The 14 sp thing has to be a marketing tagline, just like 3-14 sp from wheeltop. They just give you the ability to set that, but obviously, it will be primarily meant for what's currently out there. A 14 sp casette and chain with current standards would be absolutely awful, especially without direct mount udh.

open mold vs designing your own thing... Is bet that the gravel comes from an open mold, while the GT is completely individually designed... If you share your mold with nanny others you can produce higher numbers and therefore cost per piece for design etc should go down... Probably there is also other economy of scales factors involved...

Tavelo rise handlebar coming soon
https://www.instagram.com/p/DThqyefFYo3/?img_index=4&igsh=aXpwd25iYmc4YnJl

A couple of quick thoughts. Yes, 35mm vs. 32mm clearance is like 1-1.5mm difference per side. It’s not that much, but it can make a huge difference if you actually intend to run a 32mm tire on a large IW rim or a 35mm knobby tire. I recognize I might be the only one who has done both, but it was a criteria for me. This was one of the only options, Chinese or not that could clear a 35mm tire with 6mm all the way around and had a race bike’s geo. The Cervelo and Factors options couldnt do that at the time.

Regarding Chinese companies OEMs pumping out replicas or products that are too flexy / not fit for actual use by people who want to go fast on bikes; the irony is that y’all are complaining on a thread about one OEM products that is an original design that was allegedly benchmarked to deflection numbers of the Giant TCR. Yes, this frame has its warts, the OEM part spec is poor, and the rubber bits are total crap or missing; but it builds into a really nice, light, versatile bike if the geo is right for you.