New TAN TAN Frame X68 Replacement

[Pistonbroke]

Sounds like mine has been to the paint shop 
Gotta be called the SL Nein right 
I'm trademarking that!

[bahnhofer]

I just had a crash with the old X68 and the top tube was damaged.
So I'm looking for the new X68.
TT approved the seat post will stay the same.

What I'm wondering is the weight increase of the frame.
My old one in 54 was about 770g.
I found pictures on the TT side of 837g and 984g on the Seraph side (all without paintwork).

Makes me a bit nervous.
Does someone received his frame and can state the real weight?

Thank you

[Pistonbroke]

I'll weigh and measure when it pitches up, but it'll be a 56.
I will be absolutely made up and pmsl if it fits my 35mm gp5k

[Kar25]

I just had a crash with the old X68 and the top tube was damaged.
So I'm looking for the new X68.
TT approved the seat post will stay the same.

What I'm wondering is the weight increase of the frame.
My old one in 54 was about 770g.
I found pictures on the TT side of 837g and 984g on the Seraph side (all without paintwork).

Makes me a bit nervous.
Does someone received his frame and can state the real weight?

Thank you

The new X68 has gained quite a bit of weight 🐷 .
From what I've dug up, for a size 56, it has gained approximately:
frame: ~100g
fork: ~40g+
seatpost: ~40g... so that's not insignificant (at least in my book 🤷‍♂️).
Size 56 (frame, fork, seatpost, handlebar) with a glossy UD finish ends up weighing around 2000g 🤯 ...they definitely shouldn't be calling it "lightweight" anymore.

It was at the top of my list for a new bike, but unfortunately, it's dropping lower in the rankings by the day.

[bahnhofer]

What is your current favourite?

[Serge_K]

anyone asked the sellers why the weight increased? Is it because they're cheaping out on fibers, and cheaper fibers weigh more, or is it them adding carbon because frames were breaking? The exploding fork(s) is something that had not been seen in years in Chinese carbon stuff. The risk of "will my frame disintegrate from under me" was no longer a fear, and then that brought it back.

[Pistonbroke]

I've asked Rose, will let you know 

And my frame is on the way


You can also have what Gemini surmised about the weight gain...





The updated X68 revision incorporates design cues reflecting the Tarmac SL9 frame styling. Visually, this means broader aero profiles around the head tube junction, deeper fork legs, and slightly filled-in fairings around the seat tube/bottom bracket area to improve wind-tunnel efficiency.


1. Fork & Front-End Structural Reinforcement
On early iterations of the SL8-style X68, users and testers noted that the forks were pushed to dangerous sub-340g limits with very thin carbon layups. Following safety feedback, manufacturers increased the wall thickness of the steerer tube and fork blades—bumping uncut fork weights from ~340g to ~415g+ alone. Added carbon around the deeper head tube junction contributes a significant chunk of that extra weight.

2. UDH Dropouts & Metal Hardware Inserts
Transitioning the rear triangle to accommodate a true SRAM UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) spec requires a much beefier, denser carbon structure around the drive-side dropout, along with heavier aluminum insert hardware to support high-torque derailleur mounting.

3. Increased Surface Area (Deeper Aero Profiles)
To mimic the SL9's refined aerodynamics, tube profiles around the top of the down tube, bottom bracket junction, and seat post collar were widened. More surface area naturally requires more carbon cloth and resin to wrap the mold.

4. Manufacturing Safety Margins (Wall Thickness)
Mass-producing ultra-light ~800g frames with cheaper T700/T800 carbon grades leaves zero room for error. Open-mold factories frequently add extra resin and structural layers after initial production runs to lower warranty claim rates, prevent frame cracking around the bottom bracket, and ensure pass marks on ISO impact tests.

[Kar25]

I've asked Rose, will let you know 

And my frame is on the way


You can also have what Gemini surmised about the weight gain...





The updated X68 revision incorporates design cues reflecting the Tarmac SL9 frame styling. Visually, this means broader aero profiles around the head tube junction, deeper fork legs, and slightly filled-in fairings around the seat tube/bottom bracket area to improve wind-tunnel efficiency.


1. Fork & Front-End Structural Reinforcement
On early iterations of the SL8-style X68, users and testers noted that the forks were pushed to dangerous sub-340g limits with very thin carbon layups. Following safety feedback, manufacturers increased the wall thickness of the steerer tube and fork blades—bumping uncut fork weights from ~340g to ~415g+ alone. Added carbon around the deeper head tube junction contributes a significant chunk of that extra weight.

2. UDH Dropouts & Metal Hardware Inserts
Transitioning the rear triangle to accommodate a true SRAM UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) spec requires a much beefier, denser carbon structure around the drive-side dropout, along with heavier aluminum insert hardware to support high-torque derailleur mounting.

3. Increased Surface Area (Deeper Aero Profiles)
To mimic the SL9's refined aerodynamics, tube profiles around the top of the down tube, bottom bracket junction, and seat post collar were widened. More surface area naturally requires more carbon cloth and resin to wrap the mold.

4. Manufacturing Safety Margins (Wall Thickness)
Mass-producing ultra-light ~800g frames with cheaper T700/T800 carbon grades leaves zero room for error. Open-mold factories frequently add extra resin and structural layers after initial production runs to lower warranty claim rates, prevent frame cracking around the bottom bracket, and ensure pass marks on ISO impact tests.

The specs say it uses full T1000 carbon 🤣 but yeah... If that were really the case, the bike wouldn't weigh as much as an elephant.

[FlorianS]

The specs say it uses full T1000 carbon 🤣 but yeah... If that were really the case, the bike wouldn't weigh as much as an elephant.

Wasn't there some Chinese brand basically saying that they're all "using T1000" but actually nobody is really using that? Most frames are layed up with T700/T800 regardless of what the spec sheet says.

Edit: Just adding to that: The manufacturer of the frames (Long Teng) states that the frames are all T800 Carbon, while Mondince claim it's T1000. TanTan at least on the GR201 claims T800 + T1000, maybe T1000 for the handlebars, not sure.

[stretchko]

Is the headset compatible with FSA ACR? I'm considering mounting an HBR 017 on it.

[Dan S.]

Wasn't there some Chinese brand basically saying that they're all "using T1000" but actually nobody is really using that? Most frames are layed up with T700/T800 regardless of what the spec sheet says.

Edit: Just adding to that: The manufacturer of the frames (Long Teng) states that the frames are all T800 Carbon, while Mondince claim it's T1000. TanTan at least on the GR201 claims T800 + T1000, maybe T1000 for the handlebars, not sure.

No frame is 100% T1000, someone in some thread around here pointed out the frame would be too brittle.

[Pistonbroke]

My frame is currently clearing customs, so barring any delivery catastrophes I should have it next week....
Scales and 35mm gp5k ready

[Serge_K]

Wasn't there some Chinese brand basically saying that they're all "using T1000" but actually nobody is really using that? Most frames are layed up with T700/T800 regardless of what the spec sheet says.

Edit: Just adding to that: The manufacturer of the frames (Long Teng) states that the frames are all T800 Carbon, while Mondince claim it's T1000. TanTan at least on the GR201 claims T800 + T1000, maybe T1000 for the handlebars, not sure.

Afaik, T700 is the backbone of almost all frames. I think you can replace that with some Mxx fiber because it sounds fancier. But T700 is the backbone. Then if you spend a bit more, you include a fair bit of T800. Then fancy more, you add super fancy fibers like T1000 / T1100, which are often called high modulus. T800 probably costs 40-100% more than T700, then T1000 is probably 100-150% more than T800, something like that. You probably get 10-20% of T1000 max in a frame, beyond that it's brittle AF. Sworks frames are known to crack when you put them in your trunk because they have a lot of such fibers, it's not really a blessing unless you weigh 60kg and are super strong.
Very few advertise the 700 aspect of things because it sounds ghetto and it's kind of implied. If you market 800, it means you use more than just 700. And so on. Kind of like a cocktail that you water down, you dont advertise the water, it's implied.
At least, that's my read of it.

For cockpits, idk. I suspect it's largely the same idea, because a full T1000 cockpit would probably be horrendous for several reasons. But maybe the core is 800, for eg, i just dont know.

[Pistonbroke]

Boom!

[stretchko]

Boom!

Please share some more pictures from the items inside!