Lexon GFX Carbon Gravel Bike Frame Build

[pearl]

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.


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.




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.

[abedfo]

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.

[pearl]

Have you built this up? Happen to know what one it is? I can’t imagine the fork being wrong…

[abedfo]

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.

[pearl]

[abedfo]

That bearing is way too small. It should be sitting pretty flush with the molded crown race on the fork !

[numberzero]

Nothing in this fork inspires confidence.
The hole drilled, the overall appearance really looks amateur job...

[00Garza]

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.

[pearl]

Nope, no riding at all since I know this is wrong, I also don’t have the complete build kit so that helps

[acedeuce802]

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?

[RDY]

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.

[pearl]

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.

[pearl]

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.

[RDY]

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. 

[00Garza]

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.