I'm not an expert, but the bolts all feel very solid when tightening them. I've inspected the inserts that I can see internal in the frame and they look pretty solid (rivet nuts? no idea -- as I said, I'm not an expert :-)). I hope to one day go bikepacking with this, but no plans right now.

Just a heads up for those buying components ahead of getting the frame: the chainstays are 30mm at the flatmount bolt holes (so you need Y8N208030, 43mm).

Frame looks great -- love the rainbow paint job. Weight within spec. It built up really easily. To keep things simple, I'm using a regular stem and handlebar, and I'm running full-length cable housing to the rear derailleur, so I had to slightly drill out the provided plug (which would normally act as a cable stop), and I "repurposed" the included di2 plug for the hole where the RD cable housing exits the frame.

Now waiting for the bolts and a new headset (affordable IS52/28.6 | IS52/40  choices are a bit limited) to complete my build (long story, I broke one of the bearings of the included headset -- the fit was super tight and I accidentally opened it while trying to removed it).

You do need a spacer for an 11speed mtb cassette on a road free hub body. For example , https://www.bike24.com/p259996.html

I did. I was told recently it should be getting painted right around now. Fingers crossed :-)

I like spray.bike

Out of curiosity, I drew up the geometry for the medium frame. (EDIT: geo is very close to the 2021 chisel, albeit 1 deg less slack)

I might consider this frame at some point next year for my entry into the mtb world. I was severely underbiked on my gravel bike on the trails in the Ardèche a few weeks ago :-)

Search the forum for “micro spacer”. They are frequently needed.

EDIT: sorry, I missed your issue is a the bottom of the head tube. Haven’t seen that before, usually the problem is at the top.

https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,3366.0.html maybe?