can someone recommend me a cheap usable bearing press for hubs? should I get a puller too or just go taptaptap?

Haven't got a suggestion for ali but they're very easy to make with a threaded rod and some nuts and washers.

Does anyone know of any brifters that are 10 speed sram compatible?

A current 8/9 speed MTB derailleur will work with 10 speed Shimano road brifters (e.g. Altus/Alivio).

Exception here is Tiagra 4700 shifters - but if you have those you can use GRX 400 rear derailleurs if you need additional range.

I've got a few of those around but i want a clutch and I have some 11 speed road brifters too. After a lot of reading am planning to pick up a GRX Rd to go with it as i've already got an 11 speed 11-46 cassette i can use. Don't think the 400 has enough capacity for that though, and i want a 2x front setup (was thinking 46-30) so it's going to be a bit of a stretch to fit all that if it's possible at all.

Mixing drive trains. Ie: using 10 speed shimano road brifters with a 10 speed MTB rd etc.

Ta. I spotted a store with the both knock off growtacs and klampers yesterday. They're hard to find!.

https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005007783088707.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2vnm

TRP HY/RD are decent. The pistons adjust as the brake pads wear. I'm presuming the Tanke version should work the same? For cable actuated hydraulic brakes, I do prefer Juin Tech F1s. You have to adjust them yourself, but you can fine dial just how close they are to the rotor.

The price difference between any Juin Tech and the Tanke's is quite large. Even the Spyres are three times the price where i am. If the Tankes get anywhere near acceptable and decent performance they'd be a great deal.

I was eyeing up some of the many Juin Tech copies but it sounds like they're not worth buying at all. 

*edit, found some more info here http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,2985.msg22577/topicseen.html#msg22577

And found some knock off Spyres too https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005006826680291.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller.20.2cd5UwgFUwgFtS&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40050.354490.0&scm_id=1007.40050.354490.0&scm-url=1007.40050.354490.0&pvid=a39d110d-4f29-4a8c-8b35-a29001d3a24f&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40050.354490.0,pvid:a39d110d-4f29-4a8c-8b35-a29001d3a24f,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238112%231997&utparam-url=scene%3ApcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller%7Cquery_from%3A

Alright, got them installed (and got rid of the creak, whohoo!) and a basic bed-in and short ride in.

First things first, they came packaged in boxes and were well-padded, so no worries there - bought them here. While they share the idea and a few features (stop-screw to prevent pushing the pistons out while not installed), they aren't a direct copy of the HY/RDs and got a slightly different shape to them.
The finish is rough but uniform, so it doesn't look bad at all. Got a small cast imperfection on one of the calipers but no big deal, really:


Unfortunately I never rode TRP HY/RD, so I can't compare them 1:1. They have replaced the fully mechanical TRP Spyre-Cs on my CX, and I got Sram Rival hydraulics on my road bike - somewhat unsurprising, my initial feel lands them somewhere in between, but probably leaning more towards the Spyre's spectrum, while still noticeably better than them.

I'll probably need to adjust them a bit more, and then I want to test them on identical brake pads (Spyre's were running Kingstop ceramics, the Tanke ones come with semi-metallics preinstalled) to compare them properly. I'll be off the bike for about a week now though, so that'll be a future update, still wanted to get a first impression out there - let me know if you got any questions!

Oh, weight - FWIW, these come in at 460g with adapters, compared to 350g for the Spyre-Cs.

Cheers for the update. They sound good enough. Especially given the price. Have you tried any of the other cable actuated hydro brakes on Ali?

Tanke doing a hybrid cable/hydraulic caliper that looks to be based on the TRP Hy/Rd design. Probably a bit late to the party with everything being hydraulic now but a useful option nonetheless:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007218455879.html

Any reports on these? Just noticed them this evening as i'm looking for some cable actuated hyrdo brakes and I think i'm going to get a set.