Chinese Carbon MTB Forums
News:
Happy Holidays!
See likes
See likes given/taken
| Post info | No. of Likes |
|---|---|
|
Re: L-Twoo, Sensah or 105?
Until I started ordering 4 bikes at a time to get some economies of scale and get my buddies involved, I often bought parts of eBay second hand. If you're in a country that has ebay, or equivalent, you can get stuff on the cheap, if you spend the time to understand what you're buying. If you don't know jack, and don't feel like investing the time to understand parts, then get something new. I've recently installed 5 er9 groups and they're awesome, but probably out of your budget. I've ridden well over 20k km before switching to electronic anyway. There's a good chance the r9 is good too? I've had very mixed experience with sensah, I wouldn't recommend them (I've installed 4 groups and basically had problems on all of them). If you buy 105 from a reputable shop, you probably can't go wrong. for a first build it wouldn't be a bad idea to pick the simple option even if it's not the cheapest option. Chinese carbon, you don't risk too much anymore. Chinese groupsets are still pretty exotic. February 25, 2024, 10:06:50 AM |
1 |
|
Re: Headset Bearings
To be fair I don't think you need state of the arts bearings on a steerer column. For sure AliExpress stocks that. If it's cheap I wouldn't worry about quality too much. Bottom brackets see 1000+ watts and constant work. Steerer bearings see a tiny fraction of that action. I may be wrong but after building 9 Chinese bikes I wouldn't spend extra on fancy bearings there. February 25, 2024, 10:13:21 AM |
4 |
Re: Elitewheels Edge wheelset
I am in the market for a budget set of carbon wheels and have narrowed it down to either these Elite Edges or a set of Superteams with a Novatec FS522SB rear hub. Does anyone have insight into how the hubs compare? I've heard the Elite hubs are obnoxiously loud On hub noise, there's a video on YT from that Australian guy on the spectrum who waxes his chains, and he showed you can add grease to make hubs quieter. I've done it on 4 wheelsets recently, it does indeed work, night and day difference. I'm largely incompetent on hubs, but i've never had problems with Novatec, vs everything else i've had mixed feelings with (Bitec or Bitex (?) and no name "Taiwan" stuff). All else equal, my next wheels will have Novatec hubs just because i have never negative to say about them. I've bought a dozen wheelsets by now. February 29, 2024, 04:56:52 AM |
1 |
|
Re: VeloBuild VB-R-268 frame
Recap having read the whole thread, so far, there are recurring problems with rear thru axles threads that dont work, which make the bikes unusable. Everybody seems to hate the Mavic thru axle system and nobody understands why that's being used. The seatpost slips despite using massive torque & carbon paste. USUALLY, people report slipping seatposts because they tighten to 5-6nm, when this bolt is usually supposed to be tightened much more. Routinely up to 12nm. FWIW, my long teng frame says 12nm on the seatpost clamp. I would be very concerned to go above that number though, so people here saying they're tightening to 15, i hope it's on the direct instruction of VB, because if that area cracks, you can bin the frame. I cracked a carbon crank arm 2 weeks ago at 6-7nm. Carbon that explodes is not a pleasant experience, as it's an instant write off. Earlier versions didn't have a hole at the bottom of the frame for water to drain out, but this seems fixed now, and easy fix anyway. One or 2 instances of bars missing an exit hole for the housing - easy fix. Bottom line: feels very beta still. Loose thru axles, poor threads on thru axles, slipping seatposts basically means you can't ride the bike. For seatposts, presumably, you can shim some aluminium from a can to create friction. For the TA, i have no solution and i'd be very unhappy. Edit. At least 4 users report problems with the TA / TA area: Thegoods Benbenben Deanoden Easyfunk February 29, 2024, 11:58:52 AM |
1 |
|
Re: Interesting Aliexpress finds! - good deals, interesting stuff, new products etc!
I've installed 4 cockpits from Aliexpress "Airwolf official store" in 36cm wide, 2 different stem lengths (80&100). I've ridden myself c.1000km on one, including sprints (note: I suck at sprints, can't do more than 1000W). The model is the HB009, which is (allegedly), FULL T1100. I weighed them at 333-350g. I also got the carbon garmin mounts from them (you need to use loctite on the threads btw, otherwise road vibrations will send it flying). They're super stiff, they were reasonably simple to route (only routed 1 brake hose, though, running er9 as a group), very pleased. Importantly, the stem cap is FLAT, which means you can play with stem height WITHOUT having to cut the steerer (something you can't do with the velobuild bars for eg). I paid 75 usd a piece (w/o shipping) including the garmin mounts. Very pleased, and happy to recommend at this point. March 01, 2024, 04:36:55 AM |
2 |
|
Re: Yuanan Carbon fiber wheelsets Year end discount promotion
See screenshot to attach pictures. What are the widest rims you have that are 50-60mm deep? I want to run at least 30C in front and I want 32C at the rear, so i want rims that are at least as wide. March 01, 2024, 04:53:56 AM |
1 |
Re: Lightcarbon: New LCR017-D (or Yishun R1058-D)
On Long Teng. Contact longtengalisa@163.com. I only have good things to say about the 268, i bought 2. full build with 32C 50+mm deep wheels is 7.5kg. The next frame i get is likely to be a 266 (for the mountains). So get a 266 and let me know how it is  The gloss finish is awesome, depending on the light you can see the carbon below. The black matte is nice, but the gloss is super nice. i got 36cm bars from Airwolf, love them. Uber stiff. Allegedly full T1100. March 05, 2024, 11:53:47 AM |
1 |
|
Re: Workswell disaster
That's interesting. They clearly are OEM for various brands (niche, probably), because sometimes they will quote you for a frame for 1 country, but not another, unless you ship to another country and so on, or will have a MOQ of 5 or 10 frames. Clearly there are exclusivity clauses at play. They're also quite expensive even if ordering 5 or more frames. All i could get out of them was "we use Japanese carbon fiber and it's more expensive". Ofc they claim they are really good at quality, but find me a shop that says they arent. Point being, i never worked with them because the frame would always end up costing 50+% more, and emailing with them is always like pulling teeth, i never got the impression that they wanted my business. Maybe they just low key suck and charge more for no reason. March 05, 2024, 12:11:00 PM |
1 |
Re: Lightcarbon: New LCR017-D (or Yishun R1058-D)
From my emails with them, they offered these in size 52: I'm interested in anything Long Teng related. I'm super happy with mine, more than the 2 Winow i built at the same time. I like that they're a factory and not a broker like velobuild. My next bike will probably be a 266, so anything that's road, light, disc, and takes 32C, i'm interested in. And ask them to make 36cm bars so I dont have to source them separately On Workswell, i'd be careful. There are a few horror stories on the forum about them, and they're materially more expensive than a lot of peers, but i can't understand why. March 06, 2024, 02:35:06 PM |
1 |
Re: Lightcarbon: New LCR017-D (or Yishun R1058-D)
Just got back from the Taipei Bike Show You're a hero. Well done and thank you. Alisa is my sales rep at LT. That LT301 looks a LOT like the LT268 that I have, to the point that beyond the frame box, i'm not sure what's different. Weight i guess? Maybe manufacturing process? The whole "squares are stronger than tubes" sounds wrong. And those boxy tubes look like buses, and buses aren't aerodynamic. Weird. Aero frames always were about tear drop shapes with the tail cut out. Not a box exposed to the wind... Velobuild is a broker. Light Carbon & Long Teng are factories. Awesome to learn that LT makes Argon frames, that just upped my bragging rights. March 07, 2024, 10:05:28 AM |
3 |