Lightcarbon: LCR018-D (endurance all-road)

[K-Ninja]

Finally I got my frameset last week. I'm in the building process, and as a novice, I have two questions to the experts in this forum:

1.- The space between the frame and the base of the handlebar spacers is about 1 mm. Is this OK?

2.- When I put the rear thru-axle with the UDH hanger loose, the thru-axle can be screwed by hand, but when I tighten the UDH mount, the thru-axle can't be screwed by hand. I think that there is a misalignment somewhere. Anyone has experienced this? Is a frame defect or the culprit is the UDH hanger. Any ideas to solve this?

Apart from this, everything was OK.

[2wheeledbarbie]

Size 47cm color chameleon 02HS ordered around May 20. Got sent photo of my frame on June 29th. I'm assuming shipping will take another 2-3 weeks to land in the USA.

you might find depending on your size that the seat post won't go down far enough.  I think it hits off the join of the seat stays. 

[2wheeledbarbie]

Finally I got my frameset last week. I'm in the building process, and as a novice, I have two questions to the experts in this forum:

1.- The space between the frame and the base of the handlebar spacers is about 1 mm. Is this OK?

2.- When I put the rear thru-axle with the UDH hanger loose, the thru-axle can be screwed by hand, but when I tighten the UDH mount, the thru-axle can't be screwed by hand. I think that there is a misalignment somewhere. Anyone has experienced this? Is a frame defect or the culprit is the UDH hanger. Any ideas to solve this?

Apart from this, everything was OK.

1/ mine has a gap.  If it didn't, the spacer would rub the frame. 

2/ try the other UDH

[jksu]

i don’t have specific experience with the LC posts but have moved from more setback to zero setback seatposts over the years. primarily it’s to dial in fit. when you move to shorter cranks, which i did years ago (175–> 165, i’m 6’ with 34” inseam) doing triathlons and later also on my road bikes due to hip impingement, the resulting raising of the seat with typical 73deg seat tube angle means the seat ends up further back. i’d end up needing to push my seat as forward as possible on the rails.

so if you currently have your seat mounted in the middle of your current seat post, just get the same type post (set back or zero). or if it’s your first bike, i’d go test ride a friend’s or get a fit to figure that out.  or buy both (LC’s prices are so reasonable) you have the option of using either. 

both LC posts have the cut out near the top of the post that may theoretically give some comfort, but i doubt it’s much. most of the rear end comfort is probably from the dropped seat stays i imagine

waiting for my frame to finish production and i am trying to decide between a 0mm offset and 15mm offset seat post. does anyone have experience with both and could provide some insights other than KOPS? are there any flex differences, does a 0mm offset make the bike feel more "racey", etc?

[POTOOOOOOOO]

It also depends on what saddle you’re using. People tend to sit a few cm further back when using T type vs a V type.
- to clarify. You sit in the same place, but a T type saddle will be further forward on the rails.

Or get a bike fit and it removes the experimentation. You might have longer/ shorter femurs which will dictate saddle setback.

[Esoteric]

you might find depending on your size that the seat post won't go down far enough.  I think it hits off the join of the seat stays.

Interesting thanks for the heads up. Hopefully I do not run into this issue my height 163cm with 72cm inseam. If I do couldn’t I just chop a bit of the seat post off and move the minimum insert up by the same amount I cut off?

[2wheeledbarbie]

any pics of what it is like on the frame? 

Road Bike Frame Decal Clear Scratch-Resistant Protector Bicycle Sticker MTB Guard TPU specific Cropped Universal Protective Film
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mrRLKN5

[zealot128]

Interesting thanks for the heads up. Hopefully I do not run into this issue my height 163cm with 72cm inseam. If I do couldn’t I just chop a bit of the seat post off and move the minimum insert up by the same amount I cut off?

Thats what I had done. Same procedure like fork cutting.

[2wheeledbarbie]

Interesting thanks for the heads up. Hopefully I do not run into this issue my height 163cm with 72cm inseam. If I do couldn’t I just chop a bit of the seat post off and move the minimum insert up by the same amount I cut off?

yes I took 2 cm off mine.  My inseam is a couple of cm longer than yours.  I wouldn't cut it straight way though.  Ride it first.

[Bender87]

A short update after 2000km on my bike.

Discovered a little crack in the paint in the right top corner of the storage opening.

LC checked the pictures and said: "Our engineer said that is just a little bit crack on the paint surface, it won't affect the stiffness and strength. Please don't worry about that."

I mean in this area you can not flex the carbon due to the thickness of it, so pushing and squeezing it doesn't do anything.
I also don't hear any difference when tapping it. I'm no carbon expert but will trust LC with this statement.

Still waiting for an answer to the question that this shouldn't be normal in the paint, after 2k and 3/4 year of riding.

And i don't want to complaint about, that the under 1k€ frame has a small crack in the paint (if it's only the paint i guess).
I mean, i ride this bike like a 1.5k€ bike. No paint protection foil or else.

At the end of the day it's a not a 10k€ bike, which i would cry over every small dent/scratch in the paint ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Ghandy]

Here are some of my experiences with the bike, as well as the build details and weight.
Size 54 glossy - raw carbon, no storage
Reserve 42/49 wheels (25 mm ID) with DT Swiss 350 hubs.
Red 165 mm cranks.
Force 35/48 chainrings and 10-36 cassette
Force dual sided PM
Older design Rival flattop chain because I cut my Force chain one link too short.  Will get another Force chain soon.
Force RD, and Rival FD.
Force E1 Brakes
Pirelli PZERO Race TLR 30 mm tires, tubeless
120 / 380 LC bars
0 setback seatpost - got the -15 in case but definitely don't need it.
LC SD02 Saddle
LC BC205 cages
Lizard Skin 2.5 mm bar tape
SRAM BB
Enduro SS bearings
Ultegra pedals
Weight with 30 mm Pirelli's, LC computer mount, pedals = 7.8 kg calculated with my digital bathroom scale.

First photo - with Michelin Pro5 35 mm tires and Panda Podium / Ahyka Aero bottles.
The Michelins were comfortable and fast rolling, measuring 37 mm on the rims. Seems like plenty of rear clearance and huge fork clearance. These tires are good for light gravel such as the rail trail near my house. The bike itself is not very forgiving, other than the nice riding position and longer wheelbase. My optimal case with these tires is mixed roads where gravel gets where you want to go, rather than choosing this for dedicated long gravel rides. 

The Aero bottles seem fast, but they're smaller than the standard large bottles that I'm used to and have a significantly lower flow rate.  I wasn't happy with the low flow and installed the LC BC205 cages for standard bottles.  These cages were nice enough that I mounted the second set on my gravel bike. After one ride with some rough gravel that included fast downhill sections, they seem secure and quiet. 

I had a bike shop cut the steer tube and advised them to cut 4-5 mm below the top. I forgot to pre-grease the bearing areas and when I greased and put the handlebar back on, the stem was just above the top - so back to the shop.  They sanded the extra length off without removing the brake cables and retightened everything. Not sure I believe that they cut it properly the first time as they insisted, and that the grease somehow seated the headset stack better / lower.  I believe they likely made a mistake.

But this had me thinking that if grease is helpful in properly seating the headset bearings, maybe that is something that folks should look at who are troubleshooting speed wobbles.  If for any reason the ungreased headset bearings were hung up on some piece of carbon or resin and slightly misaligned, that might cause some wobble that grease could help settle things in.

With the bars setup from the shop, my first fast group ride wasn't confidence inspiring.  On fast downhill with high (~30-40 kph) crosswinds, the bike didn't feel stable, feeling like a speed wobble above about 60 kph.  When I got home, I found that the shop didn't properly tighten the compression plug and it pulled up even with the top cap creating 4-5 mm extra space in the headset stack.  I suspect that they thought it was self-tightening with the top cap screw.  Not sure if this is a thing on other plugs. 
Once the plug was tight, everything was a lot more stable.  But, another day with higher (40-50 kph) head and crosswinds, I had some instability that I suspected was from the big Michelins and the rim OD difference. It felt like a flutter even at moderate speeds, so I was considering a change to my 30 mm Pirellis. That decision made for me when the next day a pack of razorblades was spread over the road and shoulder near the hardware store while I zoned out riding by.  One ruined Michelin later and the Pirellis were going on for sure. 

The 30mm's are more stable in the strong head and crosswinds that we're having this year in the UT mountains. comfort with the 30's is good, even on our less than perfect roads, though I'm avoiding longer gravel road rides where I was comfortable on >10k of decent gravel with the 35's.   

With about 650km on the bike, I love the fit, narrower 38 mm bars, bar shape, and rear-end comfort.  The bike is stiff, fast and comfortable.  It's definitely an aero feel - stiff with the deeper tube shapes. The back end seems to be a bit more forgiving than the front, probably due to the dropped and thinner seat stays.
This bike is stable to at least 80 kph. Above that speed I'm still more cautious than many in my Weekly group ride, especially when the downhills seem to have asphalt undulations that I suspect are from the cold winters, plus the wind.  But I think I just need to learn to let it run. 
It's also very stable on uneven or dirty / gravel littered roads.  The week before I got my bike, I was able to demo a Dogma F.  It had its positives like feeling quite smooth while remaining eager, and it was an excellent climber, but it was frightful on anything sketchy, and the geometry wasn't the best with the setback seatpost, short stem, long cranks, and odd sizing.

The LC bars have a very comfortable shape.  I really enjoy the wide aero center portion with the slight curve and forward cant. 
The SD02 saddle is comfortable, though I sort of miss my Selle Italia Boost SLR.  I bought an SD01 as well since I wanted to compare, but my recommendation is stick with the SD02.  Both saddles seem to have the same shape and the SD02 has more padding, but certainly not soft or overly padded. Didn't try the SD01 and listed it for sale.

I initially had some minor noises, which were all attributed to the seatpost and saddle clamps. My seatpost is the newer one with full grippy tape.  Thanks to forum tips, I had pre-greased my seatpost wedge interfaces, and saddle bolts.  I had to come back and retighten the wedge bolt to quiet things down, and tighten the saddle clamps tighter than I expected to keep it from tilting on impact, as well as make it quieter.  Added some Muckoff carbon paste to a portion of the seatpost and a little on the carbon saddle rails between the clamps.

What's the clearance like at the front derailleur?

[NB87]

A short update after 2000km on my bike.

Discovered a little crack in the paint in the right top corner of the storage opening.

LC checked the pictures and said: "Our engineer said that is just a little bit crack on the paint surface, it won't affect the stiffness and strength. Please don't worry about that."

I mean in this area you can not flex the carbon due to the thickness of it, so pushing and squeezing it doesn't do anything.
I also don't hear any difference when tapping it. I'm no carbon expert but will trust LC with this statement.

Still waiting for an answer to the question that this shouldn't be normal in the paint, after 2k and 3/4 year of riding.

And i don't want to complaint about, that the under 1k€ frame has a small crack in the paint (if it's only the paint i guess).
I mean, i ride this bike like a 1.5k€ bike. No paint protection foil or else.

At the end of the day it's a not a 10k€ bike, which i would cry over every small dent/scratch in the paint ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I noticed a similar mark on the exact same spot yesterday. I'm not too fuzzed about it, if it says like this, but it is remarkable that this type of crack appears more often. Ive done 2200km on the bike since half of april

[GreyRacer]

Same. I ordered a week earlier than you but had top tube bag mounts included which added a week.  Looking forward to finally getting the frameset.

Is that the British racing green or something else ? Looks too blue and bright.

[jksu]

8.5mm from a 30mm measured tire and the front derailleur

What's the clearance like at the front derailleur?

[jksu]

bike finally built up!

size 56, 400-90 bar-stem, zero offset seatpost
ferrari red to carbon clear coat fade, LC logo as carbon clear coat on head tube
light carbon 53db wheelset 50mm deep, 23mm int diameter, sapim cxray spokes, specialized sworks turbo 30c tires (31.5 wam) w/ridenow tpu tubes
dura ace 9270 groupset w/165mm 52-36 cranks, 160/140 rotors, 11-34 cassette, waxed chain, di2 top button "boosters"
cema ceramic t47 bottom bracket, meroca 3d printed carbon rail saddle 155
titanium out-front mount w/gopro mount (for cateye amp500 light), fizik bar tape, look keo pedals (to be replaced with favero assioma pro RL2)
specialized rib cage (non-carbon) bottle cages, downtube storage bag w/2 tpu tubes, co2, tire lever, $20, di2 charge adapter, usbc-usbc cable, spare c1632 battery)

weight: 7.6kg (w/bottle cages, computer mount, pedals, not including downtube storage)

hope to take it for a ride later this week!