Dengfu E82 - M560 750w Build (Was: LightCarbon LCE971)

[xtraman122]

Updating this thread to reflect my switch of frames. This will now be a Dengfu E82 build after some issues actually getting ahold of an LCE971. I placed my order for an E82 on Friday 9/13.

I picked components in the upper end of the spectrum, but didn't go all out buying carbon everything and spending the absolute top dollar possible. The few things I splurged on were the AXS transmission and suspension, but again, chose upper mid level components and not the nicest possible. I tried to snag deals wherever possible by shopping around for prices and new bike take-offs, sometimes buying a year old mode, but did keep to a rule of only buying new condition items, I didn't want to deal with anything used for the build. I'm a big guy (6', 245lbs, although I hope that weight will drop once I start riding more!), so I chose durability over weight in most cases, hence the beefy 2.6" tires and EMTB CushCore inserts. I need to lose a lot more weight than any bike, so I didn't bother with worrying about carbon wheels/bars/etc.

The linked spreadsheet below has a list of everything I've ordered and the price I paid shipped to my door with the exception of sales tax.

https://1drv.ms/x/c/5e0042c2bd1bc5b7/EUJ-zEFn81NGqa9QDbmp0iEB9MUFChpmvN1N8mGg8ArtQw?e=qAeHZz

The highlights of the components are...
- 750w M560 "new version" from May of 2024 that is supposedly quieter
- E82 frame in PT 8C color (I got sick of trying to pick a color I liked and this was readily available from Dengfu)
- Fox 36 Performance Elite 160mm GRIP2 Fork
- Fox Float X Performance Elite Shock (210x55)
- SRAM Eagle GX AXS Transmission
- Industry Nine Hydra Enduro S 29" wheels

 

[xtraman122]

Some goodies are starting to arrive.
The chainring below that came with the motor is not compatible with a chain guide so I ordered another from GreenBikeKit that will hopefully be the correct one.

Still waiting on the battery, my big Jenson order with the smaller components, the wheels, and of course the frame from LightCarbon.

 

[xtraman122]

While I’m bored waiting for things to arrive I took some time to get my Fox decals installed, pretty happy with how it came out!

 

[xtraman122]

Finally got my wheels in so I could at least put something together. The tires were so unbelievably tight on the wheels I never would have stood a chance getting the CushCore inserts in there. After a few hours of fighting with all my strength, using copious amount of soapy water, and snapping numerous tire levers without getting remotely close to getting them on, the tires are mounted without the inserts…

Not sure what the deal is with these tires, but the bead just seems a few mm too small. It took every bit of strength just to get them on the wheel without the massive super stuff eMTB inserts from CushCore. They were tight enough that with the tire sitting down in the inner well of the rim, where it’s usually kind of loose sitting there, I couldn’t even turn the wheel inside the tire. I don’t know how anyone would have possibly gotten them seated with the inserts, watching videos of others doing it online they clearly had stretchier/bigger tires or smaller wheels than I do. I'm sure me buying the big eMTB rated ones made it even worse as well. I’m convinced if I had something with enough leverage to get it over the rim either the rim would have bent or the tire would have torn, it was just absurd. Maybe I'll give them a try on my next set of tires...

 

[xtraman122]

Finally got the proper chainring with room for the chain guide on it and my BESST Pro
In yesterday. Likely 2-3 more weeks before I see my frame though which is disappointing.

 

[xtraman122]

While I patiently wait (Another month!) for my frame I decided to give the CushCores a second attempt. Armed with 2 news set of extra strong tire levers, a new bottle of sealant, and some more knowledge after watching some more YouTube videos I was finally able to force them on.

I think the tires being more pliable after having been mounted for a while combined with a more liberal dowsing of the soap/water mixture finally let me actually maneuver them correctly and get them on there. I’m sure the next time will seem much easier now that I’ve been through it but that was not a fun process to say the least.

 

[xtraman122]

After a few more delays and mold adjustments from LightCarbon, I got word my frame is finally made and just awaiting paint at this point.

 

[xtraman122]

Still waiting for a frame… LightCarbon seems to be having endless issues with the rear triangle on this frame. After 3 redesigns and delays their latest attempt has failed within the first week for at least one customer that received it. I’ve now been told it’ll be at least another month for the new-new-new rear triangle to be completed, and who knows if it’ll be any better…

At this point I’ve contemplated just ditching the whole build and trying another frame, but the battery and some other components, like the rear shock were specifically chosen for this frame and there really aren’t that many great alternatives imo. The E82 is the only other frame I’d be interested in, and I hate the massive battery that fits the frame, more weight and capacity than I’d like.

This is looking like it’ll be close to 5 months from time of ordering. End of rant…

 

[patdam]

Still waiting for a frame… LightCarbon seems to be having endless issues with the rear triangle on this frame. After 3 redesigns and delays their latest attempt has failed within the first week for at least one customer that received it. I’ve now been told it’ll be at least another month for the new-new-new rear triangle to be completed, and who knows if it’ll be any better…

At this point I’ve contemplated just ditching the whole build and trying another frame, but the battery and some other components, like the rear shock were specifically chosen for this frame and there really aren’t that many great alternatives imo. The E82 is the only other frame I’d be interested in, and I hate the massive battery that fits the frame, more weight and capacity than I’d like.

This is looking like it’ll be close to 5 months from time of ordering. End of rant…

I have ordered one also last week. For the moment jim haven't said something about increased delay than 40 days ? but i prefer that they take time to provide stronger arms than sent one who brake during use (i'm 100 kg and i ride on high mountain breaking tracks ).

 

[xtraman122]

I have ordered one also last week. For the moment jim haven't said something about increased delay than 40 days ? but i prefer that they take time to provide stronger arms than sent one who brake during use (i'm 100 kg and i ride on high mountain breaking tracks ).

If you’re only just ordering now you might be fine. Assuming this latest redesign fixes the issues your 40 day estimate might be pretty close, although I suspect you may still go a little beyond that. I imagine they must have quite the long backlog by now of orders from the same timeframe as mine that have been held for all the changes.

I weigh a little more than you so I’ll definitely be testing its durability as well.

 

[xtraman122]

I’ve officially switched frames and will be building an E82 instead. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t take forever to paint…

I really like the LightCarbon products and wanted to try the 971, but I just lost all confidence in it with the number of redesigns of that rear triangle and continued issues, it just seems like it needs to be redone from the ground up at this point. Being a heavier guy I know I’d be putting a lot of stress on it too, so I’m trying something a little more well known for now and will still be happy to try another LightCarbon frame in the future if they come up with something new for a full powered light enduro frame.

Now to see if I can find a buyer for my battery that was meant for it.

 

[xtraman122]

Just got my battery in the mail from Dengfu and they sent the wrong one . Ordered the 840wh and they sent the 1008.

Not sure how I keep hitting the lottery with these disasters but it’s getting pretty old…

 

[John_A]

I’ve officially switched frames and will be building an E82 instead. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t take forever to paint…

I really like the LightCarbon products and wanted to try the 971, but I just lost all confidence in it with the number of redesigns of that rear triangle and continued issues, it just seems like it needs to be redone from the ground up at this point. Being a heavier guy I know I’d be putting a lot of stress on it too, so I’m trying something a little more well known for now and will still be happy to try another LightCarbon frame in the future if they come up with something new for a full powered light enduro frame.

Now to see if I can find a buyer for my battery that was meant for it.

Been looking at a used first version LC971 frame here in the UK, haven't bought it yet . Are the issues with the rear triangle enough that I should avoid this?
E82 may be an option, only thing putting me off is the VERY steep seat tube, concerned it may fee a bit cramped, which alibi supplier did you use for yours? You also mentioned a paint code, P2 8C what colour is that? and is there anywhere you can see the Dengfu colour options?

 

[Sayonara]

Been looking at a used first version LC971 frame here in the UK, haven't bought it yet . Are the issues with the rear triangle enough that I should avoid this?
E82 may be an option, only thing putting me off is the VERY steep seat tube, concerned it may fee a bit cramped, which alibi supplier did you use for yours? You also mentioned a paint code, P2 8C what colour is that? and is there anywhere you can see the Dengfu colour options?

Some people reported to LightCarbon that the rear triangle should be stiffer. It didn't have any problems with breaking. Some people just wished it would be stiffer.

Denver has the older rear triangle and he has been driving it without any problems for quite some time. LightCarbon sent him the newer version of the rear triangle but he has not even changed to that yet. I believe my LCE971 has the newer rear triangle that they sent to Denver. I have not had any problems with my rear triangle either. I have ridden my bike through some pretty granly enduro trails, decent jumps (even cased some hard, I love my super deluxe ultimate with it's HBO ) and so far zero problems.

Though I must say that we both are well below 100kg's so your experience might be different. Then again I would remind you that the older rear triangles did not break. Some people just wished it would be stiffer. Other reason they are updating it is the fact that some people wished to use big shocks like vivid and x2. They do not fit the frame.

 

[John_A]

@Sayonara Many thanks for the detailed reply. Got myself to the point I dont know which frame to go for, but that will hopefully help me make a decision

 

[xtraman122]

Sayonara gave a good explanation on the 971. Seemed like originally it was just some complaints of deflection, so they tried to stiffen it and that seems to be where it went wrong and they had worse issues after the attempt to stiffen it. I’m a big guy (6’0” ~240lbs depending on the day) so I wouldn’t be a good person to put on a frame that might be experiencing some durability issues lol. I do trust LC to get it right though and I’m sure if you had issues they’d try and make it right. I definitely believe LC makes better overall frames and seems better to deal with than Dengfu, they just didn’t have a frame for exactly what I’m looking for with the 971 ruled out.

As far as colors go, I was never really given a catalog of colors to pick from, I just said I wanted some sort of gray and the rep started sending me pics on the Ali chat. She said they can pretty much do any color, but ones they don’t have in stock will take a while longer because I assume that means they’d be ordering a new paint color so I just picked one from the examples she sent. I originally wanted a very light gray, almost like an off white, in a matte finish but she kept telling me I don’t want matte, I should really do gloss so I then just finally changed my mind and went with a different gray she sent that I thought would look good in gloss.

The PT 8C is a color code from the Pantone color system, it’s commonly used by printing and painting companies to have consistent colors across industries. You can look up Pantone 8C and see examples of it. They seem to have a lot to pick from. I ordered direct from the Dengfu Ali store so it was straight from the manufacturer.

Got the battery debacle sorted; they apparently don’t yet make the 840wh for the E82, wherever I had seen people talking about wasn’t actually accurate so I’m stuck with a huge 10lb 10oz battery. Since I’m also stuck with the 728wh from the LCE971 that nobody seems to want I ordered an empty battery case for the E82 that I’m going to attempt to transplant pack from the 971 into so I should hopefully have 2 size packs to pick from on the E82. The 971 battery annoyingly wasn’t CAN enabled so it just had the positive/negative terminals wired up but oh well.

 

[xtraman122]

There might be some light at the end of the tunnel, my E82 has finally shipped and is scheduled to arrive next Monday, the day before I need to travel for work for 3 days

I also have my empty battery case on the way to see if I can make my 728Wh pack from the 971 fit in there and save just shy of 1Kg off the bike by not having such a massive battery on there.

 

[LAnton]

When the frame arrives, write the real weight of the frame.

 

[xtraman122]

When the frame arrives, write the real weight of the frame.

I can certainly do that. Reminds me I need to order a hanging scale.

 

[xtraman122]

After 4.5 months I finally have a frame, albeit with the wrong rear triangle thanks to Dengfu’s poor Alibaba listings and ordering process. Now I get to wait another few weeks for that to be remade.

@LAnton I got 9.01 lbs for a weight as it was shipped. That was no headset or rear axle, just the plastic spacers still in there for the axle and shock. Battery cover and battery hardware installed as you see in the pics.

A few pics of the frame after unboxing:
View attachment IMG_0214.jpeg

View attachment IMG_0219.jpeg
View attachment IMG_0220.jpeg

 

[LAnton]

After 4.5 months I finally have a frame, albeit with the wrong rear triangle thanks to Dengfu’s poor Alibaba listings and ordering process. Now I get to wait another few weeks for that to be remade.

@LAnton I got 9.01 lbs for a weight as it was shipped. That was no headset or rear axle, just the plastic spacers still in there for the axle and shock. Battery cover and battery hardware installed as you see in the pics.

A few pics of the frame after unboxing:
View attachment 148289
View attachment 148290
View attachment 148291
View attachment 148292

Did I understand correctly that the weight of the frame with the lid is 4 kg?

 

[xtraman122]

Did I understand correctly that the weight of the frame with the lid is 4 kg?

Almost 4.1, yes. Is that above or below what you were expecting? If the headset and rear axle were in that would have added a bit. Wasn’t sure if those were normally included in the weight of a frame or not. Assumed no so I did it without. It did still have the plastic pieces in place of the axle and shock but those should be minimal. It did have the battery receiver/receptacle with its wiring harness because that all came mounted in the frame.

 

[LAnton]

Almost 4.1, yes. Is that above or below what you were expecting? If the headset and rear axle were in that would have added a bit. Wasn’t sure if those were normally included in the weight of a frame or not. Assumed no so I did it without. It did still have the plastic pieces in place of the axle and shock but those should be minimal. It did have the battery receiver/receptacle with its wiring harness because that all came mounted in the frame.

Dengfu disappointed me. I asked the new manager questions. She told me that the frame 82 weighs 3.2 kg. I didn't believe her and I was right.

 

[xtraman122]

Dengfu disappointed me. I asked the new manager questions. She told me that the frame 82 weighs 3.2 kg. I didn't believe her and I was right.

I’m willing to bet they do that weight without any of the wiring and battery hardware which has to be at least 300-500g and they probably use a size M not L like I have. I did a quick search and it was earlier reported as being 3500g and that was when they only offered size M so 3.2g seems very light.