First Gravlebike Carbonda CFR707 vs Lightcarbon LCG071

[CV]

Hello all! Im a roadie wanting to build my first gravelbike and maybe some of you can give me an advice. Mainly it should be a cheap build and it will be used in winter. Im opting for a gravel bike because i live in alpine conditions with lots of climbs, snow and salt on the roads and want to keep training, but also go out for some adventure rides or even some trail. A do it all bike so to speak..I wanted to equip it with mechanical grx 1x12 47T 10/51..if i feel like having too much gaps between gears ill swap to a 105 di2...After some lurking i find the Carbonda CFR707 and Lightcarbon LCG071 the most appealing. What would you reccomend? The carbonda is coming with an udh but do i need/want that? or do i go for the LCG071 with 53mm tire clearance instead of carbonndas 50mm? Any advice is appreciated

[apphex]

Hey! Jumping in on this thread—along with the two frames being discussed, I’d throw in the Ican Graro as well. Between Carbonda, ICAN, and LightCarbon, which one have better quality and  build technology? I already get the geometries; I’m more curious about how they stack up overal

[zilcho]

My current gravel bike is a LCG071, and previously rode a CFR505, as well as owning multiple other frames from both Carbonda (FM909, FM1001, FM936, CFR505) and LightCarbon (LCG071, LCR017). Both brands produce high quality frames and are easy to deal with (you can ignore the nutjobs in a particular road thread, even that frame has resounding positives with a few outliers). Carbonda finally updated their website and maybe that helps streamline some of the process.

The CFR707 is a longer frame but assuming you can fit either I would decide based on aesthetics, in which case the LCG071 wins for me. I doubt you will notice a meaningful difference due to their tire clearance (you really don't need to jump on the MTB tire trend unless you're racing for the win in Lifetime Grand Prix events, in which case why would you be here?). Running 1x on gravel can have limitations but when out exploring or riding solo it doesn't bother me, I mostly notice it when riding on pavement with someone on 2x and have slightly unsatisfying cadence matching. For your own ease of upgrading maybe look at a GRX build that lets you just swap crank and FD instead of a full 105 swap, plus 105 will come with a different set of limitations in easy gears if this is really meant for big gravel.

I really like my LCG071, and want to love it, but it does have some caveats. I'm 6'2" and have the size 550 with a 100mmx400mm integrated handlebar and the fit is great but there is considerable toe overlap with 42mm tires. I really only notice it when doing a U-turn on pavement and haven't noticed it when riding, even on mild single-track. Most concerning though is death wobble. On two occasions when riding downhill at speed on pavement I had removed both hands and the front end instantly began violently wobbling back and forth. It happened so quickly that I immediately grabbed the bars again, but in hindsight it seemed stable just very concerning. As a gravel bike it has been great.

With those considerations I think you would be happy with either bike for gravel, go with what fits you or looks exciting to ride.

[CV]

My current gravel bike is a LCG071, and previously rode a CFR505, as well as owning multiple other frames from both Carbonda (FM909, FM1001, FM936, CFR505) and LightCarbon (LCG071, LCR017). Both brands produce high quality frames and are easy to deal with (you can ignore the nutjobs in a particular road thread, even that frame has resounding positives with a few outliers). Carbonda finally updated their website and maybe that helps streamline some of the process.

The CFR707 is a longer frame but assuming you can fit either I would decide based on aesthetics, in which case the LCG071 wins for me. I doubt you will notice a meaningful difference due to their tire clearance (you really don't need to jump on the MTB tire trend unless you're racing for the win in Lifetime Grand Prix events, in which case why would you be here?). Running 1x on gravel can have limitations but when out exploring or riding solo it doesn't bother me, I mostly notice it when riding on pavement with someone on 2x and have slightly unsatisfying cadence matching. For your own ease of upgrading maybe look at a GRX build that lets you just swap crank and FD instead of a full 105 swap, plus 105 will come with a different set of limitations in easy gears if this is really meant for big gravel.

I really like my LCG071, and want to love it, but it does have some caveats. I'm 6'2" and have the size 550 with a 100mmx400mm integrated handlebar and the fit is great but there is considerable toe overlap with 42mm tires. I really only notice it when doing a U-turn on pavement and haven't noticed it when riding, even on mild single-track. Most concerning though is death wobble. On two occasions when riding downhill at speed on pavement I had removed both hands and the front end instantly began violently wobbling back and forth. It happened so quickly that I immediately grabbed the bars again, but in hindsight it seemed stable just very concerning. As a gravel bike it has been great.

With those considerations I think you would be happy with either bike for gravel, go with what fits you or looks exciting to ride.

Thank you, that was very helpful! Considering also the price (lcg701 wins as the carbonda is a third more expensive calculating shipping and all the rest) you might have convinced me! Im90% of the time riding alone and realy want to give 1x a chance (love it on my mtb). The toe overlap ive already heard of...im 5'8'' and riding a SL8 size 52 on the road, massive toe overlap but doesnt bother me there...on the gravel it wouldnt be all that nice tho..so i thought about sizing up and go for a size 550, reach is about the same (slighly longer then my sl8) but huge stack, about 5-6cm more than on my sl8...hope it will fit