Spcycle New Mold SP-R088 Carbon Road Frame

[DavidG]

Any idea on the way of the frame on this paintjob?

Nicest I've seen so far for the R008! Beautiful!

[Unsworn5836]

interesting that they put an 12k top layer and no ud.
anyway, absolutely stunning looking frame!

[Stubbie Blue]

The next GCN Tech video on this frame is up:


Issues:
- Excess resin where seat tube was bonded together blocked seat post insertion
- Brake mounts
- Flex in handlebars/forks

[BeR]

The next GCN Tech video on this frame is up:


Issues:
- Excess resin where seat tube was bonded together blocked seat post insertion
- Brake mounts
- Flex in handlebars/forks

For the experts people, what do you think of that flex :
https://youtu.be/lRoySD9eg9o?t=22m16s

[ausmtb8989]

Looks like the majority of the flex comes from handlebar stem area

[Ludo]

To me especially the bits where he pushes down on the brifters and the camera is on the stem, looks staged. He doesn’t seem to apply much pressure and gets loads of flex,seems like the headset assembly is not correctly compressed. For those with the bike, do you get that much?

[benquick]

I get some flex, but nothing like in the video. (It feels like) By far the most movement comes from the tire, a little bit from the handlebars (LightCarbon HBR17), and lastly from the fork. Nothing I would be alarmed about and miles better than my previous bike with cheap flexy handlebars.

[fhill]

Okay, excess resin in the seattube sucks, he's right on that.

The other issue, with the brake mount, he even says, he sprayed clearcoat on the frame and then wonder the brake mount is still uneven... Well that's not exactly clever but yeah understand he needed something more to complain.

Regarding the flex, look at how much the tire gives in, add a little bit of play in the headset area. All of this on a little elevated step and yeah propably not the most stiff handlebar ever also the C-shape ring doesn't really help tbf and you get such results... I'd say flex seems staged to me and would be solved pretty easy with another compression ring. Only real issue I see is the excess resin in the seattube

[POTOOOOOOOO]

When I saw this vid, I came see to see how owners would defend it.

For those who say it’s staged. Are you ignoring the fact that you can see the wheelbase growing when he pushes down?
The steerer is bending, allowing the front wheel to move away from the down tube. That’s nothing to do with the stem, bar or headset.

GCN are a bit shit sometimes, but I don’t think they intentionally mislead when it comes to these things.
QC can be beyond patchy with some manufacturers, so they could have a void or crappy lay-up.

There are clearly many satisfied customers here, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t get a duff one.

[Suikerbroer54]

Finished my build, R088 size 54 (177cm). Elite ENT 2.0 wheels, Ltwoo RX 7 groupset. None of the issues mentioned, No flex in the front But i used a Kocevlo lightweight handle bar and stem so I could finetune, instead of an integrated cockpit. Riding on Continental Grandprix (30 mm) and I absolutly love the ride.
Did spent € 1400 on the complete bike (Ryet saddle and Riro 706 crankset).

[jonathanf2]

My frame had none of the problems on the GCN video.

First the seat tube. I documented early on this thread using the Di2 seat post attachment doesn't work with the LTwoo battery. In fact just placing the battery down the seat tube with a piece of ribbon string works way easier for placement and maintenance. These frames are EPS molded as well, so the internals should be much cleaner. The whole seat post issue seems overblown.

Second regarding the brake mounts. I've painted several frames and I always tape off the brake mounts. Glossy clear coat can lead to residual drip if sprayed exessively. Any DIY bike mechanic should know better. In fact I just swapped my brake calipers with another set this week and I had no issues with alignment on this frame.

Third the head tube/handle bar flex. I don't think I'd ever touch a Tooseek handle bar. I like cheap bike parts, but I don't like my bikes spontaneously assploding either. As shown on this thread, headset issues can pop-up especially with non-compatible C-rings and headset covers. I used a separate bar and stem and a sturdier FSA-style compression plug. Seriously though why did they still build up the bike with that handle bar flex? They should have tried another bar setup. Has anyone with bigger sized frames notice anything like that?

BTW - I'm over a year in with the R088 and it's still holding up just fine.

[Ludo]

When I saw this vid, I came see to see how owners would defend it.

For those who say it’s staged. Are you ignoring the fact that you can see the wheelbase growing when he pushes down?
The steerer is bending, allowing the front wheel to move away from the down tube. That’s nothing to do with the stem, bar or headset.

GCN are a bit shit sometimes, but I don’t think they intentionally mislead when it comes to these things.
QC can be beyond patchy with some manufacturers, so they could have a void or crappy lay-up.

There are clearly many satisfied customers here, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t get a duff one.

Actually if you dont compress the headset it’s exactly what would happen, the wheelbase would vary. I am not saying there is no flex in the frame (every frame has flex), but it’s easy to create a dramatic effect if one wants to.
Not sure what bar they are using and that could also have impact

[POTOOOOOOOO]

Actually if you dont compress the headset it’s exactly what would happen, the wheelbase would vary. I am not saying there is no flex in the frame (every frame has flex), but it’s easy to create a dramatic effect if one wants to.
Not sure what bar they are using and that could also have impact

As I said, I don’t think it’s staged.

I don’t think they’d intentionally not assemble or tighten a headset for artificial drama.

Obviously owners will defend their bikes and blame GCN, we don’t know the cause, so anything is just blind guesswork.

[DavidG]

I have that same handlebar fitted to my r008 and I get nowhere near that flex he shows on his video with my whole body weight hanging in the shifters. I get a little bit of flex but I am confident this comes from the plastic spacers which came with the handlebar. I can make a video if anyone wanna see what it is really like.

[HarryFunmaker]

I had to file down my brake mounts a little. That's a legitimate complaint.

Now that I think about it, my seatpost did hit a stopping point inside the frame, but I assumed I was up against the area where the seat tube starts to narrow, so I didn't think much of it and just cut my seatpost a little bit (it still meets minimum insertion requirements). I'll have to take my seatpost out and see if there is a similar ridge inside my frame.

It's a bit frustrating that he didn't figure out the root cause of the flex before posting the video. I ran into some headaches trying to figure out which C-ring to use with my Lexon bars. Sounds like he used the one that came with the frame, but I wasn't 100% clear on that. I wonder if something similar is going on here or if he indeed got a defective frameset. Always leave the viewer wanting more, I suppose.