Spcycle New Mold SP-R088 Carbon Road Frame

[alfiomotrambo]

Hello everyone! I also chose this frame for a new build. It's already finished and didn't went smooth at all.
It all started with a horribly executed steerer tube cut. It is so bad that I want to order a new fork.
First problem with a frameset itself was with the threads for brake caliper on the fork. Tightening required a lot of force, I don't think it should be like this.
Second one was di2 battery not going in the seat tube. There was an obstacle 19.5 cm deep which was called "seatpost inserting the depth security line" by a contact at Spcycle. Apparently I was secured from installing di2. He eventually admitted that it is a problem and promised to improve. After weighting options I decided to remove some material with a sandpaper.  It took a couple of hours to make enough clearance for the battery. It may be done faster, but I used improvised tool which was not very effective. I attached the photo of seat tube made after this process.
Also there was some paint at the edges of rear brake mounts.
During first ride the seatpost slipped. I applied threadlocker to the bolt in the wedge and seems like it helped.

Today I had an 80 km ride. The frame is stiff, maybe even rigid for my liking. Good thing there is space for larger tyres.
Some positives:
Frame looks great, I like thin seatpost and seatstays (they remind of Cervelo R5 from 2010s). The head tube looks better than SL8's I think. And the top of the tube is round and not some proprietary shape. UDH hanger is a good idea. The weight is impressive: 826g for size 56.

Same problem man, the fork break bolt are so hard to close and had the same issue with the battery, i'm going with the same solution to sand some material out, even cut the seatpost but it's not enought and hope to not buy another one.

What do you use to sand the step?

[DmtrBrsn]

Same problem man, the fork break bolt are so hard to close and had the same issue with the battery, i'm going with the same solution to sand some material out, even cut the seatpost but it's not enought and hope to not buy another one.

What do you use to sand the step?

I used a piece of thick plastic clothes hanger with a sandpaper taped to it. A more mature solution i guess would be using a round file of length 30 cm or more with a handle. And wrapping it with tape, leaving only around 7 cm exposed. In the process you might try to put the battery in to check if it fits, but be aware not to make it stuck.
In my case cutting the seatpost wasn't necessary.
Also an idea I came up with only after the build - to put a plastic strap on the clip just under seatpost to prevent battery from falling off (image 2).

Good luck!

[alfiomotrambo]

I used a piece of thick plastic clothes hanger with a sandpaper taped to it. A more mature solution i guess would be using a round file of length 30 cm or more with a handle. And wrapping it with tape, leaving only around 7 cm exposed. In the process you might try to put the battery in to check if it fits, but be aware not to make it stuck.
In my case cutting the seatpost wasn't necessary.
Also an idea I came up with only after the build - to put a plastic strap on the clip just under seatpost to prevent battery from falling off (image 2).

Good luck!

Thanks, that was very helpful. I did the same and managed to remove enough material now the battery fits inside the frame. Unfortunately, I cut the seatpost too early, which was my mistake. At the moment, I can fit a 700 mm seatpost into the frame; we’ll see if that’s enough for Spcycle. If not, I might need to buy another one, but it's no big deal.

[x7zise]

What’s the minimum seatpost insertion?
Just notice like a stop in the frame and the di2 battery stuck on, anyone notice this issue? Can I just sand it out?

I finally got an answer from David. The minimum insertion depth of the seatpost is 10cm.

[Txunguito]

Hi, have you installed a headset on your builds? I still have a lot of clearance between the fork and frame, and the dealer told me it's not necessary. Without it, the clearance is fine, but it seems really strange to me.

[Jouke]

Hi, have you installed a headset on your builds? I still have a lot of clearance between the fork and frame, and the dealer told me it's not necessary. Without it, the clearance is fine, but it seems really strange to me.

You mean the crown race? That has been discussed here multiple times. It is not needed on the R088 fork

[Txunguito]

I meant that, yes, thank you very much

[alfiomotrambo]

Hi everyone,
I’ve come across a concerning issue with my carbon frame and would really appreciate your advice.

I recently noticed a visible crack on the top tube, close to the headset area. I’ve attached a photo below to show exactly where it is (if possible to include). I haven’t had any crashes or impacts that could obviously explain this.

My main concern is whether the frame is still safe to ride, especially on the road.
Would you trust it, or is it too much of a risk?
Has anyone experienced something similar, and how did you handle it?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

[Rebel_Yell]

Hi everyone,
I’ve come across a concerning issue with my carbon frame and would really appreciate your advice.

I recently noticed a visible crack on the top tube, close to the headset area. I’ve attached a photo below to show exactly where it is (if possible to include). I haven’t had any crashes or impacts that could obviously explain this.

My main concern is whether the frame is still safe to ride, especially on the road.
Would you trust it, or is it too much of a risk?
Has anyone experienced something similar, and how did you handle it?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

Can you feel anytime on the instead of tube at that spot?

[alfiomotrambo]

Yep, I’ve install the fork and handlebar and when I apply some brake at the front I notice some movement in this spot, seems pretty unstable to me

[Jouke]

Hi everyone,
I’ve come across a concerning issue with my carbon frame and would really appreciate your advice.

I recently noticed a visible crack on the top tube, close to the headset area. I’ve attached a photo below to show exactly where it is (if possible to include). I haven’t had any crashes or impacts that could obviously explain this.

My main concern is whether the frame is still safe to ride, especially on the road.
Would you trust it, or is it too much of a risk?
Has anyone experienced something similar, and how did you handle it?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

And another one bites the dust.. I would never ride that anymore. I am starting to get a little trust issues with the ultralight frames from ali…first that fork on the x68 and now this.

Curious to see what in depth investigation SPCycle will do.

[jonathanf2]

Yep, I’ve install the fork and handlebar and when I apply some brake at the front I notice some movement in this spot, seems pretty unstable to me

Are you sure your frameset didn't get damaged during shipping? First your seat stay was dinged and now your head tube! I would definitely ask for a replacement frameset.

[Tilmanstoa5ty]

Hi everyone,
I’ve come across a concerning issue with my carbon frame and would really appreciate your advice.

I recently noticed a visible crack on the top tube, close to the headset area. I’ve attached a photo below to show exactly where it is (if possible to include). I haven’t had any crashes or impacts that could obviously explain this.

My main concern is whether the frame is still safe to ride, especially on the road.
Would you trust it, or is it too much of a risk?
Has anyone experienced something similar, and how did you handle it?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

After how many kilometres of riding did this happen?

[alfiomotrambo]

After how many kilometres of riding did this happen?

The frame has zero kilometers I had just started building it and it hasn’t done a single meter on the road that’s the crazy thing.

Better now than later btw

[jonathanf2]

The frame has zero kilometers I had just started building it and it hasn’t done a single meter on the road that’s the crazy thing.

Better now than later btw

I would contact SPcycle ASAP, wait for their reply and see if you can get a new frameset. In fact I would just stop everything you're doing and prepare to ship that frame back to SPcycle. The way it's damaged it must have been dropped at some point. Is it possible local customs opened the box?

This is the reason I video record all my frameset and wheel purchases in the event there is damage. That way the vendor can't say it was damaged by the buyer and you'll have recourse for an AliEx dispute if the vendor isn't being cooperative.