TanTan TT-X21 frame

[FHS]

Regarding the headset bearings, I've run them both ways. With the thicker, red in my case, bearing up top, I had to rreally crank down on the top bolt to take the play out of the steerer tube, but there was no effect on the steering stiffness at all. The headset felt decent though.

With the thinner bearing, black in my case, up top, it only took less than 1 and a half turns on the top bolt to practicallly freeze the steering, but it still left more play in the head set.

I did try the FSA headset for a minute, but it didnt feel much different than the TanTan headset with the black.
 up top and red down below. I'm running the TanTan now with black top red bottom because it's the last combo I tried and I got tired or messing with it. It's a bit flexy but it is fine.

[snaert]

Hmm the zrace hybrid hydraulic disc brakes are not an optimal solution together with the internal cable tt-x21 handlebar. You have to pull on your brakes really hard to get an acceptable braking power. Shifting withe the sensah empire would be fine but for me the brakes are a nogo. Had to order a full hydraulic setup.

[Jarne]

Do you need to pull hard on the brakes because of the routing? Or just because the brakes itself are bad? I was thinking of these brakes but if they're not good I will go with something else

[BrianO]

Hmm the zrace hybrid hydraulic disc brakes are not an optimal solution together with the internal cable tt-x21 handlebar. You have to pull on your brakes really hard to get an acceptable braking power. Shifting withe the sensah empire would be fine but for me the brakes are a nogo. Had to order a full hydraulic setup.

Do the Sensah shifters work with a full hydraulic disc brake?

[Jarne]

Do the Sensah shifters work with a full hydraulic disc brake?

No, only cable actuated disc brakes

[snaert]

I think its mostly due to the sharp angles the cables have to take in the integrated stem. But on the other hand even when pulled completely the braking power is far off a hydraulic system.
Sensah is cable only, so I have to switch the complete groupset. Was worth a try :-)
Still the frame looks like it has a very good quality...at least.

[Matt_C]

I think its mostly due to the sharp angles the cables have to take in the integrated stem. But on the other hand even when pulled completely the braking power is far off a hydraulic system.
Sensah is cable only, so I have to switch the complete groupset. Was worth a try :-)
Still the frame looks like it has a very good quality...at least.

I am planning a build with Sensah and the cable actuated hydraulic brakes and I have a couple questions for you.

Did you try the brakes with compressionless cable housing?
Have you tried switching out the stock pads for a sintered set?
Have you tried a 160 rotor on the front?
Even with the weak braking was it possible to lock up the wheels and skid?

Sorry for all the questions I just want to know before I invest my money in the same set up!

[snaert]

I used normal cable housings, stock brake pads and 140 disc. I was not able to lock the wheels but this is more or less normal with new pads/disc. The most disturbing thing is the force you need to apply to brake. Its way higher than on the rim brakes on my other bikes.
I'm sure you could optimize things with certain updates but I doubt that its possible to have a good solution. The brakes may have save my live once...

[carbonazza]

I used normal cable housings, stock brake pads and 140 disc. I was not able to lock the wheels but this is more or less normal with new pads/disc. The most disturbing thing is the force you need to apply to brake. Its way higher than on the rim brakes on my other bikes.
I'm sure you could optimize things with certain updates but I doubt that its possible to have a good solution. The brakes may have save my live once...

I'm 68kg, and I had my fair share of fear with a 140mm front on fast descents.
160mm F/140mm R works well for me.

Did you consider the hybrid ones? Cable + hydro callipers?
ZRACE are doing some that looks good.
Unfortunately due to slow shipping, I wasn't able to get all pieces to mount the bike.

[BrianO]

I'm 68kg, and I had my fair share of fear with a 140mm front on fast descents.
160mm F/140mm R works well for me.

Did you consider the hybrid ones? Cable + hydro callipers?
ZRACE are doing some that looks good.
Unfortunately due to slow shipping, I wasn't able to get all pieces to mount the bike.

I used the Jagwire compressionless cables, I haven’t tried the yet.
The cable actuated disc breaks have a small amount of mineral oil in the unit that compressed the callipers onto the disc. I haven’t completed the built yet to report on the progress.

[Matt_C]

It's probably worth making a new thread for these brakes to discuss peoples findings and expeiences. If we can find a way to get them working optimally and consistent we have a really useful piece of equipment on our hands. So much cheaper and so much lighter than a full hydraulic set up and without the fuss of bleeding brakes. TraceVelo says he has 90% of the stopping power that hydraulic gives him.

[Jarne]

It's probably worth making a new thread for these brakes to discuss peoples findings and expeiences. If we can find a way to get them working optimally and consistent we have a really useful piece of equipment on our hands. So much cheaper and so much lighter than a full hydraulic set up and without the fuss of bleeding brakes. TraceVelo says he has 90% of the stopping power that hydraulic gives him.

That was with the 140mm rotors so with 160mm rotors it will probably be almost the same i guess. I'm going to order them and when I get them I will make a post about them

[snaert]

Don't set too much hope in these brakes. Especially with a completly inner cable routing like with the tt-x21 frame with sharp turns you won't get a braking performance close to a hydraulic setup.
If someone else achieves better results with this combination than me I'm interested to hear but for me the it was just not what I could accept.
I'm switching to shimano ultegra di2. Will be easier to route through the stem anyway :-)

[svanimpe]

That was with the 140mm rotors so with 160mm rotors it will probably be almost the same i guess. I'm going to order them and when I get them I will make a post about them

Definitely share your experiences!

I'm interested in these brakes to build a cheap commuting bike but am still on the fence. From what I understand, you absolutely need compressionless cable housing (such as Jagwire KEB-SL) for cable-actuated disk brakes. The brakes also seem to have a tension adjustment. I'm hoping the combination of these two should give adequate braking.

[Matt_C]

The only person I have ever seen actually set the brakes up properly (trace velo) was very impressed with the braking performance on his internally routed frame.

160mm rotors
Compressionless cable housing
Proper sintered pads

Another problem can be cable pull. He used 105 shifters which have a longer cable pull than Sensah or SRAM therefore giving the brakes more power.