After writing off my V4RS in a crash and still feeling heartbroken, someone was selling a Kein E8 in the 2.3 million won range, so I brought it home to ride temporarily for about a year.
(Spending has been fairly heavy for the past year or so, so I told myself to hold back...)
But this thing is pretty good?
With parts lying around the house plus an AliExpress one-piece handlebar I lightened it moderately, and in real use it comes to 7.2kg including pedals... It is an all-rounder and yet it is less than 100g apart from the S5... Orz
Well... considering it is Ultegra, I would call that a good showing...
Anyway... my backside does not hurt the way it does on the S5, it does not flex much either, and the balance is pretty decent.
When I dance out of the saddle with a big lean at over 800W it feels a bit dull, but personally not enough to bother me... if anything it feels easier on the joints?
Riding solo around 35km/h I cannot really tell any difference...
In pack riding it is hard work to finish a turn and latch back on, so handing off the rotation roughly 2 seconds earlier than usual feels about right.
The reach is short and the stack is tall, so I had some trouble choosing a handlebar, but I managed to make it work with a 110mm, 10-degree stem.
It is still subtly high, but not enough to make my elbows go numb.
That said, the handling does feel slightly duller.
I was worried because I remember the D7, my 2022 entry bike, being far too soft, but the step down feels smaller than expected and I like it.
Seems plenty for a rider stuck in the 3-point range.. +_+
Above all, even though I used parts I already had, thinking that a complete Ultegra build came to less than 3 million makes it a real bargain ㅋㅋ
Originally it is a gap filler while I load up ammunition to build a V5RS as my all-rounder...
At this level maybe the urge to upgrade will fade? (as if... ㅋㅋ)
