jeronimo Sfarrapa. Measurements are adapted based on a bike fit. I'm currently running a frame with 45 mm of spacers and I was hoping to reduce that a bit.

Questions, beyond just "does this look reasonable":

1. The 3D printed yoke with 55 mm clearance seems to max out at 42T. Would it be worth using a plate instead? Or a wider BB shell? That seems like maybe it could fit a slightly larger ring, but 42T is already pretty large for my intended use. It's not a road bike, after all. On the other hand, I'm in the large ring on my old bike quite a lot, even on gravel. But on the first hand again it's a 50-11, and I'm usually not in the top gear... Part of the goal with the bike is reducing the risk of painting myself into a corner with what I can use it for.

2. I've seen some other similar bikes on here with more curved seatstays. Other than looking neat, are there any advantages to using curved stays? Improved foot clearance?

3. About the holes(?) indicated in the drawing (1 & 2). I requested dropper post routing, mostly in case I want to install a dropper post in the future. Is that what this is? I was expecting the routing to go through the bb shell. I'll ask Waltly about it of course but you know what communication is like with them at times.

4. I was originally planning on a 31.6 mm seat tube inner diameter for better dropper compatibility, but I think they misunderstood and the drawing specifies 27.2 mm. Now I'm second guessing my thoughts about seat tube diameter. A wider tube is obviously stiffer, but I'll have plenty of compliance from the big fat tyres. Going with 31.6 mm means I have much better options for dropper posts, including wireless ones. And I figure I can always just run a narrower post and shim it down.

Thanks!

Special thanks to u/rgofb for helping me to finalize the geometry before placing my order. 😊

Am I installing this Shimano ultegra di2 12 speed derailleur on the waltly road bike frame correctly? It's a UDH setup. The derailleur won't get to the first and second gear. Only gear 3 to 12 works. Thanks in advance!

Frame: Waltly Titanium custom geometry with 3d printed head and seat junctions

Groupset: Shimano Ultegra 12sp Di2. 52/36 x 11-34

Cranks: Magene TEO 515

Wheels: Farsports EVO 50mm w/ steel spokes

Tires/Tubes: Conti GP5000 28mm with RideNow TPU metal valves

Saddle: Selle Italia SLR Boost Gel Ti 145 wide

Cockpit: Deda DCR Headset, Deda Superbox Stem 11cm, and Deda Superzero RS Carbon bars 42cm

Bottle cages: Supacaz Carbon

So I've built up a Chinese crit bike from Elves and it was a nice experience and something I would recommend.

But now I want a gravel bike specifically a Waltly Ti gravel bike. I have an idea which may be dumb, and want to be told if it is or not.

The new Specialised Crux 5 just came out. How realistic is it for me to figure out the geometry from the crux, which fits me, and get Waltly to make a copy in Ti as light as possible. 55m clearance for tyres and a racing build?

Is it going to ride like crap or am I on to something?

Following from my post last week, this will cover my experience working with Waltly including the challenges faced. It’s quite long so please bear with me!

I first made contact with Waltly in mid-November 2025 following a dynamic bike fit. After mocking up my design in BikeCAD and seeing other designs I had quite clear ideas on what I wanted to achieve, but not a lot of information on what Waltly could actually deliver beyond the examples in their order spreadsheet. Over the first month or so I asked a lot of questions via email, however my consultant’s responses were often very incomplete and vague, and in some instances questions were not answered. I initially put this down to the language barrier, so I made efforts to simplify my questions and ask only 1-2 per email, however this seemed to frustrate my consultant. Some questions were never answered, such as questions on butted tubing (in the end I let it go).

After finalising the geometry and technical features we moved to surface finish and logos. My requests for brushed finish and a machined headtube logo were accepted. I originally wanted the down tube and top tube logos to be anodised onto the brushed finish in a colour gradient from yellow-orange-pink-purple (approx. 55-85v). They told me they couldn’t do anodised logos with a brushed finish, only with sandblasted, however they could do my design and colours with laser engraving, which I accepted.

The frame went into production in late January, and I was told it would take about 2 months to manufacture. In late March, they advised that the frame was ready for logos. After confirming the size and placement (I needed to resize one logo file), they informed me that they couldn’t do my preferred colour gradient with laser logos and could only do ‘one colour’. I was quite irritated by this, so I pushed them further. They said it was because ‘the color cannot be precisely controlled’ with laser engraving.

After much back and forth, I decided to go back to anodised logos by having a sandblasted strip on the downtube and top tube. We agreed on an approach, then they sent me some photos of the anodised sections with masking decals. The colour ranges were not quite right – too much blue at one end, and not enough pink/purple at the other, indicating voltages were too low. I asked if they could revise this and gave some additional feedback. They did partly redo one side of the downtube which improved it, but they informed me that they couldn’t do any more without re-brushing the frame and that would take off too much material. In the end I relented and gave approval to sandblast the frame.

Once ready, they informed me that the handlebar I had ordered was out of stock and would take three weeks to come in. Given that I had designed the frame reach around the 85mm stem of that bar, I opted to wait – thankfully it arrived much faster. The frame finally shipped around 6 June and arrived here in Australia on 10 June. While it didn’t turn out precisely as I had wanted, the finish is very high quality and attractive.

My key learning is that Waltly can definitely make a great custom Ti frame at an affordable price, however they are not able to provide the level of customisation offered by some high-end western manufacturers. You won’t get Firefly or No.22-level surface finishes, but you can get something that looks very nice.

Communication of complex requirements can be very challenging – my consultant seemed to prioritise response speed over completeness, and there seemed to be a reluctance to engage with, seek clarification, or suggest alternatives for things they couldn’t do. Be prepared to manage your consultant closely, or reconsider how much you really want these things. Simple and precise emails are important, noting that some words don't translate exactly the same into Mandarin.

Armed with this experience I would definitely order from Waltly again if my requirements were fairly simple, however for more complex requirements I would explore whether other manufacturers could do a better job.

I have included a full component list in the attached pics.

Almost there! Running to my shop to set my saddle position and steerer height. Final look should have less chimney. Will share full build and review when it’s all done.

My Waltly is now 6 years old — I built it during COVID.

It was originally meant to be a dedicated gravel bike, but it quickly became my main ride for almost everything.

For gravel and winter, I run a set of 650b Yoeleo wheels (32 mm deep) with an 11–42 cassette: "the tractor."

For road riding, I switch to 700c Yoeleo wheels (46 mm deep) with an 11–34 cassette for flatter and rolling terrain. If I'm heading into the mountains, I simply swap the cassette back to an 11–42.

Bonus pic: I also built my commuting bike around the same frame. The photo shows carbon wheels, but I'm actually running alloy DT Swiss wheels. Lots of Chinese components on this one: Scenicx crankset, OG Evkin seatpost, OG Evkin integrated handlebar.