For racing with narrow bars on maintained gravel roads, something like a BMC Kaius is ideal IMO. I don't think there are any open molds with a comparable geometry.

If you do a lot of single track and fire roads with a lot of elevation the SC Stigmata is probably a great choice, assuming it fits you. That slack HTA works, but it can also be annoying unless you have wider bars. I think there are some new open molds that are more like this. I think the Carbonda 707 and the new elastomer suspension Light Carbon bike are more like this.

For an allrounder, I get while the Canyon Grail and Trek Checkpoint are popular options. I think a bike like the Carbonda 696 is also this kind of bike, though I have never owned one. I think most people are best off getting a bike that is this kind of geometry, sort of half way to a race bike but slightly relaxed and designed for a more upright position.

However, gravel bike geometry is pretty fraught with tradeoffs and compromises, so the question is really hard to generalize an answer for. Even if the frames can fit wider tires, unlike on the road, toe overlap can be a very consequential issue  when racing. With 165mm cranks, my max tire size is 700c x 42mm treaded tired with a FC <610mm. Realistically, I personally would be conservative and go with a 40mm tire to be safe. That means that for me, most racing or allrounder bikes are pretty much limited to relatively narrow tires unless they can take 650b / 27.5" tires at which point, I want something like a 2.1" tire so the handling doesn't feel too quick as a result of the overall tire / wheel being too small. Given that the 650b tire size is dying and the remaining 27.5" tires are XC tires that are quickly becoming only available in 2.2"-2.4" there are no allrounder options that meet my needs.

The ideal solution is to buy two bikes, which is what brands like Enve want me to do. One for racing on 40mm tires and the other an ultra / trail focused rig that clears 700x50mm. The other option, which i did, was to go custom geometry allowing me to just barely get what I want without having to make these specific compromises.

I am guessing that the domestic market price is probably realistic for making and selling higher end frames right now. I doubt anyone is making a ton of money here, but they are all taking their piece.

The result might be that high end catalog frames like these don't make a ton of sense, and these brands might as well raise the price a couple hundred USD and do the full development, like the Seka Spear RDC which isnt that much cheaper than the European price for the Van Rysel RCR Pro frameset.

I don't know if I would say the Exceed has an exceptional track record for quality. IMO, its pretty average to below average if you are comparing them to the high end brands. A lot of people had seat post slipping issues, though I think Factors also suffered from that and being made in the same factory as the RDC and all...might as well.

One thing is true though. There are high quality Chinese products out there. If you have ever tried to have something made there you can see line by line how cost adds up. That then runs straight into a buzz saw of geopolitical biases that cut both ways. A lot of people associate China with cheap mass produced goods, but there are plenty of high quality goods made in China too.

On the other side, I had a chuckle when Chinacycling went to Sea Otter and produced a video featuring wheels made by Boyd with the comment "cool to see cutting edge carbon manufacturing like they do in Xiamen" on a rim made using RTM, a process that they bought from Munich Composites...it's not that new and is only used by a handful of manufacturers in North America and Europe because its cheaper to scale with labor than with those machine heavy processes. Never heard of a wheel company in China using it.

That thread over on WW is a mess. I think its an interesting idea. Definitely an endurance bike except for the "R" sizes which are more inline with current race bikes.

What it seems to show is that Seka has produced a competitive bike with the latest gen of bikes. Is it any more or less competitive than the similar weight Elilee Blize? Not really by what is shown. Does Seka make a better bike? Maybe? They made a lot of noise about the RDC line using the same factory as Factor, but that's pretty meaningless. The price point is fun but not that convincing. I would like to see these brands do more. Elilee could do bundles with their cranks and i would like to see these brands make their own super light stems in addition to their bar.

Its cool there are now Chinese brands looking to compete internationally with their products and mix it up with the top names.

I think it’s a trade off. Silicone greases, wont attack the resin binder in bike frames (other greases wont either unless your bike is REALLY old as resins have evolved) but it’s only really going to help with assembly. Maybe it will marginally reduce the chance of damaging the frame on installation. It shouldn’t do much to the retention of the BB either.

For a straight up pressfit, grease or no grease, I would see what the BB maker recommends. If there isn’t one you can go either way. If it’s an alloy sleeve in carbon, I am probably using anti seize if noting is recommended. If it’s plastic. Eh. In a metal frame with a metal BB, always using the right anti seize. If there are gaps Loctite 641 or equivalent. 638 or equivalent is the last resort.

For a thread together, I would always grease the side that isnt pressed in because of how much movement it’s doing inside the shell, unless its metal on metal. Anti seize on the threads. Same deal with Loctite here.

For T47 or BSA, i am always using anti seize.

So I will admit to not having done research on pricing and missed that these are quite a bit cheaper on Aliexpress right now than they are on the Wheelsfar sales channel.

https://www.aliexpress.com/i/3256805757378173.html

At $820 + $121 for the 50mm deep wheels + you can use coupons and get cashback. Its a really interesting wheel for like $850 all in. My experience has told me that usually wheels like these that don't go through aero optimization are usually slower / less stable than wheels that have but also the testing data out there shows that profile and tire match to rim matters less as wheels get deeper. But even if the 50mm is "only comparable" to a 40/45mm wheel they are lighter and a lot cheaper than anything from Reserve or Enve. I am thinking of rolling the dice too.

The Rd270 combo works out to be over 100g lighter.

Has anyone used this combo and compared it to a tried and trusted dt240+sapim combo? How does it perform in comparison?

I dont think anyone has enough mileage rd270 combo to really know regarding reliability. The magic of the dt240 hubs is that they just keep running. I think the rd270 based wheels are about $1000?

I personally think they are a great option for a light weight build and bragging rights, but the old dt240 or the current 350 would be what I would get and in that price range spend a little more get some rims with actual aero credentials to make up any potential performance gap based on weight.

All my wheels run either the older 240 or the newer versions of the 350 and if / when the bearings go they will all get the 240 bearings but its a theoretical conversation because despite clocking over 20,000 gravel miles and seeing a pressure washer a couple times a month, my most used set still doesn't need anything more a hub regrease every 6 months.

You can find experiences with the rd270 over on weightweenies here https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=132&t=156164&start=2490