There are no options left to buy a non-integrated bike that looks good. I would expect Standert to produce some, but they also switched to running everything through a headset. So I went ahead and bought a previous-generation Aethos. It’s the cheapest (9r) frame they produce. I don’t think there’s a big difference between them, aside from it weighing 100 g more. It comes with some aluminum wheels and Shimano Di2.

I’ve changed the stock wheels for Roval Alpinist CL II wheels. When you look at the modern wheels, they have even more gimmicks than modern bike frames. Most of them use proprietary components, so good luck finding freehubs, bearings, spokes, whatever in a few years.

Roval Alpinists are as standard as they can be. They use DT Swiss spokes. They use DT Swiss 350 hubs. These hubs are bulletproof and require no tools for service.

The wheels are feather-light. I’m not sure yet how that translates to ride quality — if it does at all — but they look great on the bike. The 33 mm rims give it a tidy, balanced look that fits the frame’s lines well.

P.S. You know what this bike reminds me of?

Specialized launched the Aethos in 2020 and it turned out to be a pretty unique bike.

While all other brands embraced gimmicks — integrated cables, aero tubes, custom seatposts, press-fit bottom brackets — that are either useless for mere mortals or create more problems than benefits — Aethos had none of them. It was a non-aero, light bike that had almost no custom parts with the goal of providing superior ride quality. It, obviously, also catered to people who loved fixing and tuning their bikes themselves.

Recently, Specialized launched Aethos 2, and I think it killed the original spirit of the bike. Now it looks and feels like any bike from any other brand. Not in a good way.