Chinertown
Chinese Carbon Road Bikes => Road Bike Frames, Wheels & Components => Topic started by: inv on May 13, 2026, 08:41:02 AM
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Hello,
At some point, I found that I was pretty tired of digging into the forum with trying to figure out which frame uses which technology. Official websites don't help with this either.
So, I would like to create a list of frames with confirmation (or a link to other publications) to see if the frame uses EPS/one-mold. I can update/fix the list if you add more:
- Tantan X68 - I did not find EPS
- Tantan X67 - no EPS
- Spcycle R088 - EPS was mentioned, nothing on the official website, but probably EPS via visual check
- Spcycle R066 (Tantan R065) - no EPS
- Tantan X71 - EPS is listed on the official website, but it is difficult to verify
- Yohobike CRF04 (Ostro vam replica) - EPS is specified, there is no other confirmation
- Light Carbon LCR018-D - EPS is not specified.
- Light Carbon LCR017-D - EPS is mentioned in several places
- Permeants ST-09 (?LTK266D-SL?, ?Tideace FM-CR266?) - EPS
- Carbonda CFR-1136 - EPS
- Carbonda CFR-1056 - EPS
- Carbonda CFR-VT02 - EPS
- Mondince FM126 (Long Teng) - EPS
- Hygge Model S 2024 - EPS
- Speeder Cycling SC-R55D - seller claims it is EPS, but early "latex and bladder moulds" was mentioned which is not EPS
It would also be interesting to find a one-mold, but there doesn't seem to be anything like that in the cheap price segment.
PS:
I hope this post will save some time for other "researchers" of the forum.
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LTK266D-SL is EPS one-piece molded and was $610/unit last I checked, though shipping and fees push the price up.
Thread is here: https://chinertown.com/index.php?topic=6158.0
The LTK website is pretty bad, but Permeants, a more consumer-facing brand that sells the frame from the factory has a nice site: https://www.permeantsbikes.com/products/permeants-st-09-680g-super-lightweight-one-piece-road-disc-frame
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LTK266D-SL
Probably it is also the first one-mold frame in the list
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Carbonda 1136 and 1056 are according to the homepage EPS and one mold…
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R088 I can assure you that it is EPS molded, internally it is impeccable symptom of EPS https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005008125947180.html (https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4LUS4iL)
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updated
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Even Velobuild have been using EPS for years, i think unless you buy utter garbage today / very old stock of something, everything will be EPS moulded. When you discuss with a seller, you can ask them to confirm, should be an easy one.
The one piece monocoque is much less common, and whether that's really useful is debatable. Afaik, most high end western frames are not one piece.
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LongTeng RD301D is using EPS, per AI overview:
AI Overview Yes, the Longteng RD301-D carbon road frame uses EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) moulding technology.EPS Construction: The frame utilizes this technique to ensure smooth internal surfaces, minimizing wrinkles and excess resin to create a lighter and stiffer structure.
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lol Even fakes are EPS molded
TT-X68 is using this technology
https://youtu.be/YfcfIe2gm-0?is=m-trCmgGr8zUiVkZ (https://youtu.be/YfcfIe2gm-0?is=m-trCmgGr8zUiVkZ)
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lol Even fakes are EPS molded
TT-X68 is using this technology
https://youtu.be/YfcfIe2gm-0?is=m-trCmgGr8zUiVkZ (https://youtu.be/YfcfIe2gm-0?is=m-trCmgGr8zUiVkZ)
Are tantan and yokobike the same company?
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Even Velobuild have been using EPS for years, i think unless you buy utter garbage today / very old stock of something, everything will be EPS moulded
It is hard to say. Let me give you an example: spcycle has something like a "new 2026 R066" frame called tantan R65, but it doesn't seem to have EPS. It's the same with many ali frameworks: EPS is mentioned, but it's hard to believe, but it's a pretty fresh framework.
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It is hard to say. Let me give you an example: spcycle has something like a "new 2026 R066" frame called tantan R65, but it doesn't seem to have EPS. It's the same with many ali frameworks: EPS is mentioned, but it's hard to believe, but it's a pretty fresh framework.
My apologies, yes. I wouldn't buy a frame from Aliexpress, my earlier comment applies to dealing away from Ali. Ali suffers from egregious quality fade. You can buy from the same listing twice and receive 2 different things entirely. It's also a great way to move bad inventory for a seller, especially as shipping costs are subsidized. Lots of people who buy stuff from Ali have zero clue what they're buying, and so, could be great, could be not so great.
Does Airwolf use EPS, for example? Idk, but i do know not to buy Airwolf frames to begin with...
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I would say that 50% of the frames are also possible to buy on ali. Spcycle, tantan, and many other
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I would say that 50% of the frames are also possible to buy on ali. Spcycle, tantan, and many other
Canning isn't shoulding.
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Hygge Model S 2024 is a fairly popular and proven EPS frame
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Canning isn't shoulding.
Do you mean that the same frame from ali and not ali is not the same?
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Do you mean that the same frame from ali and not ali is not the same?
It may be, it may not be. Aliexpress is notoriously shady. You can buy counterfeits of everything on there. You have sellers popping up and disappearing constantly. You have brands like ltwoo specifically saying that "ltwoo official" on aliexpress has NOTHING to do with them.
Inversely, when you deal by email with a salesrep from a on OEM, and/or via whatsapp, you are most likely talking to an actual human (in the case of farsports, for example, they have several sales rep, they re different real humans). Ditto if you use their website, you're much more likely to interact with someone who actually works at the factory, who actually cares (or is paid to care).
Aliexpress, on the other hand, could be great, or could be bad. It's almost impossible to have a useful conversation using the aliexpress message system, too, and you can never know whether you're talking to one person, or 10.
Essentially, Aliexpress is a minefield, so if you can avoid it, it's for the best. Also, if you buy a frame by email, you bought an OEM frame. If you buy on aliexpress, you bought a frame on aliexpress. They might technically be the same frame, but i trust the email method more.
Spcycle sell open moulds, i'm not sure who makes them: hard to know what you're buying, from whom, from when. can you get a frame that was made 3 years ago that was forgotten in a corner somewhere, while the guy before you got the same frame, but made the day before? 100%.
Tantan is a clone peddler and has a very checkered reputation.
Airwolf is a basket case.
Then you have all the fakes.
That's probably 60+% of what you'll find on aliexpress.
You will find people saying that aliexpress helped them when they bought a faulty counterfeit, when the seller wouldnt, to which i say: 1. why would you trust a crook and 2. dont buy fakes.
A lot boils down to human psychology. The more faceless / friction-less you are to the seller, the more likely you are to get bottom of the barrel stuff.
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I think the same is applicable to non-fake frames: If seller (any cheap seller) would like to ignore your problem - they can easily ignore you by email. But then cannot ignore you _totally_ on ali official store