I have just finished building the bike, but unfortunately I think I will sell it immediately.

The problem is toe overlap: the front wheel touches my shoe when I turn the handlebar a lot at low speed.

For reference, I am 186 cm tall, the frame is size 56, I use EU size 46 shoes and 172.5 mm cranks.

I already have some toe overlap on my Voicevelo Echo, and it is already annoying there, but on this bike it is even worse. The front wheel is simply too close to the pedals / shoes

This is a problem in real-life situations: starting from a junction, turning slowly, riding near pedestrians, crossing narrow bridges, or making a tight U-turn. I do not want to ride a bike while always worrying that the front wheel may touch my shoe.

In a race, this probably would not happen, because corners are taken at higher speed and you do not turn the handlebar so much. But even so, this problem reduces my confidence in the bike.

I hope frame manufacturers will consider this problem more carefully. Many modern aero/race bikes are becoming shorter and shorter at the front. This may make the bike feel more reactive, but for riders with bigger shoes, normal crank length and wider tyres, toe overlap can become a real problem.

Unfortunately, this frame is not suitable for me  :'(.

I have learned the lesson: from now on, I will not buy any road bike with a front-center below 600 mm.

For reference, my Voicevelo Echo has a front-center of 598 mm, and toe overlap is already annoying.
The Avenger R8-RS size 56 has a front-center of 591.6 mm, so the problem is clearly worse.

I also noticed that some modern aero/race frames go even below 590 mm in front-center. In my opinion, this is a real problem for many riders.

Even changing from 172.5 mm cranks to 170 mm cranks would only give about 2.5 mm more clearance, so with these very short front-center geometries the problem would still remain.

I think frame manufacturers should consider this more carefully. A bike can be reactive, but it also has to be safe and easy to handle in real-life low-speed situations

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice about a recurring seatpost/seat tube creaking issue on a high-end Chinese aero carbon frame with an integrated seatpost/clamp system

Summary:

* The bike was perfectly silent for the first few months.
* About two months ago, a creaking/cracking noise started from the seatpost area.
* The noise slowly got worse over time.
* The seatpost does not slip down and saddle height remains stable.
* I tried cleaning everything several times.
* I tried carbon assembly paste.
* I tried different torque values.
* I tried different wedges/clamps.
* I also tried another standard seatpost.
* The noise sometimes improves temporarily, but then comes back.
* The old smooth seatpost, used for months, shows no clear damage, no deep scratches and no obvious wear marks.
* The inside of the seat tube also does not show any obvious crack or major damage.
* A new machined/thickened seatpost was supplied and installed.
* With the new seatpost, the bike was perfect for the first long ride: about 4 hours, including rough roads, completely silent.
* The following day I noticed a very light noise again.
* On the third ride, the noise became constant again, although not as loud as before.

One strange detail: today the noise changes depending on my riding position. If I remove my hands from the handlebar, the noise almost disappears. With normal riding position and load, it comes back.

At this point I suspect a small tolerance/interface issue between the frame, seatpost and wedge/clamp area under riding load, but I’m not sure.

At this point, what would you do? Keep trying to fix it, or ask the manufacturer for a warranty solution?

I’m attaching a few photos.

PS: * In the photos, the wedge/clamp may look damaged, but it is only grease/dirt. The part itself is in good condition.
* I also tried cleaning the wedge/clamp, using grease, using threadlocker, removing the grease, and replacing the wedge/clamp with a new one, but nothing changed.

giorgiobuccio , what wheels are you running ? 50mm deep ?

The wheels are 60 mm front and 65 mm rear. I can’t tell you the brand because I bought them from an Italian importer before I realized that buying them from China costs half the price In training I use a 45 mm LightCarbon wheelset with DT Swiss 240 hubs, and I’m impressed by the exceptional smoothness.

Hi everyone, a quick update from Italy.
Today I won a circuit race with this beautiful machine. I attacked with about 800 meters to go and managed to hold off the group until the finish.

I’m really happy with this bike — especially the handlebar, the stiffness is really impressive. In fact, I’m ordering another one to mount on my other bike.

And with deep-section wheels, it also looks absolutely stunning.

Hi,

I wanted to briefly share my riding impressions of the bike.

The bike is absolutely impressive in terms of design, technical features, weight, stiffness, and aerodynamic performance. It rides very well in all situations — climbing, descending, and on the flat. It feels responsive and lively, a true all-round race machine.

The handlebar is also extremely well made — very aerodynamic and clearly designed with a racing focus.

For reference, I am 186 cm tall and I am basically at the upper limit of this size (XL for my case). The saddle is already positioned all the way back, and I am currently using a 130 mm stem. There is also a 140 mm option available, but in my case the 130 mm works well.

When I first sat on the bike, my immediate impression was that it’s a very race-oriented machine, aiming to replicate a professional rider’s position, with the pelvis projected forward toward the bottom bracket and a pedaling style heavily loaded on the quadriceps and the front end. Personally, this is not my preferred setup, as I’m used to riding in a slightly more rearward position.

The reach is clearly on the shorter side, even though the top tube length and the 130 mm stem compensate quite well overall. One consequence of this geometry is noticeable toe overlap: when turning the handlebar at low speed, the tip of my shoe touches the front wheel.

However, by moving the saddle as far back as possible, I’m able to achieve about 8 cm of setback from the bottom bracket. Compared to the 8.5–9 cm I usually ride with, this is already a good compromise.

Another point I didn’t like is that it’s not possible to mount a 54/40 crankset, because the 40T inner chainring physically touches the frame. This limits the gearing options, which is a bit disappointing.

Overall, I’m happy with the bike. It’s a very good machine, and it looks great as well. I would rate this bike between 9 and 10 out of 10.

I wanted to share my riding impressions.
Overall, I’m very happy with the bike — both in terms of my position on the saddle and the sensations it gives while riding.
It’s stiff but not uncomfortable.
Maybe it feels just slightly less punchy during low-speed accelerations or in the first few seconds, but once it gets up to speed you really feel how reactive and fast it is.

Last week I did a 10-minute test at 345 watts average and managed to hold a little over 43 km/h with stable wind conditions and a temperature of 10°C.
During that test I also tried to stay in the lowest position possible. I consider myself fairly aerodynamic, but at 186 cm and 85 kg I still catch some wind.
I was also running what are probably the fastest tires in the world — Vittoria Corsa Pro Speed TLR — but unfortunately two days later in a race, after hitting a fairly hard pothole, the sidewall cracked and my race was over  I knew they were delicate and that I’d probably puncture sooner or later, but I didn’t expect them to fail so easily.

Overall, the speed test was very good.

Wow the best looking build i have currently seen congrats. What was the previous bike you had and size?

My previous bike was built by the same Italian artisan. Later on, I found out that the frame is actually the modern version of the Speeder Cycling SCR R49D.

Regarding fit, I just realized I made a mistake: my previous setup used a traditional handlebar with a 130 mm reach (center to center). On this build I chose a 110 mm wing. If I had chosen the 120 mm wing instead, the overall reach would have been practically identical to my previous setup
.

Hi, I’ve just finished assembling the bike. I still haven’t ridden it yet. It looks great, and it’s fairly heavy, even though I managed to shave off some weight, for example with lighter bar tape, a lighter saddle, and a Dura-Ace cassette.

Unfortunately it’s a little short in reach. The saddle setback is the same as on my previous bike, but I’m still about 1 cm shorter in overall length. That’s actually acceptable, since the previous bike was slightly too long anyway.

The bike is built 100% for racing. It’s equipped with an Ultegra drivetrain with 54/11 gearing, a Dura-Ace cassette, and Kogel oversized pulley wheels. Tires are Vittoria Corsa Pro Speed TLR. Wheel setup is 60 mm front and 65 mm rear, with a 26 mm front tire and a 28 mm rear tire