Carbonda Gravel Carbon frame CFR707

[2old2mould]

What a great bike that is!

That's a nice colour. I like that grey. I presume no cracking on your bike near the join of the seat stays?

[jannmayer]

How is the toe overlap with the 707? It's horrible on my 696. Size 54 frame, size 44 shoes and even after giving up my beloved midfoot cleat position the toe overlap is ridiculous. Can't really steer at low speeds

A big reason I went with the XL 707 is toe overlap. I wear size 48 cycling shoes and have no overlap with 700x50 tires, even with my cleats all the way back. The 707 has a longer front center than the 696. My XL 707 with an 80 mm stem has the same handlebar position as a size 58 696 with a 100 mm stem, but the front wheel is about 15 mm farther ahead. I would have toe overlap on a 696 with the same size tires.


You could probably go with a medium 707 with a shorter stem since the stack is about the same (7 mm taller). The front center is 625 mm instead of you 600 mm, so that would give you roughly 25 mm more clearance.

[kbernstein]

Yeah, bit late for that since I just finished my 696 build but I'm honestly very disappointed with the 696 geometry. I hope I'll be able to overlook the massive toe overlap and the stack some day. I technically have less reach than on my road bike but it feels even less upright. I would definitely get a 707 if I had to do it again 

[helmat]

That's a nice colour. I like that grey. I presume no cracking on your bike near the join of the seat stays?

I have no complaints at all.

Regarding toe overlap, on my size large there is some small overlap with my size 46/47 shoes, but I didn't experience any issues so far. Nothing that would be annoying

[planet_sammy]

My 707 has developed a hairline crack where the two seatstays meet (more or less). I'm hoping this is just a paint crack. I've reported it to Wing. Anyone else had this issue? I didn't use the mudguard fixing support but have fitted it now to add additional stiffness just in case. Picture of bike and crack attached.

Have you already done a "knock test" with a coin, if it sounds dull, the carbon may be damaged?

Otherwise I think it's a paint chip.

You can also find some videos on YT...

[2old2mould]

Yep, did the knock test, although unfortunately the test really only works on structures that are the same, so for example tapping the chainstay if the damage is also on the chainstay. In the area where the crack is, there's not much surface area to compare, so tapping other parts of the structure doesn't really yield results that can give you any useful idea as to what's underneath. I guess in summary I'm saying you need to compare like for like when tapping an area. Hope that makes sense?

[2old2mould]

Just to update. I showed my frameset to a Carbon repair specialist and they've confirmed there is a crack under the paint. 

The repair itself is not that expensive, but it does mean stripping the bike down and then having it repainted when it's repaired.

Wing has been in touch to ask for more details so let's see if they stand by their customer service.

Gutted this has happened, as I really like the bike and the colour and I really hope I don't have to scrap the frame as there aren't many frames out there that I like (that are priced reasonably).

[6speed]

Wing has been in touch to ask for more details so let's see if they stand by their customer service.

Report back on what Carbonda decides to do.  They seem to be one of the only reliable Chinese frame manufacturers, and I see several potential purchases in my future.

[artdesign]

Finally I was able to build the two chameleon colored 707, mainly for parts availability, and... lack of time.
Here is the first one with:
Rival AXS shifters, Force crank, GX AXS rear derailleur.
With a CGB01 handlebar with FSA ACR stem.

What crank size did you choose? With how many teeth?

[planet_sammy]

Just to update. I showed my frameset to a Carbon repair specialist and they've confirmed there is a crack under the paint. 

The repair itself is not that expensive, but it does mean stripping the bike down and then having it repainted when it's repaired.

Wing has been in touch to ask for more details so let's see if they stand by their customer service.

Gutted this has happened, as I really like the bike and the colour and I really hope I don't have to scrap the frame as there aren't many frames out there that I like (that are priced reasonably).

Really bad news, what device was used to inspect the damage?

[jannmayer]

Anyone running a dropper with internal routing on the CFR707? There's been a few times that I've wished I had one.

[2old2mould]

Really bad news, what device was used to inspect the damage?

The Mk1 Eyeball of a very experienced carbon repairer 

I showed the issue to a guy in the UK who has been making and repairing custom carbon products for over 30 years. He's confident it's a crack. Regardless, his view was that on a bike that is effectively new this damage should not be present.

[TidyDinosaur]

The Mk1 Eyeball of a very experienced carbon repairer 

I should the issue to a guy in the UK who has been making and repairing custom carbon products for over 30 years. He's confident it's a crack. Regardless, his view was that on a bike that is effectively new this damage should not be present.

Yeah, without an underlying crack there is no reason the paint would crack like that I would guess...

[2old2mould]

I've had some communication with Wing at Carbonda. To be fair to them they've been pretty good with emails. We've agreed to watch the situation and see whether the crack increases or not. I've marked the edges of the line so I can see if it's grown in size. At some stage I will take it to our local MTB park and thrash it around some trails. If that doesn't kill it (or me) then I'll not worry about it too much. It would be a real shame to scrap the frame as I do really like it. If I had to replace it I think I'd go for the Orbea Terra H30 alloy frameset as it's a similar colour scheme (the Orbea is a shade or two darker but still pops in the sun). Anyway, that's a topic for another thread/forum.

[wwnero]

I've had some communication with Wing at Carbonda. To be fair to them they've been pretty good with emails. We've agreed to watch the situation and see whether the crack increases or not. I've marked the edges of the line so I can see if it's grown in size. At some stage I will take it to our local MTB park and thrash it around some trails. If that doesn't kill it (or me) then I'll not worry about it too much. It would be a real shame to scrap the frame as I do really like it. If I had to replace it I think I'd go for the Orbea Terra H30 alloy frameset as it's a similar colour scheme (the Orbea is a shade or two darker but still pops in the sun). Anyway, that's a topic for another thread/forum.

Since your carbon repair dude already stated it’s a crack, are you not worried about a complete failure while riding? Seems like it could really throw you of if you were riding and could cause serious injury