Update. On 18 May, the 3rd er9 RD died, and i contacted my reseller. 24 May, i contacted my reseller about my own er9 RD, because there are clear issues with recharging. Long story short, charging it, more often than not, results in the battery actually discharging. Go figure. I have a standalone lithium battery charger so i'm now using that until i get a replacement. I know a thing or 2 about lithium batteries, and i tried several different batteries (the actual Ltwoo battery compartment) as well as several different sets of lithium batteries, in various states of charge: the problem isn't coming the lithium batteries.
May 30th, still no resolution on either of them. my reseller makes it sound like ltwoo is being difficult this time around (for the previous 2, they were more straightforward).

The previous 2 broken ones (contacted my reseller on 17 Apr), i still havent received (it's not entirely ltwoo's fault, because they're in a box with a new wheel, so that took time too, but still, that box has been in transit for almost 20 days now, and i still have no idea where it is. So 1.5 months and still no replacement.

My friend whose RD died on May 18th had a triathlon the following weekend. He's back on his older sworks di2, at least the er9 died on a casual training ride and not on race day...

We're all loving Chinese groupsets in my cycling group, and the behaviour of ltwoo makes it extra tasty.

Aliexpress is still full of Dogma F and Grevil clones, though. It seems there’s a particularly high quantity of Pinarello clones from many different sources. I often wonder why? Is it just desirability and that they’re selling well? Or does Pinarello maybe not pay the necessary license fees for exclusivity or chooses to have that license expire at some point and the factory sells off the molds to third parties? Because it seems that everyone and their mother in China has a mold lying around for the Dogma F12 and the Dogma F. 

I suspect the same reason why Rolex is the most copied watch brand. Pinarello shapes are both highly desirable and recognizable. The brand was bought by LVMH years ago. They know their branding/marketing, that's literally how they make their money. Vuitton bags the most copied, LVMH brand. Seems fitting that Pinarello would be the most copied bike brand too

shouldn't the microspacers be added between the c-ring and the headset/bearing cover (and not the top cap)?
I did try to use microspacers, but in my case, my compression ring is U-shaped and I did not find any U-shaped microspacers, so I ordered regular round microspacers which I cut so they would fit the U-shaped compression ring. I was not satisfied with the result however. The idea that the microspacers could shift and touch/damage my brake hose in the steering tube made me abandon this option.

i 3d printed mine, so they would make full contact with the C ring, and the C ring has a positive notch, so my spacers have a hole to fit that notch. That way, maximum contact area, and can't move to interfere with hoses. In your photo, the diameter of the shims looks very small, and indeed, if you don't round the area you cut, you can expect them to potentially grind into the hoses.

Yes. They're only selling off leftover stock. No explanation as to why.

Feels like everyone on this forum on a 218 had a cracked frame at the seatpost area. Given VB margins, they can't be profitable selling models that are constantly creating warranty problems.
Plus the fact it's an obvious clone of Pinarello, which I assume has resulted in Pinarello contacting VB, one way or the other (and/or the factory they source from).

I guess it would be pretty straightforward to create a questionnaire that would fill in a simple database with important metrics. Without knowing your age, weight, measurements, flexibility and so on, we're shooting in the dark, as you didn't write much in way of context.
The Triban RC520 is pretty crap, it's not just in your head.
Assuming you're young enough, either flexible or willing to get flexible enough (not that hard), i dont think you need to overthink it too much, the VB 268 will probably be life changing, and you dont need to spend more, especially if you order it black. To customize, you can get decals cut locally (or via aliexpress) for cheap, it's a good way to save 100 usd.
Given your budget, you should assume you'll be your own mechanic going fwd, because labour cost post inflation & now that bikes are fully integrated can double the cost of the bike in a few visits to the LBS... You'll also learn a ton.
Expect to start with all the spacers on the 268, because that decathlon bike has a VERY relaxed geometry. Then you may find yourself removing spacers over time, which will mechanically go faster on the flat. From this perspective, make sure to buy a cockpit that allows to have spacers above the stem, otherwise you'd have to cut the steerer every time, which is a disaster. It would also be pretty smart to get a bar & stem vs cockpit, because you may also want to change stems.
From a bike fit standpoint, given the uncertainty, you would benefit from a bike that is NOT fully integrated, to allow making changes more easily.
Changing anything on a fully integrated bike is absolutely miserable.
The best bike is a comfortable one that fits you.

well,
they only respond if you order, otherwise, you are ghosted.
They basically do not care if problems occur..they fail sending me documents...we offered to translate the app to germany, no response.
They promised so many things which did not happen....
i am selling off my grt stock for low prices...if anyone wants a groupset, i will offer better than aliexpress prices including shipping, i just want to get rid of them..even mechanic groupsets work fine...

That's bad. With a beta product, you have to have an open communication with the manufacturer, otherwise it's not beta, it's just shit.
That behavior is potentially a bigger red flag than the failure rates of their groups themselves.

if you're considering the 168, then get the 268. The 168 is outdated in terms of carbon layup. The 268 is reportedly as stiff as the 177, but it's more recent and accepts wider tyres.
Assuming you can fit yourself on it, obviously. If you have very poor flexibility, like if you can't touch your toes, then you probably ought to buy an endurance frame.
As for long term longevity, i wouldn't ride a VB frame from 5y ago because composites tech used has come a very long way (now stiffer, lighter, better finished inside, cable integration, aero, discs, better ride qualities...). in 3y you'll probably want a new frame anyway. Even though modern carbon fibre frames are, in principle, immortal.

Ok so similar in ant sizes and completely different in most other sizes

I doubt little people like being referred to as ants, but i genuinely didn't know 42 was a bike frame size. Or 45, for that matter.
The tooling cost to have fifty different frame sizes for a single model must be huge, i guess the existence of such small sizes means they plan to target China first.