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

[LowPaceKingdom]

!!MY!! First initial quality impression

Bike Delivery Update

Hi everyone,
The bike arrived on Tuesday and was very well packaged. A lot was already prebuilt, and the handlebar tape is wrapped like a god—truly excellent craftsmanship!

The fork's bearing cups were not greased but weren't completely dry either; they were still somewhat lubricated. I decided to apply bearing grease myself. The bearing cups for the fork, both top and bottom, fit perfectly with no play at all.

The seatpost itself is perfect—the scale markings are precise, clear, and easy to read. The two saddles I ordered additionally also seem to be of very high quality. As for the bike assembly, it was very straightforward and easy to complete.

Regarding the drivetrain, well, it's Shimano 105 Di2—it works flawlessly as expected (Japanese quality!). The bike came with a Shimano Ultegra bottom bracket installed, which is a great addition.

The wheels also seem to be of very high quality, with no visible damage and running smoothly. However, the rear wheel is slightly unbalanced. That said, this is a common issue even with high-end bikes, as seen in many YouTube reviews. You can hear it slightly from the freehub's oscillating sound, but it's not a major concern.

I'd like to note that all of this is just an initial quality impression. This is not a long-term test, nor has a test ride been done yet, as it's currently snowing here in Germany—January is the coldest month of the year.

The handlebar does have a slight flex when applying force to both ends. However, I can't properly judge this since I've never had a "true" high-end main-brand carbon cockpit before. It's worth mentioning that this kind of force generates a very high leverage effect, so the flex might be normal.

The paintwork looks phenomenal, but here too, I can't comment on its durability yet.

U Also get no Torque Charts.. I asked tantan via whatsapp and they replied immediatly

[Cnasta]

!!MY!! First initial quality impression

Bike Delivery Update

Hi everyone,
The bike arrived on Tuesday and was very well packaged. A lot was already prebuilt, and the handlebar tape is wrapped like a god—truly excellent craftsmanship!

The fork's bearing cups were not greased but weren't completely dry either; they were still somewhat lubricated. I decided to apply bearing grease myself. The bearing cups for the fork, both top and bottom, fit perfectly with no play at all.

The seatpost itself is perfect—the scale markings are precise, clear, and easy to read. The two saddles I ordered additionally also seem to be of very high quality. As for the bike assembly, it was very straightforward and easy to complete.

Regarding the drivetrain, well, it's Shimano 105 Di2—it works flawlessly as expected (Japanese quality!). The bike came with a Shimano Ultegra bottom bracket installed, which is a great addition.

The wheels also seem to be of very high quality, with no visible damage and running smoothly. However, the rear wheel is slightly unbalanced. That said, this is a common issue even with high-end bikes, as seen in many YouTube reviews. You can hear it slightly from the freehub's oscillating sound, but it's not a major concern.

I'd like to note that all of this is just an initial quality impression. This is not a long-term test, nor has a test ride been done yet, as it's currently snowing here in Germany—January is the coldest month of the year.

The handlebar does have a slight flex when applying force to both ends. However, I can't properly judge this since I've never had a "true" high-end main-brand carbon cockpit before. It's worth mentioning that this kind of force generates a very high leverage effect, so the flex might be normal.

The paintwork looks phenomenal, but here too, I can't comment on its durability yet.

U Also get no Torque Charts.. I asked tantan via whatsapp and they replied immediatly

Looks nice! Could you tell the weight of your build (with and whitout wheels)? I'd like to know if I can make it 6,99 kilo with 11sp ultegra Di2 and 1230gr wheels

Also, what saddles are that? Do you know the weight of those? They look nice!

And last question: Is that color chameleon white, or pearl white?

[Ludo]

Seraph offers gravel bikes prebuilt with wheeltop from $900 on aliexpress, crazy!

[patliean1]

You bought from tantan/seraph a frame + bars + groupset that came pre-built in a box? And wheels in a different box?
Afaik, it's unheard of, please enlighten us. Shipping cost too, as air freight of these oversized boxes is charged linearly, so every kilo easily costs another 25 eur or so in extra shipping costs.
If carbon sellers can source groups at OEM prices, it could be very nice to receive pre-built bikes.

BRUH where have you been? We missed you.

[Ludo]

Under a rock it seems! Lol

[MTB-Addicted]

Hi
I got my fake SL8 from Taiwanese:
frame size 56 828gr (835gr with 5 bottles bolts and front derailleur hanger) - naked carbon finish, no logo
Fork 321gr - - naked carbon finish
Seatpost  (long version) 173gr
Handlebar 347gr

It will take me some weeks to recollect the pieces and test it.
The only thing I do not like at this stage is the space btw fork and head tube and btw headtube and headset coverage (I will add some photos).

I will keep you posted.

[TidyDinosaur]

The only thing I do not like at this stage is the space btw fork and head tube and btw headtube and headset coverage (I will add some photos).

Have you installed the front end before you came to this verdict? You have to first install everything and torque everything and all will compress and the spaces will get narrower.

[Sander2177]

Hi
I got my fake SL8 from Taiwanese:
frame size 56 828gr (835gr with 5 bottles bolts and front derailleur hanger) - naked carbon finish, no logo
Fork 321gr - - naked carbon finish
Seatpost  (long version) 173gr
Handlebar 347gr

It will take me some weeks to recollect the pieces and test it.
The only thing I do not like at this stage is the space btw fork and head tube and btw headtube and headset coverage (I will add some photos).

I will keep you posted.

This issue of gaps in this area are well document over on Weighweenies for the actual SL8
Sone thought the gaps were excessive mainly where the transition spaces under the stem met the head tube. Good thing they transferring the same niggles onto the copies lol

[ancientone]

Seraph offers gravel bikes prebuilt with wheeltop from $900 on aliexpress, crazy!

Priced went up, and the shipping is alot more...

[Ludo]

$220 tu Texas, not too bad I think. that's get the bike delivered during sales for a cool $1000, hard to beat. it wasnt thta frame though

[MTB-Addicted]

Here are the gaps, on the top and below of the headtube.
Any suggestion to close a bit these spaces ?

[Ludo]

Can't you file down the top side of the C ring to get it to where you want? I had to do that on my gravel bike, takes an hour work over a couple of nights for a perfect fit

[jcr]

Here are the gaps, on the top and below of the headtube.
Any suggestion to close a bit these spaces ?

You got this from Taiwan, so not the same frameset from TanTan? so different hardware kit?

[patliean1]

Here's the gap on my SL8 for reference.

[LowPaceKingdom]

You bought from tantan/seraph a frame + bars + groupset that came pre-built in a box? And wheels in a different box?
Afaik, it's unheard of, please enlighten us. Shipping cost too, as air freight of these oversized boxes is charged linearly, so every kilo easily costs another 25 eur or so in extra shipping costs.
If carbon sellers can source groups at OEM prices, it could be very nice to receive pre-built bikes.

Yes!. Two Boxes, Well packaged and thick cardboard

Wheelset Box ~~4,5kg :     Tires ; Innertube alrdy mounted ; discs brakes; cassette alrdy installed : it was just flat , i just had to pump it up !
Frame Box     ~~ 7.5kg:     Brake calipers ; inner cables (brakes and electronics) ; Bottom Bracked ; crankset ;Chain; Both derailleur ;  Handebar tape; brakes Bleeded; Shifters , Saddle connected with seatpost , derailleur and crankset bolts are greased  : ALL  alrdy installed and really good craftmanship . shifting works (indexed),
I used tarmac sl8 manual pdf and  added as it recommed by specialized                Carbon paste:   Seatpost and handlebar area for friction
                                                                                                                       Grease:  bearings fork top and bot ; seatpost Bolt

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