Chinertown
Chinese Carbon Road Bikes => Road Bike Frames, Wheels & Components => Topic started by: sh on September 20, 2025, 09:26:59 PM
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Recently received a frame from long teng.
So far the build has been uneventful, except a di2 cable guide piece that had to be drilled out.
However I notice that when I tried to install the headset, the cap would just compress against the frame instead of pressing down the compression ring. This issue went away when I used the included extra crown race as a spacer. I just cut about 1.8mm of plastic to fit on top of the compression ring, which has fixed it for now. So I’m 90% sure this is caused by either the compression ring being too short or the bearing race being cut in too deep. I’m just a little worried about plastic creep over time.
I’ve emailed Alisa but no response since that was a few hours ago. Has anyone else had this issue?
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This really doesnt look right. The right spacer should not have any overhang.
My 266 D SL frame was right on spec. I assume this is the same frame? Or is it the older 266?
What bar are you using and where did the compression ring come from?
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Yeah you should not have a gap like that. Is the headset from Longteng? My "headset" included with the LTK-266-SL came with crappy bearings, a useless crown race, a good compression plug, and no c-ring. i ended up ditching all of it for proper FSA ACR headset. Honestly I advise doing the same - not necessarily FSA, but whatever works with your desired cockpit (Deda, Cane Creek, etc)
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This really doesnt look right. The right spacer should not have any overhang.
My 266 D SL frame was right on spec. I assume this is the same frame? Or is it the older 266?
What bar are you using and where did the compression ring come from?
Sorry the gap was with my crown race spacer bodge. With the headset properly assembled here is no gap and the fork is loose
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Still not understanding what you did. The LTK-266-SL (if thats what you have, not the old model) doesnt make any use of a crown race. My frame was perfectly to spec in all headtube measurements, as reflected on this FSA ACR no55 spec sheet. It interacted perfectly with 51.8x40x8 36/45 bearings, -- above the cup measured exactly 8.7mm, and so on.
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Still not understanding what you did. The LTK-266-SL (if thats what you have, not the old model) doesnt make any use of a crown race. My frame was perfectly to spec in all headtube measurements, as reflected on this FSA ACR no55 spec sheet. It interacted perfectly with 51.8x40x8 36/45 bearings, -- above the cup measured exactly 8.7mm, and so on.
The headset came with a crown race I didn’t need. I put that under the compression ring to give it a bit more height. Since this resolved the play issue, I cut a plastic spacer to fit over the compression ring.
Sorry if the image was a bit confusing
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I am still unclear about which headset cover and compression ring are being used. It is essential to make sure these are compatible. The 266d SL supports a lot of different bars and stems as a result of its specs, but you still need to check and make sure it all fits together right. I would not just hack one together unless you really know what you are doing.
I do think the advice @klrdd gave regarding the headset parts, both here and in the larger 266d SL thread, seems like a pretty essential piece of advice for folks buying this frame. Buy the right, high-quality headset for your setup. For most bars, you should be able to get an adapter for either Deda or FSA headsets.
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Got it. The way most of these systems work is just from the bottom up. (1) Bearing + (2) compression ring + (3) headset cover. Some of these systems also allow for the use of a small number of shims between parts 2 and 3, but even this is rare.
I suspect LTK made a mistake in what they sent you if it doesn't fit together right. I didn't order bearings or a headset with my frame since I had what I wanted to try out on hand. However, @klrdd noted he received the wrong bearings. They were 7mm thick instead of 8mm thick. 8mm is the right spec for the MR127 bearing used in the No. 55 headset that this frame is designed around.
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I'm using the long teng HB09 bars and the headset provided by long teng. I'll check about getting a replacement, but I'm not entirely sure about the headset standard of the bars. They're keyed like an ACR headset but I don't know if the keying is different
Can you please show a few better pictures of the handlebar! What is your first impression?
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I'm using the long teng HB09 bars and the headset provided by long teng
It would help if you could attach a photo of all the headset parts supplied by longteng. I could see how they compared to what they sent me (I did not order the bars). I did try to make the lt-supplied bearings work with a few other c-rings and dust caps friends had lying around - but they didnt interact right with the proprietary spacers i needed for my bars. And as I mentioned in the main thread the Lt-supplied bearings were not only 7mm, but also very slightly wider in outer diameter (52 vs 51.8mm) with a different chamfer than the MR127 mentioned by @Sakixashi. Given that the frame itself perfectly matches the FSA spec (52mm+0-0.1mm internal headtube diameter before the cup), this made for a bad fit and a bad time. Even with liberal grease application both the bottom and top bearings became wedged in the headtube -- no such issue with the MR127. I am loathe to say this, but you may want to get digital calipers or at least find some other, Labelled bearings to compare....
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It would help if you could attach a photo of all the headset parts supplied by longteng. I could see how they compared to what they sent me (I did not order the bars). I did try to make the lt-supplied bearings work with a few other c-rings and dust caps friends had lying around - but they didnt interact right with the proprietary spacers i needed for my bars. And as I mentioned in the main thread the Lt-supplied bearings were not only 7mm, but also very slightly wider in outer diameter (52 vs 51.8mm) with a different chamfer than the MR127 mentioned by @Sakixashi. Given that the frame itself perfectly matches the FSA spec (52mm+0-0.1mm internal headtube diameter before the cup), this made for a bad fit and a bad time. Even with liberal grease application both the bottom and top bearings became wedged in the headtube -- no such issue with the MR127. I am loathe to say this, but you may want to get digital calipers or at least find some other, Labelled bearings to compare....
Bearings measure 52x40x8.08mm, both are identical.
See pictures for parts, the compression plug is still in my fork.
The second image is one of the spacers I cut.
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so if you use just the bearing, single c-ring, dust cap, and spacers -- it leaves no more than a 0.5mm gap, but it doesn't pull the fork up (i.e. compress)? So you took a second c-ring and made that into an extra spacer to get the compression, but then it makes for this big gap from your original post? Not trying to be pedantic but are you sure you didn't just not cut the steerer tube short enough? I'm struggling to figure this out, provided the c-rings and bearings and dust cap are interacting well absent your extra spacer jerry-rig.
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Just looked through the photos, and this looks like the 266, not the 266D-SL, so maybe the specs are slightly different? I don't see No. 55 listed as the headset for the older 266, as it instead just generically lists bearing sizes. Although I had asked earlier if this was the SL, I apologize since there is a chance I added to the confusion rather than helped.
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Hi
I have a similar gap problem with my LTk-268.
The gap is less but still 1mm between the head tube and the integrated handlebar cap or cover.
I think that maybe supplied bearing height is too high, they supplied 50*42*8 mm.....so 8 mm height and maybe will be better to install 7mm or 6,5mm height bearings to remove the gap.
I would appreciate other suggestions.
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Hi
I have a similar gap problem with my LTk-268.
The gap is less but still 1mm between the head tube and the integrated handlebar cap or cover.
I think that maybe supplied bearing height is too high, they supplied 50*42*8 mm.....so 8 mm height and maybe will be better to install 7mm or 6,5mm height bearings to remove the gap.
I would appreciate other suggestions.
could be the bearings, could be the compression ring. compression ring stack height can vary pretty dramatically. for c-rings with high stack height like the deda one, the dust cap covers around it. for fsa, the c-ring is very low stack and the dust cap sits on top, leaving just a 0.5mm gap. I'm not sure what the situation is with the LT supplied stuff.
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could be the bearings, could be the compression ring. compression ring stack height can vary pretty dramatically. for c-rings with high stack height like the deda one, the dust cap covers around it. for fsa, the c-ring is very low stack and the dust cap sits on top, leaving just a 0.5mm gap. I'm not sure what the situation is with the LT supplied stuff.
That’s interesting info. I’m considering the LTK268-D as a potential next build. Is it necessary to swap out the supplied headset bearings and headset components for something from an "established brand" such as FSA, in order to secure better integration and improved alignment? Not sure what to look out for
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Alisa said she'd send a new upper headset. Confusingly the picture she sent of the new headset cap is different than the one I have.
I think I might end up just machining a metal shim.
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Alisa said she'd send a new upper headset. Confusingly the picture she sent of the new headset cap is different than the one I have.
I think I might end up just machining a metal shim.
Huh. That one looks a bit like a deda dcr headset https://dedaelementi.com/headset-dcr which does, at times, make use of metal shims as microspacers (see the tech specs at the link)
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Alisa said she'd send a new upper headset. Confusingly the picture she sent of the new headset cap is different than the one I have.
I think I might end up just machining a metal shim.
I received the same headset with an SL yesterday... doesn't fit either.
https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,6158.msg92563.html#msg92563 (https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,6158.msg92563.html#msg92563)
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The more I hear the more I think my recommendation for all LTK-266-D-SL buyers is to not get a headset from LT and just bite the bullet and buy the FSA ACR no55 headset. Now whether the dust cap from FSA will work perfectly with their bars or whether the DEDA equivalent is better suited, we don't have a way of knowing yet. Nor do I have enough experience to make a good claim on that. But the picture of the new dustcap from Alisa suggests the bars should work. If not, there are so many FSA compatible chinese barstems, both premium and affordable. The $85 one from LT is a good deal, sure, but also it has such limited stem lengths and bar widths...