TanTan TT-X21 frame

[FHS]

How did you all choose between the TT-X23, TT-X24, and TT-X21? They all look similarly priced. Did you all pass on the TT-X3 because of the BB386 bottom bracket?

The TT-X3 was my first choice. It was out of stock when I ordered back in November. Back then, they told me it would be available in March. My second choice was actually the TT-X22. That would have been my first choice, but it cost twice as much. I went with the TT-X21 because that's what they said was in stock and ready to ship, and I didnt have to pay $599 for it.

If I had it to do all over again, I probably would have gone with the Velobuild 099 if I'd know about it. It's costs even less than what I paid for the X21, with way cheaper shipping charges. Now that I have my bike build and have been riding it for a few weeks now, I don't have any regrets though about going with TanTan and not knowing about Velobuild.

[ldavies]

How did you all choose between the TT-X23, TT-X24, and TT-X21? They all look similarly priced. Did you all pass on the TT-X3 because of the BB386 bottom bracket?

. Availability.  And it was bb86.

[fcs01]

Hi all,

Have you had experience with play on your frame? If yes how did you resolve it?

I had an issue with the headset, as it didn’t matter how tight I made it,  the sort of half ring that stays in between the steerer tube and the top bearing seemed a fraction to small, causing the play that become extremely noticeable when I assembled the bike and used the front brake to rock the bike back and forth.

Cheers

[FHS]

Hi all,

Have you had experience with play on your frame? If yes how did you resolve it?

I had an issue with the headset, as it didn’t matter how tight I made it,  the sort of half ring that stays in between the steerer tube and the top bearing seemed a fraction to small, causing the play that become extremely noticeable when I assembled the bike and used the front brake to rock the bike back and forth.

Cheers

Yes, this was an issue from day one. I went to my lbs and the tech set me up with a set of head set spacers. They are super thin, .25mm each. They sit on top of the lock ring, the half ring, that sits on top of your bearings. A stack of three worked for me, but I bought an FSA ACR headset awhile back, hoping to fix the problem that way. 

To make a long painful story short, I could tighten down the headset, but then the steering would bind, with the fork rubbing up against the head tube at the bottome, and the top cover rubbing up against the head tube at the top. I tried an FSA ACR headset, but that didn't solve the issue completely, but it did help. I ended up using one of the fatter ACR bearings at the bottom, and the fatter TanTan bearing at the top, along with the fatter FSA Lock Ring at the top, but I couldn't completely eliminate the play withing binding up the steering.

These spacers worked like a charm. No headset play at all and butter smooth steering. Yuo'll have to cut a notch in the spacers for the cables, but that's pretty simple, and you'll just have to play with the amount of spacers it takes. They come in different thicknesses.

Good luck!

[snaert]

No problem here at all. The half ring sits perfect. Did you connect the half ring properly to the top bearing cover?

[FHS]

No problem here at all. The half ring sits perfect. Did you connect the half ring properly to the top bearing cover?

I think this may be an issue with TanTan frames, with small differences from one frame to the next, maybe. My issue was never with setting the ring correctly. The TanTan ring would snap nicely into the TanTan bearing all the time. My problem was the stack height for the bearings + crown race + ring was never right.

I actually have two different headsets, the TanTan supplied one and an FSA ACR. The bearings are all 1.5 36 + 45 and all fit into the frame's 1.5" inch integrated cups snugly, without play, but they are all different heights. Between the 4 bearings, 2 rings, and 2 crown races, the stack height can be all over the place. Using any combination of pieces, I either had a stack height that locked up my steering against the head tube before tightening the headset, at the top cap or the forks, or even both, or just wouldn't allow tightening the headset at all.

Those spacers I got from my lbs were just the trick. They allowed me to dial in the stack height of the top bearing and ring. I just had to have a bottom bearing and crown race that fit well enough to not lock up the steering at the forks after tightening down the headset. All good now.

I think if you use the thicker TanTan bearing at the bottom, and the thinner bearing at the top, you can adjust the height at the top cap and still have enough space at the forks.

Hope thate makes sense.

[BrianO]

Thx FHS

I fitted the bottom bracket today.
Chain and tuning tomorrow
I put the big bearing on the bottom of the fork.
What torque does you set the compression cap too?

[FHS]

The top cap? 2ish Nm. Didn't take much to tighten down the head set once I got everything sorted out.

[BrianO]

The top cap? 2ish Nm. Didn't take much to tighten down the head set once I got everything sorted out.

OK 2NM seems a bit low.

[FHS]

You "could" tighten it more. The instructions for the FSA top cap I was using says you can go up to 5 Nm, but you're supposed to tighten "until proper bearing load is achieved". The instructions say 6-9 Nm for the compression plug itself. <edit: do not overtighten your compression plug, even if it is slipping! I never got close to 9 Nm, and decided to try a different one rather than risk cracking my steer tube.>

My experience with my frame has been that if I had to use more torque than 2, maybe 3, definitely not more than 4 Nm, then it was because the bearings weren't loading correctly. The biggest issue I had early on was that the TanTan compression plug kept slipping, no matter how much I tightened the plug itself, so the top cap was never able to tighten down the headset regardless of the torque used on the top cap. When I switched to the FSA plug, it held much better, and that's when I started having issues with binding up the steering. The binding would happen at around 1 or 2 Nm on the top cap.

Seems like it is sorted out now, and it really doesn't take much torque on the top cap to load up the bearings properly.

[fcs01]

No problem here at all. The half ring sits perfect. Did you connect the half ring properly to the top bearing cover?

Hi, it is not an issue of the bearing cover, as without even going that far, the steering tube has play within the lock-ring/half ring. It really is minimal, as I’d have to hold the frame’s head tube and move the fork. Minimal enough to be really noticeable when braking, felt like the steering tube was somewhat loose, even if everything was locked and tight (cover and spacers included).

In fact I resolved by putting some electrical tape in the inside of the ring, which eliminated the play. So it looks like it is either the ring or the steerer tube which is slightly wrong.

[BrianO]

Finally went for a ride on my TT-X21.
Very stiff, very light and quick to pick up speed.
Very light on hills.
ZRace discs are a bit spongy.
Sensah front derailleur is hit and miss.

[imperyal]

Hello all, this thread turned up to be very diverse. A few of you already completed their builds and my I still a work in progress...

I'm in the process of finishing the paint job (it was harder then I anticipated, of course ).

In the pictures the frame is still glossy (and not very good of that...). The finished thing will be matte and hopefully the clear cote quality will be higher 

[carbonazza]

Very nice result. Congrats!
Did you consider ceramic coating ? It looks to resist better to scratches and hits.

One day I will paint my frame

[adriaanm]

One day I will paint my frame

Highly recommend spray.bike. Had some great results with it, very easy to use.