Chinese Carbon MTB Forums
News:
Happy Holidays!
See likes
See likes given/taken
| Post info | No. of Likes |
|---|---|
|
Re: Name brand di2 complete or Chiner build?
I feel like I'm fairly well-placed to answer this - having gone through basically the same process last year deciding between a Chinese bike, a Merida Scultura 6000 and a Polygon Helios with 105 Di2 (I'm also Australian-based, so these are basically the cheapest electronic options). TL;DR: I went with the Merida and upgraded. Full story below. The goal was: - Under $5k AUD ($3250 USD) - Decent frame (was willing to consider Chinese - bought a Velobuild 8 years ago and it was pretty good) - Under 8kg with pedals - Dual-sided or spider-based power - Wheels at least 50mm deep and at least 23mm wide, prefereably with name brand hubs and spokes, preferably under 1400g - Electronic shifting, preferably 12 speed - Hydraulic brakes - Good quality tubeless tyres at least 30mm wide - No totally proprietary stem/bar setups - not too difficult to find one-piece bar/stem combo - Easy to find a zero offset or short offset seatpost (my position requires a zero offset post on most medium size bikes) - 38cm c-t-c bars The Merida provided an extremely cheap starting point at $2750 AUD with 105 Di2. 99 Bikes were selling them at 25% off RRP, but for an extra discount, their gift cards were available at 15% off. Worth keeping an eye out for these deals for any Australians looking for one of these. The stock build for the Merida is not great, but I was willing to forgive that for the price. The issues are: - stock wheels are crap - 17mm internal, heavy, not tubeless ready. - tyres are some low-end Contis, not bad, but not tubeless and only 28mm. You expect that on most OEM bikes though - handlebar is much too wide, the 42cm bar measured at 43cm and the bar tape is cheap - stock saddle is heavy, but again, you expect that In favour, the factors were: - price gave me a lot of room for upgrades within budget - nothing unusual about the frame - BB86 bottom bracket, FSA headset, round 27.2mm seatpost(!!), fairly standard race geometry - world-tour tested (means little, really, but it's nice) - media reviews tended to be favourable, particularly for the frame - pearlescent white paintjob is nice In the end, I bought that and it's now been upgraded with: Kocevlo one-piece bar and stem, 38x100 Elita One 27.2 zero offset seatpost Elita One carbon railed, carbon base saddle Farsports Hyper wheels with DT Swiss 350 hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes Pirelli P-Zero Race TLR (Italy version) 700*30 Magene PES power meter Final weight: 7.95kg Final spend: $4,970  I'm super happy with it - it's a nice upgrade from my previous (lighter) rim brake bike, a Focus Izalco Max. It's significantly more comfortable - the 30mm tyres play a big part. The only thing I'm having issues with is the headset with the Kocevlo spacers - it's been a pain finding a balance between having the headset tight enough to remove knocking and stop the split spacers from coming apart, but not having it so tight that it binds the headset. Other than that very minor issue, it's been amazing. The FarSports wheels in particular are excellent - I ordered them without spoke holes for easy tubeless setup, and the Pirelli tyres were quite easy to get on and sealed straight away with a track pump - that impressed me a lot! I skipped the Polygon Helios because: - stock wheels are relatively heavy and only 19mm internal. Cam Nicholls also wasn't a fan of them (see his ride review on YouTube). - stock handlebars are much too wide for me (42cm) so the integrated bar/stem would need to be replaced anyway Apart from those two things, it ticks most of the boxes. I skipped the Chinese frames because: - groupsets are too expensive to get in Australia on their own compared to a full bike, unless you get lucky on a second-hand set - the price of framesets from the more reliable brands (LightCarbon, Carbonda, etc.) is starting to get to a point where it becomes better to buy a lower tier frame from a major manufacturer. - I'd have to pay extra for custom paint, I've had a matte black bike for the last 3 years so I wanted a change. Some are not willing to do custom paint without an MOQ. March 02, 2024, 11:14:18 PM |
9 |
|
Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
EGR now available on the L-Twoo AliEx Choice store: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006636427506.html March 08, 2024, 05:45:01 AM |
2 |
|
Re: Puncture proof Continental Gatorskin tyres any good?
If you hate riding, they're great. If you enjoy riding, use almost anything else. Even today's race-ready tyres (GP5000, Pirelli P Zero etc.) score well on puncture resistance tests, and then if you're going further down that route, try something like a Pirelli Cinturato or a GP5000 AS. It's worth considering tubeless as well for additional protection. March 17, 2024, 03:39:54 PM |
2 |
Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
Am I blind or there really is no rim brake version of ER? No rim brake version. Seems like Wheeltop is basically the only Chinese option for electronic and rim brake. March 17, 2024, 08:06:20 PM |
2 |
|
Re: WheelTop EDS TX Full Wireless Groupset (Chinese SRAM)
Delays on the aluminium rim-brake version to July 2024: https://twitter.com/wheeltopjapan/status/1770967843984773405 [Notice and Apology of Delivery Delay] There will be a delay in the delivery of the aluminum grade TX-RA6100, which is compatible with wire pull brakes, in the EDS TX series. ▼ Applicable products TX-RA6100 ▼ Scheduled release date July 2024 ▼ Reason for delay: Due to production adjustments due to the sudden increase in demand for EDS worldwide. March 23, 2024, 05:01:18 AM |
2 |
Re: VeloBuild VB-R-268 frame
I've got the FarSports Gravel wheels that seem to fit your requirements, 24mm internal width, 30mm external width, 50mm deep, built with Sapim CX-Ray spokes on Bitex hubs, final weight around 1450g and cost around 700 USD. I got them without any internal holes so no need to rim tape to run them tubeless with UD matte, stickerless finish, however you can also get them in gloss and other fininshes. 7,000 km's put on them so far and they've been great! To add to that, I got the same wheelset but with DT Swiss 350 hubs instead (849 USD in total) and they've been excellent. 1396g for 50mm deep, no internal holes made tubeless setup extremely easy. April 04, 2024, 04:41:40 AM |
1 |
|
Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
Review of the new ERX from Local Alien / CLIFF on YouTube: The new FD cage is a different shape from before. He's reporting less chain drops from front shifting compared to previous ERX. April 06, 2024, 12:39:45 AM |
1 |
Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
Another interesting tidbit from that catalogue, looks like (probably as expected) we should see new ER9 soon to match new ERX.
May 04, 2024, 01:34:02 AM |
1 |
LTwoo rim brake / mechanical 2024 refresh
From LTwoo's 2024-25 catalogue, looks like all the rim brake levers will be refreshed to match the design of the hydraulic levers (with the Campagnolo-style thumb shifter than the older Shimano Sora-style thumb lever in the awkward spot). Mechanical derailleurs getting a refresh too - different graphics but hard to see what's changed mechanically.  R9 gets the holographic decal treatment  More minimal design continues down through the product line:  A slight graphical refresh on the gravel rear derailleurs but looks mostly the same  Still no sign of an electronic rim brake lever so Wheeltop likely to be the only Chinese player in that space for a little while unless Sensah springs a surprise. May 04, 2024, 01:45:36 AM |
5 |
Re: LTWOO eGR
So, now I’m wondering what calipers might be compatible with the LTWOO levers. I know that early on they were bundling with other makers calipers, so I’m guessing the piston ratios are probably common. Maybe Shimano compatible since they went with mineral oil. If so, that would be great since apparently pretty much all Shimano calipers are compatible including across road and mountain groups. Basically any Shimano caliper should work - pick up a set of their basic MTB ones for your post mount fork. May 17, 2024, 07:01:29 AM |
1 |