Quote from: jamez on November 11, 2025, 03:44:31 AM
JH35 is not UDH also? 
I really don't want to buy anything with proprietary hanger anymore, so I find that is worth a lot for me...

Correct, the JH-35 does not have UDH

Quote from: Sakizashi on November 10, 2025, 06:20:26 PM
I do think that a 266DSL will end up being a more expensive build since I think you would buy the frame from LTK and then get a headset from FSA and then get a handlebar from XMCS Speeder, or some other source.

Yes, that's what I'm thinking about. The JH-35 handlebar weighs 320g (quite light, right?), no issues with the headset, no issues with the spacers, no issues with the seatpost clamp cover. It's not just about the price difference, but also, to be honest, this isn't the most interesting part of the build — searching for the better spacers and seatpost clamp covers bacause stock one is too bad. If these problems didn't exist, there would certainly be no doubt that the LTK266-D-SL looks like an excellent option then.

Quote from: oker_s on November 09, 2025, 06:12:01 AM
but if someone can help with other spacers i would give the handlebar a try! some quick pics:
Black part was promissed to be just ud raw with matt clear cote!

Besides these issues with the spacers, honestly, this also looks awful. Just why? I'm really sorry, but the more I look at it, the more I think I won't be able to sleep peacefully with something like this on my bike How could such an unsuitable, ugly part even come into existence? And it's not about the price at all, frames that are twice as cheap come with good-looking covers and spacers, and even under Permeants and Tideace brands, with a price $350 higher, a frame comes with the same unsuitable seat clamp cover.

Guys, what do you think about TFSA JH-35 versus LTK266-D-SL? Exactly the same geometry, price $1030 (turns out to be ~$100 more expensive?) with a good handlebar and the rest, free shipping (Ali), seems no problems with the headset. Now I'm stuck between these two.

Just wondering if anyone was able to buy anything from them?

It seems I've finally figured out why one UD matte isn't like another. They call both options UD matte, but in reality, the second option is "transparent Black matte". It seems to them that if you don't specifically ask for clear UD matte without any black paint, they might give you this transparent Black matte (2). Moreover, even on the unpainted version, they still touch up some seemingly especially messy (in their opinion) areas with paint, like the dropouts and the area to the right of the BB on image 2 (they look strange, as if they were blurry, retouched, and sloppily edited in photoshop BUT it's painted spot), and theoretically, you can ask them not to do this and leave all the beauty as is.

Quotehmm this looks different. Maybe some black toner was added to the second photo to make the color more solid more uniform? I would like to get the first option, the one above, where the carbon is visible, along with the imperfect surface (beauty! I like it!) and the material joints.

Alisa:

Quoteyes , they're different matte finsih , in the first picture , there's no any black paint except the joints , the UD weave can be seen very clearly . But in the second picture , there's black paint , we call in transparent Black matte finsih , the UD weave can be seen Vaguely , we can do the painting for you according to your demand .

Ok, the investigation is closed, I will stop bothering you with this topic here, seems like hardly anyone cares.

Quote from: hobbyst on November 02, 2025, 08:40:01 PM
First-time poster. This is my second bike from Long Teng, the first being the LTK 268 (Thank you @Serge_K for the recommendation). The LTK 266 handles noticeably differently from the 268. The bike went together fairly easily, I only had to drill the hole for the front derailleur cable, as it was too small.

Bike:
https://imgur.com/a/w9Ajdv1

Yeah! Congrats on the awesome build, man! Could you take a photo of the drive side, using your phone's 2x...5x lens, landscape orientation, from waist level not head height, just a basic bikeporn-photo-rules. It'll be great for the first post gallery if @Sakizashi doesn't mind adding!

———

I also found a few builds photos while researching the Chinese internet:

Quote from: Sakizashi on November 02, 2025, 11:24:18 AM
its subtle in photos but quite visible IRL. The clear might be tinted a little.

You can see it here in a prebuild photo which shows both the carbon and the matte.

Thanks! This is quite interesting! It's strange that in one case (on their website) the UD matte looks gray and the carbon surface and joints are clearly visible, while in another case (yours) the matte part is almost completely uniform and dark. Interesting. Alisa sent me another photo (attached) where, as she claims, one part is glossy and the other matte, just like yours. But it looks as if black paint/toner has been added there, and the carbon is no longer so clearly visible. Oook, I feel like I'm talking too much about this here haha, but I'm curious how I can get something that looks gray with the carbon clearly visible...

Same thing with SLC3, on a product image on their website I see carbon:
https://www.winspace.cc/cdn/shop/files/19_962838c9-4791-4cf2-8049-555a86975182.jpg?v=1735785439

But in the photos in the reviews, it's just matte black:
https://www.hambini.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/20250106-143931-scaled.jpg

Quote from: Sakizashi on November 01, 2025, 07:22:52 PM
Realized no one answered your question.

The finishes are mostly right except that choice C is what they call matte UD. It is a clearcoat and surprisingly robust. its on the lower section of my frame. Mine is part gloss and part matte. The way they did it was matte first and then gloss over the gloss portion. Unfortunately for me, that made it heavier, and with the way the frame actually looks in real life, I would have likely gone with either of those.

Hmm, in your photo, your frame looks completely solid black both at the bottom and top. Can you see the carbon there? Maybe it's the lighting, but it's very different from "UD matte" (c.) photo where the frame is more gray and you can cearly see the carbon patches (this is what I want to get, not just matte solid back).

I mean this photo of yours:

Quote from: Sakizashi on September 18, 2025, 09:21:08 PM

Guys, could you please explain a bit about the frame finish to me? I'm confused, and Alisa isn't exactly quick to respond, plus I don't want to bother her too much.


a. This is raw carbon, sanded and ready for painting, but NOT polished, right? (@contraptions)


b. This is what raw carbon looks like under a tinted green clear coat, right? (@klrdd)


c. This also looks like raw carbon but properly polished, right? (https://www.ltbikes.com/uploads/20250606/fbe7b3a519df6be74be67c58506e8833.jpg)


d. This frame is painted black, but the bottom bracket and rear triangle are without glossy varnish / with matte varnish, right? (@INSVNX)

Now please help me understand:
1. How to order the polished version? Like "raw carbon, without paint and varnish, perfectly polished, not just sanded"? I wouldn't want to get option (a.) like @contraptions, without polishing or paint/coating it looks "too raw"
2. Are there any downsides to leaving polished carbon without any coating? For example, it seems Winspace SLC3 is sold without coating.
3. Hey @contraptions, judging by your weighing photos, you received a completely UNPOLISHED frame and mentioned planning to apply Cerakote. If you don't mind, could you show how it turned out? Is it true that one layer of Cerakote only adds 10-15 grams, or did GPT deceive me again?

———

I asked Alisa about complex paint jobs like Cannondale X Rapha, and she confidently replied No, they definitely can't do anything complex even for extra money (btw LightCarbon replied to me that they can), and even when I asked if it was possible to do a gradient of 3-4 colors, she also refused:

Quote...for single set, the most colors we can do is 2 colors with gradient, and for the color, we only use the ones we have in stock, we don't order new paint oil, because it'll cost much, thanks for your understanding!

Quote from: klrdd on October 30, 2025, 07:47:44 AM
I'm going to
I'm going to make this a learning experience by asking you to read the thread  where we detail all of these questions. I even post pictures of my invoice. (Short answer is it was just under $1k USD shipped to the USA and you do so by emailing Alisa. But please read the thread. It doesn't take that long.)

Yes, my bad, I'm sorry, I found it myself right before your reply.

How do you feel about it now after some time? How would you choose in my place if I'm stuck between LTK266-D-SL and LCR017-D? I'm between 49-52 size so both frames fit me in size. Here's what I understood, correct me if I got something wrong or missed anything:

LTK266-D-SL — 100g lighter weight, geometry is more safe just like the SL8 and other popular frames, has 35c clearance instead of 32c like LCR017-D, slightly more expensive by say $100-200 (near $900-$1000), unclear situation with the headset. For some reason, there aren't many photos of cool builds yet, here, on fb ig reddit and even chinese rednote, probably because the frame is a whole year newer than LTK266-D-SL. It's just harder for me to fall in love with it when there are few examples of cool builds.

LCR017-D — looks a bit better to me, the geometry is aggressive, but it can be adjusted with spacers and a shorter stem, the frame is 100g heavier, can't really say it's "Super Light" not in one row with others ~700g, everything is good with the headset, choice of handlebars, lots of experience and others' builds, clearance is only 32c but it's not like I really need anything more than 30c, total price will be about $800-$900.

I live in the mountains and want to build a 6-7 kg bike with 50-65mm wheels (no point, I just like how it looks), give Magene QED a chance, and try lightweight Elilee cranks.

Also, in the case of LC, I want to do a complex crazy paint job in the spirit of Cannondale X Rapha, they said they can do all of this, but can LT do it?

What to do, what to do...

Quote from: patliean1 on October 29, 2025, 01:20:42 PM

Correct. It kind of rides like a Tarmac SL8 in terms of how it interacts with it's environment. Meaning crosswind stability and when at speed. It's literally the same shape and design. I said this in my video. Both frames are essentially identical in these specific regards.

That's pretty much where the similarities end for me personally now that I have several hundreds of miles in. It's nowhere as stiff and nimble as the real SL8. I've swapped in at least 3-4 different wheelsets, dialed in my bike fit, and put the bike through my usual daily workouts/efforts. I even swapped to a different cockpit. From the EXS Aerover (known not to be stiff) to Peter's XMCS's cockpit. How it interacts with the rider is a different experience than an SL8. So unfortunately that 20%-30% delta from a genuine Tarmac mostly all comes in its lack of comparable stiffness, nimbleness, and power transfer. It's more comfortable than an SL8 because it isn't as stiff. Nevermind about the fit and finish...

I've been purposely quiet in here about speaking on the X68. And TanTan as a whole. Trying not to be cryptic or passive aggressive. I'm not exactly happy with everything surrounding my dealings for the company. It's a story for another time. But I will at least say that the extreme variation in rider experience among several customers highlights that perhaps the build quality from TanTan on this particular frame offering is very inconsistent frame to frame.

It's rare that I feel worse about a frameset over time. The only frame I've felt this way about was, you guessed it, the TanTan X38 (Scott Foil clone). I cant figure out how TanTan can make such a BANGER for a GR201 gravel frame and be questionable at best in their road offerings.

Oh man. You should add this comment to your YouTube video. People watch it and think, wow, I'll buy an almost-tarmac for pennies! Personally, two people sent me this video. So, your opinion might push someone toward the disappointment you just described. Well, it's up to you of course, but what you wrote above is literally the opposite of what you talk about in the video, it's not "80% of SL8", but its "it looks like SL8 but nothing more". Peace.

Guys how exactly do you order the frame and how long does shipping take? If we're talking about the Permeants ST-09, it costs $1135 on Taobao and up to $1360 on AliExpress without shipping. As I understand, you buy the frame like LTK266-D-SL directly from Long Teng for much cheaper. What's the final price? And shipping?

If I got it right, you have to buy a compatible headset and better looking seatpost cover separately? And handlebar too. Are there any other differences from the Permeants?

Besides this brake issue which has not recurred for anyone else, what are the opinions and news about Magene QED? Which would you choose among Magene / L-Twoo eRX eR9 / Wheeltop EDS-TX ? Or 105 Di2?

I watched a couple of videos on bilibili with ai translation and it looks really good.
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1vAs2zPErV/
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1ZcjJz3EpA/

Hey guys me again. I have almost decided on my choice, and my favorite is LCR017-D. There are also the Long Teng LTK266-D-SL and TFSA JH-35 in my shortlist t, but both are more expensive ($1300-$1500 incl. shipping to EU) and, to be honest, I like them less, even though they have the geometry of the Tarmac SL8 and both weigh around 700g, probably about 100-150g less than the LCR017-D.

BUT I'm worried about the aggressive geometry. I'm sitting and comparing geometries on bikeinsights .com, and I see that all popular top frames have roughly the same geometry (SL8, SuperSix, Giant TCR, Look 795 etc.). Their Stack and Reach are +/- 1-2mm, but the LCR017-D has Stack -6mm and Reach +10mm relative to them. Is this fit too aggressive too low position? How does it feel to you guys?