Seraph Bikes Superlight 836g X68 - Alternative to SL8 Fakes?

[dovh]

I decided to order it in the end, will try to post an update when i get the frame and when i build up the bike. Hope that the frame is gonna be fine 

[patliean1]

Totally agree that a very large part of the savings on these comes from the lack of need to recover sunk development costs.

I'd also include frames being replaced via warranty claims as part of the price point too.

In my recent video featuring a set of $3000 ENVE SES 4.5 wheels, several ENVE customers mentioned how good ENVE's warranty service is. And several viewers also said this is because the company essentially builds into their pricing two "free" replacement set of wheels under warranty, no questions asked, within the first three years of ownership. Basically the customer is paying for 3 sets of ENVE wheels upfront.

By this logic if Chinese brands selling $600 frames were to offer a similar warranty/service, frames would probably cost closer $1500-$2000. Makes sense why it's in their best interest to just produce frames as robust as possible even if with a slight weight and ride comfort penalty.

I wonder if Winspace, Tavelo, and SEKA would do the same. Considering their frames cost about the same.

[Nkearb]

I'd also include frames being replaced via warranty claims as part of the price point too.

In my recent video featuring a set of $3000 ENVE SES 4.5 wheels, several ENVE customers mentioned how good ENVE's warranty service is. And several viewers also said this is because the company essentially builds into their pricing two "free" replacement set of wheels under warranty, no questions asked, within the first three years of ownership. Basically the customer is paying for 3 sets of ENVE wheels upfront.

By this logic if Chinese brands selling $600 frames were to offer a similar warranty/service, frames would probably cost closer $1500-$2000. Makes sense why it's in their best interest to just produce frames as robust as possible even if with a slight weight and ride comfort penalty.

I wonder if Winspace, Tavelo, and SEKA would do the same. Considering their frames cost about the same.

I spoke with a winspace authorized dealer in my area before buying my SLC3 to ask about their warranty. He said hes only ever seen a winspace frame once in his life, a t1550 and it didnt need repaired. But he did say he sells a lot of the hyper wheels in store and they are better than most brands with warrantying things when needed, but he hasn't had to warranty many of wheels at all.

[Serge_K]

And several viewers also said this is because the company essentially builds into their pricing two "free" replacement set of wheels under warranty, no questions asked, within the first three years of ownership. Basically the customer is paying for 3 sets of ENVE wheels upfront.

I love it, this is absurd, an actuary would laugh at this It's a funny way to get to the ludicrous price point though!
But that excess pricing upfront is a key reason why i buy OEM. Once you know the price of things by getting closer to the source, you worry about warranty less, because you know how easy / cheap it is to replace what you break. The caveat to that being: if not planned well, you can find yourself without a bike to ride for weeks. Hence, have lots of bikes in inventory

[WWcyclist]

https://tool.nbchao.com/seka/list/7/

This is the color pallete available for this frameset... It also seems that SEKA is made there too.

[OlHag Cyclismo]

My Seraph/ TanTan TT X 68 Build - Size 54 - Matte Black

6.94kg - $2900ish all in. Weight is plus or minus 50gwith grease, and misc hardware not accounted for.
I acquired most of these parts used over the course of 4-5 months, via ebay and facebook. I learned about most of the build options, not named shimano, from this site or via youtube (GC Performance, Pat Lino, China Cycling, etc...). I also built this bike by myself, first time ever doing a frame-up build, and used GC's SL8 bike build and his other videos.

Frameset - $629 + $100 shipping. Took about 2 months to receive.
Frame w/ headset bearings, bottle cage bolts, fd mount, rd mount - 878g
Uncut Fork - 339g      Cut Fork - 309g (10mm spacer)
Uncut Seatpost w/ hardware - 166g      Seatpost Wedge - 20g
Thru Axles - 62g
Bar/ Stem 120/38 - 326g
Spacers and Covers - 15g
Garmin Mount - 28g (kinda sucks on first impression, will be looking for alternatives)
BSA30 BB - 88g
Aliexpress SL8 Direct Mount RD Hanger - 15g (saves 8g)

CRW 50/55 Wheelset - 1325g
MT900 160/140 Rotors - 187g (pair)
Aliexpress Tubeless Valves - 11g (pair)
Sunshine Cassette 11-32 - 230g
Vittoria Corsa Pro Control Cream 28 Tubeless - 633g (should be 520g for the pair according to BRR.com)
Amazon CL Rings - 23g (pair)
Stans Sealant 40ml per tire - 60g

Shimano ST-R8170 - 399g
Shimano BR-R8170 - 300g (bolts, pads, calipers)
Shimano FD-R8150 - 112g
Shimano RD-R8150 - 250g
Shimano BT-DN300 - 52g
Di2 Cables - 16g
Sram Force 170, Quarq PM, 53/39 Chainrings - 753g (old sram powerglide chainrings)
KMC X12 Gold - 243g (uncut was 273g)
Brake Hoses - 35g (approximate. I subtracted the excess)

Aliexpress Carbon Bottle Cages - 48g (pair)
Ryet 3d Ultralight 143mm - 165g
Deda Tretaforo Bar Tape - 35g (40g uncut)
R8000 Ultegra Pedals - 248g

Future Weight Weenie Options:
HY Seatpost - 130g - $167 (saves 36g)
Avian Canary - 266g - $300 approximately (saves 60g)
BDOP 11-30 Cassette - 126g - $160 (saves 104g)
Xcadey/ Lexon 53/39 - 600g - $615 (saves 153g)
J&L Axles - 47g - $40(saves 15g)
Tofu Comtura Prima 28 Tires - 480g - $120 (saves 153g over current tires)
Wheels - 1150-1200g - $800 to infinity (plenty of options here)
Saddle - 100-130g - $40 to infinity (plenty of options here)

[Tom77]

https://tool.nbchao.com/seka/list/7/

This is the color pallete available for this frameset... It also seems that SEKA is made there too.

No fancy metallic colors?

[WWcyclist]

No fancy metallic colors?

I am sure they do, you would just have to look, I am not affiliated with them. Just looking at getting a frame and they sent the link to me

[Dan S.]

My Seraph/ TanTan TT X 68 Build - Size 54 - Matte Black

Care to share a photo or two? 

[Cnasta]

My Seraph/ TanTan TT X 68 Build - Size 54 - Matte Black

6.94kg - $2900ish all in. Weight is plus or minus 50gwith grease, and misc hardware not accounted for.
I acquired most of these parts used over the course of 4-5 months, via ebay and facebook. I learned about most of the build options, not named shimano, from this site or via youtube (GC Performance, Pat Lino, China Cycling, etc...). I also built this bike by myself, first time ever doing a frame-up build, and used GC's SL8 bike build and his other videos.

Frameset - $629 + $100 shipping. Took about 2 months to receive.
Frame w/ headset bearings, bottle cage bolts, fd mount, rd mount - 878g
Uncut Fork - 339g      Cut Fork - 309g (10mm spacer)
Uncut Seatpost w/ hardware - 166g      Seatpost Wedge - 20g
Thru Axles - 62g
Bar/ Stem 120/38 - 326g
Spacers and Covers - 15g
Garmin Mount - 28g (kinda sucks on first impression, will be looking for alternatives)
BSA30 BB - 88g
Aliexpress SL8 Direct Mount RD Hanger - 15g (saves 8g)

CRW 50/55 Wheelset - 1325g
MT900 160/140 Rotors - 187g (pair)
Aliexpress Tubeless Valves - 11g (pair)
Sunshine Cassette 11-32 - 230g
Vittoria Corsa Pro Control Cream 28 Tubeless - 633g (should be 520g for the pair according to BRR.com)
Amazon CL Rings - 23g (pair)
Stans Sealant 40ml per tire - 60g

Shimano ST-R8170 - 399g
Shimano BR-R8170 - 300g (bolts, pads, calipers)
Shimano FD-R8150 - 112g
Shimano RD-R8150 - 250g
Shimano BT-DN300 - 52g
Di2 Cables - 16g
Sram Force 170, Quarq PM, 53/39 Chainrings - 753g (old sram powerglide chainrings)
KMC X12 Gold - 243g (uncut was 273g)
Brake Hoses - 35g (approximate. I subtracted the excess)

Aliexpress Carbon Bottle Cages - 48g (pair)
Ryet 3d Ultralight 143mm - 165g
Deda Tretaforo Bar Tape - 35g (40g uncut)
R8000 Ultegra Pedals - 248g

Future Weight Weenie Options:
HY Seatpost - 130g - $167 (saves 36g)
Avian Canary - 266g - $300 approximately (saves 60g)
BDOP 11-30 Cassette - 126g - $160 (saves 104g)
Xcadey/ Lexon 53/39 - 600g - $615 (saves 153g)
J&L Axles - 47g - $40(saves 15g)
Tofu Comtura Prima 28 Tires - 480g - $120 (saves 153g over current tires)
Wheels - 1150-1200g - $800 to infinity (plenty of options here)
Saddle - 100-130g - $40 to infinity (plenty of options here)

Thnx for the detailed listing. Could you share your height and maybe inner leg lenght?

[glepore]

No fancy metallic colors?

Yes, they have metallics. I went with the stock pearl white but explored other options and tantan send me a number of metallics using the YS paint codes common among Chinese builders.

[Sander2177]

I love all the waffle in this forum but has anyone got photos?

[WWcyclist]

I love all the waffle in this forum but has anyone got photos?

The couple of people that have bought it have posted photos

[OlHag Cyclismo]

Thnx for the detailed listing. Could you share your height and maybe inner leg lenght?

I'm 5'-10" to 5'-11", inner leg length i would say is normal. I've always run size 54 bikes (cervelo, giant, scott), so I'm expecting this to fit similarly. You can use BikeInsights.com to compare frame geometry's. I compared my now old Cervelo R3 to the SL8 (TTX68 is exact same geometry), and found 6mm more reach and 11mm lower stack.

[Yozha]

My Seraph/ TanTan TT X 68 Build - Size 54 - Matte Black

6.94kg - $2900ish all in. Weight is plus or minus 50gwith grease, and misc hardware not accounted for.
I acquired most of these parts used over the course of 4-5 months, via ebay and facebook. I learned about most of the build options, not named shimano, from this site or via youtube (GC Performance, Pat Lino, China Cycling, etc...). I also built this bike by myself, first time ever doing a frame-up build, and used GC's SL8 bike build and his other videos.

Cool build for the weight and price - just fire!
Tell about the feel, how well the bike rides, how stiff is the frame? What branded bikes can you compare it to?