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Re: Lightcarbon: LCR018-D (endurance all-road)
Finished the build tonight at long last. What a beautiful bike - the raw carbon gloss finish really is amazing and I’m so glad I went for it. Bike was so easy to build. A quick 5 minute test confirmed the bike is solid as a rock and as comfortable as you would ever hope for - the geometry is superb. To be able to climb straight onto a bike and feel instantly comfortable and at home says it all. Ultegra 8170 is absolutely ridiculous. Silent to the point where I wasn’t even sure I changed gear and so fast across the range. Weighed in around 7.35kg with pedals which is right on target. Hope to get an hour out on it tomorrow so hopefully will be able to report back after that, but initial impressions are really, really positive.   
November 11, 2025, 05:50:15 PM |
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Re: Lightcarbon: LCR018-D (endurance all-road)
I now have put a few hours of riding into the LCR018-D so just want to give everyone the final specs of the bike and a quick initial impression. Specification: Size 54 frameset Raw carbon, gloss finish, laser silver decals (absolutely superb - despite my love of hyper chameleon finishes, this raw carbon is by far my favourite finish). 380/80 Handlebar Inline Seatpost Ultegra 8170 Groupset with titanium bolt upgrades on the groupset and throughout the bike Frames & Gear UDH Direct Mount Hanger CeramicSpeed T47 BB Go-Zone 45mm Carbon Wheelset, 24mm internal, CX Ray Spokes, brass rainbow nipples, GP5000 30mm Tyres, Ridenow TPU tubes Galfer Wave Rotors, Swissstop 34RS brake pads YBN S12 TIC rainbow chain, waxed with Dynamic Wander Wax (soon to be moving to UFO Ultra Endurance Wax) Lightcarbon 3D print saddle and carbon bottle cages Lightcarbon titanium garmin mount Assembly: Putting the bike together was a pleasure - has to go down as the easiest bike I have ever built - and this is my first disc brake bike so that is saying something! Everything is finished to a very high standard, no problem routing any cables - handlebars are easy to route through as well - everything just works. Di2 battery holder in the seatpost is custom made to fit and is a really nice finishing touch. Another feature not really mentioned is the little GoPro mount which attaches to the Garmin mount in where the mount meets the bar - not out front at the actual Garmin faceplate. This is such a great little addition - it allows me to add a light to the bike but keep it nicely tucked in close to the frame - so compact and neat and not something ive seen before, so kudos to LightCarbon for this! Initial Impressions: If there is one word I would use to describe this bike, it would be smooth. It's exactly as I hoped for, and exactly the bike I wanted. Is it as responsive as a TCR? No. Is it as fast as an Aeroad? No. Dont get me wrong, its fun and a pleasure to ride, but im trying to give an objective feel of the actual ride compared to some other bikes. BUT - its smoother than anything else ive ridden, and im willing to bet I might actually be faster over 4-5 hours on this bike than the other 2 listed, because this bike does not beat me up at all. It is so easy on the body that after 2 hours I find myself physically in far better shape than I would be on any of my other race bikes - and thats the key. I bought this bike for endurance, and it's ticking all the boxes - and then some. I went for Ultegra 8170 Di2 and ive never been as blown away by a groupset. I've been using 9150 Di2 on my Cervelo S3 which is very, very good - but this 8170 is ridiculous. Absolutely silent and shifts faster than any groupset ive ever used - even the front shifts feel like a rear shift - so smooth, fast and quiet. I wasn't expecting that much of a difference - but it is a big difference to any groupset ive used and I couldn't recommend highly enough. Ive added the little button "exaggerators" that slip in under the hoods to make the hidden buttons more pronounced (I got them off Aliexpress) - what a difference they make! I can press even with winter gloves and feel the clicks so clearly - a small but massive improvement. Another big motivator for this bike was the shift to disc brakes - I have hand and wrist problems at the minute and needed something to ease the pressure and force going through my hands - especially on wet winter roads. Overall, I am delighted with disc braking. Bleeding the 8170 was so simple as to be a joke - took 5 minutes to do both front and back. Aligning the rotors did keep me busy for half an hour as I wrapped my head around it, but now all set and silent. I was surprised by the gradual nature of the braking - to me it feels much like a very well setup rim brake bike, but the key difference being that it feels the same even in the wet! So this is a huge improvement. Im using Swissstop 34RS pads, so maybe other pads would give a different feel, but I am very happy with how these perform. Another interesting bonus is the lack of external cables. The bike looks so sleek and clean - and to that point, no cables makes cleaning down the bike SO much easier! It is such a well rounded package overall, so smooth, confidence inspiring in its stability, still agile and absolutely silent, which always brings a smile to my face when riding. One point to mention is the handlebars. I love the look of the design, and the sloping shape gives an extra few mm of height to the shifters. However that sloping shape is not great for riding on the tops as it angles your shoulders in towards each other and feels rather cramped. As someone who loves to climb, I can see this being a slight point of annoyance in the future, so I may revisit the bars after a while and think about changing them out. Its a small point, but something worth mentioning. It will be interesting to see when the good weather comes around again what I think of taking my Cervleo S3 out again - the LCR018-D is such a well rounded bike that covers every scenario so well, that I can see it becoming my go-to bike for most rides. Future Plans: There's not much more to do to the bike, but I have a couple of things i'd like to try. 1. A "best" wheel upgrade for the good days. A 50/55 ish deep set of wheels around 1200g to really make the bike shine. The Go Zones are great, and the brass nipples give me all year round confidence, but at 1380g they are a do it all workhorse. Id love a set of all out performance wheels for big days out. I'm trying to decide between DFS Carbon custom build, Serenade 50mm, Aero Raptor 50mm, XM Carbon custom build, or 9Velo - any thoughts here much appreciated! 2. A second fork. I have my current fork cut with a couple of extra spacers for maximum comfort, I'd love to get another one and cut it slammed for better aero performance on fast days. Its not that big a deal to switch the fork out, so currently debating the cost if an extra fork and an extra caliper. Sorry for the rambling, hope this is of some use to users on the forum. Anything else you'd like to know about the bike, just reach out and I'd be glad to help. 
November 14, 2025, 03:28:54 AM |
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Re: Lightcarbon: LCR018-D (endurance all-road)
Received my frame today. Box was beaten up but LC did a good job in wrapping it up. OFC did a unboxing video just in case. Weights of 58 painted: Fork (uncut): 439g Frame: 1134g Axle front: 27g Axle rear: 37g Seatpost: 184g Cockpit (420x110):342g Expander: 39g Full Headset & Spacers: 105g UDH Dropout: 18g Computer + Lamp Mount: 24g Made some quick shots at daylight. The color is incredibly hard to capture, but there are tiny little lightpurple sparkles on the offwhite base - looks super good in sunlight. Hopefully I can start building the bike on sunday. December 12, 2025, 07:03:25 AM |
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Re: Lightcarbon: LCR018-D (endurance all-road)
what is your height and inseam please? during upcoming days i would to order also size 58 but im struggling with stem length. Thank you My height is 196cm, inseam around 94cm (but Iam not 100% sure about inseam). December 18, 2025, 06:31:30 AM |
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Re: Lightcarbon: LCR018-D (endurance all-road)
My 58 size bike is assembled. I was worried that maybe frame will be small. I am 192cm tall and my inseam is 90cm. Seat post is not even half way up so this size should also fit taller riders than me. Can’t wait for a nice dry day to test it out. December 18, 2025, 04:18:59 PM |
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Re: Lightcarbon: LCR018-D (endurance all-road)
Also if anyone is interested and have access to 3dprinter, here is my design for Garmin Varia rigid holder specific to LCR018-D seatpost profile. Big thanks to Jim from LightCarbon, he was able to sent me seatpost profile drawing in high res and thanks to that he saved me a lot of time in CAD and measuring. I think that was pretty awesome from LightCarbon. Only thing you will need is M3 hexagon nut (there is a little cut out in holder where do you slot or push in m3 nut) and M3x20mm bolt, puck and puck bolts you can use the ones from original Varia mount. I also recommend to use at least 3 wall loop and 25% infill (just to be sure just print it with 100% infill, it increases weight for just 2g  ) in slicer, and PETG material for increased temperature and UV resistance.
December 19, 2025, 02:04:30 PM |
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Re: Lightcarbon: LCR018-D (endurance all-road)
So guys... had a blast yesterday because I had a full day of factory tour through LC's halls, including 45min interview with Gavin, seeing QC and ISO-tests. I also met all the names we all recognize from our correspondence, such as Wendy, Carol, Jim, as well as the founder Johnny. Also saw some of Your framesets in final QC with colorings (Who ordered "Cryogeneix"?) as well as a teaser for 2026...  -> Every frame that goes out has the same QC process.They also told me that all sizes should be in production now. It just takes some time, because the demand for the new models is rather big, and it's still a relatively small shop - intentionally so, to keep the quality high, defects and risk low. Also each frame has like 2h of human labor involved + 2 times baking in the autoclave. The ISO tests were done in the same room as a Well Known Bike World Tour brand's latest models, (which ofc I am not able to share..) and are assembled in the same building... Currently sifting through 150gb of footage, so stay tuned, hope i will finish the video soon on my channel - Full English this time! Also, there will be another factory visit in the next weeks here in China ...
December 25, 2025, 11:57:43 PM |
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Re: Lightcarbon: LCR018-D (endurance all-road)
Finally my build is complete. Pretty happy with results, I think it looks pretty sweet. I hope I get it fully try out on the road tomorrow. I hope that it rides as good as it looks .Size 58, 400x130mm handlebars specs, without internal storage version Saddle height on photos (bb-top of saddle) 820mm (another 2cm available to min insertion line), drop between saddle and top of handlebars is 10.5cm with 15mm of spacers. Weight is 8.5kg with pedals, varia radar and elemnt bolt (like it is on photos) witch is something like 300g lighter than my Aeroad with same config, I doubt I will be able to feel that, but that was pleasant surprise Those logos on rims and frame are made out of reflective material so it has nice "glowing" effect out on sun. December 27, 2025, 06:18:39 AM |
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Re: Lightcarbon: LCR018-D (endurance all-road)
Another thing that is good to know about. I was pulling my hair out why it is not working during my build for hours. I wanted to have one 5mm spacer above Light Carbon HBR17 handlebar for some potential future handlebar height adjustments, but when I did put normal round spacer above my stem headset was preloaded just on one side and headset topcap started to rub frame. Then I figure out top face of handlebars is not completely straight and perpendicular to steerer tube. So I had to printed out my own headset spacer with 2mm angled surface and now it works perfectly. Iam not saying that is good or bad just "non-standard" and a thing to be aware of if you need adjust your handlebar height. Original topcap that comes with a handlebars works perfectly out of a box it is just when you need to adjust your handlebar height and put some spacers above handlebars. I think you will need this angled spacer if you will ever need to adjust your cockpit height and put some spacers above stem, because I have no idea how to do that with stock parts without custom printed spacer. Hope that helps someone. December 31, 2025, 06:32:02 AM |
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Re: Lightcarbon: LCR018-D (endurance all-road)
was the LCR018-D on the latest nero cycling podcast dog or fast bike someone from here? Ah that was me! Hadn't posted my build here yet, but was honored to receive a fast bike approval from the Nero boys, and very proud of how the build turned out! Though I think they likely accidentally thought light carbon and light bicycle were the same company, the names are pretty similar to be honest haha. The bike specs: size 56 in deep ocean blue 380 x 100 HBR17 SuperCaz bar tape Shimano Ultegra 12 Speed DI2, 52/36 x 11/34 Light Bicycle Turbo 50 mm wheelset (25 mm internal, 34.5 mm external) built with Sapim CX Ray Steel Spokes and DT Swiss 350 hubs. Continental GP5000 30 mm front, 32 mm rear, TPU tubes Cannondale aero bottles Magene Teo P515 power meter with 165 mm carbon cranks Bikone bottom bracket (standard steel bearings) Silca hot waxed chain (with an endurance chip for convenience) Shimano ultegra pedals Ryet 3D printed saddle Build weight: 7.6 kg with pedals/mounts/cages January 14, 2026, 02:37:45 PM |
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