bit the bullet and bought the frame.
LKLM 318-series 700c, 58cm (23")
$90 online with shipping.

it's steel, 3 h2o cages, brake+gear
cables internally routed, v-studs and
disc mount. came with seatpost clamp,
and no-name (prolly jagwire) housing
pre-loaded.

did not get the lklm fork. weirdly,
all lklm forks sold with frames in mainland
china are sized for the smaller frames.

bought a generic steel "placeholder"
fork, maybe replace later.

alex dh19 rims, pillar 2018 3-butt spokes,
novatek (joytec) hubs, will be built this weekend.

other stuff on order, most will be be done
before xmas, final build after chinese
new year holiday.......expect total cost
will be around $500.

How was it only 90.00?
Looks like an amazing deal!

closeouts of last year's models.
without fork 600 RMB, with fork 1000-1300 RMB.

the "improved" models have a straight-blade fork
and no internal cables. also, they appear to no
longer be available in adult sizes. all the ads
show max size 52cm both in 26" and 700c.

old model
https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?sp...d=538189080804

new model
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm...d=542680331132

Hard to tell in the photos, but how is the fit and finish, and what is your general opinion of the quality?

Looks like a lot of bike for $90!

BB (octolink) threaded in easily, smooth up against the
bb shell. but damn you mr. shimano! plastic bb cup?
and then you engineereeded the bb 0.2mm too thick to
use the steel cups from the UN series. that's just evil.

cane creek headset (S-9) pressed in easily.

paint is smooth and glossy. has a groovy
brushed aluminum headtube badge and a
matching badge on the right chainstay.

welds are clean.

came with all mounting bolts, seatpost
clamp, cable housing internally routed.

other than the lugwork, compares favorably
to my $700 mercian frame from 25 years
ago.

Up cup from QBP aluminum is available .. (UN type IDK about Octalink) But .. no galvanic corrosion between plastic and steel , like there is

between Aluminum and steel (see all those stuck seat post threads, posted here over the years)

[Have an XTR Octa link BB its all Metal .. ]





...

Should be great for the Katy Trail. Just don't get hypothermia.

+1, I like it, just curious how difficult it will be to re-cable that bad boy when needed?

is possible with dental picks and little flashlights,
but is a "me frustrate you long time" experience.

easier is just to thread a long derailler cable through
your already cut-to-length replacement housing, then
run cable thru the old housing.....and pull.

Ive recabled a couple of internally routed bikes. Not terrible to do. One had the housing in it which made new housing and cable really easy.

So where did you actually get it from? Was it their website? I don't read Chinese, and their English version doesn't seem to work. From the pics on the site, they have some nice looking stuff!

Some frames are easy to do, I have one that has a guide or tunnel built within the top and down tubes making it easy, some have removable plugs that pop out where it enters and exits allowing you to go at it with picks, strings and vacuums and such, and then...... there are those that can be a royal pain. Even attaching the old to the new housing and pulling thru can lead to sometimes undesired excitement.

got it from this here taobao seller:
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm...d=537832349524
the black world traveler sadly toooo small.


fork!

...and then there were wheels.


alex rims DH19 700C 36 H
pillar PSR 2018 triple butted spokes
novatek (joytek) sealed bearing hubs
kenda K935 700*45 (29*1.75)

standover height 85.5 cm
seatpost is a zoom carpricorn

saddlesores, A build on an unfamiliar frame makes for an interesting thread. You may need to buy a couple of spacers for the third cage position should you wish to use it to clear the internal cable's outlet. Is it meant to be bare cable as it passes under the BB shell?

I've had a few bikes with a Shimano plastic adapter on the NDS. They work fine and pretty much guarantee that the BB won't make noise. Then again my bikes with a metal NDS adapter don't make any noise either.

Brad

3rd cage clears the outlet, housing does not rub on water bottle.
prolly use with smallest h20 bottle with wide mouth to hold
tube, patch kit, levers.

not meant to be bare cable. no threaded hole below bb to mount
a plastic cable guide. there is a black painted patch at the edge of
the bb shell, i assume the housing is meant to rest on that spot
rather than rub on the pretty yellow paint.

my last plastic bb cup worked fine until it cracked, then had an
annoying click on every turn of the crank.

but wait, there's more!

added a pair of BB7's and cane creek SA-9

drivetrain gots:

sunrace 11-36 9-spd cassette
FC-M523 10-spd hollowtech crank 22-30-40 175mm
*crank is unbranded, but sold as "deore" in some shops
*came with the removable pants protector thingie
BB-ES25 68mm came with the crankset 118mm?
RD-M591 deore 9-spd rear.
8seems to be playing well with the 36T cassette
FD-M610 deore 30-spd front.
*required a set of 34.9-28.6 shims for thinner diameter steel

rear rack is a windspeed (taiwan) model, solid alu legs and
cro-moly seatstay bars.

seat in the photo is a placeholder, will move the gyes B-17 clone
over from other bike when wtb rocket-v arrives.

stem is UNO, will add 720mm UNO swallow bars, along with
avid FR-5 levers and sunrace (sturmey archer) thumbshifters.
rear 9-spd index, front 3-spd friction.

This thing is shaping up smart. This thread oughta be stickied. "How to build a touring bike on a budget."

saddlesores, The close up photos helped me see how the cable routing works on your frame, pretty tidy. As for the rest, it looks like the lesson to be learned from your build is simply good planning.

Brad

PS I hope you have a GOOD lock for it.

Impressive looking for the money. Looking forward to the ride report.

as we continue with our story....

--added the gyes leather saddle, plus a spiffy solar blinkie light
--front platform rack mounted to unused v-brake studs
--full cover fenders and proper kickstand
--2 water bottles, and toolbox in lower cage (large enough
for spare tire and levers)
--mirror for right-hand drive

will stop for now.......spring festival/chinese new year coming soon.
leaving next week for 7 weeks in thailand. still have:

--pedals clips and straps. will get some large platform wellgos
with cromoly axles, sealed bearings, and greaseport.
--chain, cables, cut housing.
--maybe some shorter bar ends (installed are scrap placeholders)
--correct stem....maybe a 40 degree 120mm
--possibly trim the bars....got widebody 720mm

total build cost is right on budget at 3500 RMB......US$500

[MENTION=9839]saddlesores[/MENTION], Looks pretty good so far. You will definitely need a good lock! Looking forward to the shake down ride report.

Brad

Cool looking seatpost. Is it pretty good quality?...or seem like it is?

seems to be. it's a zoom. feels solid enough.
think metal at the top, two seatbolts.

wanted to try a different brand seatpost.
bontrager snapped at the seatbolt.
truvativ's (several) corrode too quickly in
the tropical humidity, aluminum begins to crumble.

yeah, and it looks cool. like i gots a katana
stuffed in the frame. great for repelling
dogs and slaying zombies.