Yeah, the thought of plopping down $4k + on a bike really put me off. Funny, somehow spending that much piece by piece over several months didn't feel as ridiculous.

This is what I had.

https://wheelsmfg.com/bb86-92-outboard-abec-3-bb-for-24mm-shimano-cranks-black.html

I think a fresh reinstall would have taken care of the creaking.  That's what I did when I switched to these.

https://wheelsmfg.com/bb86-to-29mm-dub-compatible-kit-for-pressfit-86-92-bottom-bracket-with-flanged-dual-row-black-oxide-sealed-bearings.html

Haven't had any new creaking since I installed these  back at the beginning of March. A good cleaning, new coat of grease, took my time. 

Hope that helps.

Is your steerer tube like that, even after being cut down?

My front fork is at 100mm exactly, but I do have issues. There is play in the front wheel no matter how hard the thru axle is tightened down.

When I was having headset issues, I took the entire bike to my LBS and he figured out that some of the front end slop came from the fork as well as the headset. He put a washer on the front thru axle and that seems to have fixed the symptoms, enough for me to be able to ride "comfortably" downhill at 45+ mph anyway. Still, the fork issue is there without the band aid.

I don't know how smart it is for me to be riding my bike the way the front fork is, so I have a hard time giving you advice. I haven't contacted TanTan about what's going on with mine. Maybe that's a place to start, for both of us.

Those are some of the big questions when it comes to purchasing a carbon frame direct from a Chinese manufacturer.

The bike I really wanted when I started seriously considering a carbon frame was a Canyon Aeroad. The first 105 r7020 iteration of my current TanTan X-21 build came in way under $1500, not including the Light Bicycle AR46 carbon wheels and SQ Labs seat I had already purchased for the Giant Contend AR 3 I started riding when the pandemic hit. Compare that to $4000 for an out of the box comparatively equipped Aeroad.

I have since upgraded to almost full Ultegra r8020, switched out the LB AR 46s for Scribe Wide+ 60 discs, and included a Quarq PM with SRAM cranks, and a Pro Carbon Stealth seat ($100 usd on Ebay, like new condition).  Even with the Ebay parts and deals I could find here and there, all in all, I probably could have taken all the money I spent building up my TanTan frame over the last 9 months and gotten pretty close to buying an actual Ultegra r8020 equipped Canyon Aeroad.

Things I wouldn't have with it, a very good power meter, damn good seat, fast as hell wheels for sure, full cable integration, and all the experience that comes from pricing out parts and building my own bike. Considering all of the issues Canyon has had, I'd have the cash, but I would have had to find an alternative anyway. As it stands, I've been happily riding a pretty good carbon framed bike for 7 months now. Yeah, cutting the steerer ube was scary the first time I did it. But, having that experience made it so much easier the next 3 times I did it to lower my handlebars and on my new Giant frame. Yeah, one time only costs $5, which is great and the way to go if you are only doing it one time. Cost and time adds up with more changes and more bikes. Bottom line, I can do most of the work on my own bike now. I couldn't say that 9 months ago.


Warranties are an issue for sure. My "two year warranty" on my frame is only as good the customer service that comes from TanTan. Meanwhile, I stripped the bottom bracket on my Giant, took it in to my LBS, and had a shiny brand new frame two weeks later.

That being said, I'd be worried about a warranty a lot more if I was riding a bike with a super expensive carbon frame. With my TanTan, worse comes to worse, as long as the bike doesn't disintegrate under me while I'm riding it, I've already saved up enough for a completely new carbon frame. My components are going to wear out at some point anyway, so it's all about having the reserves to replace those as needed.

Just some things to consider.

https://ccache.cc/blogs/newsroom/2020-road-gravel-groupset-weight-comparison

Found this online, not sure of its veracity.

I'd switch to a Di2 system for the shifting performance, but not just for weight savings.

Wow, sorry to see that happen to you.

I've had rim tape fail before. When that happens, the tire fails to pressurize. Either way, I imagine that it's a serious flaw if you can blow out the side of your carbon rim with a floor pump.

Oh okay so it was more vertical play rather than lateral play? It wouldnt be good to be wanting to turn and the wheel doesn't turn lol. What i meant by unheard of is out of how many frames bought (or so youve seen) has this problem been encountered

No, it was lateral play caused by the headset top cover not pressing down on the compression ring properly. From what I can tell from reading posts, I'm not the only one who was having the issue with the X21 for sure. From what I can tell, there might be an issue with the way the integrated headset is designed for the frame. Without the microspacers, the top cover would rub against the frame before putting enough pressure on the compression ring. Other than that, I haven't had any real issues with the frame. Seems like a solid design.

This probably happened a few weeks ago when I popped my quick link at the start of a sprint. It sounded nasty when I did it, but I thought I gave the frame a good once over. I just noticed the chip now when I pulled the crank off to clean things up a bit.

I've been riding as usual and haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary as far as performance goes.

Thoughts?

Thanks!