Spcycle New Mold SP-R088 Carbon Road Frame

[alfiomotrambo]

I used a piece of thick plastic clothes hanger with a sandpaper taped to it. A more mature solution i guess would be using a round file of length 30 cm or more with a handle. And wrapping it with tape, leaving only around 7 cm exposed. In the process you might try to put the battery in to check if it fits, but be aware not to make it stuck.
In my case cutting the seatpost wasn't necessary.
Also an idea I came up with only after the build - to put a plastic strap on the clip just under seatpost to prevent battery from falling off (image 2).

Good luck!

Thanks, that was very helpful. I did the same and managed to remove enough material now the battery fits inside the frame. Unfortunately, I cut the seatpost too early, which was my mistake. At the moment, I can fit a 700 mm seatpost into the frame; we’ll see if that’s enough for Spcycle. If not, I might need to buy another one, but it's no big deal.

[x7zise]

What’s the minimum seatpost insertion?
Just notice like a stop in the frame and the di2 battery stuck on, anyone notice this issue? Can I just sand it out?

I finally got an answer from David. The minimum insertion depth of the seatpost is 10cm.

[Txunguito]

Hi, have you installed a headset on your builds? I still have a lot of clearance between the fork and frame, and the dealer told me it's not necessary. Without it, the clearance is fine, but it seems really strange to me.

[Dr J]

Hi, have you installed a headset on your builds? I still have a lot of clearance between the fork and frame, and the dealer told me it's not necessary. Without it, the clearance is fine, but it seems really strange to me.

You mean the crown race? That has been discussed here multiple times. It is not needed on the R088 fork

[Txunguito]

I meant that, yes, thank you very much

[alfiomotrambo]

Hi everyone,
I’ve come across a concerning issue with my carbon frame and would really appreciate your advice.

I recently noticed a visible crack on the top tube, close to the headset area. I’ve attached a photo below to show exactly where it is (if possible to include). I haven’t had any crashes or impacts that could obviously explain this.

My main concern is whether the frame is still safe to ride, especially on the road.
Would you trust it, or is it too much of a risk?
Has anyone experienced something similar, and how did you handle it?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

[Rebel_Yell]

Hi everyone,
I’ve come across a concerning issue with my carbon frame and would really appreciate your advice.

I recently noticed a visible crack on the top tube, close to the headset area. I’ve attached a photo below to show exactly where it is (if possible to include). I haven’t had any crashes or impacts that could obviously explain this.

My main concern is whether the frame is still safe to ride, especially on the road.
Would you trust it, or is it too much of a risk?
Has anyone experienced something similar, and how did you handle it?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

Can you feel anytime on the instead of tube at that spot?

[alfiomotrambo]

Yep, I’ve install the fork and handlebar and when I apply some brake at the front I notice some movement in this spot, seems pretty unstable to me

[Dr J]

Hi everyone,
I’ve come across a concerning issue with my carbon frame and would really appreciate your advice.

I recently noticed a visible crack on the top tube, close to the headset area. I’ve attached a photo below to show exactly where it is (if possible to include). I haven’t had any crashes or impacts that could obviously explain this.

My main concern is whether the frame is still safe to ride, especially on the road.
Would you trust it, or is it too much of a risk?
Has anyone experienced something similar, and how did you handle it?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

And another one bites the dust.. I would never ride that anymore. I am starting to get a little trust issues with the ultralight frames from ali…first that fork on the x68 and now this.

Curious to see what in depth investigation SPCycle will do.

[jonathanf2]

Yep, I’ve install the fork and handlebar and when I apply some brake at the front I notice some movement in this spot, seems pretty unstable to me

Are you sure your frameset didn't get damaged during shipping? First your seat stay was dinged and now your head tube! I would definitely ask for a replacement frameset.

[Tilmanstoa5ty]

Hi everyone,
I’ve come across a concerning issue with my carbon frame and would really appreciate your advice.

I recently noticed a visible crack on the top tube, close to the headset area. I’ve attached a photo below to show exactly where it is (if possible to include). I haven’t had any crashes or impacts that could obviously explain this.

My main concern is whether the frame is still safe to ride, especially on the road.
Would you trust it, or is it too much of a risk?
Has anyone experienced something similar, and how did you handle it?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

After how many kilometres of riding did this happen?

[alfiomotrambo]

After how many kilometres of riding did this happen?

The frame has zero kilometers I had just started building it and it hasn’t done a single meter on the road that’s the crazy thing.

Better now than later btw

[jonathanf2]

The frame has zero kilometers I had just started building it and it hasn’t done a single meter on the road that’s the crazy thing.

Better now than later btw

I would contact SPcycle ASAP, wait for their reply and see if you can get a new frameset. In fact I would just stop everything you're doing and prepare to ship that frame back to SPcycle. The way it's damaged it must have been dropped at some point. Is it possible local customs opened the box?

This is the reason I video record all my frameset and wheel purchases in the event there is damage. That way the vendor can't say it was damaged by the buyer and you'll have recourse for an AliEx dispute if the vendor isn't being cooperative.

[Tilmanstoa5ty]

The frame has zero kilometers I had just started building it and it hasn’t done a single meter on the road that’s the crazy thing.

Better now than later btw

That's gotta be some sort of shipping damage then. Contact Spcycle and see what they offer. Hope they will replace the frame without issues

[alfiomotrambo]

UPDATE:
The seller got back to me and suggested that I sand the affected area lightly with sandpaper to check whether the carbon fiber itself is damaged or if it's just a surface-level cosmetic issue.

If the carbon is actually compromised, they said they would send me a new frame (although it’s not entirely clear whether I’ll have to return the current one).
If it turns out to be only cosmetic, they offered to cover the cost of repainting.

We’ve been talking through AliExpress chat so far.
Do you think I should ask them to confirm everything by email, just to have it in writing in a more official way?

What do you think about these options?
Does this sound like a reasonable approach?
What would you do in my place?