The issue is not the quality that they can make, it’s the consistency with which the end user receives a quality product. If you’re not buying a frame anonymously then it’s just not a fair review. Great production as always and loved the new green screen, just don’t think it’s a good system to review low volume manufacturers with them knowing you’re an influencer. Look forward to the anonymous version, would be good to see if you can get a fault fixed anonymously as well!
Agreed. Needs to be reviewed anonymously. There's no way they let this out out the door without a very extensive check knowing Trace Velo's reputation.
I'm fairly anonymous. I have a build series for my X16 on my channel. I give Trifox a general seal of approval. You get what you pay for, it can be as good as brands costing 3 times as much, but may have QC issues that you can remedy or they may fix. I didn't run into any problems I couldn't take care of and it feels like a solid bike after 2 long rides. Seat leaves a little to be desired, but easily swapped for something else with 7mm rails or get the 9mm conversion from trifox. The designs seem copied by several brands, especially the one-piece handlebar, but the way I see it, if they are copying the mold, then it's probably a proven, reliable, bankable design. @@ooblyboo6781
Hi Luke, loved the new green screen presentation gives an added dimension that others dont have! 🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖 Cant wait for the trifox build, so get cracking and post asap please!🙂🙂🙂
A few of us have the trifox X16 and have been racing it internationally, with no real issues. We changed some bolts and screws because they were cheap and rusting, the seat post clamp has been fine, the seat clamp however is a bit shit to fine adjust the angle and I would prefer a two bolt seat clamp system. But so far we all still have our front teeth :D
Ok amazing, thanks for the info! Yeah the saddle clamp is a bit naff, and quite difficult to fine-tune as you stated, but good to hear you have had success! Cheers for the comment!
@@TraceVelo I had the same situation. I lightly sanded the inside surface of the seat clamping area of the post, then I installed the seat off the bike. I put the seat on the table upside down, and assembled the seat guts and post, much easier to adjust with it all upside down. Test it on the bike, then remove it and make adjustments off the bike, with it upside down. There are other seat guts available on ali-express that appear to fit this seat post: 7x7mm and 7x9mm. The aftermarket seat guts may be better quality.
Luke, I present for your approval, the usual offering 🥖 My only issue with the Shokz headphones is I bought a pair for me and my wife 5 years ago, the their STILL GOING STRONG !! and we use them LITERALLY every freaking day. I keep waiting for them to break so I can finally upgrade 😭😭
I have the x16 Trifox. I probably have about 12,000km on it, mostly on the road but also on the trainer. Setup required a bit of extra work (widening the cable-routing entrances, re-facing the rear brake mount as it was painted over). Also, because the seatpost is matte, I had to apply a good amount of carbon grip paste in order to prevent sliding... Apart from that, it's been rock solid. Trifox support team was very responsive when I had questions (quick replies. No language barrier etc). Overall my experience with them is quite satisfactory.
I have a different Chinese frame and my seat post slipped even with carbon paste on it due to the tolerances being out slightly . I put a strip of anti slip tape on the back of the seat post which is sandpaper with a sticky back and then carbon paste. It's never moved since . I tried several things before that like electrical tape and a bit of an aluminium drinks can . It depends how bad it is though whether you'll get a strip of anti slip tape on it or not .
These minor "issues" are just par for the course if you go with most Chinese carbon. Like I tell people if you are not willing or able to deal with them yourself (which sometimes involves getting creative) then steer clear. But the only other option will cost you about £3000 more and that's still no guarantee of perfection, ask any 5 year old French engineer.
Got the yellow X8 over 12 months ago and built it up with a Sensah Empire pro groupset, Magene 58 wheelset, OG Evkin aero handlebar & a 3d printed saddle. Regularly get complimented on its looks. Only issues I had when building it were the usual paint covering the brake mount holes and headset bearing seat which needed some correcting. Its stiff, fast and has replaced my Scott Foil to become my go to crit bike in masters racing these days.
I built up a Trifox X16 QR in Dec. '21 and have logged about 8000 miles so far. Fantastic bike, very fast and people always comment how beautiful it is. The only minor issues I had building were the dropouts were a little sloppy and needed minor filing. The fork steerer needed the supplied crown race, others have commented they didn't need it, so maybe QC issue there but that was it. Would buy again without hesitation. Also purchased the one piece carbon bars and wheels, they have been flawless. As a note on the bars, they have a very long overall reach. I purchased the 100mm stem lenght, but when you factor in the bars, the reach is really like 120mm or more. Something to consider, bars probably not for everyone.
i have one of those eps mold carbon blank frame. Although its an mtb frame but its similarly cleanly constructed. No extra work to get it assembled. Rides well, no complaints.
If you get a good frame, no issue. If you get one with a defect and just a normal person, you are SOL. Had one of their x10 that cracked by the chain stay connection to the downtube right on the logo. After a few messages they refused to cover it and ghosted me. Only had 500 miles on the frame.
@@glennoc8585 Looks like my comment with the photos got removed, had a link to imgur. CC was no dice, built the bike at the end of the summer and it cracked the following spring. Just enough time passed where it was out of their hands.
I have a Trifox X16QR. Build was smooth and easy. The seat post actually has a nice "raw" texture and it doesn't slip at all. The seat clamp itself is a bit fiddly to get level but once set it stays there. 1000km so far in pretty bad roads and it's solid. And I'm a heavy rider at 89 - 90 kg.
Your green screen effort was really effective. Worth doing more of it IMO in future. Works with how you narrate. Thanks for the honest assessment again. You are the only one I trust and I’m a frequent Aliexpress bike part customer.
I recently built a Trifox X16ta and ran into several issues with the frame. I had to file the fork dropout because the wheel/hub would not fit! I filed it enough for it to fit just to have my carbon wheelset to misalign after hard braking (strangely that doesn't happen with my second wheelset). It was a pain to also align the brake calipers and I also had to file the mount surfaces. Also, the seat tube has a huge wrinkle that doesn't allow the seat post to be inserted further. If I was any shorter, I could not lower the seat anymore. I like the color tho, blue chameleon.
@aldolmb5, thanks for all the info. Sounds like a bit of a pain with the front dropouts and the brake calipers. I assume the brake mounts were painted over, which affected the alighnment. Unfortunately quite a common complaint with the cheaper frames. I seem to recall my X16 having painted mounts for the rear, but fortunately it didn't affect the overall alignment of the calipers The seat-post issue you mention i've had with a couple of frames. Depending on how far you need it inserted, cutting it down by a few cm's may be the best option. Luckily i am quite tall, so most of the time the seat post is only inside the frame a few inches at most. But still thankyou for sharing. Did you contact Trifox, and if so how were they in rectifying the issues?
I just saw another frame review where the frame actually had a stop molded in to prevent putting the seatpost in too far in and causing damage to the seattube. Is it possible that is what is happening on your frame?
@@johndef5075 definitely not designed this way. The wrinkle is a defect that is located in a place that restricts the seat post to be inserted. only about 2cm of insertion past the minimum mark.
I contacted trifox through ali and they agreed to refund 10% after a lot of back and forth. The mount faces were filed from factory but it wasn't great. I had to file them some more until the calipers could be aligned. Looking forward to your building video! @@TraceVelo
Brilliant video! The internal video journey inside the frame and putting yourself on the green screen is a nice departure from boring bike review vids.
Yeah me too, but in general the TH-cam algo prefers REALLY tight intros. Essentially watch time and drop-off in the first minute is heavily prioritised, and unfortunately the older style intro's had too much 'dead-air'. I've had a few comments like this tho, so i might re-work it for the next one....
Recently, I have built up two bikes using a TFSA and a Trifox X16. The TFSA frame is very similar to the Trifox X18 frame which you covered in your video. I built both frame with Shimano ultegra Di2 (the Trifox was assembled with Dura Ace shifters due to lack of availability of Ultegra shifters) I used FSA BB and SLK cranksets. I built the Trifox to be my climbing bike with lower gearing, chain rings 30/46, cassette 11-34. It turned out well because the finished bike weights 15.5 lbs. Unexpectedly light for a disc brake bike. I've added KMC chain, Shimano ultegra pedals and an ICAN Aero 40 wheelset Continental GP 5000 25mm tires. Not having a bundle of cash to spend on a frame, i.e., Specialized $6000, I find that the Chinese manufacturers offer a good value. Admittedly, there have been issues with some of these products. However, I have found there are some that I trust and buy from again. Those are the two previously mentioned and Superteam, Airwolf and ICAN. To date I have built 5 road bikes utilizing Chinese companies. One brand that I would advise against is SP Cycles on Ebay. Anyway, thank you for videos keep up the good work 😊
@TraceVelo I have had zero problems with the frame. However, as you mentioned, the saddle mount is rubbish. I purchased a different and better mount that fit the diameter of seatpost opening. I recently rode the Trifox on 50 mile ride and the bike preformed beautifully.
the final build is the only thing missing now with the LTWOO groupset as well. Also, when will you try the ELVES brand that's been making noise for some time now? I'm from the Philippines and it's quite popular here, even some Filipino Pros use them to race.
I have built up this exact frame, colour and size! Problems were brake mounts not being flat, so had to file them to elimnate brake rub. Path of front brake cable was so tight, getting compressionless housing through it was a nightmare. Cable entry and exit points had to be filed to be smoother. Lastly the paint is super thin and very easy to damage. As you mentiomed i think my first upgrade would be swapping the handle bars for a combined handlebar and stem to save weight and boost aesthetics. The frame is overall very good and stiff and a good weight especially at price point! Love the video, excited to see how it looks! 🥖 🥖
Bought a MFM100 (mtb) frame from them, along with flat bars and carbon road seat. The seat I put on my road bike for a number or rides. It was surprisingly comfortable, though not a lot of miles to tell if there is a problem. The MFM100 I built as a down-country Fox-Factory premium race rig. Raced it for two seasons and ride it constantly. Other than being a light-weight full-squish bike, it holds up well. I crashed the bike on the flat bars a good number of times, and the bars have held up well. I did apply ride wrap and helicopter tape where needed. I have had 0 problems with the bike. BTW, I paired the bike up with the iCan carbon enduro wheel set and I tell you it handles like a dream. Another friend of mine did something similar and built it as a 100mm XC race bike and he loves it.
Hey Luke -- looking forward to this build & review. I hear @Dave Noakes - Ride Everything is also building up a Trifox road frame, except w/ the new SRAM Apex mechanical.
I built up a TriFox X16TA in October 2022 with a set of their 50mm rims. I purchased it after watching your previous TriFox video so I knew what to expect and I knew I could fix the issues toy mentioned without too much fuss (fork and frame cable guide holes needed slight filing as well as rear hydraulic caliper mounts needed facing). Ive been riding it for almost 11 months now with almost no issues aside from the ones I fixed out of the box mentioned above. The only slight concern I have is with the thru-axles. The seem to use quite a solf aluminum that if not careful can be stripped where the allen key is inserted. Cureently it is built up with a 105 cable activated groupset and juintech brakes however I should be receiving a ltwoo erx groupset tomorrow and cant wait to get it installed and to watch your review on rhe groupset and full build
I'm pretty happy with my X16. I have the build series on my channel. I bought all the Trifox branded stuff available: Frameset, wheelset, seat, and handlebars. I built up the bike with a 12 speed Ultegra Di2 group set with Dura Ace brakes. I've only put about 30 miles on it so far (one neighborhood test ride and one long ride out in the wild). I'd be happy to email a review to Luke, but honestly I didn't have much trouble with it. The build/ride quality seems perfectly acceptable with their full branded parts group. I took Luke's recommendation and used a strip of rubberized plastic in the seat tube to prevent slipping. It hasn't slipped at all. Since I'm running Di2, the problem of filing the cable routing hole in the frame wasn't an issue, I didn't need that routing hole. I did have to shim the rear hub on the drive side with a thin washer to allow me to run 12 speed. I don't think it's a Trifox problem, the frame wasn't designed for 12 speed. However the thin washer solves the issue and you still have plenty of axle threads going into the dropout and it isn't spreading the rear triangle of the frame, it's only a slightly tighter fit. The paint around the dropouts looks like it will chip off with repeated faffing of the rear wheel, but if you watch GP Lama's Di2 build on his Giant, the very same paint chipping can be seen, so it's inevitable on any thru-axle frame I think. I did have to face the rear brake mounts, which was an easy job with an exacto knife, brakes mounted easily. The only real "issue" I have is the Trifox bare carbon seat isn't very comfortable for longer rides. That's a completely personal and subjective issue though, the seat itself is fine and would be ok for race days maybe, but not regular rides. I ordered a different Chinese carbon seat with a little padding. It was cheap, we will see how it does. 7x7mm seat rails is a constraint, might look into 7x9mm seat guts. Looks like the Trifox seat post is a somewhat universal shape and there are aftermarket seat guts that can convert the post. Thanks to Luke for bringing the brand to my attention, they checked all the boxes on what I wanted out of a new carbon road bike. I plan to continue documenting my experience with the bike.
If you gave them all the Trifox parts together, probably. If you tried to combine different brands without checking first, you may have problems. @@TBATTIECYCLING
Ive had the Trifox X18 for 1,5 year now and it works fine! Had issue with seatpost because of clearcoat, filed it down then the seatpost stayes in place. Also had issue adjusting the stem because lf at to big layer of paint. Both issues fixed. A Specialized Venge Stem fits right on, not the SL7 stem ;-) and the specialized garmin mount alså fits on original stem! Sold it to my buddy, who is a happy man - fine bike for the cost!
Have a Trifox X10. About 6 months. No big issues. I would say is non-drive rear dropout looks really marginal. The paint around the BB seat disintegrates after removing it a few times. The frame is 1,244g for an XL, but very stiff. Well worth what I paid for it. Long reach or short drop depending how you look at it.
I recently built up a an X8 TA with SRAM Rival AXS components. Only a couple hundred miles, but the ride is very smooth and predictable. Time will tell whether it will hold up. I am a track sprinter (old guy 50+ masters rider) tipping the scales at around 100kg and still producing some decent peak watts. It seems solid enough with 32 spoke 65mm deep wheels, but I have yet to launch a full sprint acceleration on it, which I expect to get some significant flexing as every road bike I've ever ridden has had. Given my weight, I have not had issues with the seatpost slipping, which I fully intended to have to deal with. It did require an ample amount of carbon paste, but that was it. The seat clamp has not been an issue either, which I also typically have problems with on single bolt designs. I wouldn't want to be adjusting the seat angle regularly as the design doesn't look like it would hold up to repeated adjustments. Other issues I had: 1)clean up the disc brake mounting holes that were painted over 2)Open up the holes with a file for the front brake housing to route through the fork 3)Trim the plastic cover on the bottom bracket that did not line up well with the frame 4)Clean up the top of the frame around headset race where some excess resin and paint were sitting creating a sharp point and not allowing the bearing to seat properly 5)File off some paint on the rear dropout under the derailleur hanger (It was not flat and caused the derailleur hanger to not line up vertically) 6)Filed off paint around the BB where the bearing cups thread in (mostly to avoid flaking paint down the road) 7)The hole in the top tube to route cables (specific to the X8 model) is visibly crooked (although with SRAM AXS, I am not using this and will be covering the opening anyway) Only other issue is that the frame was designed for mechanical brakes and not hydraulic (not a defect). This means that you can't run a hydraulic hose through the rear chainstay. I have the rear brake line routed through the downtube, coming out the cover at the bottom bracket (that I notched out) and running along the bottom of the rear chainstay. I expected most of these issues (except #7) at this price point. With these frames at this price point, you have to go in with the expectation that you will have to tinker with it to get it to all come together. All in all I'm happy with it at this point.
Love love your content!! it’s really informative and the aesthetic is like if C-3PO became a cyclist in a sherlock holmes /bladerunner crossover cyberpunk universe.
Just chiming in, I got a Trifox X16 Rim model back in January 2021, having ridden it now 5,000km, the only issues I had when building it up was: - Seatpost slipping. Fixed by putting some sandpaper sheet on the back of the seatpost and some carbon grease. That thing has not slipped since. - Had to file a little bit the mounting hole for the Rim Brakes. - Had terrible shifting performance when using the cheap plastic tubes. Mechanic had to install gear housing complete from the shifters back to the derailleurs, and no issues ever since. Recently upgraded the wheelset to Hypers 38mm and RideNow TPU Tubes. I can hang with people riding expensive bikes like BMC or Colnago without a problem. The Carbon Wheelset completely transformed the way the power transfer feels. I don't think an average rider will ever need more than what this frameset offers.
the plastic tubes are most of the time only used for pulling the cable housings through, not to stay in there (except the frame is made to do so and has the correct stops on the frame for that, but I doubt it with Trifox)
I have a Trifox X16QR for a year now and it woks just perfect, no noises or weird things. It came also with carbon wheels just for 700 euros. I have it mounted with Sensah transmission full carbon and bike performs crazy good
I was surprised to hear that trifox has a bad reputation. I have an x18 and x16 in my group, and their owners are happy enough to recommend... Which is why I have an x16 on my christmas shopping list.
Hi Luke - your original trifox build inspired to build the x18 but in matt black version with fully mechanical sensah groupset; that was not fun and finally gave in to buying a rival axs electronic groupset - which made my cycling so much better. I had issues with the seatpost and I found cricket bat tape has completely stopped it from slipping. The only other thing to mention is my FD braze-on has started wiggling but I believe this was due to the sensah groupset putting so much tension on the front derailleur (internal routing with 90 degree turns) it loosened the rivets. Now that it’s electronic no further issues and have clocked 9000km. Thanks again for the inspiration!
Great to finally got this frame review from you Luke. Delihea Rest (tank machine) are quite popular here in asia, even the earlier rim brakes version got the praise of good ride quality. Couple of friends had this frame has problem with slipping seat-post, cracking rear carbon thru-axle holder (drive side, frame got replaced by Delihea) and loose front derailleur hanger but that because of chain drop.
I got a trifox x16 rim brake version just under a year and a half ago, with the aero carbon bars. The axle mounting points needed a little bit of filing on the outer part to get the axles in but it was aligned right. The seat post slipped, I was able remedy this with cricket bat tape. The carbon bars were eventually switched out for alloy ; the internal routing had a kink and bent the front derailleur cable (mech groupset), but overall I preferred the rigid feel of the allow bar as opposed to the slight flex in the carbon. After those little tweaks though it's been riding great. Nil issues with bottom bracket and it's been about 4000km. I'd do it again as it was so cheap even with replacement parts (under 2000 aud total build )
Man, I've got to tell you, I'm Spanish and I can understand english pretty well to be honest. But I have to confess, for me it's a nightmare to understand others TH-camrs (I won't drop any names 😜) I miss many sentences and words. But you, you're something else, dude. From my point of view, your pronunciation is spot-on, and your vocabulary is really approachable. Sometimes, I don't even realize I'm listening to a different language. And lastly, your videos are fantastic; really good and necessary information. Great job!
Will you be covering the new Microshift Sword groupset? It's Taiwanese hardware instead of Chinese but quite a few of your viewers might be interested in it.
I have a TriFox X10 road bike and have been riding it for over 2 years now with no issues. It was originally built up with Sensah 2x11 groupset but has been upgraded to Shimano 105 hydraulic 2x11. I have a 50mm carbon wheelset from Elite Wheels built up tubeless with Continental GP5000TL. I've been very happy with it and really do not have any complaints.
@@smu55 It was a disc brake frame and I was not happy with the hybrid mechanical/hydraulic caliper performance, even using compressionless housing. Also I had the same intermittent shifting issues with the Sensah groupset shifting between the 9th and 10th cog. What is strange is that I moved the Sensah to a rim brake frame and shifting was surprisingly flawless on it with no issues shifting from 9th and 10th gears. So to your question, not really an issue with the Sensah groupset per se, yes because I wanted hydraulic brakes. On another note I did the same with my gravel bike that Luke did. I originally bought the Giant Conduct braking system and Sensah SRX 1x11, but since I've swapped them out for Shimano GRX RX810 1x11. Again, no issues with Sensah, just not happy with the mechanical pull on hydraulic brakes.
I bought a Trifox X8 frame because of your first video 😅. I had issues with the interanl cable routing for the front derailleur where I had to cut some of the internal white tubing away at the bottom bracket area. Had issues with the rear derailleur hanger, had to bend if slightly out of correct alignment to get the gears to index. My frame also cracked, but Trifox were really helpful at replacing the frame due to it being in warrenty. I have also had issue with the seatpost clamp and the saddle clamp, if you tighten and untighten too many times then the metal screws eat into the body. But my replacement frame seems to be working fine now and rides really well. 🥖🥖🥖🥖
Whereabouts did you’re frame crack? I have the TFSA version of this frame - no major issues for me other than a slipping seat post which I have resolved by using some grip tape.
Happy with my X16 rim brake. Set it up as a crit racer, 1x with red Etap. My daily is a cannondale Super six evo high mod, to give an idea what I’m comparing it to. People freak out that I race it, like it’s going to fall apart. Love the channel 🥖🥖
I bought two MTB hardtail frames from Trifox. I was still happy with the first frame because the mounting surfaces for the brake caliper were machined after painting. However, when I put it together, I noticed that the mounting surfaces were totally misaligned. I had to remove about 1mm of material to get two really flat and square surfaces. I wrote to Trifox and reported the problem, but I've never received a reply. A few months later I ordered the second frame and pointed out this problem both when ordering and again before delivery. This frame also came to me with the same problem 😐 Looking into the seat tubes, I noticed some connection errors in the carbon. It seems that too little resin was used in the manufacturing process. Both frames have now been in use for around 1.5 years and so far there has been no damage.
Build up this frame april 22..with 105 mechanical brake nightmare to route the cable ... past 10000km .. got podium in local race ..mybe follow your route to put ltwoo electronic groupset 😅
X16 guy here. Bottom bracket was threaded perfectly, seat post is great but the seat mounts look like they were cast in sand. Usable, but some machining clean up would be nice.
That handsome bearded fellow at 7:08 really knows his onions (his bike knowledge is up for debate though). I have the DELIHEA REST II "TANK MACHINE" (I'm sure that means something really cool in Chinese 😂) and although my bore camera is a really old b&w analogue thing what I saw inside was pretty much the same as what Luke saw, very clean (although I'm staring to think that may not be as important as we all assumed it was). I've been up Ale Du Zwift multiple times attached to a Kickr 5 with no issues from the rear dropouts. Seat post doesn't slip, it has some pretty aggressive grip paint on it. I did have the saddle rotate on me a few weeks ago but it was a 💣crater of a pothole that caused it, and I was riding on the nose at the time. The stem that came with mine was an absolute shambles very badly misaligned. I needed to go longer anyway so I wasn't too annoyed. If anyone has this issue or needs to change length its a VENGE stem (or copy) that you need not an SL7 the whole headset assembly is a mash up of the 2. Done about 4000 real miles and a few hundred virtual ones on it so far with no issues to speak of, its a joy to ride and an absolute weapon on the climbs and flats. It must be taken into account though that I'm a major short-arse and ride a 44/XXS (smaller frames tend to be stronger) and I weigh 55kg/120 lbs so I'm not exactly pushing any structural limits.
After buying a Trifox frame with a stripped bb thread and painted bearing cups that I had to spend *hours* sanding, I can’t ever give them a chance again.
I have that same seat post and seat post clamp on my TFSA road frame. First the oval saddle clamp notoriously slips. I found the newer Ryet/Lexon 3D printed saddles have very thick carbon rails + carbon paste that prevent slipping. If not, wrapping tape around standard carbon rails prevent slipping and over torquing for that particular clamp. Second, trash the screw in the seat post clamp and get a titanium M5x25mm screw, it'll handle more torque and it's less likely to strip when tightening. Lastly, I used tape strips on the front and rear of the seat post to prevent it from sliding and only apply carbon paste to the side of the seat post. In addition, I also had to resort to wrapping tape at base of the seat post to completely prevent it from sliding down. It's a bit overkill, but less annoying versus having your seat post and saddle slipping all over the place mid-ride! Anyways, great video and look forward to your ERX review! 🥖🥖🥖
Hi Luke, I have a Trifox MTB carbon frame MFM 200 and don’t have any issues about it. I have been using it for about 1 year and 8 months (6,478 kms) and I love it 😉👍. Saludos desde Mexico 🇲🇽
Woohoo!! First comment! I'm researching bike frames for after I move to Norway. I sold my current bicycle already. I'll be doing a build once I get over there. I'm leaving at the end of the month.
@@TraceVeloI've been riding and racing on an Airwolf T1000 aero frameset for 3 years now. Very stiff frame with a well-faced and concentric BSA bottom bracket (Hambini would be impressed). Fast and it handles cornering well. It's not without problems, mostly annoying ones. Rusting at the bottle cage bolt holes, and the front bottle cage hole mounts slightly off center. The rear derailleur hanger required replacement within the 1st year. And the headset needs to be well greased to avoid rusting. Even with all that, great value for ~$500!
I have this exact bike for 6 months now Routing hydraulic/mechanical shifting is abysmal, Drilled an additional hole underneath the handlebar for shifter cables. The original hole is too high for a cable housing and hose. Carbon Saddle was sliding at first put electricians tape on the saddle rails before clamping no issues now. Seat clamp no issues 7.5kg bike ultegra r8020 50mm carbon rims, SPD pedals. Size 49 5’7” 110mm stem slammed. P.S I am looking for spacer to interface with a aftermarket carbon integrated dropbar. Trifox customer support is crap.
Luke looking like the weather forecast anchor now. Pretty good upgrade actually. Lot’more editing work I assume. TSUNAMI do aluminum / titanium Road/Gravel bikes, crazy cheap. Worth a look IMO
I have the TFSA JH33, managed to buy it raw directly from the mould. I then had a carbon specialist cover up all the holes (axs) and then custom painted, all in all the frame cost me around 2000 bucks. It is very flexy around the bottom bracket but other than that pretty decent. 823 gram unpainted and 873 gram painted. 6.6kg fully built including pedals, Garmin mount and bottle cages. TFSA were extremely nice to deal with but the frame is far from perfect. The bottom bracket surface was not flat amongst other things. I also had a guy custom 3D print a new headset (only 18 gram) to reduce weight even further and also enable a super slammed stem (much lower than original and much lower than SL7. I also had a friend CNC a 2mm thick 80mm aluminum sleeve epoxied inside the steerer tube, only 35g and it makes the steerer tube bullet proof. So I put down crazy amount of work on my frame but I am very happy with it. Built to be as light as possible and to be ridden hard without safety concerns! It is definitely the fastest bike I have ever ridden
Build this with 105 hydralic. Reeeeally like it. But! I actually found it was really difficult to get a housing cable rough to the rear shifter. Right at the assembly section actually and fitting all the cables up into the stem, was a bit of a nightmare. But with a little patience it all worked out. I love the rest of it. Really moves when you get out of the saddle.
Hi excellent content as ever, I built up the TFSA jh-33 frameset with SRAM Rival axs groupset, they look identical, the original seatpost clamp was a nightmare to set the saddle angle correctly but after many attempts I got there, TFSA do sell a better seatpost design which I may invest in. As its a copy of an SL7 I used a (bought separately) very long headset expander to try and insure no steerer tube breakages.1000 miles so far and the bike runs flawlessly on an Elite wheelset and GUB 3D printed saddle. Keep up the good work. Oh if you can get a INGRID RD1 Rear Derailleur for SHIMANO SRAM 11speed 12 speed Road MTB bike derailleur I'd be interested in how they perform just because I think they look great 🥖🥖🥖
Cam Nichols had an issue with his trifox frame too ! . It was rubbish. There's cheap and then there is Trifox 😮. But really thanks for the heads up about these guys .
Trifox was one of my options years ago when I decided to build up a bike from Aliexpress. Yeah, the reviews discouraged me, and I eventually went with DELIHEA. Was quite impressed with the overall quality of their (DELIHEA) frames that I've been riding for few years now without any major issue.
Winow FM368 frame is like 450€ delivered with taxes right now due to the on going sale, it should be a great value frame considering that Winow is the OEM of Elves Falath Pro frameset
I had problems with my X18 and it made me decide to exclude them from consideration for frames. I had multiple badly done brake mounts and the front derailleur hanger failed and was not mountable because the carbon had frayed and redoing the rivets showed that the surface wasn't shaped correctly.
I have an X8 that I have 7,000 miles on so far. I bought it on a flash sale they had for $99 + shipping. It's not given me a single issue other than the seat clamp is crap. I got a replacement from a Specialized dealer and not a single issue there. I also replaced the headset bearings as the ones they provided were crap. The seat post clamp I believe should come with a rubber cover. Mine didn't and the original bolt got some surface rust but is an easy fix. I would buy from them again without worry.
@@MediumHalf Total cost to get it to my door was $219, so $120. I've been shocked as to how well it's performed. I'm in Central Cal and race in the Northern Cal district and have yet to see another Trifox in the wild. Plenty of Winspace. We even had shop that was a Winspace dealer for a bit, but that didn't seem to take.
The issue is not the quality that they can make, it’s the consistency with which the end user receives a quality product. If you’re not buying a frame anonymously then it’s just not a fair review. Great production as always and loved the new green screen, just don’t think it’s a good system to review low volume manufacturers with them knowing you’re an influencer. Look forward to the anonymous version, would be good to see if you can get a fault fixed anonymously as well!
I have a build series of an X16 on my channel, I can attest for the quality. Mine had no real issues.
Those are called "Hambini special".
Agreed. Needs to be reviewed anonymously. There's no way they let this out out the door without a very extensive check knowing Trace Velo's reputation.
I'm fairly anonymous. I have a build series for my X16 on my channel. I give Trifox a general seal of approval. You get what you pay for, it can be as good as brands costing 3 times as much, but may have QC issues that you can remedy or they may fix. I didn't run into any problems I couldn't take care of and it feels like a solid bike after 2 long rides. Seat leaves a little to be desired, but easily swapped for something else with 7mm rails or get the 9mm conversion from trifox. The designs seem copied by several brands, especially the one-piece handlebar, but the way I see it, if they are copying the mold, then it's probably a proven, reliable, bankable design. @@ooblyboo6781
That EPS explanation was just so smooth it was short and precise, really great content!
No sir, you always deserve a _right-out-from-the-oven_ baguette 🥖🥖
Can't wait to see the final set up and long term results. Great content 👏🏼👏🏼
Thanks _NoName... I'm gonna start building it tomrrow, so stay tuned!
🥖🥐
Hi Luke, loved the new green screen presentation gives an added dimension that others dont have! 🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖 Cant wait for the trifox build, so get cracking and post asap please!🙂🙂🙂
A few of us have the trifox X16 and have been racing it internationally, with no real issues. We changed some bolts and screws because they were cheap and rusting, the seat post clamp has been fine, the seat clamp however is a bit shit to fine adjust the angle and I would prefer a two bolt seat clamp system. But so far we all still have our front teeth :D
Have you been sponsored by trifox for the racing or did you buy with your own money ? How did they ride compared to your basso bikes ? 😊
Ok amazing, thanks for the info! Yeah the saddle clamp is a bit naff, and quite difficult to fine-tune as you stated, but good to hear you have had success! Cheers for the comment!
@@TraceVelo I had the same situation. I lightly sanded the inside surface of the seat clamping area of the post, then I installed the seat off the bike. I put the seat on the table upside down, and assembled the seat guts and post, much easier to adjust with it all upside down. Test it on the bike, then remove it and make adjustments off the bike, with it upside down. There are other seat guts available on ali-express that appear to fit this seat post: 7x7mm and 7x9mm. The aftermarket seat guts may be better quality.
Luke, I present for your approval, the usual offering 🥖
My only issue with the Shokz headphones is I bought a pair for me and my wife 5 years ago, the their STILL GOING STRONG !! and we use them LITERALLY every freaking day. I keep waiting for them to break so I can finally upgrade 😭😭
I have the x16 Trifox. I probably have about 12,000km on it, mostly on the road but also on the trainer. Setup required a bit of extra work (widening the cable-routing entrances, re-facing the rear brake mount as it was painted over). Also, because the seatpost is matte, I had to apply a good amount of carbon grip paste in order to prevent sliding... Apart from that, it's been rock solid. Trifox support team was very responsive when I had questions (quick replies. No language barrier etc). Overall my experience with them is quite satisfactory.
Sounds like my experience too.
I have this frame as well and at least the same mileage, still going strong.
I have a different Chinese frame and my seat post slipped even with carbon paste on it due to the tolerances being out slightly . I put a strip of anti slip tape on the back of the seat post which is sandpaper with a sticky back and then carbon paste. It's never moved since . I tried several things before that like electrical tape and a bit of an aluminium drinks can . It depends how bad it is though whether you'll get a strip of anti slip tape on it or not .
These minor "issues" are just par for the course if you go with most Chinese carbon. Like I tell people if you are not willing or able to deal with them yourself (which sometimes involves getting creative) then steer clear. But the only other option will cost you about £3000 more and that's still no guarantee of perfection, ask any 5 year old French engineer.
Fantastic new production values, Luke. Taking it up a level👍Well done!
Got the yellow X8 over 12 months ago and built it up with a Sensah Empire pro groupset, Magene 58 wheelset, OG Evkin aero handlebar & a 3d printed saddle. Regularly get complimented on its looks. Only issues I had when building it were the usual paint covering the brake mount holes and headset bearing seat which needed some correcting. Its stiff, fast and has replaced my Scott Foil to become my go to crit bike in masters racing these days.
I built up a Trifox X16 QR in Dec. '21 and have logged about 8000 miles so far. Fantastic bike, very fast and people always comment how beautiful it is. The only minor issues I had building were the dropouts were a little sloppy and needed minor filing. The fork steerer needed the supplied crown race, others have commented they didn't need it, so maybe QC issue there but that was it. Would buy again without hesitation. Also purchased the one piece carbon bars and wheels, they have been flawless. As a note on the bars, they have a very long overall reach. I purchased the 100mm stem lenght, but when you factor in the bars, the reach is really like 120mm or more. Something to consider, bars probably not for everyone.
OK great, cheers larry, thanks for the info!
i have one of those eps mold carbon blank frame. Although its an mtb frame but its similarly cleanly constructed. No extra work to get it assembled. Rides well, no complaints.
If you get a good frame, no issue. If you get one with a defect and just a normal person, you are SOL. Had one of their x10 that cracked by the chain stay connection to the downtube right on the logo. After a few messages they refused to cover it and ghosted me. Only had 500 miles on the frame.
Could you provide photos by any chance?
thats when u call your credit card and get a refund
@@jadennglthat's never a guarantee
@@glennoc8585 Looks like my comment with the photos got removed, had a link to imgur.
CC was no dice, built the bike at the end of the summer and it cracked the following spring. Just enough time passed where it was out of their hands.
I have a Trifox X16QR. Build was smooth and easy. The seat post actually has a nice "raw" texture and it doesn't slip at all. The seat clamp itself is a bit fiddly to get level but once set it stays there. 1000km so far in pretty bad roads and it's solid. And I'm a heavy rider at 89 - 90 kg.
Your green screen effort was really effective. Worth doing more of it IMO in future. Works with how you narrate. Thanks for the honest assessment again. You are the only one I trust and I’m a frequent Aliexpress bike part customer.
🥖 I'm liking the new style with the greenscreen
I recently built a Trifox X16ta and ran into several issues with the frame. I had to file the fork dropout because the wheel/hub would not fit! I filed it enough for it to fit just to have my carbon wheelset to misalign after hard braking (strangely that doesn't happen with my second wheelset). It was a pain to also align the brake calipers and I also had to file the mount surfaces. Also, the seat tube has a huge wrinkle that doesn't allow the seat post to be inserted further. If I was any shorter, I could not lower the seat anymore. I like the color tho, blue chameleon.
PS, Another good frame that I have used Tideace. I built this bike with Dura Ace mechanical and rim brakes. It weights a bit over 15 lbs.
@aldolmb5, thanks for all the info. Sounds like a bit of a pain with the front dropouts and the brake calipers. I assume the brake mounts were painted over, which affected the alighnment. Unfortunately quite a common complaint with the cheaper frames. I seem to recall my X16 having painted mounts for the rear, but fortunately it didn't affect the overall alignment of the calipers The seat-post issue you mention i've had with a couple of frames. Depending on how far you need it inserted, cutting it down by a few cm's may be the best option. Luckily i am quite tall, so most of the time the seat post is only inside the frame a few inches at most. But still thankyou for sharing. Did you contact Trifox, and if so how were they in rectifying the issues?
I just saw another frame review where the frame actually had a stop molded in to prevent putting the seatpost in too far in and causing damage to the seattube. Is it possible that is what is happening on your frame?
@@johndef5075 definitely not designed this way. The wrinkle is a defect that is located in a place that restricts the seat post to be inserted. only about 2cm of insertion past the minimum mark.
I contacted trifox through ali and they agreed to refund 10% after a lot of back and forth. The mount faces were filed from factory but it wasn't great. I had to file them some more until the calipers could be aligned. Looking forward to your building video! @@TraceVelo
New setup is dope. It was easy to follow before with all of the transitions but this is next level live information. Really cool upgrade.
I have an X16 rim brake . Got it as a Covid project,have to say I love it
OK amazing, good to hear!
Brilliant video! The internal video journey inside the frame and putting yourself on the green screen is a nice departure from boring bike review vids.
Imma be honest here, I kinda miss that old intro with that tune playing accompanied with the slight awkward "as always, im Luke" 😢
Yeah me too, but in general the TH-cam algo prefers REALLY tight intros. Essentially watch time and drop-off in the first minute is heavily prioritised, and unfortunately the older style intro's had too much 'dead-air'. I've had a few comments like this tho, so i might re-work it for the next one....
@@TraceVelo ah that makes sense. Let us all hold hands in remembrance of our fallen intro. 😥🤝
Recently, I have built up two bikes using a TFSA and a Trifox X16. The TFSA frame is very similar to the Trifox X18 frame which you covered in your video. I built both frame with Shimano ultegra Di2 (the Trifox was assembled with Dura Ace shifters due to lack of availability of Ultegra shifters) I used FSA BB and SLK cranksets. I built the Trifox to be my climbing bike with lower gearing, chain rings 30/46, cassette 11-34. It turned out well because the finished bike weights 15.5 lbs. Unexpectedly light for a disc brake bike. I've added KMC chain, Shimano ultegra pedals and an ICAN Aero 40 wheelset Continental GP 5000 25mm tires. Not having a bundle of cash to spend on a frame, i.e., Specialized $6000, I find that the Chinese manufacturers offer a good value. Admittedly, there have been issues with some of these products. However, I have found there are some that I trust and buy from again. Those are the two previously mentioned and Superteam, Airwolf and ICAN. To date I have built 5 road bikes utilizing Chinese companies. One brand that I would advise against is SP Cycles on Ebay. Anyway, thank you for videos keep up the good work 😊
OK great to hear, thanks for the comment! How is the X16 frame holding up. After a bit of a fiasco with the forks, my X16 is still rock solid!
@TraceVelo I have had zero problems with the frame. However, as you mentioned, the saddle mount is rubbish. I purchased a different and better mount that fit the diameter of seatpost opening. I recently rode the Trifox on 50 mile ride and the bike preformed beautifully.
Hey , Great video and Surprise here.
So looking forward for this build .
Thanks Luke :)
Greenbox moderation is perfekt. You setting the future of YT. Beside anyway y critic is spot on and valid.
the final build is the only thing missing now with the LTWOO groupset as well.
Also, when will you try the ELVES brand that's been making noise for some time now? I'm from the Philippines and it's quite popular here, even some Filipino Pros use them to race.
I have built up this exact frame, colour and size! Problems were brake mounts not being flat, so had to file them to elimnate brake rub. Path of front brake cable was so tight, getting compressionless housing through it was a nightmare. Cable entry and exit points had to be filed to be smoother. Lastly the paint is super thin and very easy to damage.
As you mentiomed i think my first upgrade would be swapping the handle bars for a combined handlebar and stem to save weight and boost aesthetics.
The frame is overall very good and stiff and a good weight especially at price point!
Love the video, excited to see how it looks! 🥖 🥖
Bought a MFM100 (mtb) frame from them, along with flat bars and carbon road seat. The seat I put on my road bike for a number or rides. It was surprisingly comfortable, though not a lot of miles to tell if there is a problem. The MFM100 I built as a down-country Fox-Factory premium race rig. Raced it for two seasons and ride it constantly. Other than being a light-weight full-squish bike, it holds up well. I crashed the bike on the flat bars a good number of times, and the bars have held up well. I did apply ride wrap and helicopter tape where needed. I have had 0 problems with the bike. BTW, I paired the bike up with the iCan carbon enduro wheel set and I tell you it handles like a dream. Another friend of mine did something similar and built it as a 100mm XC race bike and he loves it.
4:44 absolutely brilliant product and a great sponsor of the channel.
Hey Luke -- looking forward to this build & review. I hear @Dave Noakes - Ride Everything is also building up a Trifox road frame, except w/ the new SRAM Apex mechanical.
I built up a TriFox X16TA in October 2022 with a set of their 50mm rims. I purchased it after watching your previous TriFox video so I knew what to expect and I knew I could fix the issues toy mentioned without too much fuss (fork and frame cable guide holes needed slight filing as well as rear hydraulic caliper mounts needed facing). Ive been riding it for almost 11 months now with almost no issues aside from the ones I fixed out of the box mentioned above. The only slight concern I have is with the thru-axles. The seem to use quite a solf aluminum that if not careful can be stripped where the allen key is inserted.
Cureently it is built up with a 105 cable activated groupset and juintech brakes however I should be receiving a ltwoo erx groupset tomorrow and cant wait to get it installed and to watch your review on rhe groupset and full build
LOVE the green-screen tour of the internals!
I'm pretty happy with my X16. I have the build series on my channel. I bought all the Trifox branded stuff available: Frameset, wheelset, seat, and handlebars. I built up the bike with a 12 speed Ultegra Di2 group set with Dura Ace brakes. I've only put about 30 miles on it so far (one neighborhood test ride and one long ride out in the wild). I'd be happy to email a review to Luke, but honestly I didn't have much trouble with it. The build/ride quality seems perfectly acceptable with their full branded parts group. I took Luke's recommendation and used a strip of rubberized plastic in the seat tube to prevent slipping. It hasn't slipped at all. Since I'm running Di2, the problem of filing the cable routing hole in the frame wasn't an issue, I didn't need that routing hole. I did have to shim the rear hub on the drive side with a thin washer to allow me to run 12 speed. I don't think it's a Trifox problem, the frame wasn't designed for 12 speed. However the thin washer solves the issue and you still have plenty of axle threads going into the dropout and it isn't spreading the rear triangle of the frame, it's only a slightly tighter fit. The paint around the dropouts looks like it will chip off with repeated faffing of the rear wheel, but if you watch GP Lama's Di2 build on his Giant, the very same paint chipping can be seen, so it's inevitable on any thru-axle frame I think. I did have to face the rear brake mounts, which was an easy job with an exacto knife, brakes mounted easily. The only real "issue" I have is the Trifox bare carbon seat isn't very comfortable for longer rides. That's a completely personal and subjective issue though, the seat itself is fine and would be ok for race days maybe, but not regular rides. I ordered a different Chinese carbon seat with a little padding. It was cheap, we will see how it does. 7x7mm seat rails is a constraint, might look into 7x9mm seat guts. Looks like the Trifox seat post is a somewhat universal shape and there are aftermarket seat guts that can convert the post.
Thanks to Luke for bringing the brand to my attention, they checked all the boxes on what I wanted out of a new carbon road bike. I plan to continue documenting my experience with the bike.
BTW I am a retired bicycle mechanic if you wanted to know the context of my perspective.
@@nocturnalcadence1676I'll watch some of your content today.
Do you think a local bike shop would be happy to build this bike for me?
If you gave them all the Trifox parts together, probably. If you tried to combine different brands without checking first, you may have problems. @@TBATTIECYCLING
Yes Luke, Loving this new weatherman style tour through the insides of your frame.
Ive had the Trifox X18 for 1,5 year now and it works fine! Had issue with seatpost because of clearcoat, filed it down then the seatpost stayes in place.
Also had issue adjusting the stem because lf at to big layer of paint.
Both issues fixed.
A Specialized Venge Stem fits right on, not the SL7 stem ;-) and the specialized garmin mount alså fits on original stem!
Sold it to my buddy, who is a happy man - fine bike for the cost!
OK great, thanks for the comment. Glad to hear you had a good experience!
Have a Trifox X10. About 6 months. No big issues. I would say is non-drive rear dropout looks really marginal. The paint around the BB seat disintegrates after removing it a few times. The frame is 1,244g for an XL, but very stiff. Well worth what I paid for it. Long reach or short drop depending how you look at it.
Ok fantastic, good to hear! Yeah that particular frame is pretty chunky, but it's a more aero focused one, so will prob be much stiffer than this one!
I recently built up a an X8 TA with SRAM Rival AXS components. Only a couple hundred miles, but the ride is very smooth and predictable. Time will tell whether it will hold up. I am a track sprinter (old guy 50+ masters rider) tipping the scales at around 100kg and still producing some decent peak watts. It seems solid enough with 32 spoke 65mm deep wheels, but I have yet to launch a full sprint acceleration on it, which I expect to get some significant flexing as every road bike I've ever ridden has had. Given my weight, I have not had issues with the seatpost slipping, which I fully intended to have to deal with. It did require an ample amount of carbon paste, but that was it. The seat clamp has not been an issue either, which I also typically have problems with on single bolt designs. I wouldn't want to be adjusting the seat angle regularly as the design doesn't look like it would hold up to repeated adjustments. Other issues I had:
1)clean up the disc brake mounting holes that were painted over
2)Open up the holes with a file for the front brake housing to route through the fork
3)Trim the plastic cover on the bottom bracket that did not line up well with the frame
4)Clean up the top of the frame around headset race where some excess resin and paint were sitting creating a sharp point and not allowing the bearing to seat properly
5)File off some paint on the rear dropout under the derailleur hanger (It was not flat and caused the derailleur hanger to not line up vertically)
6)Filed off paint around the BB where the bearing cups thread in (mostly to avoid flaking paint down the road)
7)The hole in the top tube to route cables (specific to the X8 model) is visibly crooked (although with SRAM AXS, I am not using this and will be covering the opening anyway)
Only other issue is that the frame was designed for mechanical brakes and not hydraulic (not a defect). This means that you can't run a hydraulic hose through the rear chainstay. I have the rear brake line routed through the downtube, coming out the cover at the bottom bracket (that I notched out) and running along the bottom of the rear chainstay.
I expected most of these issues (except #7) at this price point. With these frames at this price point, you have to go in with the expectation that you will have to tinker with it to get it to all come together. All in all I'm happy with it at this point.
It's luking time. I'm kinda sad this video isn't any longer.
Love love your content!! it’s really informative and the aesthetic is like if C-3PO became a cyclist in a sherlock holmes /bladerunner crossover cyberpunk universe.
Just chiming in, I got a Trifox X16 Rim model back in January 2021, having ridden it now 5,000km, the only issues I had when building it up was:
- Seatpost slipping. Fixed by putting some sandpaper sheet on the back of the seatpost and some carbon grease. That thing has not slipped since.
- Had to file a little bit the mounting hole for the Rim Brakes.
- Had terrible shifting performance when using the cheap plastic tubes. Mechanic had to install gear housing complete from the shifters back to the derailleurs, and no issues ever since.
Recently upgraded the wheelset to Hypers 38mm and RideNow TPU Tubes. I can hang with people riding expensive bikes like BMC or Colnago without a problem. The Carbon Wheelset completely transformed the way the power transfer feels. I don't think an average rider will ever need more than what this frameset offers.
the plastic tubes are most of the time only used for pulling the cable housings through, not to stay in there (except the frame is made to do so and has the correct stops on the frame for that, but I doubt it with Trifox)
I have a Trifox X16QR for a year now and it woks just perfect, no noises or weird things. It came also with carbon wheels just for 700 euros. I have it mounted with Sensah transmission full carbon and bike performs crazy good
Glad to see this sponsor. I love my Shockz, they make a great product.
Love the use of the greenscreen!
Love the green screen, it really take presentation to the next level, excellent stuff Luke 🥖🥖🥖🥖
Liking Mini Luke's Fantastic Voyage inside the frame. Keep it up!
I was surprised to hear that trifox has a bad reputation. I have an x18 and x16 in my group, and their owners are happy enough to recommend...
Which is why I have an x16 on my christmas shopping list.
Everyone is happy when they get a good copy. Others are unhappy after one bad experience with a very high QC control company that rarely screws up
Love my x16. Well over 15000 km on mine and going strong
Hi Luke - your original trifox build inspired to build the x18 but in matt black version with fully mechanical sensah groupset; that was not fun and finally gave in to buying a rival axs electronic groupset - which made my cycling so much better. I had issues with the seatpost and I found cricket bat tape has completely stopped it from slipping. The only other thing to mention is my FD braze-on has started wiggling but I believe this was due to the sensah groupset putting so much tension on the front derailleur (internal routing with 90 degree turns) it loosened the rivets. Now that it’s electronic no further issues and have clocked 9000km. Thanks again for the inspiration!
Proud owner of a Trifox x16 QA. It's fitted with Ultegra mec.
I smile everytime I see it hanging in the bike's room :)
🥖.
Great to finally got this frame review from you Luke. Delihea Rest (tank machine) are quite popular here in asia, even the earlier rim brakes version got the praise of good ride quality. Couple of friends had this frame has problem with slipping seat-post, cracking rear carbon thru-axle holder (drive side, frame got replaced by Delihea) and loose front derailleur hanger but that because of chain drop.
I got a trifox x16 rim brake version just under a year and a half ago, with the aero carbon bars. The axle mounting points needed a little bit of filing on the outer part to get the axles in but it was aligned right. The seat post slipped, I was able remedy this with cricket bat tape. The carbon bars were eventually switched out for alloy ; the internal routing had a kink and bent the front derailleur cable (mech groupset), but overall I preferred the rigid feel of the allow bar as opposed to the slight flex in the carbon.
After those little tweaks though it's been riding great. Nil issues with bottom bracket and it's been about 4000km. I'd do it again as it was so cheap even with replacement parts (under 2000 aud total build )
Excited to hear how this frame performs. As always, as a budget-minded cyclist in Asia, I'm thankful for your content, Luke.
Man, I've got to tell you, I'm Spanish and I can understand english pretty well to be honest. But I have to confess, for me it's a nightmare to understand others TH-camrs (I won't drop any names 😜) I miss many sentences and words. But you, you're something else, dude. From my point of view, your pronunciation is spot-on, and your vocabulary is really approachable. Sometimes, I don't even realize I'm listening to a different language.
And lastly, your videos are fantastic; really good and necessary information. Great job!
Will you be covering the new Microshift Sword groupset? It's Taiwanese hardware instead of Chinese but quite a few of your viewers might be interested in it.
I have a TriFox X10 road bike and have been riding it for over 2 years now with no issues. It was originally built up with Sensah 2x11 groupset but has been upgraded to Shimano 105 hydraulic 2x11. I have a 50mm carbon wheelset from Elite Wheels built up tubeless with Continental GP5000TL. I've been very happy with it and really do not have any complaints.
Did you encounter quality issues with the Sensah groupset, or was it because you wanted hydraulic brakes?
@@smu55 It was a disc brake frame and I was not happy with the hybrid mechanical/hydraulic caliper performance, even using compressionless housing. Also I had the same intermittent shifting issues with the Sensah groupset shifting between the 9th and 10th cog. What is strange is that I moved the Sensah to a rim brake frame and shifting was surprisingly flawless on it with no issues shifting from 9th and 10th gears. So to your question, not really an issue with the Sensah groupset per se, yes because I wanted hydraulic brakes. On another note I did the same with my gravel bike that Luke did. I originally bought the Giant Conduct braking system and Sensah SRX 1x11, but since I've swapped them out for Shimano GRX RX810 1x11. Again, no issues with Sensah, just not happy with the mechanical pull on hydraulic brakes.
There's a guy in my bike group who's happy with his. I don't remember the model, but he's had it for some time. It's a camo like paint job.
I bought a Trifox X8 frame because of your first video 😅. I had issues with the interanl cable routing for the front derailleur where I had to cut some of the internal white tubing away at the bottom bracket area. Had issues with the rear derailleur hanger, had to bend if slightly out of correct alignment to get the gears to index. My frame also cracked, but Trifox were really helpful at replacing the frame due to it being in warrenty. I have also had issue with the seatpost clamp and the saddle clamp, if you tighten and untighten too many times then the metal screws eat into the body. But my replacement frame seems to be working fine now and rides really well. 🥖🥖🥖🥖
Whereabouts did you’re frame crack? I have the TFSA version of this frame - no major issues for me other than a slipping seat post which I have resolved by using some grip tape.
Happy with my X16 rim brake. Set it up as a crit racer, 1x with red Etap. My daily is a cannondale Super six evo high mod, to give an idea what I’m comparing it to. People freak out that I race it, like it’s going to fall apart. Love the channel 🥖🥖
I bought two MTB hardtail frames from Trifox. I was still happy with the first frame because the mounting surfaces for the brake caliper were machined after painting. However, when I put it together, I noticed that the mounting surfaces were totally misaligned. I had to remove about 1mm of material to get two really flat and square surfaces. I wrote to Trifox and reported the problem, but I've never received a reply.
A few months later I ordered the second frame and pointed out this problem both when ordering and again before delivery. This frame also came to me with the same problem 😐
Looking into the seat tubes, I noticed some connection errors in the carbon. It seems that too little resin was used in the manufacturing process. Both frames have now been in use for around 1.5 years and so far there has been no damage.
Build up this frame april 22..with 105 mechanical brake nightmare to route the cable ... past 10000km .. got podium in local race ..mybe follow your route to put ltwoo electronic groupset 😅
Can you fit a 32mm tyre?
X16 guy here. Bottom bracket was threaded perfectly, seat post is great but the seat mounts look like they were cast in sand. Usable, but some machining clean up would be nice.
That handsome bearded fellow at 7:08 really knows his onions (his bike knowledge is up for debate though).
I have the DELIHEA REST II "TANK MACHINE" (I'm sure that means something really cool in Chinese 😂) and although my bore camera is a really old b&w analogue thing what I saw inside was pretty much the same as what Luke saw, very clean (although I'm staring to think that may not be as important as we all assumed it was).
I've been up Ale Du Zwift multiple times attached to a Kickr 5 with no issues from the rear dropouts. Seat post doesn't slip, it has some pretty aggressive grip paint on it. I did have the saddle rotate on me a few weeks ago but it was a 💣crater of a pothole that caused it, and I was riding on the nose at the time. The stem that came with mine was an absolute shambles very badly misaligned. I needed to go longer anyway so I wasn't too annoyed. If anyone has this issue or needs to change length its a VENGE stem (or copy) that you need not an SL7 the whole headset assembly is a mash up of the 2. Done about 4000 real miles and a few hundred virtual ones on it so far with no issues to speak of, its a joy to ride and an absolute weapon on the climbs and flats.
It must be taken into account though that I'm a major short-arse and ride a 44/XXS (smaller frames tend to be stronger) and I weigh 55kg/120 lbs so I'm not exactly pushing any structural limits.
Forgot the baguettes how very rude of me: 🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖
After buying a Trifox frame with a stripped bb thread and painted bearing cups that I had to spend *hours* sanding, I can’t ever give them a chance again.
I have that same seat post and seat post clamp on my TFSA road frame. First the oval saddle clamp notoriously slips. I found the newer Ryet/Lexon 3D printed saddles have very thick carbon rails + carbon paste that prevent slipping. If not, wrapping tape around standard carbon rails prevent slipping and over torquing for that particular clamp. Second, trash the screw in the seat post clamp and get a titanium M5x25mm screw, it'll handle more torque and it's less likely to strip when tightening. Lastly, I used tape strips on the front and rear of the seat post to prevent it from sliding and only apply carbon paste to the side of the seat post. In addition, I also had to resort to wrapping tape at base of the seat post to completely prevent it from sliding down. It's a bit overkill, but less annoying versus having your seat post and saddle slipping all over the place mid-ride! Anyways, great video and look forward to your ERX review! 🥖🥖🥖
Hi Luke, I have a Trifox MTB carbon frame MFM 200 and don’t have any issues about it. I have been using it for about 1 year and 8 months (6,478 kms) and I love it 😉👍. Saludos desde Mexico 🇲🇽
I tried some of those bone headphones and was amazed how great they are.
Love the green screen and the new production direction.
Woohoo!! First comment! I'm researching bike frames for after I move to Norway. I sold my current bicycle already. I'll be doing a build once I get over there. I'm leaving at the end of the month.
Also 🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥐🥐
I’d be interested to see you do one of these on an Airwolf frame, I have an MTB frame and I’ve not had any issues.
Yeah the airwolf frames have definitely been on my radar!
@@TraceVeloI've been riding and racing on an Airwolf T1000 aero frameset for 3 years now. Very stiff frame with a well-faced and concentric BSA bottom bracket (Hambini would be impressed). Fast and it handles cornering well.
It's not without problems, mostly annoying ones. Rusting at the bottle cage bolt holes, and the front bottle cage hole mounts slightly off center. The rear derailleur hanger required replacement within the 1st year. And the headset needs to be well greased to avoid rusting.
Even with all that, great value for ~$500!
+1 on testing an Airwolf frame. Would like to see how their YFR068 Aspero copy falls out! @@TraceVelo 🥖
7:48 it's nice to see you small like this on videos , you can point some stuff on the background video.. thats nice ! Video quality improved ;)
Amazing, thanks! Yeah it takes a little work to get the green-screening right, but i think it is worth it when you can point out specific things!
I have this exact bike for 6 months now
Routing hydraulic/mechanical shifting is abysmal, Drilled an additional hole underneath the handlebar for shifter cables.
The original hole is too high for a cable housing and hose.
Carbon Saddle was sliding at first put electricians tape on the saddle rails before clamping no issues now.
Seat clamp no issues
7.5kg bike ultegra r8020 50mm carbon rims, SPD pedals. Size 49 5’7” 110mm stem slammed.
P.S I am looking for spacer to interface with a aftermarket carbon integrated dropbar. Trifox customer support is crap.
I'm really looking forward to the build. have lots of fun with it. here are a few fresh baguettes to have enough energy for the next rides 🥖🥖🥖🥖
Looking forward to seeing how it works out when you have some parts on there.
yeah, the old trifox problem only came to light when using it, so let's wait and see
Luke looking like the weather forecast anchor now. Pretty good upgrade actually. Lot’more editing work I assume. TSUNAMI do aluminum / titanium Road/Gravel bikes, crazy cheap. Worth a look IMO
Nice upgrade setup for your studio
I have the TFSA JH33, managed to buy it raw directly from the mould. I then had a carbon specialist cover up all the holes (axs) and then custom painted, all in all the frame cost me around 2000 bucks. It is very flexy around the bottom bracket but other than that pretty decent. 823 gram unpainted and 873 gram painted. 6.6kg fully built including pedals, Garmin mount and bottle cages. TFSA were extremely nice to deal with but the frame is far from perfect. The bottom bracket surface was not flat amongst other things. I also had a guy custom 3D print a new headset (only 18 gram) to reduce weight even further and also enable a super slammed stem (much lower than original and much lower than SL7. I also had a friend CNC a 2mm thick 80mm aluminum sleeve epoxied inside the steerer tube, only 35g and it makes the steerer tube bullet proof. So I put down crazy amount of work on my frame but I am very happy with it. Built to be as light as possible and to be ridden hard without safety concerns! It is definitely the fastest bike I have ever ridden
Build this with 105 hydralic. Reeeeally like it. But! I actually found it was really difficult to get a housing cable rough to the rear shifter. Right at the assembly section actually and fitting all the cables up into the stem, was a bit of a nightmare. But with a little patience it all worked out. I love the rest of it. Really moves when you get out of the saddle.
Does the inner cabling rattle on a rough surface?
@@petrv76 No. Not that i noticed.
The greenscreen is a nice addon!.. Well done!
Hi excellent content as ever, I built up the TFSA jh-33 frameset with SRAM Rival axs groupset, they look identical, the original seatpost clamp was a nightmare to set the saddle angle correctly but after many attempts I got there, TFSA do sell a better seatpost design which I may invest in. As its a copy of an SL7 I used a (bought separately) very long headset expander to try and insure no steerer tube breakages.1000 miles so far and the bike runs flawlessly on an Elite wheelset and GUB 3D printed saddle. Keep up the good work. Oh if you can get a INGRID RD1 Rear Derailleur for SHIMANO SRAM 11speed 12 speed Road MTB bike derailleur I'd be interested in how they perform just because I think they look great 🥖🥖🥖
I'm digging the weather man vibe.
As always awesome content
Must be a massive bike the inside view is as tall as Luke is.
😂
Cam Nichols had an issue with his trifox frame too ! . It was rubbish. There's cheap and then there is Trifox 😮. But really thanks for the heads up about these guys .
Love the content. I’ve always wanted a mat carbon frame.
Those earphones look great. Seriously good promo! 🎉
Trifox was one of my options years ago when I decided to build up a bike from Aliexpress. Yeah, the reviews discouraged me, and I eventually went with DELIHEA. Was quite impressed with the overall quality of their (DELIHEA) frames that I've been riding for few years now without any major issue.
its from the same factory, all made by TFSA
But each brend has its own quality control , one brand gets a+ frames , another gets a frames , the next gets a- and so on @@srdfcgvhbn
Where's the in-shower demonstration of the shokz bone conduction headphones to show its water resistance?
I love the editing. Well done
Luke the "Ant-Man" going inside the tubes! Love the editing 👍💯😎 As always, you deserve these 🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖
Winow FM368 frame is like 450€ delivered with taxes right now due to the on going sale, it should be a great value frame considering that Winow is the OEM of Elves Falath Pro frameset
The production is quite good. I loved the footage inside the frame. Can you tell me the camera you used for it? Thanks and keep up the good work.
Love the vid man, keep it up! Looking forward to seeing you build it up, always love your videos!
I had problems with my X18 and it made me decide to exclude them from consideration for frames. I had multiple badly done brake mounts and the front derailleur hanger failed and was not mountable because the carbon had frayed and redoing the rivets showed that the surface wasn't shaped correctly.
i would love to see a review of the aluiminium gravel frames from seaboard
Kudos for giving them another shot. Here's to a successful build! 🥖
Nice looking frame. Looking forward to the build and test.
I have an X8 that I have 7,000 miles on so far. I bought it on a flash sale they had for $99 + shipping. It's not given me a single issue other than the seat clamp is crap. I got a replacement from a Specialized dealer and not a single issue there. I also replaced the headset bearings as the ones they provided were crap. The seat post clamp I believe should come with a rubber cover. Mine didn't and the original bolt got some surface rust but is an easy fix. I would buy from them again without worry.
$99 for a bike frame is crazy cheap- how much was shipping?
@@MediumHalf Total cost to get it to my door was $219, so $120. I've been shocked as to how well it's performed. I'm in Central Cal and race in the Northern Cal district and have yet to see another Trifox in the wild. Plenty of Winspace. We even had shop that was a Winspace dealer for a bit, but that didn't seem to take.
Fck me. It’s been two years? Damn you’ve come a long way. Congrats!
This is the most interested I've been in a green screen presentation since the Mexican weather girl footage did the rounds.
congrats on hitting 100k subs dude
Great content as always, but really enjoyed the format!
Yes! Classic Trace Velo intro song remix!
Liking this new format with you overlaid on the video. Could you do a weather report next? 😂
HA, yeah it is a bit weather-reporty, but I think it adds a little something else to the b-roll shots
@@TraceVelo definitely. Love the close up analysis