DM me if you’re interested in making an offer! Still haven’t gotten around to uploading pictures but will do so soon.

Here's a photos of my build + an action shot!

I'm currently running Pararacer EXT 38mm on the rear and Donnelly PDX 33mm (effectively 35) on the front. I've got another Panaracer ext tire coming in the mail for the front

What can I say? This bike has been a fast cross bike. This bike hasn't stopped me from setting some new Strava PRs up the doubletrack climb and the toughest switchback descent at my local stomping grounds. It also hasn't stopped me from modestly outperforming my most recent crossresults-predicted race result this weekend, despite being way-down on fitness according to Garmin. I'm guessing the move to sightly wider rubber has helped, but honestly I'm riding this thing faster at my local mountain bike track than I am riding my new Cannondale Scalpel. So much to say--It's not a completely new or mind-blowing experience, but I feel very confident on this bike, it's very light, and it effectively lets me put down power. Despite my initial misgivings, I have to say I am very happy about the bike so far!

I’ve been riding it, mostly on singletrack, but I’ve also gotten a bit of grass in there. Haven’t raced it yet, that’s coming this weekend.

For the most part, I have a hard time distinguishing it from my 2016 Crux—the geometry is really close to that bike, bar the longer chainstays. On paper the stack is quite different, but if you overlay the models, the front end is actually very similar. So take anything I say with a grain of salt, it probably mostly in my head/confirmation bias of what I’m expecting it to feel.

I think the handling feels like my Crux, but with a little “edge” taken off the handling characteristic—at times it feels more stable in corners. The handling also just feels stiffer and more predictable, maybe because of the thru-axles/142 rear spacing. I think mainly the effect of the long chainstays is it makes this bike feel less prone to snap-oversteer/has a slightly more progressive feel to the rear end grip, but also a bit less peak grip at the rear. I do feel i can push this bike harder/closer to the grip limit through corners on flat ground. Does this bike feel less nimble/agile? Sure, slightly. But I also think there’s a worthwhile tradeoff—this bike holds its line better and more confidently than a similar bike with shorter chainstays. I also feel like this bike corners better under trail-braking, where dabbing a bit more rear brake will help you swing the front-end into corners.

I do feel the front-center isn’t as long as I want. The steering starts to feel a little vague/susceptible to redirection, and requires a lot of commitment when going downhill. In understeer-heavy situations, like when turning-in at high speed, on the brakes, into a downhill, tight corner, it feels hard to predict if the front will bite. Once you’re bitten-in the front end traction feels good, it just feels a little hard to predict the edge of traction on turn-in. My old crux also had a bit of this, which makes sense—both bikes’ horizontal F-C is within 2mm of each other. 

I don’t really get the sense that it is slower, more sluggish, or less stiff than my old crux, like some others have commented. Interestingly, it also doesn’t feel particularly more plush to me. But that’s comparing to an older Crux with QRs. Again, I acknowledge subjectivity here, I think I was expecting noodle-y and plush, and what I felt didn’t line up with that expectation.

So—does this make a serviceable amateur cross bike? Absolutely! It does not feel like a yacht, or anything radically different than a typical cross bike. Maybe if you’re a super-enthusiast/semi-pro or have very traditional (or ultra-progressive) values about CX geometry, this bike will bother you—but you’d know if you fall into those categories just by looking at the geo chart.

How about the gestalt? How does this bike perform according to its goals of being not just a cross bike? I think if you want to have one all-road machine—a bike that can do gravel, CX, bike packing, and even road riding, this is a solid pick. It’s light, has nods to aero, can do 1x or 2x, has a wide range of tire clearances, and the geometry is well-suited to a broad range of tire sizes. Albeit, the geometry is quite behind the times compared to most modern gravel race bikes.

How do I feel about my choice? Something I also regret not considering when ordering this bike is that it’s pretty standard these days to ride 38mm tires if you’re not complying with UCI rules. With that in mind, I probably would have gone for the airwolf YFR68—my only hang up with that bike was the BB height, but it wouldn’t be a concern with larger tires. Thankfully, I have the rest of my life to buy more bikes.

Alright so I'm going to update everyone on my build so far:

As I noted in my last comment, shipping was not quick. Initially I had been quoted 15 days to shipping. The next 2 times I had asked for updates, Wendy said the frame would ship "by the end of next week", which was a lie on both occasions. Lesson learned, if you care about the lead time, ask for a quoted lead time BEFORE you pay. I had also ordered the frame with no rivets, but was told I would have to wait ANOTHER week for that one, but I could choose to take the riveted frame immediately, so I went for that. Not ideal but I'll live

Options chosen: 55cm frame, 100mm integrated stem, SP03 seatpost, black paint/no custom paint

Weights:
- frame: 1063g
- fork: 499g
- seatpost: 192g
- stem: 153g

Notes:

Frame: tubes look nice, feels very light, but the quality of the bottom bracket is dogshit. I don't know how this frame passed Hambini's BB-weenie test, because my frame's BB is terrible. HUGE deposit of resin on one of the cups that I had to file down. There's a big gouge/void in the other cup. Internal diameter was something like 40.3-40.8mm in diameter, when it should be a bit closer to 41. I've had to file down the void, and hit the cups with some sandpaper to clean up the surface. I'm using a token ninja thread-together BB, evidently the cups are not aligned because the crank has been binding like crazy to install, and does not spin freely. I'm hoping that most of it is just binding between the bottom bracket bearings and the crank spindle, but I might have to resort to a BBinfinite if the situation does not improve with some use. 

Fork: Chunky and solid. I mean, it weighs half as much as the frame. Thru-axle threads were crusty and bind-ey. As on many budget forks, inside of the steerer is fiberglass.

Seatpost: The tube is very thick and chunky. Easily could be 50g lighter. Painted with opaque gloss black paint. Internal profile is slightly oval. I like the seat binding clamps. This post definitely won't fail on you! Definitely a part I look to upgrade soon.

Stem: Awful awful awful. Stem face bolts and threads are not aligned well so it binds when screwing. Internal diameter of handlebar clamp is slightly smaller than spec so it slightly crushes the handlebar (I may have damaged my handlebar, oh well). Heavy. Why did this need to be carbon?

Hardware & assembly: Stem spacers are split, good. Seatpost clamp face is machined to literally appear like a device for filing/grinding things. Pretty okay for post-security, but this will LITERALLY shred the paint/material off of your seatpost where/near you clamp it. Headset bearings are okay, fitment is spot-on, no notes there, good-job lightcarbon. Everything else is bog-standard solid & cheap parts. Steerer tube compression bung and topcap compressor are heavy steel parts. For assembly, I built up with SRAM Force AXS etap, so very easy to just route the brake hoses, especially since I didn't have an integrated bar. No surprises there, I used a magnetic routing toolkit to help me out.

So, overall verdict? I guess for $660, it's fine. I kind of have regrets about getting this bike instead of a used bike, but that's on me. I've spent so much on this bike it's not really competitive with used bike prices anymore, which is really what motivated my road bike build in the first place. As for the quality--I have questions. This frame has ended up in the workshops of several youtubers lately, who have sung its praises--and my experience definitely does not line up. Is this "Wendy's revenge" for me insistently bugging them about getting my frame shipped? Or is some funny business afoot--did lightcarbon decide to let QC slip with the new popularity of this frame? Who knows.

Anways, wish me luck as I finish this build out and attempt a season of cyclocross on it.

Is there a consensus on what the pull ratio is and if it's compatible with other RDs?

I’ve successfully paired the R9 (11s) with an 11s ultegra rear derailleur

It seems that its hard to find this, i want the 50mm clearance!

I just ordered a lightcarbon LCG071S, it's supposedly a very light frame with 50mm clearance. Only concern I have is that chainstay length, supposed to be quite long, but we'll see how it goes

Just got a set of X-CADEY cranks with PM spider, coming in at under 500gr in 170mm, available in 165mm. Gotta say I was pretty impressed with the weight and value.

I ordered a frame from LightCarbon at the start of the month, and was given an estimate 15 days production time before it shipped. Now it's been 24 days. I emailed them 15 days in to check in on the status and they said it would ship this week. This week has almost come and gone, and...nothing.

I had planned on using this frame for cyclocross season and at this rate I'm not going to get a frame in time. Should I pull the trigger and dispute with PP (I did purchase with buyer protection), or is this kind of kicking-the-shipping-time-can down the road par for the course?