My frame arrived yesterday, super quick process from start to finish. For reference, I paid on 10th Feb and was told 3-4 weeks for painting (just a gloss coat) and 15-25 working days for shipping. So it should have been early to middle of April. No taxes due in UK via WXY (they prepaid them).

Looks great on first impressions. I couldn't spot any paint or carbon defects, but I'll take some photos when I come to build.

I hadn't ordered anything else so had to commit on the rest of the parts yesterday.

Generic carbon bar and stem from AliEx (looking to test the fit before commiting to an integrated bar and stem). Then sourced Rival eTap XPLR parts locally. Rival 40T 1x with the 10-44 XPLR cassette, Rival brifters, chain, rear derailleur, brakes. Paceline Rotors. Still need wheels and tyres. Hoping to find something on eBay but if not I'll eventually cave and get something budget.

I think the only tools I'm lacking is a torque wrench in the higher range for BB/crank and something to bleed the brakes with. Any recommendations?

Just pulled the trigger on the ltwoo 1x11 hydro gravel group. Turned out cheaper piece it all together myself than to buy the complete groups you see some vendors selling. And I prefer the Senicx crankset (steel axle) over the RX (alloy) the group comes with.

I updated the build list in the original post.  I can post links to any of the items if anyone wants to take a look at them.

I wouldn't mind the links to the parts you found separately, if it's not too much trouble. Or at least how much you saved compared to buying it separately

If I were you I would seriously consider the 1x11 Shimano GRX groupet instead. After fooling around with a SRX pro group and the ZTTO and BR-05 brakes I myself have decided that these chinese groupsets and brakes are not worth it. I have been shopping around and have assembled the GRX 810 brifters, 105 calipers and GRX 812 derailleur for about 400 eur.

I tried to look and put those parts together myself

Crank: FC-RX810-1 42T 172.5mm - £119.00
Rear Derailleur: RD-RX812 - £97.00
Rotors: SM-RT70 - 2 x £26.99
Chain: ~£20.00
Bottom Bracket: ~£34.00
Cassette: ~£25.00 (Aliexpress)

Subtotal: £439.91 / ~€400

But then I'm struggling to find any reasonably priced shifters (and calipers, as I mostly find them as bundles)

E.g.
Left brake lever and BR-RX810 caliper 178.99
Right shifter £179.99
Extra RX810 caliper: £53.89

Am I missing a trick somewhere or is this just how much it costs? (~£852.78)

Obviously this would be a much better quality than something from LTWOO, but like for like it's £850 vs about £500

I'd even consider GRX Di2 (rear derailleur is only +£100) but it seems like again, most of the cost is in the brifters. Is this normal?

I also had a spacing issue with that ZRACE crank. IIRC, the issue was that I could not get enough preload to remove the slack, without overtightening the crank. I solved it by adding a wave washer to take up the slack.

With regards to gear ratio's, I am a relatively low power cyclist (FTP around 2.6W/kg), so I prefer a lowest gear that's smaller than 1:1, so I can keep my cadence above 70RPM on climbs.

Got it. Think it'll just be luck of the draw/trial and error so perhaps I'll get an assortment of spacers/spring washers ordered.

Yes I'm similar to you power wise, so think the 11-46 will be a wiser choice. With the 44T I'll have just below a 1:1 on the low end but still be able to top out at 4:1 on the 11T at the back.

Worse case scenario, a spare 42T chainring is pretty inexpensive and will give me a slightly easier gear, which might become necessary as I load equipment onto the bike
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003379620706.html

Issues aside, I still think I'd prefer to opt for the ZRACE crank (instead of one from SENICX) as the spindle is thicker and I prefer that it can come apart into more pieces (e.g. for the chainring swap above or a power meter)

Yes, I verified with the seller that the 12 speed cassette used the HG hub.

Now considering the SENSAH SRX PRO 11 speed with the improved chain stabilizer

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/20000003823990.html

But stuck deciding between 11-46 or 11-42. With 42, 44 or 46 at the front.

I'm thinking this bike will be a sort of "fast tourer". Mainly flat terrain. What do we think?

Edit: But to be honest the cassettes/chains are cheap enough, I would be open to getting a couple and swapping depending on the trip. E.g a 11-42/44 most of the time but say an 11-50 if I know I'm going somewhere hilly

Hi everyone. I've been inspired to build rather than buy a new gravel bike. I'm reasonably well versed in servicing my current road bike but have never undertaken a full build from scratch, especially when it comes to component selection, compatibility and so on.

Would someone mind taking a look over my proposed build below and advising on any glaring incompatiblities, as well as whether there are any component choices I've made that should be avoided/swapped.

Frameset (Frame/Fork/Seat Post):
ICAN X-Gravel Bike Frame
56cm UD Matte
https://icancycling.com/products/x-gravel-bike-frameset?variant=39360328237134

Groupset (Rear Derailleur, Shifters, Chain, Cassette):
SENSAH SRX PRO 1x12 Speed
11-46T 12S Cassette
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004702786544.html

Crankset (Crank, Bottom Bracket, Chainring):
ZRACE RX
172.5mm, 42T, DUB-BSA
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002782824040.html

Brakes (Calipers/Rotors):
ZRACE BR-005 Black 140 140 Rotor
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003563502587.html

Wheels:
ELITEWHEELS ENT GRAVEL
35mm Depth, 32mm Width, ENT 6 Bolt Lock
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003801034467.html

Handlebar:
UNO FL12 Gravel Bike Handlebar
31.8x420mm
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004636084449.html

Tyres, Stem, Bar Tape, Saddle and Pedals I already have or will be sourced locally. Tyres I'm undecided on but looking for circa 38mm width.

Further down the line, I'd like to upgrade to a power meter. Is the crank compatible with either of these?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004037838759.html (BCD110)
https://www.sram.com/en/quarq/models/pm-dz-spdr-d1

My main areas of concern that I want to be certain on are the cassette and wheel compatiblity (i.e. is the freehub body on the wheels correct for the 12s cassette), and possibly a steel axle crank would be preferred but I don't know if this is a non issue being alloy but 28.99mm.

Aside from the parts above, which I assume come with all required mounting hardware, do I still need to aquire cables/outers/terminations? Am I missing anything?

Thank you very much for your time!