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Re: Seraph Bikes Superlight 836g X68 - Alternative to SL8 Fakes?
Hello Guys, Here a picture of the 2 bikes I built for my wife and I. Fork was the heavy one. For her: - size 49 + 90x380mm - color YS3481 - blue - ZTTO BSA Dub bottom bracket - shimano 105 di2 12s - cassette Dura ace 12s (got it from a friend) - 11-34 - chain Dura ace - Riro carbon crankset - 165mm - 50-34T - Tagoola wave 2 wheels + 32c GP5000 s tr + orange seal - III3 pro disc rotor 160mm front - 140mm rear - Ryet 3d saddle - IGPsport BSC200s gps For me: - size 58 + 100x400mm - colo YS2086-1 - green - ZTTO BSA Dub bottom bracket - shimano 105 di2 12s - cassette dura ace 12s (got it from a friend) - 11-34 - chain Dura ace - Riro carbon crankset - 172,5mm - 50-34T - Tagoola wheels 40mm + 32c GP5000 s tr + orange seal - III3 pro disc rotor 160mm front - 140mm rear - LFZ pedals - Ryet 3d saddle - Garmin 1040 it was fairly straight forward to build as it is my first build I had to discover how to use the different tools but overall pretty easy to do. I used the SL8 user manuel to install everything. Only down part tantan forgot to send the Seatpost wedge cover for both bike, so I need to check with them to send them. last point I need to put carbon paste on the seatpost has it is slidding down a little even at 6,2Nm. I did 70km with the bike and I am very impressed, coming from an aluminum decathlon triban 3 from 2013, it is a completely new feeling and sensation. September 01, 2025, 08:41:19 AM |
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Re: Seraph Bikes Superlight 836g X68 - Alternative to SL8 Fakes?
I just had my first little 44k testride on my build. I ordered it on 23rd of April and I received it ... not exactly sure anymore ... end of May, so slightly over a month. Its black matte, so basically no extra paintwork. I payed 710,80 € including shipping to Germany (779 USD). Size 58 Frame: 835g Fork (uncut): 389g (I think I took about 10g off when I cut it) Handlebar (120x400mm): 357g Seatpost (380mm): 193g Overall the packaging and the parts looked good when they arrived. The brakemounts werent really well faced. I used a file to file it roughly flat. Worked well enough I think. I have the same "problem" I have seen in this thread before that the little copper-colored insert for the through axle was stuck to the frame in the rear, while for the fork it can be easily removed. I took my sweet time with the build. Part of it was that I wasnt sure what other parts I wanted. I finally ordered the Elite Wheels Drive II on June 11th and they took their sweet time to arrive (middle of August I think). Even then I was partly lazy and partly hesitant. As I said it was my first build and especially cutting the fork and the brake lines were a bit scary to me. In the end I learned a lot and it wasnt really as bad as I thought it would be. I usually service my old bike myself, so I am somewhat confident in my abilities and my ability to learn. So then to the testride. It was mostly about gaining confidence in the bike and in my work I guess  Up until know I have been riding a 2012 Rose Xeon RS. Aluminium, Rim Brakes, Mechanical Ultegra Groupset. Nothing fancy, but enough to ride 40 km/h average in relatively flat sportives. The new bike feels nice, responsive, fast ... though I have to say I expected .... more? in comparison to my Alu-Bike. Dunno how to say it, to be honest. It does feel faster though. That being said .. who knows what makes it faster ... is it the frame, is it the wheels .. or is is the more aggressive position I have to ride with this bike... I am 194cm tall ... the 58 frame is .. probably just about okay. The saddle height is roughly the same. I have the seatpost as far out as the indicator allows. I am tempted to pull it out just a little bit more. The handlebar is quite a bit lower than on my old bike, though. Two seemingly more common problems in this thread were a slipping seatpost and rubbing spacers. I installed the seatpost with some carbon paste and torqued it to 6nm. So far it didnt slip even a bit. I also have no problems with the spacers, they have enough room to move without rubbing on the frame. So overall I am quite satisfied with the build. MY position on the bike is on the extrem end for me. For tomorrow I have a 100k ride planned. If I am satisfied with that ride I will use the bike for the "Münsterland Giro" on October 3rd. After all that I will have to decide wether I want to keep the frame or get something with a more relaxed geomety for me ... maybe the LCR018-D. Edit:// Obviously I still have to add the handlebar tape. Wanted to make sure I'm satisfied with the position of the shifters. They are relatively, traditionally "straight". I tried to have them angled inwards at first. Many say thats more comfortable. Maybe I didnt try it long enough to get used to it, but I didnt really like it, so I put them on straight. Edit_2:// As seen on the picture - but without the saddlebag, the bottle and the Garmin - it weighs 7.5 kg. September 27, 2025, 08:11:08 AM |
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Re: Seraph Bikes Superlight 836g X68 - Alternative to SL8 Fakes?
Sooo. I did a 100 km ride today (solo as usual) and I have gathered some more experience, thoughts and impressions. Keep in mind that I will be comparing it to the bike I rode until recently. Obviously there will be many factors ... frame, wheels, more aggressive positon etc... Dont know if anyone is even interested, but it helps me to put it into writing and maybe it'll help someone here... Old: 2012 Rose Xeon RS - Aluminium - Rim Brakes - Mechanical Ultegra 10 speed with 50-34t and Vision Team 35 wheels ~8.5kg New: X 68 - Carbon - Disc Brakes - 105 di2 12 speed with 52-36t and Elite Wheels Drive II ~7.5kg So first things first. It was the fastest solo 100 km ride I did this year. 31 km/h average with 410 meters elevation. Slightly less windy that usually here, but from a constant direction. Got several PRs without even really trying, not by much though. So, is it faster? In general I would say so, yes. It accelerates better. Its easier to get to a slightly higher speed. It holds the speed easier. Though I do find it hard to just attribute it to "its just faster". I dont have a powermeter on this or my old bike, so I dont have any hard numbers, but I did notice a slighty elevated heartrate compared to my usual rides. Obviously there can be many reasons for that. That might be in part to my body adapting to a new position, but to me it also felt like ... the bike just wants to go faster and makes it easier for me to put more power down to do just that. Fit As I already said its just about workable for my height I think. The saddleheight is just about the same, the drop is quite a bit bigger, though. That’s for sure is a big drop to the handle bars! I was worried about that, but its honestly not even that bad. Dont get me wrong ... my lower back is certainly noticing it for now, but I think its something I can adapt to. Then again ... Im 35 now .. not getting any younger  Ride Comfort Thats one of the bigger things I noticed. Again, this is probably because of serveral factors. Additionally to frame and wheels, which could be a factor, I now have 28c tires, my old bike has 25c. The increase in ride comfort is really noticable. It takes bumps and rougher surfaces really well. mechanical vs electronic groupset Also impressive .. I mean a well tuned mechanical groupset, which mine is ... is already reeaally nice. But the electionic shifting ... even faster, even smoother ... impressive. rim-brakes vs disc-brakes This I am more undecided about ... I quite like my rim-brakes and even in wet conditions I never had any problems with them. The disc brakes ... yeah, they brake ... dunno ... I dont think I would need them, but now I have them I guess. Yeah, thats about it... I had fun with the new bike. Its a really nice ride. At the end both my hands where going numb though .. Usually I only have that with my left hand. My conclusion is that the bike, especially compared to an older bike, does make a difference. But it also isn't a magic bullet. Addendum I have these bottle cages on the bike. https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005007958377200.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.37.67dd5c5fiqHOfU&gatewayAdapt=glo2deu On the down tube those are okay, but on the seat tube it requires a really weird angle to get the bottle back in there ... I think I will just buy the carbon bottle cages from Elite... Edit:// Another thing I noticed ... maybe its just because of the gearing ... I had a higher rpm than usual. Yesterday 77 and today 79. Usually I would range from 73 to at most 77 ... average 74 to 75 I guess September 28, 2025, 08:40:42 AM |
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Re: Seraph Bikes Superlight 836g X68 - Alternative to SL8 Fakes?
Size 56. Color is Ys3481 Shipping took about 4 weeks. EDIT: I forgot to remove both thru-axles when I initially weighed the frame and fork Frame: 895g Fork: 399g Seatpost: 187 October 03, 2025, 05:47:36 PM |
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Re: Seraph Bikes Superlight 836g X68 - Alternative to SL8 Fakes?
Glad to see they didn't give you special treatment, like prepping the brake mounts etc.  Looking forward to your build and ride impressions. October 04, 2025, 07:49:32 AM |
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Re: Seraph Bikes Superlight 836g X68 - Alternative to SL8 Fakes?
Assembly completed and first 30km ride. Size 52 Ultegra di2 RD Hanger + Upgraded bolts from tiparts 2 sets of wheels: Serenade wheels 55 wave and Alpha wheels tubular with tune hub (on the picture) BB ceramic from nova ride Crankset and chainring 52-36, 165mm with power meter from magene. Old saddle and bottle cages. Next upgrades: Lighter saddle and bottle cages. Change the garmin support which feels really cheap. Around 3200euros for the complete build. I include the cost of the tools for disc brakes. November 08, 2025, 10:06:31 AM |
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