Quote from: Ghandy on July 09, 2026, 03:31:55 PM
Thanks for checking! But I wanted to know the clearance for sram 2x. I like your bike!

I'm getting 9.2 mm from the tire to the battery, which seems to be the closest point. The end of my caliper wants to hit the rim, so it's tough to measure several spots accurately.  This is on the 30mm Pirelli's.

Quote from: JensenMacD on June 24, 2026, 12:55:25 PM
I figured but wanted to make clear to anyone else reading, I am not pointing or implying it is the frame. To make clear, this is a good frame!

Same here.  The bike is great and super stable.  My favorite road bike of all time. 
I was sharing my experiences that some outside factors like shop / build errors and tire choice in extreme windy conditions can affect the bike feel. 

Quote from: POTOOOOOOOO on June 24, 2026, 01:02:01 AM

It sounds very much like you use a shit bike shop to work on your bike and they didn't cut the steerer correct. No other reason than that for your issues.

Totally agree with this take. They were my second choice as my preferred mechanic was closed. Won't make that mistake again.

Quote from: mingc on June 23, 2026, 09:33:35 PM
What did you use for helicopter tape and where did you get it from?

I got two sizes of ISC Racer's tape. 1"x30ft HT1308 and 3"x30ft HT3314 from Amazon. 

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. A larger size would probably have suited me better.   

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.

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. Initially I had some minor noises, which were all attributed to the seatpost and saddle clamps, but it was totally quiet after re-tightening the wedge bolt and adding more torque to the saddle clamps, which also prevented the seat from tilting on impact.  Added some Muckoff carbon paste to a portion of the seatpost and a little on the carbon saddle rails between the clamps.

Quote from: KRoser on June 17, 2026, 03:43:38 AM
My question in not specifically related to Lightcarbon but my LCR018-D with UD black matt finish developed one shiny spot compare to rest of frame surfaces I have no idea why, but it is kinda bugging me.

Do you guys know anything how to get it back to matt with the rest of the frame?

This black matt paint is kind of pain in the ass, this was the only mistake I have made with my bike otherwise absolutely love it.

Also what do you guys think is better paint option for "livability" with frame, easy to clean, durable? I kind of starting to like look of glossy raw black, but I have no idea how it is to take care of.

Thanks

I have a painted matte black santa cruz gravel bike and added helicopter tape in quite a few areas.  I was a little worried about the different finishes but I'm happy with it.  The taped area becomes a gloss black finish and looks nice so I don't worry too much about all the dust collecting on the matte finish.  If the wear area getting shiny could benefit from some clear tape protection, it might be worth considering as a solution.

Quote from: KRoser on May 11, 2026, 09:01:43 AM
I think that could be your problem, even at 6N-m you should feel headset bearing getting a bit stiff. Think you just dont have enough gap between fork steerer tube and spacers and it all get stuck on fork steerer tube and your bearing are not getting preloaded no matter how much you tighten it.
Try to add one spacer bellow the top cap (above handlebars) to increase that gap and then you should be able to correctly preload bearings (2-3n-m)

Thank you (and others) for this information and insight.  I didn't know about needing so much extra height on the spacers.  I had speed wobbles on several bikes previously.  Couldn't figure it out and sold the bikes.  Likely this was the cause at least some of the time. Expensive lesson to learn!

Quote from: pandaman on May 06, 2026, 04:49:29 PM
This is what I've been quoted too. I asked what if I just wanted some decals added to the standard black matte option and was told then it would be $950usd as well.
I've seen some other members pay only the $120usd uplift for Ferrari red which is the colour I'm interested in. So it seems that LC have also recently increased the price for painted options whether it's basic or special colours.

Another no cost option is the raw carbon frame with either matt or glossy finish. 

Quote from: J89eu on April 15, 2026, 10:10:55 AM
Sorry, perhaps I misunderstood something earlier, these were measurements I took from my bike rather than from a spec sheet

I've heard good things about myvelofit getting you close.  For background about where you are starting, you can look up your current bike measurements on geometry geeks, bikeinsights, 99 spokes, bike-stats, and quite a few more comparison sites.  If your bike is listed, and you are running the default bar and stem, it is likely that they have all the measurements that you need to know your bike details.  LCR018-D is on most of these sites.  If you can't find your bike, get the dimensions from the manufacturer and load them manually on these sites for a custom comparison.  This will be a good starting point. Then you might try to find reference bikes that you can touch, either by a friend or bike shop, possibly even renting something.
In my experience, the LCR018-D geometry is very close to my Santa Cruz Stigmata (in sizes 54), with the exception to of the long (+20 mm) toptube/ short stem combination that comes standard on the SC.  Other close bikes to LCR018-D are Cannondale Synapse, ENVE Fray, plus many more endurance bikes that you can search. Cervelo Caledonia is not too far off.  If you can ride any of these or find something comparable that you can access, that could be another way to zero in on an approximate fit.  I found that to fine-tune my preferences, some extended experimentation with stem length and seat position on my SC was very helpful. I ended up trying +10, 20 and 30 mm on the stem, settling on +20. Adjusting bike and bar reach, this put me closest to a 120 length LC bar. Then there's also the crank length, but I suppose this could be fixed first since it will affect everything else.  Lots of mid-size folks are moving to 165 mm cranks for a more forward position.  Personally, I like the 165's.   Shorter cranks usually require a taller saddle and allow for a slightly more forward seat position compared to longer cranks.  If you haven't been riding much lately, you might check around to see if you ought to get some seat time to be more comfortable in a riding position before trying to fine tune everything.

Quote from: POTOOOOOOOO on April 10, 2026, 10:38:40 AM

So long as the bearings are stainless steel and the correct size, it doesn't matter where they come from.
Headset bearings never spin, they only go back and forth so stopping rust is the key to longevity.

I live in a high desert part of Utah in the US at 7000' and often less than 20% humidity.  I'm not an expert but never hear about headset issues here, or even when I lived in hot / humid North Carolina for that matter.  I know it's tough to change out an integrated headset, but I plan to use the standard LC steel headset on my build. Since it seems I might be in the minority with this choice, I'd like to ask does anyone support this decision to use the standard headset for such high desert environments? 

Quote from: mingc on April 06, 2026, 02:38:13 AM
For the folks who have ordered, what's the best way to communicate with LightCarbon? I'm getting ready to pull the trigger.

Also, are the Hambini QC levels a real thing? Do you ask LightCarbon to quote the price, for example, for the highest QC level?

What is the Hambini QC level you are mentioning? There is no tiered QC pricing, if that is what you are implying.  LC has fully integrated QC procedures to address the few stray fibers found in the Tracevelo unboxing video.  See previous posts on this topic.  LC seems to have been completely responsive to address all QC issues, and it applies to all bikes and components such as the loose water bottle cage and the seatpost slippage.

Gavin confirmed my size 54 is shipping soon, and the new production batch meets the new smaller diameter downtube dimension.  The seatposts are also the latest / fully taped version. 
A big thank you to everyone on this board for sharing their builds, and experiences, and for LC to continually listen to feedback and improve their product design and quality!
It's nice to see that LC are keeping to their revised shipping schedule as well. Especially considering the earlier feedback about persistent delays.

From LC:
I have checked, yes, your frame is from latest batch of production, and have just been moved to painting workshop today.
So it is with the latest refined diameter, and will come with latest seat post (including additional anti-slip tape).
BTW, the ETD will still be Apr.13th as mentioned last time.

Love the color and custom graphics!

My size 54 unpainted glossy frame was originally scheduled to be delivered April 5, now end of April to the US (including the ~2-week delivery time). LC attributes the delay to the QC improvements related to the better latex mold release and endoscope inspection.

"Due to the added QC check point (with endoscope), the QC inspection time for each frame has increased, which make the progress slightly slower than before."

LC also found some defects in the earliest batch of BC-11 cages.  I'm sticking with the BC205 since I like the cleaner lines in any case.

"As soon as I get your feedback regarding BC11 bottle cage issue, I arranged a meeting within our team.
Then our QC inspect again all the stock of BC11, testing with standard water bottle. Among the stock 120 pcs, there were 25 pcs be judged as unqualified (not tight enough).
Those 25 pcs were from early batch of production and has now destroyed.
As you can see in attached picture, the one that was a bit too loose, due to top shape that not full grip the water bottle.
This has also been added to our QC check point now, so there should be no longer such issue bottle cage reach our customers.
For those bottle cage that were too loose, we will ask our customer to take picture to check this point and will arrange replacement for them."

Quote from: MarioCanario on March 15, 2026, 02:26:01 PM
The BC11 is very loose and doesnt have enough tension for most bottles. Only solution i found is to use the 800ml van rysel bottles i had lying around. Is a bit thicker and fits exactly. So far never fell out even on bunny hops. Hope it stays that way

Thanks for the heads-up on the BC11 cage.  I changed my order to the older BC205 style.