Spcycle New Mold SP-R088 Carbon Road Frame

[Mariuszuzd]

Looks very nice, but as above. I wonder what is the durability. I'm still looking for the frameset. Spcycle said that size 58 is around 950g, so not bad. I have already used on of their frame, gravel one. It was very good!

[jonathanf2]

R088 is done. 7.2kg on my heavier 45mm depth carbon wheelset and 6.9kg on my 1100g 30mm depth climbing wheelset. This is with pedals, power meter, bottle cages and built-in computer mount with 34cm drop bars.

Unfortunately I can't ride it due to multiple fires in the Los Angeles, USA area. The air quality right now is s**t...smells like a smokey camp fire. I'll post photos tomorrow. I had to clear out my yard of debris and ash!

FYI - I'm about 173cm and I went with a 52cm frameset.

[Mariuszuzd]

Do they provide any spacer for the integrated handlebar ? The bearing system is NO.55R 1.5 ? I'm asking as I have Avian Canary Handlebar and I wish to use it. The frame has the UCI sticker ?

[jonathanf2]

Do they provide any spacer for the integrated handlebar ? The bearing system is NO.55R 1.5 ? I'm asking as I have Avian Canary Handlebar and I wish to use it. The frame has the UCI sticker ?

When I bought the R088, SPcycle did not offer an integrated bar. So it's frame only. The headset uses 2x 52cm bearings and comes with a C ring. This frame does not have a UCI sticker. If you have the proper spacers and headset cap, you can probably use your bars. I built mine with a separate bar and stem, mainly for ease of boxing (for flying) and I didn't want to deal with potential loose headset issues.

I didn't use the provide expander plug and I use this style of compression plug on all my bike, (type 2 expander):https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806309182455.html

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A couple quick notes regarding this build. I felt like I was breaking into new "bike build" territory, especially using this bike with the ER9 groupset. I almost gave up on it due to complications with the battery placement inside the seat tube. Though I'm glad I found a workable solution and I actually prefer it over how Di2 is handled, since no drilling is necessary with the seat post. The ER9 battery stays snug and can still be removed using the string method.

Also during the build I had some non-frame related issues. I found out one of my carbon cranksets was defective (I already contacted the seller for a replacement), I accidentally cut my rear hydraulic cable too short, so I had to inadvertently switch to my 34cm bars to fit the hose length as opposed to the 38cm bars I was initially planning. Also UDH is new to me, I would seriously make sure the hanger is properly torqued before riding, because not many people bring an 8mm hex wrench.

Anyways, I built this frame just to have a more up-to-date road bike. Also there's potential to cut more weight on this bike, but my build is focused more on durability, price and practicality, while being reasonably lightweight. I'll post photos later today! 

[Sdfrt]

Did you have any problems while setting up the electronic shifters? Some people talked about the problem of poor moisture protection in er9, maybe it has been fixed now, what do you think?

[Sdfrt]

is there any difference in the quality of shifting compared to di2?

[jonathanf2]

Photos of the build! As I mentioned previously, I can't ride the bike right now due to major fires in my area, so I can't comment on ride quality until things clear up. I've included close-ups of the UD glossy raw finish. In-person it looks like black marbling, similar to a bowling ball with similar finish! Also I pre-applied clear protection decals to certain areas of the frame. Some of the straight lines in the finish are from the protection decaling.

[jonathanf2]

Did you have any problems while setting up the electronic shifters? Some people talked about the problem of poor moisture protection in er9, maybe it has been fixed now, what do you think?

I have 2 ER9 groupsets and 1 EGR groupset. No problems with water ingress, but I rarely ride in the rain and I apply liquid tape/rubber cement and dielectric grease to all the battery ports.

[Mariuszuzd]

The bike looks very nice! Well, maybe I can live with no UCI sticker

[jonathanf2]

Quick ride feedback. I only did a local neighborhood run to fine tune the electronic shifting and to bed the brake pads. The air quality in my area has slightly cleared up from the Los Angeles fires, but I don't see myself doing a hard ride just yet!

Overall the frame feels stable. It holds power well, I didn't feel like it was a struggle climbing with the frame. If anything, the bike can be pushed and respond well to the rider. My heavier wheelset didn't even feel heavy, I'm guessing my climbing wheels will feel great on the R088.

I've yet to push it through the fast flats, but I think it'll be fine. Also running 34cm drop bars on this bike feels good. Didn't feel narrow and steering was precise.

Oh yeah, last night I re-did the brake lines and swapped out the bar tape (old tape), I think I had the cable orientation set the wrong way. I fixed it and had just enough brake hose to fit the bars. Any more adjustments will require a new rear brake cable! 

[Sdfrt]

Today I ordered this frame in matte color for 520 usd. They wrote that it will be sent on January 18, probably it will come to me next month.

By the way, I never feel the difference between "stiff" and "soft" frames. I rode for a long time on a fake pinarrelo dogma and ride on the original Scott Foil and I did not notice any difference. Although everyone said that the difference is very noticeable. I don't understand how you feel it?

[jonathanf2]

Today I ordered this frame in matte color for 520 usd. They wrote that it will be sent on January 18, probably it will come to me next month.

By the way, I never feel the difference between "stiff" and "soft" frames. I rode for a long time on a fake pinarrelo dogma and ride on the original Scott Foil and I did not notice any difference. Although everyone said that the difference is very noticeable. I don't understand how you feel it?

Most my frames are 49cm to 52cm, so I don't really notice that softness taller riders might experience. Though in regards to power transfer, my aero frame can put down more power to the pedals, though with a weight penalty. The R088 definitely seems to falls somewhere in the middle.

[jonathanf2]

I was finally able to stretch the legs of the R088 and did an early morning ride before the pollution levels of the Los Angeles fires became worst as the sun came out. I took it on both some long flat stretches and my local climb areas. It's relatively lightweight and I felt like there was good power transfer. On the flats, it accelerated smoothly while holding speed easily. On the climbs, I could go out of saddle and the frame responded well to rocking the bike back-n-forth. Handling is very good as well, I didn't even notice any toe overlap and steering felt precise without being overly twitchy. My only issue is that my other wheelset with 25c tires looks a bit awkward. For climbing I tend to prefer narrower tires. Aesthetically it looks best with a 28c tire or bigger. Overall it's a very well-balanced frameset. I think I could comfortably recommend it.

[Dan S.]

The bike looks very nice! Well, maybe I can live with no UCI sticker

You can slap some UCI Illegal sticker on 

[Sdfrt]

I recently received a photo from spcycle. The weight of the painted frame with bolts and and without rear hanger is 818 grams, size 54. The paint really does not look very high quality, perhaps it is because of the light. I am a little disappointed in this regard. But I am glad that the frame is very light.