Kinesis Aithein Disc build

[nammynake]

I’ve been looking for a new summer bike for a while, but the current shortage of new bikes available has led me to building up one from scratch. This started after coming across a Kinesis Aithein Disc frameset for sale at a 25% discount to RRP. I already own two Kinesis (4S and RTD) so knew they were quality kit.



I’ll keep updating this thread as I buy the components and build it up. I’ll be fitting a SRAM Rival AXS wireless groupset with a smattering of Force and Red components. The rest I am undecided on. I’ll be trying to keep the weight down where possible but not going crazy as the frame and Rival components are not particularly light.

There’s a good review of the bike here, which piqued my interest in the first place:

https://road.cc/content/review/kinesis-aithein-dis...

[Dnlm]

Great choice. I've had mine 6 months now, and aside from not putting electric gears on, love it almost as much as my aero best bike. Fast and responsive. Not heavy with my slightly less fancy build, either.

If you're googling like I was, some comments said the bridge prevented fitting 28mm tyres. I've got Pirellis on Rovals and see to work nicely, if a little tight.

[nammynake]

Thanks! There’s very few reviews on line but I’m hoping for a nice build. I assume the clearance constraints is under the rear brake bridge? How many mm gap do you have with 28s?

[Neil1323bolts]

, I built mine up earlier this year , I went for the rim brake . It was my first home build and I really enjoyed doing it , I loved the fact you can be very specific about your choice of group set and components. The bike rides great and it’s pretty light at 8kg all in , I enjoy riding it as much as my 5k trek emonda . It was supposed to be my winter bike but may be deemed to good for that now !

[2ky]

Any updates? Like the look of these

[nammynake]

2ky said:

Any updates? Like the look of these

It’s in progress…albeit slow, but I’m not in a rush as won’t need it until Spring.

I’ve bought a set of carbon rims from China (Carbonal) after a recommendation from a friend who’s covered 000s of kms on his. He’s building them for me with some Hope RS4 hubs and CX Ray spokes.

Components bought so far:
- SRAM Rival AXS hydro shifters
- SRAM Rival chainset with left crank power meter
- SRAM Rival front mech
- SRAM Force AXS rear
- SRAM Red AXS cassette
- SRAM batteries and charger
- FSA SL-K bars

Still need stem, seatpost, saddle and rotors.

[Dnlm]

Nice sounding setup. Why the force rear derailleur, out of interest? Understand that's where the sram electric brains are, is the functionality any different to rival?

Mines going strong. Sharp enough to ride hard and sturdy enough to not worry using in the wet or as commuter.

Put raceblade mudguards on for winter which have worked pretty well. Expected worse from clip ons

[nammynake]

Dnlm said:

Nice sounding setup. Why the force rear derailleur, out of interest? Understand that's where the sram electric brains are, is the functionality any different to rival?

Mines going strong. Sharp enough to ride hard and sturdy enough to not worry using in the wet or as commuter.

Put raceblade mudguards on for winter which have worked pretty well. Expected worse from clip ons

The Force mech has a fluid damper which helps with chain slap and is a bit lighter. The price wasn’t too much over Rival. Unlike the RED cassette which was eye-wateringly expensive but provided the best gear ratios for my kind of riding.

[firemunki]

That's lovely.

I have an AT3 in fluro orange as an adventure/gravel/not race bike and when it comes time to replace the Bianchi the Athein is top of the list, the previous gen was going to be my race bike until I got a good deal on the Bianchi. Kinesis look to be awesome value for money and look lovely.

[chinnyman]

I've got a Silver 105 Aithein. It's nice, a tad long so I may reduce the stem.

I've never looked too much into weight weenies. Apart from wheels and seatpost, is there anything else worth Changing?

[nammynake]

Finally…just bar tape and bottle cages then it’s ready to go…well when Spring arrives as I can’t be getting this beauty dirty just yet!

8.3kg with pedals, minus bar tape and bottle cages.



Spec:

- FRAME: Kinesis Aithein Disc
- FORK: AITHEIN EVO DISC ROAD THRU AXLE (Columbus Futura)
- WHEELSET: Carbonal carbon rims, Hope RS4 hubs, 24h Sapim CX Ray spokes
- SHIFTERS/CALLIPERS: SRAM AXS Rival
- CHAINSET: SRAM AXS Rival (Power)
- FRONT MECH: SRAM AXS Rival
- REAR MECH: SRAM AXS Force
- CASSETTE: SRAM AXS Red 10-33
- STEM: Ritchey
- BARS: FSA K-Force Carbon
- SEATPOST: Hope Carbon
- SADDLE: Specialized Power
- ROTORS: SRAM Centreline X
- TYRES: Conti GP5000 25mm
- PEDALS: Ultegra R8000

Edited by nammynake on Friday 24th December 20:12

Edited by nammynake on Friday 24th December 20:13

Edited by nammynake on Friday 24th December 20:16

Edited by nammynake on Friday 24th December 20:16

[Neil1323bolts]

nammynake said:

Finally…just bar tape and bottle cages then it’s ready to go…well when Spring arrives as I can’t be getting this beauty dirty just yet!

Very nice bike , looks amazing , I can guarantee it’s going to ride none to shabby also ! Enjoy . Nice lawn also .

[2ky]

Looks really good.

If you don't mind me asking how much does something like this cost to build?

I was looking at the frame and it seemed cheap but once I started adding components the price started to add up quite quickly!

[nammynake]

2ky said:

Looks really good.

If you don't mind me asking how much does something like this cost to build?

I was looking at the frame and it seemed cheap but once I started adding components the price started to add up quite quickly!

I’ve not tracked the running total. Certainly not cheap but it allowed me to get the exact spec I wanted without going nuts on high-end components. I guess somewhere around £2500, maybe a little more.

Rival bits were good value but then I treated it to a RED cassette, which was around £300, although that was mainly to get the gear ratios I wanted.