Lightcarbon: LCR018-D (endurance all-road)

[gusuka]

Happy New Year! (The date has already changed here in Japan)

The frame arrived at the end of November, and I built it up in early December. Since then, I've enjoyed a couple of weekend rides on it.

My previous bike was a 2008 Scott CR1 Team, so this was my first time assembling a disc‑brake road bike. But by following Shimano's dealer manual and some bike‑shop YouTube videos, I was able to complete the build without any confusion. Of course, I also referred to LC's videos and zealot128's videos—thank you for those.
Before assembly, I checked the inside of the frame with an endoscope, and it was very clean with no burrs.

The ride quality is excellent. Not too soft, not too stiff—neither boring nor punishing. It hits a perfect balance for me. The wheels certainly help, but cruising at around 40 kph feels easy, and I can really sense the aerodynamic efficiency. With my previous bike, riding into a headwind sometimes made me not want to ride at all, but with the LCR018‑D, I still feel like going out even when it's windy.
The paintwork is also fantastic.

My only personal complaint is the seat clamp. As others have mentioned, it's difficult to tighten with a preset‑type torque wrench. So I've ended up using the beam‑type torque wrench that came with my wife's Canyon Ultimate. Even with Finish Line Fiber Grip and tightening it to 7 8 Nm, the seatpost still slips about 5 mm after a ride.
(There was no problem if I tightened it to 8Nm.)

That said, I'm very satisfied overall. I had my friends test‑ride it as well, and it was very well received. I plan to take good care of this bike.
Wishing everyone great rides ahead!


<specs>
bike: Lightcarbon LCR018-D
size: 50 (I'm 1.71 m tall with a 81 cm inseam.)
handlebars: 400*80
seat post: 0 mm offset
painting: same painting design as Eurobike 2025's Instagram
option: 3D saddle, bottle cage BC205 *2, BB(Gineyea T47 30 mm)
group set: shimano Ultegra(R8170)
crank: Lexon carbon crank(162.5 mm, 30 mm shaft) w/ Sigeyi axo power meter
derailleur hanger: direct hanger(M12*1.0 thread pitch)
  https://ourl.jp/lgyak
wheel: 8LIEN L5W
tire: Continental GP5000 700*30C
tube: Panaracer purple lite(TPU)
pedal: Shimano PD-ES600

Total weight: 7.5 kg(w/pedal and light mount(Fr & Rr), w/o lights, Cycle computers, tools, and water bottles)
  frame: 1046 g
  fork: 435 g (before cutting)
  seat post  w/bracket: 185 g
  handlebars: 313 g
  saddle: 157g
  bottle cage w/o bolt (BC205 *1): 21 g

I imagine only a very small number of people reading this thread are based in Japan, but for reference, shipping by EMS Express took about one week.
-----
By the way, someone here was looking for titanium replacement thru‑axles—did you ever find any? I've been searching as well but haven't had any luck. The LC ones are already light enough, so I'm thinking I might just order another set while they're still available.

[Reyltz]

To my knowledge, with glossy decals on matte frames, the stickers are on top of the paint.
For those who opted for glossy paint, the stickers are underneath the paint.

FYI:
My colour is ‘LCB-7207 Chameleon 7207’ and the decals are ‘laser-etched silver’.
I checked with Jim again because I was initially told that the logos were under the clear coat. Now he told me, ‘The laser-etched silver logo is a special outer label, located outside the transparent protective coating, but it is also baked at high temperatures and will not peel off.’ Thats a bit unfortunate, especially since I asked specifically about it beforehand.

[Hualicopter]

Happy New Year! (The date has already changed here in Japan)

The frame arrived at the end of November, and I built it up in early December. Since then, I've enjoyed a couple of weekend rides on it.

My previous bike was a 2008 Scott CR1 Team, so this was my first time assembling a disc‑brake road bike. But by following Shimano's dealer manual and some bike‑shop YouTube videos, I was able to complete the build without any confusion. Of course, I also referred to LC's videos and zealot128's videos—thank you for those.
Before assembly, I checked the inside of the frame with an endoscope, and it was very clean with no burrs.

The ride quality is excellent. Not too soft, not too stiff—neither boring nor punishing. It hits a perfect balance for me. The wheels certainly help, but cruising at around 40 kph feels easy, and I can really sense the aerodynamic efficiency. With my previous bike, riding into a headwind sometimes made me not want to ride at all, but with the LCR018‑D, I still feel like going out even when it's windy.
The paintwork is also fantastic.

My only personal complaint is the seat clamp. As others have mentioned, it's difficult to tighten with a preset‑type torque wrench. So I've ended up using the beam‑type torque wrench that came with my wife's Canyon Ultimate. Even with Finish Line Fiber Grip and tightening it to 8 Nm, the seatpost still slips about 5 mm after a ride.

That said, I'm very satisfied overall. I had my friends test‑ride it as well, and it was very well received. I plan to take good care of this bike.
Wishing everyone great rides ahead!


<specs>
bike: Lightcarbon LCR018-D
size: 50 (I'm 1.71 m tall with a 81 cm inseam.)
handlebars: 400*80
seat post: 0 mm offset
painting: same painting design as Eurobike 2025's Instagram
option: 3D saddle, bottle cage BC205 *2, BB(Gineyea T47 30 mm)
group set: shimano Ultegra(R8170)
crank: Lexon carbon crank(162.5 mm, 30 mm shaft) w/ Sigeyi axo power meter
derailleur hanger: direct hanger(M12*1.0 thread pitch)
  https://ourl.jp/lgyak
wheel: 8LIEN L5W
tire: Continental GP5000 700*30C
tube: Panaracer purple lite(TPU)
pedal: Shimano PD-ES600

Total weight: 7.5 kg(w/pedal and light mount(Fr & Rr), w/o lights, Cycle computers, tools, and water bottles)
  frame: 1046 g
  fork: 435 g (before cutting)
  seat post  w/bracket: 185 g
  handlebars: 313 g
  saddle: 157g
  bottle cage w/o bolt (BC205 *1): 21 g

I imagine only a very small number of people reading this thread are based in Japan, but for reference, shipping by EMS Express took about one week.
-----
By the way, someone here was looking for titanium replacement thru‑axles—did you ever find any? I've been searching as well but haven't had any luck. The LC ones are already light enough, so I'm thinking I might just order another set while they're still available.

Did you go with OEM bearings?

[nick82]

has anyone else had the seatpost slipping? i thought the earlier discussion was that the saddle clamp is hard to reach not that the post slips

[BeR]

has anyone else had the seatpost slipping? i thought the earlier discussion was that the saddle clamp is hard to reach not that the post slips

No at 7,4 N.m (75 kg). But I check the torque frequently (after each ride because you know... I am monk 😁).

[gusuka]

> Did you go with OEM bearings?

I used the original headset bearings included with the frameset. Personally, I haven't noticed any problems, and it's working fine.

--
Regarding the seatpost slip, 8 Nm was fine. Sorry, I just misjudged the cover's position.
When adjusting the height, I was sliding the cover up to read the scale, but after the ride, I was reading the scale with the cover in place. However, the seatpost actually slipped down by 5 mm at 6-7 Nm. For the time being, I will adjust the saddle height and check the torque before each ride.

[A-Rides]

Here is the latest exchange with Wendy and my reply after I collected some poll responses

disappointing.  they admit their mistake but won't make it right.  I am a former potential customer as of now.  They should ask for the old frame back at their shipping cost and send you a correctly painted frame as you ordered.  Anything else is bad service.  They need to eat this mistake and improve their painting/customer service accuracy.

[Nikh]

Hi all,
I received my frame end of last year and now had to claim a quality issue.
My fork has a deep scratch in the beginning of the tube and a lot of "dots" of missing material along the tube of the fork.
Anybody else got issues like this?

Everything else went perfect, painting is great, packaging was good etc.

Looking forward how lightcarbon will proceed.

for all, who are waiting:
Size 52
Ordered end of 10/25
adress confirmation on 04th Dec.
received 30th Dec.

[oilegorpines]

Hi all,
I received my frame end of last year and now had to claim a quality issue.
My fork has a deep scratch in the beginning of the tube and a lot of "dots" of missing material along the tube of the fork.
Anybody else got issues like this?

Everything else went perfect, painting is great, packaging was good etc.

Looking forward how lightcarbon will proceed.

for all, who are waiting:
Size 52
Ordered end of 10/25
adress confirmation on 04th Dec.
received 30th Dec.

Do you have some pictures mate?

[Sehnomatic]

Build went great. Weight: 7.1kg

Size 50 unpainted (~60-120 grit from the factory).
Derailleurs, Shifters, Calipers: Sram Rival E1
Crankset: Sram Red D1 165, 35/48
Cassette: 11-36 Ali
Rotors: Shimano Dura Ace
Wheelset: XMCS CS-D50CU-36, 16/18 5mm bladed
Tires: GP5000 S TR 32c for the weighin and testing. Installing Michelin Pro 5 TLR next week
Stem: 100mm Aliexpress -17deg
Bars: Lambda X Wing
Pedals: Speedplay Comp w/ J&L Spindles
Seat: Westbiking Carbon Saddle. 

Eddy current gauged to find the areas with thick resin (>20 mils) and sanded down to 5 mils & 400 grit. Recleared matte equivalent to SWorks RTP frames I've fondled. Frame and Fork weights through the process respectively: 972 -> 948 -> 953. 424-> 418 -> 421.

I can probably get to 6.9kg refinishing to raw carbon and cutting the seatpost, going from sealant to tpu tubes, and installing a tiny cassette, but it probably ceases being an all road, all climbs, long distance tank of a bike.

LIGHTCARBON waterslide decals are different logos than everyone else has LOL.
Didnt have tape and hoods installed for the picture since I was replacing them due to a crash on the previous bike. They're present for the weigh-in.

Ported over all the hardware from my Winspace T1550. Pedaling and sprint stiffness visibly higher when looking down riding on the trainer - as expected since the T1550 is a T800 carbon noodle bike. No other differences of note at equivalent saddle and bar positions.

I love the storage size and its no-bag aesthetic outcomes for the bike. My reference for in-bike storage is canyon endurace which is l insultingly small.

[POTOOOOOOOO]

Why the -17 stem with added spacers?

[Sehnomatic]

It's the only stem and spacer combo in my appartment that gets me within millimeters of my old bike fit. I could slam it with a -10 90mm. Waiting for the Zeno Q Connectors V2 to come in before i toy around with stems again. I ordered them three weeks ago, who knows when they'll ship.

[Bike.Man]

Build went great. Weight: 7.1kg

Size 50 unpainted (~60-120 grit from the factory).
Derailleurs, Shifters, Calipers: Sram Rival E1
Crankset: Sram Red D1 165, 35/48
Cassette: 11-36 Ali
Rotors: Shimano Dura Ace
Wheelset: XMCS CS-D50CU-36, 16/18 5mm bladed
Tires: GP5000 S TR 32c for the weighin and testing. Installing Michelin Pro 5 TLR next week
Stem: 100mm Aliexpress -17deg
Bars: Lambda X Wing
Pedals: Speedplay Comp w/ J&L Spindles
Seat: Westbiking Carbon Saddle. 

Eddy current gauged to find the areas with thick resin (>20 mils) and sanded down to 5 mils & 400 grit. Recleared matte equivalent to SWorks RTP frames I've fondled. Frame and Fork weights through the process respectively: 972 -> 948 -> 953. 424-> 418 -> 421.

I can probably get to 6.9kg refinishing to raw carbon and cutting the seatpost, going from sealant to tpu tubes, and installing a tiny cassette, but it probably ceases being an all road, all climbs, long distance tank of a bike.

LIGHTCARBON waterslide decals are different logos than everyone else has LOL.
Didnt have tape and hoods installed for the picture since I was replacing them due to a crash on the previous bike. They're present for the weigh-in.

Ported over all the hardware from my Winspace T1550. Pedaling and sprint stiffness visibly higher when looking down riding on the trainer - as expected since the T1550 is a T800 carbon noodle bike. No other differences of note at equivalent saddle and bar positions.

I love the storage size and its no-bag aesthetic outcomes for the bike. My reference for in-bike storage is canyon endurace which is l insultingly small.

You're sanding the frame over 20-25g 🤔
My size 50 weighs 999g with a matte finish 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Nikh]

The Scratch and those dots can bei fehlt with the fingernail.

The Scratch could bei a crack too, but i dont think so. I will check this with a camera.
What do you think about?

[POTOOOOOOOO]

What do you think about?

This isn’t aimed at you specifically, but I think there are a lot of inexperienced bike builders on this forum who are paranoid and looking for issues.

I think the “crack” is a minuscule amount of extra resin from an overlap in the bag during the vacuum process.

Have you ever taken a look at a steerer tube from any other fork? I’ve seen the same on specialized, canyon, Cervelo, felt, Reilly and many others.

See what LC say, but I think you’re fine.