For those who are running the Roval Cockpit. Do you have a nice looking solution? What about those 3D Prints offered for the Spec Allez Sprint in combination with the cockpit??!

Quote from: Sander2177 on July 20, 2025, 05:19:03 AM

The X68 is dead! Long live the X68! 😂

Sorry, there's one more question I have in mind before really getting into it. What about the front end (headset, spacer, etc.) - is there everything similiar to the genuine one? Maybe I would go with an original bar/stem and a better headset. Do you know if everything fits?

Have a nice weekend,
thx

A really great summary, thank you. In the last 10 years, apart from one original SL7, I've only had Chinese frames, whether MTB, two gravel frames, and two road bike frames, one of which was also from TanTan. I'm fully aware of the general risks and the special cases that can arise during assembly. I was just specifically interested in this model; I'll ask how they solved the fork issue... Thanks a million.

One more question, since you ride both frames, the original and the TanTan. How does the frame perform at very high speeds? My old TanTan frame became very unstable at 65+ compared to the Specialized. I didn't really feel comfortable on descents.

I don't want to read 100 pages here, but as far as I can tell, there is definitely cause for concern with this frame.
I've built several frames myself, but now I'm looking for a new road bike frame. As of now, would you recommend this one?
Are the fork issues still happening? Is it possible to purchase the frame directly from Aliexpress?

Quote from: Exar on July 18, 2025, 01:11:58 AM
I'll ride this bike at the Gravel World Championships later this year so every little improvement counts

You lucky one - missed it two times for just a minute. But the championships will be on my home roads, Valkenburg is really great.
Does the SL7 compression ring work with the original bearing? And if so, does the compression ring work with the original Cervelo Headset Cap? Not sure if the Airwolf and the Cervelo one are built identical ...

Hi over there,

I'm just wondering if freehubs from Aliexpress (around 20€) are qualitywise the same as the originals from brands like DT. My new wheelset will be with a DT350 hub, but a XDR Freehub over here is about 50-60€.

Are there any fundamental differences which won't last as long (bearings) or something like that?

Greetings from Germany

Quote from: this is dog on February 10, 2024, 06:43:06 AM
I wouldn't bother buying an more expensive (original) one, you will probably end up with the same challenge. I did use a vice to trim down material of the top-cap. No way otherwise it would fit.

Shaping the cap was the solution. The headset is doing his work now. Thank you so much

Quote from: this is dog on February 09, 2024, 10:46:02 AM
Did you use the expander plug that came with the frameset? You might need to make some adjustments to make it fit like I did. I didn't use any carbon paste, also no torque wrench.

Did you shape the expander top-cap a little? It sits really tight in the stem. Unfortunally I can't find any other D-Shape Expander here in Germany - Cervelo and/or Factor should fit, but seems to be very expansive and not available in aftermarket...

Finally I am working on my Chinerelo again. Everything is mounted and bleeded, but I can't set up the headset. The expander plug wents up everytime. How tight should the expander plug be? 7nm and montage paste didn't work so far.

Quote from: BalticSea on January 10, 2024, 02:12:41 AM
I think getting SL7 is better choice than SL8 - it should be cheaper, no major difference between the frames and most importantly SL7 doesn't have the Buttsniffer™

I totally agree, but I am in the nice position to get a frame much cheaper because a friend of mine is working in the bike industry. Of course ,,cheap" is the wrong word here. I am really unsure about my decision, but in the end I am trying to whitewash it with selling it later for nearly the price I will pay now...

I really like the shape of the 268, but the uncertainty of getting the roval cockpit work is a huge obstacle for my idea of building it up.

So, I am a bit confused about my selection Right now - money is Not the point, I am really struggling between a SL8 and this one here.
For me I have mixed emotions with a chinese frame - my TanTan X21 worked 10k more or less superb (just feeling a bit unsecure about 80km/h), but my newer Airwolf/Aspero frame has dozens of problems I don't want to face the next time.

So in case of this 268 what do you think about quality?

My other ,,problem" will be mounting another stem or cockpit, which will not fit on velobuilds cap. A friend of mine is familiar with 3d prints, but where do I get those files?

Is the Stack measured with or without cap?

Is there any chance to get a sl7-stem or another handlebar/stem work on the top cap?

One question in between:
Did all of you receive a glossy bar/stem when ordered a glossy frame?

I had the problem that I got these items in glossy while the seatpost was matte...

Quote from: Honda118 on November 08, 2023, 08:16:29 PM
I also vote for getting a new fork from Airwolf.

"This is really paint here. If there are carbon fiber cracks, I will repair a  fork"

--> This is the answer to my bid for a new fork...

Very satisfying :-)

They say it's just the paint. But to be honest: this bike is ridden 300km. My TanTan Roadbike doesn't have a edge after 15.000km. The support tries it best to avoid it: but in my opionion this the point where warranty claim should be accepted - any Chance to get aliexpress or paypal involved?