Chinertown
Chinese Carbon Road Bikes => Cyclocross Frames, Wheels & Components => Topic started by: pearl on February 17, 2022, 04:24:44 PM
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Just got this in the mail today to put together for my wife. At 4’11, it was hard to find something, frame only and on a budget, that would work. The frame took 55 days from order to the door in USA. Not bad
Packed well, organized, looks solid to me.
(https://i.imgur.com/5aVdtFD.jpg)
The only concern I currently have is the fork area, where the bearing sits on the fork. It doesn’t slide all the way down. I have another frame with the same type headset and wanted to make sure it wasn’t the bearing, or it needed a race, but it doesn’t sit flush like it should.
(https://i.imgur.com/9cfUIhk.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/JARliaA.jpg)
Has anyone else run into this when building a frame/fork? Looking at another fork I have, it’s a lot smoother and flat in that area for the bearing to sit.
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I've just come from the other thread. That bearing in there is 100% not the correct one. I'd drop top carbon an email and ask them for exact bearing spec.
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Have you built this up? Happen to know what one it is? I can’t imagine the fork being wrong…
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No I haven't/don't but I did make an error building a bike a few year's back. I ordered a incorrect fsa headset that didn't sit on the crown race properly. Hence a gap.
Take to local bike shop, they will have some bearings to fit on it.
Be really helpful if you took a picture of the fork with lower headset bearing on it.
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(https://i.imgur.com/HZy7S7n.jpg)
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That bearing is way too small. It should be sitting pretty flush with the molded crown race on the fork !
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Nothing in this fork inspires confidence.
The hole drilled, the overall appearance really looks amateur job... :-\
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Nothing in this fork inspires confidence.
The hole drilled, the overall appearance really looks amateur job... :-\
Glad I'm not the only one who thought this. The steerer is one of the most critical points on the bike. Lots of wrinkles means lots of voids. Could be ok, or could be disaster waiting to happen. On a gravel bike which may be taking lots of bumps, I wouldn't ride that.
Hopefully you haven't ridden it or put weight on it with the wrong size bearing. That'll put stress on the steerer in ways that may compromise it.
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Nope, no riding at all since I know this is wrong, I also don’t have the complete build kit so that helps
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There's a new review on Ali with a close up of the fork/heat tube connection. Seems that they don't have the gap you do. Have you tried contacting Lexon yet?
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I will echo the comments made about that steerer. The join line and creases elsewhere look absolutely awful and hint at a potential deathtrap IMO. The hole for the integrated cables is at best a complete mess, at worst as above.
You shouldn't accept it or ride it IMO.
Generally TopCarbon have a decent(ish) reputation but that never should have made it to completion on the production line, let alone QC, let alone been sold to a brand / retailer, let alone been sold to a paying customer.
The workmanship is appalling.
It seems like there are much bigger things to worry about than poorly chased BB threads (on the Riot) with TopCarbon, or at least the stuff that gets sold as Lexon.
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I’ve reached out to Levon and they asked me to try another bearing or “polish” the steerer. I asked for them to send me a new fork via UPS or I’ll be asking for a refund.
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They never replied to my request about sending a new fork, so I asked for a refund. Pretty disappointed at the moment, especially since this frame is for my wife. Curious if they will reach back out with a new fork, or just refund me my money and I can find my own fork.
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They never replied to my request about sending a new fork, so I asked for a refund. Pretty disappointed at the moment, especially since this frame is for my wife. Curious if they will reach back out with a new fork, or just refund me my money and I can find my own fork.
If you find a different fork, I suggest you scan that frame before riding. God knows what horrors may lurk inside if TopCarbon and their retailers / brands are selling forks like that.
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I think that’s the right fork but you need a different sized bearing. Whether you want to use that fork is up to you. I doubt you’ll get a refund unless there is visible damage to the fork.
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(https://i.imgur.com/HZy7S7n.jpg)
As I remember my bearing was sitting much deeper onto the cone, +/- in halfway of its height. You have wrong sized bearing. Did you tried to change with the upper one? Mine both bearings were the same size.
I had a problem with not enough stack height of bearings/ upper cone. The headset cover came into a contact with frame head first and as a result fork developed play. I ve made a 3mm spacer and it fixed everything.
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I think that’s the right fork but you need a different sized bearing. Whether you want to use that fork is up to you. I doubt you’ll get a refund unless there is visible damage to the fork.
It has many small cracks, fissures, poor joins, creases, bad scoring from what looks like a power sander being used, and that messy hole for the cables. I'd call that damage.
Also I pinged Gavin at TopCarbon with this thread. He said he'd look into it. Hopefully they take it seriously.
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As I remember my bearing was sitting much deeper onto the cone, +/- in halfway of its height. You have wrong sized bearing. Did you tried to change with the upper one? Mine both bearings were the same size.
I had a problem with not enough stack height of bearings/ upper cone. The headset cover came into a contact with frame head first and as a result fork developed play. I ve made a 3mm spacer and it fixed everything.
I was told by Lexon that the bearings were the same size, I tried other ones in the parts bin and they all acted the same, stuck on this point.
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I was told by Lexon that the bearings were the same size, I tried other ones in the parts bin and they all acted the same, stuck on this point.
I'm currently in the refund process, via message they are saying to cancel the dispute and the will send "at once", but wont tell me what that means. I feel if I cancel it, I lose any type of leverage and they will just screw me over... They did say I could return it, but I'm sure I have to ship it back... right?
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I'm currently in the refund process, via message they are saying to cancel the dispute and the will send "at once", but wont tell me what that means. I feel if I cancel it, I lose any type of leverage and they will just screw me over... They did say I could return it, but I'm sure I have to ship it back... right?
Gavin at TopCarbon said he has asked the retailer to "handle it well ASAP" and will look into the issues that caused this to arise - hopefully he will.
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Lexon messaged me saying tey will ship it "at once if you cancel the dispute", so I did. Lets see if they are true to their word!
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Lexon messaged me saying tey will ship it "at once if you cancel the dispute", so I did. Lets see if they are true to their word!
I'd ask them to send a photo of the new fork's steerer, to make sure you're getting something acceptable.
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At a minimum the bearing should sit flush!
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Hope this gets sorted out for you. Keep us updated. It’ll be good info to have on how this vendor handled this.
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Only update I got yesterday was "we will send it soon"... I guess when they said they would ship it "at once" is different from what I expected...
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Was asked to "polish" it again and told them if they dont send me a new fork like they said they would, I would file a dispute.
The fact that a vendor things that "polishing" or sanding is a solution is insane...
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Polishing out cracks, voids and wrinkles in the steerer. That's a good one ...
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I’m going to go with a bad translation to sand so that the bearing slides down, but it’s not even close to fitting…
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That's a shame. I'm hoping mine doesn't have the same issues when it comes in, but definitely writing Lexon off after hearing your experience. Do you still have the "open a dispute" button? I've heard conflicting info, some say you can only open a dispute once, and others say that you can reopen disputes if the buyer protection hasn't run out.
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It looks like I could still open the dispute if need be.
They have replied back every time within 24 hours... Not sure if you can chalk it up to me asking for a matte/unpainted version and issues coming up from that or what, but if they make it right in a timely manner that is what is important to me. Mistakes happen. If they send this replacement fork out and expedite the shipping (not wait 50+ days) and it works, I'm okay with it.
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I opened the dispute for the second time, as I couldn't reach an agreement with the seller. I asked for 50 USD refund and they do not responded. Aliexpress agreed to to this and I waiting for ~ 50 usd of refund.
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Did they just not send everything? I'm curious if I'll have the same problem, sadly i cant check until I have a working fork...
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Sorry to hear. Are you planning to get another fork from a different vendor to complete the build?
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Lexon just messaged me that it should ship today or tomorrow, let’s just hope they expedite the shipping!
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I was told it was shipped today, tracking is yet to be updated. Lexon did say they made sure a bearing fit over the steerer tube, so it "should" be right!
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That’s good to hear, Lexon has seemed like a convenient option in the gravel space with this frame and it would’ve been unfortunate to have to completely write them off. Hopefully this was a one time mistake….
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Any updates?
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Fork is out for delivery! waiting patiently on the porch...
if it's good to go ill be dropping it off tomorrow to get the hydraulic lines plumbed and maybe get it back in a week or so?
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I knew this would happen….
This looks right at least, but not the matte fork I asked for.
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Also, it looks like the integrated bar will be too long of a reach, so I’ll have to run a standard stem. Does anyone see any issue with running the cables like this?
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Two things I can think of. It's obviously less pretty than fully integrated (a 3D printed spacer that covered the holes in the headset would be cool). You wouldn't want water to get in because that would lead directly into the lower headset bearing. I think the FSA ACR headset that's made for non-integrated cockpits uses rubber seals.
Sorry to hear that it's not the paint that you requested.
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So I stayed up last night on AliExpress messaging Lexon, they eventually said that they shipped out the replacement fork with the right color, but didn't provide a tracking. I asked them to send DHL or UPS, I don't want to wait another month for a fork.
The whole process has left a sour taste in my mouth and I really just want to give up on this whole project which is a bummer.
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On the bright side, you seem to have the bearing issue fixed! lol!
But oh man...thats pretty terrible service. I don't blame you for losing all excitement for this build. I'll make sure to not give them my business if I build a gravel frame. Thanks for sharing your experience.
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I think the only other frame that would fit my 4'11 wife is the Squid Gravtron, just the total opposite of a lightweight carbon frame though!
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I wouldnt be too happy with the outcome on the forks, pretty poor showing by the company ... Lets just piss off the new customer, not once but twice ! Kinda puts me off ordering from the smaller Chinese companies , ... Good luck with getting it sorted
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Lexon said they shipped two days ago, didn't give a tracking number.
When I asked for the tracking number last night, the message was read and not replied to.
Since it's past 15 days, I can no longer open a dispute on the original order of the frame. This is a mess.
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I think what makes this worse is I can see when the vendor reads my emails and does not reply to me.
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So I was offered a $30 refund to keep the fork, but the more I thought about it, the more I was upset with the customer service. No news on my end from 3/22 about a replacement, so I finalized my dispute with American Express. Hopefully I at least get my money back.
Sadly between DIYCarbonBikes and this Lexon vendor, I've really had bad luck with everyone except Peter at XMIPlay. Lets hope that my Velobuild is a little smoother, that shipped out today!
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I knew this would happen….
This looks right at least, but not the matte fork I asked for.
The short fix .....Take the fork Out....buy a CAN of 2K Matte ClearCoat. mask the fork tube, lightly wet sand the fork. Apply one coat of Clear, wait 5 min, apply second coat of clear. Wait 24h. Matte Fork.
Keep the replacement fork as spare when it arrives.
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That would be a nice solution, except I have to send the mistake fork back first before they do it. That is ridiculous that I have to wait even longer for their SECOND mistake...
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So I was offered a $30 refund to keep the fork, but the more I thought about it, the more I was upset with the customer service. No news on my end from 3/22 about a replacement, so I finalized my dispute with American Express. Hopefully I at least get my money back.
Sadly between DIYCarbonBikes and this Lexon vendor, I've really had bad luck with everyone except Peter at XMIPlay. Lets hope that my Velobuild is a little smoother, that shipped out today!
Sorry to hear about this. I just read up on your DIYcarbonbikes experience. I almost bought some wheels from there. Glad I didn't! I had a good experience with velobuild. Hoping you do too.
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Man, that was 4 months of my life I'd never get back...
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Do you have pictures of the lower headset bearing sitting on your second fork? Curious how similar it is to the fork I got, I'm wondering if it's even worth trying to get a replacement from them. Did you end up getting your money back through your credit card?
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AMEX says it is expected to be resolved today, but who knows...
Here is the original photos with the original fork:
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AMEX says it is expected to be resolved today, but who knows...
Here is the original photos with the original fork:
I think he's asking if the bearings fit properly on the second fork they sent you. The one with the incorrect paint job. Or did you need a different bearing?
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I think he's asking if the bearings fit properly on the second fork they sent you. The one with the incorrect paint job. Or did you need a different bearing?
Yeah that's what I was curious about. Because the installed pic of the painted fork on the matte frame looks like there's still a decent gap between the chamfer and the lower bearing.
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I think he's asking if the bearings fit properly on the second fork they sent you. The one with the incorrect paint job. Or did you need a different bearing?
he confirmed both headset bearings should be the same, so if that is the case...
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Also annoyed that I can't leave feedback since it's been 30 days, so I will have to keep making sure this thread stays relevant so it comes up on google searches.
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Were you able to get a refund or settle things with vendor?
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Yup, I just got an email this morning from AMEX that I was fully refunded, so this chapter can now be closed. Not sure what I will do with this frame now though, maybe just leave it as a reminder to always use AMEX for these types of purchases!
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Well if anyone wants this, I’d be willing to sell it for like $300 plus shipping. Sadly after I got to this mostly setup, it’s still too much of a reach with the integrated bars.
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I'm interested. Tried to send you a pm. If it didn't send let me know.
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Do anyone know the height of the chainstay where the caliper mounts? I'm planning to mount shimano brakes an need this measurment to get the correct bolt length.