TanTan TT-X38 Build

[Sebastian]

Totally not worth it to turn the tire around unless you're completely OCD about it.
Happened to me as well with the rear tire on my gravel bike after patching it from the inside. But I really can't be bothered to touch it unless I absolutely have to.

[lantz]

Totally not worth it to turn the tire around unless you're completely OCD about it.
Happened to me as well with the rear tire on my gravel bike after patching it from the inside. But I really can't be bothered to touch it unless I absolutely have to.

Haha I could see an argument for gravel at least because tread *is* meant to go a certain direction, depending on how what tire you were working with.

But these GP5000s are agnostic as hell.

[lantz]

Update!

I bought these (https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805878269778.html) integrated bars because I liked how flat they were and the aero top cap/integrated system.

Specs say they are Ryet, although didn't easily find Ryet comparibles.

Either way, they're shit - currently in a dispute for compensation as their spacers are literally designed to create a space all the way up the steerer tube and they can't be closed.

Additionally, and this is my own ignorance in not doing my due diligence, the bars really only support semi-integrated cabling, as they don't have an exit from the stem near the steerer tube and, as such, there's no feasible way you can have the stem sit on the spaces and still bring brake cables from the exit in the bars to the "integrated spacers".

Lastly, the space that sits in the headset to center the steerer tube is wildly too tall, making it unusable with their "fully integrated" spacer set.

A nice lesson for me to be a bit more discerning in ordering and, moreover, before disassembling the entirety of my cockpit, hehe.

[pearl]

HAHA I was waiting for someone to flag. I sent this to a buddy who is all about aesthetic and knew it'd be the first thing he said too!

Noticed it after mounting and din't want to peel it off and fuck with sealant and all that nonsense when it doesn't actually have any real impact on slicks other than aesthetic.

I'll probably flip it when I swap my bars since i'll be back in 'get liquid everywhere' mode bleeding out my brakes.

while you are at it, you also need to line up your logos with your valves

[Sebastian]

I’m about to cut the steerer down and then I’ll see if there’s any voids that might cause concern. I’m pretty sure it’s just cosmetic. But still, stuff like this shouldn’t pass QC. The seller has offered a small discount after the transaction has been closed for 15 days.

Update on my frameset. Cutting the steerer revealed no issues. The steerer tube is fine and the flakes of carbon on the inside are really only a cosmetic issue. The seller kept his promise and sent me a refund yesterday. So to their credit, Sequel have been very responsive and they’ve been trying to find a solution. I’m satisfied with that.

Apart from the cabling issue in the chainstay my build went smoothly. No issues. I’m about to finish the bike tomorrow. I’ll post an update then.

[lantz]

while you are at it, you also need to line up your logos with your valves

ON IT!

[lantz]

Update on my frameset. Cutting the steerer revealed no issues. The steerer tube is fine and the flakes of carbon on the inside are really only a cosmetic issue. The seller kept his promise and sent me a refund yesterday. So to their credit, Sequel have been very responsive and they’ve been trying to find a solution. I’m satisfied with that.

Apart from the cabling issue in the chainstay my build went smoothly. No issues. I’m about to finish the bike tomorrow. I’ll post an update then.

Sick, can't wait to see it!

[Frank]

Received my frameset from the Ceccotti store. Frame seems to be ok but the steerer tube is out of round very much: in one direction it's up to 28.99mm and perpendicular to that down to 28.46mm  Measuring in more points one sees that it's actually elliptical. I can't even fit the cockpit onto the steerer. Seller says all their forks are like this and so far no one complained!

[lantz]

Received my frameset from the Ceccotti store. Frame seems to be ok but the steerer tube is out of round very much: in one direction it's up to 28.99mm and perpendicular to that down to 28.46mm  Measuring in more points one sees that it's actually elliptical. I can't even fit the cockpit onto the steerer. Seller says all their forks are like this and so far no one complained!

Oh wow, this is pretty brutal - did you open a dispute?

On a separate note, the threading for the computer mount in my bars that came stock with the frame from TanTan just slipped right out when I was replacing the mount today. Woof.

[Frank]

Oh wow, this is pretty brutal - did you open a dispute?

Atm I'm still in a discussion with the seller and I'm in contact with a carbon repair expert to see what options there might be...

[Sebastian]

@lantz
Did you have any issues with setting up your LTWOO FD on this particular frame? Maybe it’s the ZRACE cranks that I'm using. But it seems I can’t set the FD outboard enough to reliably shift to the big ring. I got it at the outermost extreme position and it still won’t shift as reliably as I’d like it to.
I don’t thing the cranks chainline is to blame.
Either the FD hanger on this particular frame sits very far inboard (it kinda seems that way because the seat tube is obviously very narrow). Or I’m just too stupid to set up the FD. Maybe I need to recalibrate it? I’ve tried that but it doesn’t really do anything. The max outboard position in the app is 99. And it’s not enough.

Luckily, this frame has a bolt on FD hanger. So I might just have to shim it somehow.

[lantz]

@lantz
Did you have any issues with setting up your LTWOO FD on this particular frame? Maybe it’s the ZRACE cranks that I'm using. But it seems I can’t set the FD outboard enough to reliably shift to the big ring. I got it at the outermost extreme position and it still won’t shift as reliably as I’d like it to.
I don’t thing the cranks chainline is to blame.
Either the FD hanger on this particular frame sits very far inboard (it kinda seems that way because the seat tube is obviously very narrow). Or I’m just too stupid to set up the FD. Maybe I need to recalibrate it? I’ve tried that but it doesn’t really do anything. The max outboard position in the app is 99. And it’s not enough.

Luckily, this frame has a bolt on FD hanger. So I might just have to shim it somehow.

Not *really* - although I did have plenty of struggle getting the spacing and alignment where I wanted it - honestly, a lot of it was just me going too quickly and applying theory and techniques that I used in other installs with shimano and sram setups.

It wasn't until I took a beat and then read through the instructions that they sent, that I pretty easily got everything in place. I found that fucking with the limits too much kind of puts you in a no mans land - I completely reset the groupo and followed along with their install video/instructions and it all worked swimmingly.

The fucked up thing is that I dind't really do anything differently than I had done before, but there's something to be said about slowing down and being intentional, at least for me.

Additionally, I found that the Klein build video was super helpful too! (just google klein l-twoo)

If it's the same frame, in fact, you shouldn't need any shimming or anything.

[Sebastian]

I compared it to my VB-R218 with a Campagnolo crankset. The chainline of the outer chainring is basically exactly the same on both frames. About 49mm for both. So that's not the issue. The FD hanger does however sit considerably further inboard on the TT-X38/DCFR26 frame. The distance to the outer chainring is 29mm on this frame. It's 25mm on my VB-R218.
I made a plastic shim and put it under the hanger. It now sits at 27mm. It was much easier to set up. Still not super perfect, which might have to do with me using an 11sp chain with a 12sp crankset? I dunno. But it's better. I'll keep it that way.

[Sebastian]

So here it is:

The build process was a mixed affair. The things I thought would be an issue turned out to actually be pretty straightforward such as:

   - Routing the brake lines through the headset and bars.
   - Setting up the brakes rub free
   - Getting proper preload on the headset

There were things that usually take minutes which took ages on this one, like:

   - Routing the RD cable and plug through the chainstay. Like I said, I had to sand inside the chainstay at the RD cable exit port because there was a sharp edge in there. After that it went through pretty easily. But it took me literally a whole evening of trying.
   - Setting up the FD - like I just wrote. What an odyssee. It might have to do with my particular cranks. But the FD hanger does sit very far inboard on this one. The seatube is narrow to begin with. There's a recessed area where the FD hanger bolts on to.
   - My steerer wasn't smooth internally. It also wasn't 100% round. Not as bad as somebody else has posted here but still. Cutting it down revealed no issues. So that's good. But it was a bit of a headache.

I'm super happy with how the build turned out. It looks very nice. I was able to replicate my favorite position, but I had to slam the cockpit all the way down with only the top cap. I'm also super happy with the brakes. The Campy calipers look very sleek and they work absolutely flawless with the LTWOO brifters.
It's cool how on this bike there are components from LTWOO, Shimano and Campy working happily together.

Final weight is 7.85kg as pictured, including pedals, cages & Garmin mount. Not bad for a 58size frame. But there's a few weight saving components that I migrated from the bike that I retired. TPU tubes, the very light saddle, an SROAD monobloc cassette. Also, the Campy calipers easily save 50-100g to the LTWOO hardware. And the tires are ridiculously light also at roughly 210g a piece.
The wheels are very impressive. I'm super stoked to ride them. I've weighed them at 1480g. 24.5mm internal. 31mm external. These 28c tires measure just above 31mm on these rims. There's still ample tire clearance. That was a bit of a worry for me. But this frame easily clears 32mm tires. 32c labelled tires on rims as wide as these might be a different story. But honestly, I think this frame has all the clearance you could ever want from a road bike.

I haven't ridden it. The weather is awful here atm and I probably won't get out on the road before Sunday. I'll give this a proper shakedown and at least a few hundred km until I will give a verdict.

[Ludo]

Nice looking bike, but you forgot one important thing! You didn’t make your bed this morning!