New frame: Longteng RD301-D

[Ahodesu05]

Here it is, at last!

I picked up the bike last night from the LBS and spoke to the mechanic who built it up.  His take:

- Overall, it was easy to build

- No major issues, nothing was mis-aligned, BB fit was perfect

- Frame quality seems to be good with clean internals

- It didn’t feel all that different from building up major brand bikes

A few other notes:

- The bike was built with Ultegra 8170 Di2 groupset, Elitewheels Edge Ultralight 45s, Kocevlo integrated bars, GP5000 tires, RideNow TPU tubes

- Measured weight: 7.4 kg without pedals (7.65 kg with pedals) – I didn’t go full weight weenie, so there’s probably still room to take that down, but it’s not a priority for me

- I put on 32s and you can see from the pics that there’s plenty of tire clearance, probably room for more than the stated max clearance of 38

- The downtube internal storage is a bit finicky to close – there’s not a solid click to close, and I need to be careful to get everything aligned to close it, otherwise it comes off pretty easily.  Once it’s closed correctly, it feels solid. I’ll have to take it for a few rides to see if it’s problematic

- This is one of those frames with a soft top tube where you can press it down with your thumb – the mechanic said that it’s no different from some of the other lightweight frames that he has built, but you shouldn’t sit on the top tube at the stop light or tryna look cool

- The mechanic pointed out that there is a bit of play in the rear wheel – if you push on the wheel from the side, you can feel a bit of looseness; he tightened up everything but it’s still there, he said it’s probably something internal to the hub, it shouldn’t impact the ride, but I’m going to follow up with Elitewheels on this

- I took it for a short spin last night to bed the brakes and there was no seat tube slippage, although it was only a 30 minute spin over smooth surfaces. (I did end up with a flat…  I’m not very heavy and rarely flat, I think I’ve flatted maybe 3 times over 15 years, so I guess it’s Mazel Tov!)

The weather here has been crap (typhoon just came through, another incoming), so I may not be able to ride much on the new steed. Once I do, I’ll come back with some initial ride impressions (and au naturel pics).

Cheers.

[viktorN]

- I put on 32s and you can see from the pics that there’s plenty of tire clearance, probably room for more than the stated max clearance of 38

Nice build, I am becoming more and more interested in this as an all-purpose bike!

Speaking of tire clearance, would you be able to provide a picture/ measurement of the rear clearance down by the chainstays as well? That's usually the tight spot so would be great to see. Also, what's the measured width of your 32c tires at present?

Cheers

[jeffrey]

Here it is, at last!

Super cool! Thank you

[Ahodesu05]

Nice build, I am becoming more and more interested in this as an all-purpose bike!

Speaking of tire clearance, would you be able to provide a picture/ measurement of the rear clearance down by the chainstays as well? That's usually the tight spot so would be great to see. Also, what's the measured width of your 32c tires at present?

Cheers

I don’t have calipers for exact measurements but hopefully these pics will help. The rim internal width is 22, and it looks like the 32s are 32 when inflated.

There’s been a bunch of content recently from folks like Nero on “all road” bikes like the Enve Melee and Ribble Allroad, which is interesting because I think this frame fits in that category: not an aggressive racing geometry, but not upright like endurance bikes - it sits in the middle where comfort and speed intersect. With a bit of room for rough pavement / light gravel. That’s exactly what I’m looking for, let’s see how this thing actually rides when the weather cooperates.

[Serge_K]

I don’t have calipers for exact measurements but hopefully these pics will help. The rim internal width is 22, and it looks like the 32s are 32 when inflated.

There’s been a bunch of content recently from folks like Nero on “all road” bikes like the Enve Melee and Ribble Allroad, which is interesting because I think this frame fits in that category: not an aggressive racing geometry, but not upright like endurance bikes - it sits in the middle where comfort and speed intersect. With a bit of room for rough pavement / light gravel. That’s exactly what I’m looking for, let’s see how this thing actually rides when the weather cooperates.

I agree. I saw that Pirelli released a fancy 35C road tyre. A frame like with such tyres would be perfect to motor through any forest road. In the mountains i ride in, many of these roads during the off season can get pretty dirty. Not quite gravel, but definitely sketchy on 28C. Now with something like this, you'd just motor through. Switzerland, for eg, also has lots of tiny roads, if not paths, in wine country, for eg, made with cement slabs. With a bike likes this, likewise, you'd just motor through. Ditto w various bike paths that are asphalt, but crap, or covered in crap.
And it'd still be very fast on proper asphalt.
For people who dont race (and i dont race), depending on where you live, this can really be wonderful. The 1st gravel bike i bought was sluggish AF, didn't like it on the road at all, and the 301 is totally different: very close to my 268 in geometry, so for sure it's a fast bike.

[planet_sammy]

Is there any zero offset seatpost on AliExpress that would fit for this frame?

[Ahodesu05]

Is there any zero offset seatpost on AliExpress that would fit for this frame?

Before I ordered, I asked Longteng if they have a non-offset post but they said they didn't. Since this is a proprietary seat post, I doubt there are third party versions, but it doesn't hurt to ask

[kwantani]

mine is almost done. Regarding the seatpost I think it's a pretty standard aero seatpost commonly available on Aliexpress. When I get my bike back I will measure the dimensions and shared here, I think you shouldve no problem finding the zero offset one on ALi.

[kwantani]

Just a place holder for the zero post Ali ad: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804065263146.html
will confirm once I get the bike back from mechanic.

mine is almost done. Regarding the seatpost I think it's a pretty standard aero seatpost commonly available on Aliexpress. When I get my bike back I will measure the dimensions and shared here, I think you shouldve no problem finding the zero offset one on ALi.

[Ahodesu05]

Despite a blustery day with occasional drizzle, I took the bike out for a maiden ride. I don't want to jump to too many conclusions due to the swirling winds, but here are a few (very) preliminary thoughts:

- The ride is very comfortable. This is probably more due to the bike and less to the frame itself - I'm sure the 32 tires do their part in this.

- Handling is neutral. It's nimble but stable compared to my previous race-oriented bike which feels twitchy in comparison. I like the way it's got a bit of "understeer" in car terms where, unlike my previous bike, not every movement in my arms will cause the bike to react, which gave me a lot of confidence taking corners even on this first ride. I like being able to control the bike using body English through my (ample) hips/butt.

- I do feel cross-winds, more so than on my previous bike. This is probably due more to the 45mm rims than the frame. I don't really notice it until I'm making a turn, where it feels like I'm "catching" the wind in the front wheel. This is my first time on deeper rims, so I probably just need to get used to it.

- The acceleration took me by surprise. Starting at traffic lights, I had to back off a few times because I'd close the distance to others on the road quicker than I'm used to. Maybe this is the aero profile of the bike shining through, or maybe it's the chunky T47 bottom bracket giving it extra stiffness, but the bike gets up to speed quickly. I'm really curious about how the bike does on climbs, given this initial sense of efficiency.

Again, these are just first impressions FWIW. Enjoy the pics!