Evo Vantage 5.0 Road Bike Custom Build

Last Updated on February 1, 2022 by FAB Jim The Cyclist

This is my first ever bike build.  I started with a really affordable Evo Vantage 5.0 alloy frame these were all over for cheap at the time.  Have a look at it:

From the start my intention was to be my full-time trainer bike for indoors.  I wasn’t too worried about the quality of the frame, but I’d actually say it is quite nice.  I wasn’t worried about weight either, but it ended up pretty light at about 22.6 lbs.  I really love the Sora groupset, really nice shifting especially for the money.  Here are all the components:

Evo Vantage 5.0 frame

Shimano Sora Shifters, Crankset, Cassette, Chain, and Derailleurs

CR198 Rims with 36 spokes and Shimano hubs

Oval alloy bars

ZTTO brakes, not good, but not needed for a trainer bike

WTB Rocket Saddle

Shimano 540 pedals

Vittoria Zaffiro Pro trainer tire, lasting much longer than the Continental one I had

It currently has a weird adjustable stem on it as I’m trying to learn more about bike setup.  It’s easy to make changes as I understand the bike completely since I built it.  Have a lot of miles on it now and it has really made riding on the trainer better too as I have it fitted really well.

This build really made me confident to work on bikes.  By searching out affordable parts I got it done pretty frugally, but the knowledge gained was priceless.  Here is a post with some tips on building your own bike:

Bike build compatibility checklist and assembly order