Long Teng 301D. I have a 268 and love it. the 301 is more recent, lighter, and takes wider tyres. It's a chonky looking boy. And because their marketing budget is a grand total of zero, it's cheap. They OEM for Argon 18. I've built 2, very well finished. And i've ridden mine over 8k km this year, so i'm confident saying they make good stuff.

I was really considering getting this frame, but I just can't get over how flat the top part of the down tube is... It just doesn't fit the rest of the frame, looks very non aero

I’ve come to trust the Carbonda 1003/1266 through a full season of high intensity park riding (nearly every week since mid May, most 17,000-20,000 vertical) and am aiming to build a 1286 alongside it for next year. It’s really impressive what it’s stood up to for such a complex shock driver linkage and such a little known factory.

I’d be a bit nervous to trust the ICAN version to do the same, given that it is likely of significantly different construction and just uses the same molds. But I hope that eventually we hear from X17 owners that it does just as well.

I have some 1266 vs 1286 sizing questions to ask y’all soon and some Carbonda build threads to post at last…now that park season is over, I’ll be a lot more active here again leading up to (hopefully, since I’m very attached to this idea now) the 1286 build.

X17 owner here.  i love mine.  my understanding is that the ICAN version uses different fibers.  not sure if it matters but i don't really care.  I just did the Whole Enchilada in Moab with mine it was great.  i am not a light rider either, 105kg plus riding gear.  i think durability is going to the same for both Carbonda and ICAN.  there is not much of a secret sauce when it comes to building bike frames.  none of these frame are pushing the boundaries of weight so the layups are not exotic or ground breaking.  if ICAN made a 1286 and i could save $250 i would go that route instead of the Carbonda.  i am hoping that by the time i am ready to order, ICAN have got their own version.  just snapping up Shimano Saint parts and building wheels at the moment.   

I’ve come to trust the Carbonda 1003/1266 through a full season of high intensity park riding (nearly every week since mid May, most 17,000-20,000 vertical) and am aiming to build a 1286 alongside it for next year. It’s really impressive what it’s stood up to for such a complex shock driver linkage and such a little known factory.

I’d be a bit nervous to trust the ICAN version to do the same, given that it is likely of significantly different construction and just uses the same molds. But I hope that eventually we hear from X17 owners that it does just as well.

I have some 1266 vs 1286 sizing questions to ask y’all soon and some Carbonda build threads to post at last…now that park season is over, I’ll be a lot more active here again leading up to (hopefully, since I’m very attached to this idea now) the 1286 build.

Are they not just the same frame being sold under different brands? I've had their p9 for the last 3/4 years and it's been brilliant.

this is how they work together

Oops didn't see your other post! If that's the case this is huge. Yeah you deserve a beer! 

Now makes me think I should consider 2x + EGR on my gravel bike. I'd be fine with 46-30t + 10-42t. That would cover most my local climbing terrain with ease. Though you'd need to have both ER9 gruppo + EGR RD.

New thoughts: I did try running my GRX 812 RD + Garbaruk cage with a 10-42t and 46-30t chainring. An issue I faced is that I still had to make additional clearance with the 42t cog with the B screw when using the small 30t chainring, affecting high gear/small cog shifting performance. There's a good chance running FD + EGR might not shift well.

Yeah, it was directed at that friend of yours 

Yeah I forgot to mention this is the P505-S1103 power meter! 

I actually prefer using this 3 bolt spider just because 3 bolt cranksets are plentiful on AliExpress and the spider allows multiple chainring configurations. Though Shimano chainrings seem to work the best out the box.