Seraph Bikes Superlight 836g X68 - Alternative to SL8 Fakes?

[Bonus79]

Gen Rear
142x12mm rear hub spacing
6mm Allen head
Length: 165mm
Thread Pitch: 1.0mm

Thread length?
Thanks

[glepore]

Tantan's weigh 59 grams, so a bit heavier than Specialized.

Chaser's are a decent savings over them.

I looked around on ali for a bit and didn't see anything lighter than the stock Specialized until you stepped up to Chaser, and beyond that to Overfast and some of the other really pricy skewers.

Thread length is 13mm both front and rear.

Report back if you find anything under 40g.

[Sander2177]

Thread length?
Thanks

Hmmmm I cannot find online the measurements
And I’m away at the moment and cannot measure the one  is have but typically from memory and look at pictures it’s 12mm.
I have just literally ordered Sixweel Thru Axles €150 26-28grams will put these on my SL8 and use the Overfast on my X68.
Evan Wang who owns Sixweel brand is also planning Thru Axles under his Ti Master brand as well these will be even lighter!  But around €350!

[CoreX88]

Hi there,

unfortunately I have to warn everyone on the quality of the fork. Two hours ago I started on my friday routine route and under some braking with the front-brake in front of a crossing the fork imploded. Apart from some minor scratches I'm okay, but the bike took some hits while going over the handlebar... I was super satisfied with the riding quality of the bike so far, but I was not braking hard and just going under 25 kph before the crossing...

Let's see how TanTan will handle this...

[Tines]

Yikes,

Glad you’re okay

[greengoblinbean]

Oh jeez! You have me worried now. No prior crashes or major bumps against the fork?

[glepore]

It sheared at the caliper mounting location?

As an aside, I know folks hate to resize photos but large photos are hard to view on a smallish screen-think laptop...

[CoreX88]

Oh jeez! You have me worried now. No prior crashes or major bumps against the fork?

Nope, no bump and no crash. I really took good care of it and I've ridden it just for a bit under 150 km...

It sheared at the caliper mounting location?

See below and resized I remember it first cracked on the left above the caliper. The thickness of the material in this section is really thin...

[patliean1]

Happy to hear you are safe.

Just so I understand more clearly. You were braking and the fork snapped near the caliper under load?

[glepore]

The $40 for the new seatpost seems fair so that good news.
I will press  for the installation instructions myself and see what they say, once I get confirmation that the frame is finished, I’ll update everyone.

As with my Venge, SL7, and SL8 builds, I won’t be using the supplied expander plug — I’ll fit a Carbon-Ti or Extralite expander instead.

I’ll check if my Darimo post from the SL8 fits out of interest
I’ll likely use the supplied post, cut it down, and swap the fitting and cradle to save weight.
Trying my best to keep this build budget!

I've got a carbon cradle here, its a couple grams lighter, not sure if its worth the trouble. Are you going to use yokes instead of the alu top piece?
Have a couple extralight expanders here, know folks use them, but there must be a reason Specialized uses the overbuilt one, likely liability if a failure.
As to a manual, there's an early post here where someone was told to use the sl8 manual.

[CoreX88]

Happy to hear you are safe.

Just so I understand more clearly. You were braking and the fork snapped near the caliper under load?

Yes, I was approaching a smaller crossing and used the front brake to slow down (I guess right before left rule is used on most countries ) and then it snapped couple of centimeters over the caliper.

[greengoblinbean]

Looks like it's right where the brake hose enters the fork. I'm looking at mine and pressing it and it seems very strong/sturdy. Definitely nerve-racking though...
I guess another benefit of ordering a raw carbon frame is you can look at the weaves and maybe pick up on carbon failure earlier

[glepore]

That's concerning for sure.
The fork is thin there, its part of the reason specialized uses the unique narrow flat mount spacing on the sl8, to reduce the area reinforced for the mounts.
Looks like a straight up failure, given no issues with the other fork leg.
You'd be surprised how frequently forks get damage by foreign objects without the rider being aware, but its almost 100% damage to both legs (handled a few legal cases involving forks when still working).

[glepore]

Hold a sec, looking again, there IS damage to the other fork leg higher up?
Can you say with any certainty that that was the result of the impact and not occurring at the same time as the other failure?
Not to cross examine you, but...have had experience with a few of these over the years.

[CoreX88]

Hold a sec, looking again, there IS damage to the other fork leg higher up?
Can you say with any certainty that that was the result of the impact and not occurring at the same time as the other failure?
Not to cross examine you, but...have had experience with a few of these over the years.

The fork was fine on both sides when I started. When I approached the crossing it definitely felt like the left side snapped first under breaking. I took a "dive" and fell over the handlebar. I think the right arm cracked due to my weight going over the handlebar and having no support from the other side. I just had a look at the point where the hydraulic hose comes out of the fork and the material is not "bonded" but more separate layers. Anyway, I hope TanTan will find a good solution. The ride feel on this TT-X68 was very good.