Chinertown
Chinese Carbon Road Bikes => Road Bike Frames, Wheels & Components => Topic started by: jacques_leen on September 08, 2025, 02:12:24 PM
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Hello First time poster but long time reader
I found myself in a pretty unlucky situation. My radon spire frame has developed a crack that the producer is not willing to treat within guarantee terms, I won't go into the details concerning that, let's say I have made peace with that decision. I received a quote for the repair and it is honestly not worth it once you count in the costs of sending the frame to the carbon repair shop.
But as the saying goes 'when a door closes a window opens'. And if by the term window we mean 'the chance to trash some money into this hobby', it is most definitely open.
Long story short I have the components and I need a frame. Ideally it would be an all road/ gravel bike as it would be used to commute on my way to work (once twice a week 40km each way with some gravel in it) and the radon did the job barely
I have set my eyes on the carbonda 505 but I am most definitely keen on any suggestion from the experts :)
The biggest constraint that I see is that I have a nice Ultegra 8170 12 Speed di2 that I would like to use.
Thanks in advance to anyone who is willing to participate
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How wide do you want to go when riding gravel?
If you like the looks of the 505sl, go for that one. It fits up to 45mm tires, is lightweight, strong, stiff and responsive like a roadbike with all the modern features (UDH, T47...) making it future proof. Also you can go up to min 50t chainring, likely even 52t. Honestly, there are not many frames that can do better.
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If I had the money or need to replace my gravel bike's frame, I'd be going with a Lightcarbon frame. Maybe this one: https://www.lightcarbon.com/lightcarbon-new-gravel-frameset-with-integrated-handlebar_p170.html
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If 40mm tyre clearance is enough and your gravel is smooth and occasional then the Light Carbon LCR018 might be worth a look.