Spcycle New Mold G056 Carbon Gravel Frame

[raisinberry777]

Crazy but I love it. How did the eGR setup go? How well does it cope with the extremes of that range? I've been curious about that - 38t and 9-46 seems like the ideal gearing combo for it, given its limitations.

[jonathanf2]

Crazy but I love it. How did the eGR setup go? How well does it cope with the extremes of that range? I've been curious about that - 38t and 9-46 seems like the ideal gearing combo for it, given its limitations.

EGR was a breeze to setup. I've tuned 2 ER9 groupsets and not having to deal with an FD just made things easier.

A couple quick comparison between the EGR and ER9:

1. The EGR cage spring is tight ASF. While Shimano GRX gives you adjustability options, LTwoo said f**k it and gave the EGR the highest tension. On the ER9, I think it could have a bit more tension.

2. The RD shifts very fast and precise. No problems. Despite weighing more, I think LTwoo put a faster/stronger motor in the EGR.

3. The new LTwoo brake calipers are nice. One-piece alloy design and even better brake feel. I do have one thing to note. Even though I generally don't like the LTwoo adapter brackets, the one positive about them is that they seem to allow leeway for poorly faced caliper mounts. I've had no issues with brake alignment on 3 of my LTwoo equipped bikes.

4. EGR shift buttons have better haptic feedback. They require slightly more force, while the ER9 shift buttons are prone to accidental presses. Also I think the EGR shift levers are either carbon or some sort of carbon reenforced nylon. My ER9 levers are cold to the touch (alloy) while the EGR levers are not.

5. The EGR RD battery cable port is much more recessed into the RD. I still applied rubber cement (liquid tape) and dielectric grease, but crossing fingers the EGR appears to be more moisture resistant.

I might switch over to a 9-50t cassette and longer chain. Though some have reported less than ideal shifting. Since 46t is the official max size for the RD.

[fhold]

Love it! The pearl white is a really nice colour!

How are you satisfied with the padels are they any good? If so, would be interested in a link.
And I would be also interested in the magnetic bottle system?

[hsaus]

Nice build! And the black fork pairs well with the white frame.

- 34cm flared drop bars

Woah, that's narrow! How wide are the drops?

Also the geometry is kinda funky,

I felt the same initially, lots of wheel flop, probably because of the very slack head tube angle and high trail. I'm used to it now though, and I like the confidence that the long wheelbase gives me on bumpy descents.

[jonathanf2]

Love it! The pearl white is a really nice colour!

How are you satisfied with the padels are they any good? If so, would be interested in a link.
And I would be also interested in the magnetic bottle system?

The only reason I use these pedals is due to the somewhat compact dimensions for a flat, 1-sided SPD pedal. Most SPD pedals are clunky and made for MTB'ing. Also I prefer nylon plastic, because when moving my bike around, alloy SPD pedals have a nasty habit of dinging and scratching stuff.

I don't really care for the magnetic bottles either, but I use them due to the gritty dirt in Southern California. The fine grit sticks to regular bottles and scratches them like crazy on standard bottle cages. This is my 2nd pair. My 1st pair of magnetic bottles lasted 2 years before falling apart . 

Here are the pedals, unfortunately they raised the price. I bought my pair for $8.50 USD:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802459405646.html

Magnetic bottles, I bought mine for less than $10 USD:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807191295266.html

[jonathanf2]

Nice build! And the black fork pairs well with the white frame.

Woah, that's narrow! How wide are the drops?

I felt the same initially, lots of wheel flop, probably because of the very slack head tube angle and high trail. I'm used to it now though, and I like the confidence that the long wheelbase gives me on bumpy descents.

The drops are 460mm. In retrospect, I probably should have went with the 38cm hoods & 500mm drop version, but since my riding consist of combined trail and road, it's a trade-off going either way (aero on the flats vs more control on the trails). 460mm drops still give plenty of control.

The drop bars:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806404062021.html

I just took the bike on it's maiden ride for about 64km (40mi). Within the first 5 minutes of riding I had to adjust the seat post higher by 2cm. I also pushed my saddle all the way back. Even then the bike is very upright. I'd almost be tempted to slam the stem, but since this bike will also see mountain trail use, I'll leave it as-is. The high trail and slack angle was a bit of surprise as well, very different to my road bikes and even my previous gravel bikes which were more CX oriented. Where the bike shines is on the climbs. The moment I hit elevation, it felt really good on steep angles. On the rough downhill I barely felt any trail buzz, it's really compliant. Steering felt a bit slow, at one point I checked just to make sure the bearings weren't seized! The most interesting part is how easy it is to track stand the bike. That's a plus when riding technical trails.

Overall, I'm quite satisfied. Today I had a few people ask about the bike. Also I rolled up at a stop with a group ride and they just looked at the bike as if it were from a different planet! 

[jonathanf2]

Last night I was having a bit of a panic, because my other wheelset front wheel wasn't fitting. I thought there was an alignment issue due to being a 15x100 front wheel with a 12mm adapter, but I opted to sleep on it and tackle it first thing in the morning. Luckily I was able to solve the problem and get the thru axle inserted into the fork! It just needed a bit of cleaning and a little TLC! Anyways, now it's time to tackle some heavier duty trails on this setup!

[jonathanf2]

I finally got a chance to hit some single track dirt trails with the RF025/G056 frameset and this bike is definitely designed to be a trail climber. As I mentioned earlier track standing on this bike is really easy. While on the trails, the frame allows for really nimble control over technical terrain. Also when grinding up steep elevation, you can really dig in by lowering your body for efficient climbing output. I finally got my seat post and saddle position adjusted just right, though I'm thinking of switching to a -17° degree stem without cutting the steerer. It'll allow me to stretch out just slightly on the flats, but I can still stay upright on the climbs and trails.

Anyways, I'm completely sold on this frameset in terms of value and geometry especially if you intend to ride in steep terrain. This is definitely a dirt climbing bike. The only downsides is that I wish the frame weighed a bit less (mine was about 1160g in size small) and T47 adds weight over other BB setups.

[jonathanf2]

Just confirmed the Riro/Racework 24mm carbon cranksets fit perfectly into the T47 86.5mm bottom bracket with no seizing. For me, this frameset needs the extra weight reduction! 

[Daviddavieboy]

Just confirmed the Riro/Racework 24mm carbon cranksets fit perfectly into the T47 86.5mm bottom bracket with no seizing. For me, this frameset needs the extra weight reduction! 

 Just be happy to know the frame can take some abuse. I am regularly riding mine at 25+kph on gravel and much faster downhill with the odd drop off. It has held up fine and I weigh 100kg. The only regret is not having a set of aluminum rims as I now have more than a few dings in the carbon ones.

[jonathanf2]

Just be happy to know the frame can take some abuse. I am regularly riding mine at 25+kph on gravel and much faster downhill with the odd drop off. It has held up fine and I weigh 100kg. The only regret is not having a set of aluminum rims as I now have more than a few dings in the carbon ones.

After swapping out the crankset back to carbon and using my lightweight SPD pedals, I was able to drop weight a bit. Considering I'm running electronic and the frame has a sturdier trail focused build, the slight weight increase isn't a deal breaker. I'm about 70kg, though I could probably drop 5-10kg, but I like food too much!

What depth carbon wheels are you running? For my trail wheelset, I'm using MTB 29er wheels at 30mm depth and 28h spokes. Less surface to damage and a bit more durability. I'm not a fan of deep depth wheels on gravel bikes and/or running any components that you can't afford to replace. I've wiped out on loose dirt, trail ruts and even over tree roots. Plus there's everything from jagged rocks, baby heads and other crap that'll mess up nice wheels.

[Daviddavieboy]

I like food too much!

What depth carbon wheels are you running? For my trail wheelset, I'm using MTB 29er wheels at 30mm depth and 28h spokes. Less surface to damage and a bit more durability.

 30 years ago I occasionally raced and was MUCH lighter but I am over 50 now and love my food as well LOL.

 I am using 50mm deep x 29mm wide elite ENT wheels so I don't really care THAT much about them but they are fast on and off road. I run 35mm gravelkings ss and usually have an average speed of 30-35 kph over a 1-2 hr ride with and less than 100m climbing. FWIW  these days my ftp is around 250 on a good day.

[jonathanf2]

30 years ago I occasionally raced and was MUCH lighter but I am over 50 now and love my food as well LOL.

 I am using 50mm deep x 29mm wide elite ENT wheels so I don't really care THAT much about them but they are fast on and off road. I run 35mm gravelkings ss and usually have an average speed of 30-35 kph over a 1-2 hr ride with and less than 100m climbing. FWIW  these days my ftp is around 250 on a good day.

I'm guessing you have more rolling hills type terrain? In that case, probably deep dish wheels are better! Unfortunately for me if I want to ride off-road it's straight to to the mountains. Anywhere from 600-1000m is the typical ride for me on both road and off-road. 

[fhold]

Second ride today and man was it great. That bike is a real fun machine. And I love how it feels. The handling is great and I felt very secure even going fast on bumby gravel.

[Daviddavieboy]

I'm guessing you have more rolling hills type terrain? In that case, probably deep dish wheels are better! Unfortunately for me if I want to ride off-road it's straight to to the mountains. Anywhere from 600-1000m is the typical ride for me on both road and off-road. 

 Yes, you are correct. I live along a river and can do a 160 km loop without climbing 300m in total LOL. Away from the river it's better but nothing drastic. A place we call the wall is a 1.5 km climb with average an 8%. That loop is about 75km and can do most of it off road if I want to. The only mountains I have climbed are on the north east coast of the US and Cabot trail in NS Canada.