Building a gravel frameset with integrated routing: order and torques

The WinSpace G5 manual runs to thirteen pages, and the instruction on build order comes as early as its second chapter. Follow the steps in the exact order of the document, WinSpace writes. Otherwise the build becomes needlessly long and complicated.

Evolve routes every housing, hose and wire of the CIMA GR before the bottom bracket goes in. On both frames, the rear brake hose runs up the down tube, exits at the top of the head tube and passes through the upper bearing, the spacers and the handlebar. A forgotten hose therefore has to be rerouted through the whole front end.

Building your gravel bike from these framesets comes down to following an order, torque wrench in hand. The steps below come from the CIMA GR manual (Evolve, 19 October 2026), the G5 manual (WinSpace, version 2.0 of 25 September 2026) and the Hope RX4+ caliper instructions. When a manual refers you to a part's manufacturer, follow that manufacturer.

The frameset supplies the headset and seatpost, but not the G5's handlebar#

The Evolve CIMA GR frameset contains the frame, fork, dedicated seatpost, complete headset with its expander, axles, clamp, derailleur hangers and Di2 battery mount. The WinSpace G5 frameset contains as much, with an FSA ACR headset and a UDH hanger.

The cockpit is where the two boxes differ. The CIMA GR's stock top cap is designed for the Kreuza Apex GR one-piece cockpit, sold separately. The G5 arrives without a handlebar. WinSpace sells it separately, and its manual refers you to the handlebar manufacturer for fitting and torques.

The groupset is decided along with the frame. According to its manual, the G5 only takes electronic groupsets, with a single or a double chainring.

EvolveEVOLVE CIMA GR gravel frameset €1.999,00 WinSpaceWINSPACE G5 gravel frameset €2.299,00

Which tools do you need to build your own bike?#

Evolve lists a 0 to 30 N·m torque wrench, 2 to 8 mm hex bits, a housing cutter, grease, Loctite 242 threadlocker and carbon friction paste. WinSpace asks for the same basics, plus carbon assembly paste. For its brakes, Hope adds a two-syringe bleed kit and an awl.

In the workstand, clamp the seatpost, never the frame. Evolve says it twice, because a pinched carbon tube can be damaged without anything showing.

Both brands reserve this build for a trained and properly equipped mechanic. Without a torque wrench and a bleed kit, take the bike to a workshop.

Here are the torques from the two manuals. Where WinSpace gives two values for the same bolt, both are listed.

Set the position, then route the hoses#

WinSpace asks you to set the rider's position before routing a single hose. During this phase, the steerer stays uncut and sticks out above the stem.

1. Take your position measurements, or dry-fit the wheels, drivetrain and cockpit without brakes or housing, then note the handlebar height and strip it down.
2. On both frames, feed the rear hose into the chainstay port and push it over the bottom bracket shell until you see it come out at the top of the head tube.
3. Slide the supplied foam sleeve over this hose, inside the down tube. On the CIMA GR, it starts 20 mm below the head tube junction and stops 40 mm behind the bottom bracket shell.
4. Feed the front hose in through the fork leg, the left one on the G5, and pull it out through the steerer port, with a hook if needed.
5. Tape the front hose against the steerer, just above where it exits, with strong adhesive tape.
6. With Shimano Di2, pull the wires through to the battery, housed in the seatpost. The CIMA GR manual allows 1,200 mm of wire for the rear derailleur and 600 mm for the front. With wireless SRAM AXS, close the derailleur ports with their grommets.

The bottom bracket goes in once all the housing is routed#

The CIMA GR has a 68 mm BSA shell, the G5 a 68 mm T47 with external cups. The hoses run over this shell, and both Evolve and WinSpace have the bottom bracket fitted after them, without facing the shell.

7. Grease the shell threads, screw in the bottom bracket and tighten it to its manufacturer's torque.
8. On the G5, choose a bottom bracket with a central sleeve between its two cups. Without one, WinSpace warns, the crank spindle wears the wires and housing.
9. Fit the crankset according to its instructions. The Garbaruk Road/Gravel crankset, with a SRAM DUB spindle, fits both shells.
10. Grease the inner thread of the UDH hanger, then tighten its bolt to 25 N·m with an 8 mm bit. The derailleur follows, according to its instructions.

How do you route the hoses through an integrated handlebar?#

On the CIMA GR, both hoses exit at the top of the head tube, alongside the steerer, then pass through the compression ring, the top cap, the spacers and the Apex GR handlebar, each on its own side.

11. Grease the lower bearing, seat it in the lower cup, then slide the steerer and its hose into the head tube.
12. Grease the upper bearing and lower it onto the steerer, with the hoses between the bearing and the steerer.
13. Pass each hose through the slot of the compression ring on the side of its lever, then fit the ring. If the rear brake lever is on the right, its hose stays on the right all the way to the handlebar. The hoses never cross.
14. Turn the fork 90° away from the rear brake side, pull the rear hose taut, then push 20 mm of it back into the frame, so it does not get caught when the handlebar turns.
15. Slide on the top cap, its two pegs in the holes of the ring, then the split spacers, with the hoses in their front holes.
16. Cut the steerer 3 mm below the top of the stem. Evolve allows 2 to 5 mm.
17. Tighten the expander to 8 N·m, 6 mm bit.
18. Fit the Apex GR, passing each hose through its side of the handlebar, out to the side exits.
19. Tighten the top cap bolts to 3 N·m, until the headset has no more play, then the stem bolts to 6 N·m.

The G5 follows the same logic with its own limits. WinSpace allows a single 5 mm spacer above the stem, and no more than 40 mm between the base of the stem and the top cap.

Keep the steerer and stem clean, with no grease or assembly paste, and do not twist the stem to slide it on. According to WinSpace, a carbon steerer can break in either case.

That leaves the levers. Slide their clamps on without bending them, then tighten them to their manufacturer's torque. On the Apex GR, read off the same marking on the left and on the right.

The seatpost goes in at least 75 mm#

Evolve sets the minimum insertion of the CIMA GR seatpost at 75 mm, with a maximum per size, 174 mm in M. WinSpace asks for 100 mm on the G5, measured from the top of the top tube to the bottom of the post.

20. Before inserting the seatpost, fit the saddle to it and slot the Di2 battery inside. On the CIMA GR, the saddle clamp nut would otherwise drop into the seat tube. Tighten the saddle clamp to 6 N·m on the CIMA GR, 13 to 15 N·m on the G5.
21. Coat the seatpost with carbon friction paste, never with grease.
22. On the CIMA GR, slide the wedge clamp in front of the seatpost and tighten it to 7 N·m, 5 mm bit. On the G5, tighten the clamp housed in the top tube to 6 to 8 N·m.

Wheels and calipers follow their manufacturer's instructions#

Both frames take 12 × 100 mm axles at the front and 12 × 142 mm at the rear, supplied and tightened to 10 N·m, up to 12 N·m on the G5.

The Elitewheels Drive G42 wheelset is available with a Shimano HG or SRAM XDR body, with Center Lock rotor mounts. An XD-standard Garbaruk GEN2.0 XPLR cassette fits on the XDR body with the 1.8 mm spacer supplied. On the CIMA GR with a single chainring, the G42 leaves a tyre window of 40 to 50 mm.

ElitewheelsELITEWHEELS Drive G42 carbon gravel wheelset €1.069,00 GarbarukGARBARUK GEN2.0 XPLR 13-speed gravel cassette 10-52T €349,00

The caliper is chosen to match the levers. Hope makes a DOT version for SRAM and a mineral oil version for Shimano and Campagnolo, identified by a D or an M engraved on the caliper, and one fluid never goes into the other. At the rear of the CIMA GR, designed for 140 and 160 mm, the Hope RX4+ SL FM+20 caliper takes a 160 mm rotor without an adapter.

23. Before fitting a caliper, remove paint and burrs from the mounts, take out the pads and push the pistons back.
24. Fit the wheel with its rotor, mount the caliper and barely thread in its two bolts.
25. Check the length of the M5 bolts. On a flat mount caliper, Hope wants 7 to 8 mm of thread engaged in the caliper body, and mount thickness varies from one frame to another.
26. Centre the caliper on the rotor, then tighten to 8 N·m with a medium-strength threadlocker, never a high-strength one.
27. Push a little hose back into the frame, cut it to length, open up its inner diameter with the awl and fit the Hope insert and olive before connecting it.
28. Bleed the caliper off the bike, at the lowest point. Mounted on the frame, it often sits higher than the bottom bracket shell, and Hope warns that with internal routing, air stays trapped around the shell.
29. Bed in the pads with a few gentle braking efforts, without coming to a stop.

HopeHOPE RX4+ SL FM+20 gravel brake caliper €145,00 HopeHOPE RX CENTER LOCK road and gravel brake rotor €110,00

The final check is done with the wheels on the ground#

Evolve has you pull the front brake, bike on the ground, and rock the bike back and forth. The headset must no longer move.

Then measure the gap between the inflated tyre and the frame. Evolve cites the ISO 4210-2:2023 standard and its 4 mm minimum, WinSpace asks for 6 under CEN rules. A tyre's actual width depends on the model, the rim and the pressure.

After the first ride, go over every bolt again with the torque wrench, to the values in the table. WinSpace requires it, and Evolve has all torques rechecked once the position is set.