Chinese Open Mold Gravel / CX Bikes

[rhs2z]

I don't think there really is a consensus on "best gravel race frame". The Winspace frame is definitely not it though, it's more of a bikepacking frame.

Airwolf YFR068, Carbonda CFR707, and Tideace GR201 have the 3 longest gravel frame threads on Chinertown right now. I'll give an honorable mention to Ican Graero, but note that the frame won't clear mountain bike tires that are becoming trendy in gravel

I think if you subscribe to "aero gravel" + wide tire trends that are prevailing this year, Tideace GR201 might be your best bet.

Fantastic, thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Time to do some research

[repoman]

Lightcarbon LCG071SD is another one to look at. I built this 'Hambini special' last year. It's been pretty good imo. Fits 2.1 MTB tires.

[CtV]

Lightcarbon LCG071SD is another one to look at. I built this 'Hambini special' last year. It's been pretty good imo. Fits 2.1 MTB tires.

Nice build! What about the sizing? Im riding 52 size SL8 with 115mm stem lenght..comparing the geo of the two frames i guess ill need a 49 frame size LCG071!? They reccomend 54 for my height tho (173cm)

[raisinberry777]

Finally got this SP Cycle G068 built and out for a shakedown ride - haven't had it on the gravel yet but first impressions are excellent. Geometry feels dialed. Paint looks fantastic. SRAM mullet is fantastic for a gravel build. Size S and a 70mm stem (same as Canyon supply on stock builds) is ideal for my 174cm height. XMCarbonSpeed wheels were easy to set up and seal, and even the own brand tubeless valves seemed nicely made.

Downsides in building:
- BB and brake mounts needed facing
- Grommets on the frame are a poor fit once you run a hose through them (if I had my time again I probably would've ordered the fully internally routed frame).
- Headset/UDH/axles are pretty chunky - suspect that a fair bit of weight could be shaved off these.

Looks like a slightly revised version called a G069 has been released - frame looks the same but fork now seems to have lost its flip chip (not sure what the overall changes are though).

Tyres are 48mm nominal and 48mm WAM (what a novelty!) - 48mm I'd say is the max you can comfortably fit in the rear (50mm may be okay for dry conditions only) and maybe 50-52mm in the fork.




(some of the below weights are estimates - don't take it as gospel!)

Code: Select all

Part      Item                                           Weight (g)   Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frame     SP Cycle G068 size S (Grail 2023 clone)        2000         Weight includes frame, uncut fork, headset, all bolts, 1x blanking plate, seatpost clamp, thru-axles, UDH
Fork      SP Cycle G068 size S (Grail 2023 clone)        
Headset   SP Cycle G068                                  

Seatpost  Elita One 27.2mm 0 offset                      141
Bars      Kalloy FL12 40cm                               299
Stem      Kalloy non-uno 70mm                            127
Saddle    China carbon                                   160

Groupset  SRAM Red mullet
Shifters  SRAM Red AXS                                   467
Brakes    SRAM Red AXS + IIIPro 160mm rotors             520          
Crank     Sram Force D2 DUB wide + Magene P505 + SRAM 40t700
BB        DUB Road wide T47                              100
FD        1x                                             0
RD        Sram GX Eagle AXS                              430
Chain     Sram GX 12 speed                               250
Cassette  SRAM XG-1295 10-50                             354

Wheels    XM Carbon Speed 50mm deep / 28/36mm wide       1430         Front = 670g, Rear = 760g
Tubes     Tubeless sealant + valves                      120          Valves = 12g
Tyres     Tufo Thundera HD 48mm                          1090
Skewers   Thru axle                                                   Weight in frame

Pedals    Shimano XT M8100                               330
Bar Tape  AliX Supacaz                                   100
Cages     Carbon                                         50
Cables    Battery                                        25
Other     AliX integrated Garmin mount                   40

Total                                                   8733          8.7 weighed

[repoman]

Lightcarbon LCG071SD is another one to look at. I built this 'Hambini special' last year. It's been pretty good imo. Fits 2.1 MTB tires.

Nice build! What about the sizing? Im riding 52 size SL8 with 115mm stem lenght..comparing the geo of the two frames i guess ill need a 49 frame size LCG071!? They reccomend 54 for my height tho (173cm)

This is a 52cm. I'm 5'8." I think I might take out 1.5cm of spacer and put a 110 or 120cm stem on if I keep it (this is a 100mm stem).
I've been searching for a Crux frame to buy for a while, according to bike insights the 52cm 071SD is similar to a 54cm Crux, which is a bit odd to me as 54cm frames have always felt a little too big for me and the Crux seems to have a reputation of being on the large side of 54cm frames.
OEM frame sizing is often a little strange.

[CtV]

Couldnt find a reasonably priced crux either
Essentially 52 seems to be the right size for youre height i guess, otherwhise stack is gonna be problematic!? Do you get any toe overlap?
Might order a 52 i think..after bike size i need to decide between a 105di2 and a 1x12 grx setup 42T with 10-51t cassette Want to use it primarly as winter training bike with the possibility to go out on some trails sometimes

[repoman]

Couldnt find a reasonably priced crux either
Essentially 52 seems to be the right size for youre height i guess, otherwhise stack is gonna be problematic!? Do you get any toe overlap?
Might order a 52 i think..after bike size i need to decide between a 105di2 and a 1x12 grx setup 42T with 10-51t cassette Want to use it primarly as winter training bike with the possibility to go out on some trails sometimes

Yes, toe overlap is horrible on this frame, although I always do the "slam saddle all the way forward, slam cleats all the way rearward" fit which greatly exaggerates toe overlap. I would not be able to ride switchbacks on this frame with my fit. I don't think I've ever had a 52cm frame that didn't have toe overlap though.

I really like the 105 Di2 for the most part. I think if you were wanting to ride a good deal of more technical stuff like some green single track, mechanical is probably better than electronic due to the fact you can't dump gears on electronic like you can with mech. I do run into times on this group where I need to dump gears but can't and get stalled out... an example would be you are descending and then want to carry momentum into a steep climb by putting in a lot of power out of the saddle up the climb are one, when you run out of juice and need to sit and dump gears into your granny gears can be pretty clumsy.

I was also recently doing some number crunching on going to something like Force 1x with a 10-51 to drop weight, but it sort of comes out in a wash when you add in the weight of a big casette like that. Still might be worth it for the lower gearing though if you have a lot of steep stuff.

[raisinberry777]

As above - I've also been through the numbers a few times and there's not much point making a decision on 2x or 1x based on weight. Once you get to equivalent range (500% ish) the added weight of an MTB rear derailleur and bigger cassette leave you at pretty much exactly the same point (or close enough that it's not worth sweating over it).

Ultimately, I'd say the best thing to do would be (if you can) ride a 1x setup and see if the gaps between gears bother you or not. It's hard to know until you try it for yourself.

[warthog101]

Lightcarbon LCG071SD is another one to look at. I built this 'Hambini special' last year. It's been pretty good imo. Fits 2.1 MTB tires.

Looks great!

[liam7020]

Lightcarbon LCG071SD is another one to look at. I built this 'Hambini special' last year. It's been pretty good imo. Fits 2.1 MTB tires.

That looks very good indeed!

A few questions if I may. Did you happen to get weights for the frame, fork and seatpost? Does that integrated stem and headset come supplied with the frame? On the LC website they list the LCG071-D and the LCG071S-D in separate listings - I can't see any difference between them, is there one? Many thanks.

[dsveddy]

Lightcarbon LCG071SD is another one to look at. I built this 'Hambini special' last year. It's been pretty good imo. Fits 2.1 MTB tires.

That looks very good indeed!

A few questions if I may. Did you happen to get weights for the frame, fork and seatpost? Does that integrated stem and headset come supplied with the frame? On the LC website they list the LCG071-D and the LCG071S-D in separate listings - I can't see any difference between them, is there one? Many thanks.

I can answer these questions:

LCG071-D comes with an integrated bar-stem and LCG071S-D comes with just an integrated stem (internal routing via under-stem spacer, like Deda Superbox) and no handlebar. Personally I quite like a regular stem over integrated for this kind of bike--aero isn't paramount but fit is. I've tried different stems etc. and not having my cables locked into a barstem like I have on my road bike is very nice. That being said the stem I got from LC had an out-of-spec handlebar clamp that deforms/crushes/cracks my carbon handlebar. So use a cheap handlebar I guess.

You also get to choose if you want a fork with mounting points or without--same price either way, and you get a choice of seatpost--I got the supposedly nicer "SP03" seatpost for a $60 upcharge. I got it and didn't think it was worth it. It's kind of heavy and the rail clamp kind of sucks. Just get an Elita one seatpost instead.

The package you buy is frame, fork, post, barstem/stem, headset bearings + spacers, and headset/steerer bung. You also get a hanger, removable front hanger, cable stops, seatpost wedge, and plastic/rubber bungs for around half the rivets--and also all the necessary screws (in steel) to go with your frameset parts.

Spec and weights of my frame:
Size: 55cm
Stem: 100mm
Post: SP03
Color: black paint

Weights:
- frame: 1063g
- fork: 499g
- seatpost: 192g
- stem: 153g

Also price I paid for everything (incl. shipping to USA) was $660. I beleive I didn't pay customs since it was under the threshold.