CWind G30 U build

[anothercheapbuild]

Hello,

After having read this forum here and then several times, I thought I would give back to the community with a post on my most recent build. The idea with this post is to help others get a better idea of what they can expect of this specific frame and/or such a frame/build.

Purpose of the build:
- something that could get me to/from work fast
- relatively comfortable
- not full on road aero bike, but not full on city bike either, call it a "fast commuter".

Why that frame:
- highest stack I could find for the TT length that would suit me (I know it's not as fast as if it were full-on aero slammed down, but my back/wrists/hamstrings won't allow me for the moment with the heavy backpack)
- UDH hanger (just in case)
- big tire clearance as I want to run big / bigger tires than a road frame would accommodate (including 50mm spikes in the winter)
- (most likely) overbuilt for commuting duties since it's a gravel but adds a security margin (I hope)
- through the headset cable routing (as much as I would hate that on my enduro and DH rig, I really enjoy it on road builds)
- price
- could not find anything similar geometry-wise in the western big brands offering

Where I bought it: Aliexpress, seller "CWind Bike Store" (912263673)

Timeline:
- bought 26 march 2025
- shipped about 10-14 days after
- received in Norway around 25 april 2025
- build finished end of may

Inspection:
- the frame was very well protected in a thick cardboard box and all wrapped tight in a good amount of foam roll
- all of the needed hardware was present with the frame
- the inside of the frame is surprisingly smooth, especially the head and top tube, but the BB area is "a mess" (supposedly because the PU mold they use melts within the frame in this region) and some bolt inserts show loose fiber strands around them
- the job paint is medium: all of the borders between painted an unpainted areas a bit approximate; there is also a 2x1cm area on the right chainstay where the paint is badly applied resulting in a darker spot; the flanges of the BB are painted and needed a slight "facing"
- heavy hardware: axles are heavy (heavier than on my ICAN Triaero X-Gravel) and the bolts are all quite chunky
- a bit of bladder was left in the right seatstay partially obstructing the rear gear cable routing (managed to get it out with a pair of long and thin pliers and a bit of time)
- the inside of the steerer tube of the fork was not deburred

Build:
- groupset: Sram Apex 1x12 non-AXS (second hand) with X01 rear derailleur and 10-50 eagle cassette (re-use from MTB)
- cranks: Sram Apex 165mm DUB wide cranks
- BB: Sram 85.5 DUB T47 BB (frame states 86.5 but standard 85.5 BB works just fine and still leaves some play to be adjusted with the crank preload collar)
- headset/stem: FSA ACR headset and FSA/Vision SMR 110mm stem
- handlebars: Prime Primavera carbon aero handlebars in 380mm
- seatpost: RaceFace chester 350mm
- saddle: Fabric Line S
- wheels: Nextie 29" AGX 45mm carbon rims (29mm internal, 40mm external, hooked), Tune ClimbHill/KillHill CL, 28 Sapim CX-Ray
- tyres: Schwalbe Pro One Evo Super Race TLE Addix 34-662 (~37mm WAM on the 29mm iw rims)

Riding (around 100km so far, good and worn asphalt, manholes, sidewalk edges, cracks, cobbles, big rough stone tiles, tram tracks, some small jumps):
- feels robust yet very comfortable (my ICAN X-gravel felt less robust and also harsher)
- no rattling, very silent (my ICAN X-gravel was more noisy most likely because of external cables and at speed the wind getting caught in something sounded like a pan flute)
- seatpost clamp and compression plug haven't loosened/moved (compression plug was really hard to get right on the ICAN)
- feels a touch heavier than the ICAN when lifting it
- it is just as fast as the ICAN on DT Swiss GR531 (24mm iw) with GP5000 32mm (~33 WAM)

Definitely not flawless nor the best, but fits the bill given the price of the frame (around 450EUR). We'll see if I manage to crack it.

I have way more pictures of the inside of the frame than the 8 allowed attachments and I can post in later messages if there's an interest.

[biceryder]

I really like this build.  Looking to do something similar for commuting to work.

[Serge_K]

The inside looks both great and absolutely terrible. Very confusing.
There are clear signs of bladder use, which i havent seen on a frame since velobuild frames 3 or 4 years ago, or on fake frames more recently. There's also extensive wrinkling in the downtube, which is bad because it means compression didn't really work properly.
You also bought a gravel bike to commute on the road.
Why not get a Long teng 301, for eg? you would have paid the same, but your frame wouldn't be a dog from aliexpress, and you'd have an actual road bike, yet relaxed, with 38C clearance. You'd even have had downtube storage to neatly carry heroin paraphernalia for long days in the office.
I do like the colour though. Although solid white is probably the worst colour for a commuter bike.

[anothercheapbuild]

The inside looks both great and absolutely terrible. Very confusing.
There are clear signs of bladder use [...]

Yep, top tube, head tube and even chainstays look surprisingly clean compared to the horror of the BB area, and the downtube where for some weird reason they used a bladder... and apparently nowhere else ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Very confusing indeed.
Tried to find some models with EPS molding but found nothing that matched my requirements.
I considered sending it back and took contact with the seller. But the shipping cost and hassle to get back the import duties put me off and I decided to give it a try anyways (I've ridden frames that looked probably as bad inside a few years ago, including trail/enduro ones, this one might crack, we'll see).
That said I will for sure investigate more for the next build (if ever there is one).

You also bought a gravel bike to commute on the road.

Well, I guess should have been more accurate in the OP.
There's "road" and there's "norwegian road" There are some clean segments of asphalt, but it also includes gravel segments, a good bunch of sidewalks in bad shape littered with manholes, cracks and potholes, and all other kind of not so nice surfaces (including when they scrape and redo the top layer that's been damaged by the snow trucks during the winter...). Clearly not an XC track but it's nice with a slightly overbuilt and more forgiving frame (I would not even dare to think of putting my road bike through the same itinerary).
Also: winter, when everything is covered in a hazardous snow and ice and I put on Suomi Routa TLR 50-622 spikes so I needed clearance up to 50mm.
And there's rainy fall too when I mount huge mud guards (not even sure there's something nearly equivalent to mount on road bikes).
Gravel for commuting on the road can make sense depending on your local conditions.

Why not get a Long teng 301, for eg?

The long teng 301 and bikes with the same geo still have a good 3cm lower stack, which for some reason don't bother me when doing a proper road ride (I have a Merida Reacto for that), but really kill my upper body and wrists with my ~10kg backpack (laptop, lock, change, rain clothes, repair stuff...).
It might not show too much on the picture but I'm already running 5cm of spacers under the stem (which is already a respectable tower ). Achieving the same high front end on a 3cm "lower frame", would be... nope.

I do like the colour though. Although solid white is probably the worst colour for a commuter bike.

It's "pearl white", a kind of glossy, glittery white. You sure see quickly when it needs a quick wash

Bonus: some more pictures

[Serge_K]

Hahaha, your commute sounds like you're crossing the Mordor! Makes sense then!
Fingers crossed that the frame doesn't disintegrate from under you!