Hi,

I'm currently in the process of deciding on a frameset for my girlfriend. We've been looking at the Hongfu FM039 and DengFu FM098 as we like the look of the Aero framesets. What are your thoughts on these and are they the exact same frame, the geometry looks the same to me? My gf is new to cycling so I don't want and out and out racing setup, would the geometry of these frames be considered some way relaxed or very aggressive? One last question, I like the the paint scheme on the specialized venge i.e the matte black with no carbon weave visible. Is this type of finish considered UD Matte or would it be full Matte Black. Thanks very much for your help...!


http://dengfubikes.com/product.asp?id=35&classid=21

http://www.e-hongfu-bikes.com/index.php ... cts_id=276

They are clearly not the same frame, the pictures show clear differences and the geometries are different.

UD Matte is the look you're going for

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Bike Pure

Your correct yes they are different. Looking at them I think the FM098 probably looks a bit more like a venge copy but then again its hard to tell from the pictures. Which would you consider the more relaxed geometry?

Can anyone recommand a frameset from either dengfu or hungfu with a relaxed geometry?

Anyone???

The FM098 is generally a little taller for a given Reach as shown in the reach-stack plot below


It's also obvious that the 98 has a larger size range. Which could be useful if your GF is short - the smallest 98 has notably less reach than the smallest 39.

The 39 tends to have a slacker head tube angle which suggests more relaxed steering. The corollary to this is that the steep HTA of the smallest 98 gives it a very short front centre so will definitely have toe overlap which is an issue for some riders but not for others (not an issue if she doesn't need the smallest one).

39 has steeper seat tube angle which can be limiting for position (or just mean that you need a more offset seatpost)

So 98 is taller which some think of as 'relaxed' because it facilitates a more upright position.
39 has more relaxed steering (which is how I define relaxed geo).
What do you mean by relaxed?

I'd suggest that you need to work out what fits (not too many spacers, sensible stem length, can get the right saddle position). Then choose what will give the nicest handling from the options that fit.

If you are heading down the tall and relaxed path then the HF015 might be a better choice and it's a lot cheaper than the 'aero' options.

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http://www.speedtheory.co.nz

Thanks very much for all the information, I really appriecate it. My GF is 5ft5" so I was thinking of a Top Tube Horizontal Length of roughly 530ish. I see what you mean by relaxed can mean different things to different people, I meant it as a more upright riding position. Seeing as she new to cycling I don't think she'll be comfortable in a low position for very long without back pain/strain.

At 5'5 her inseam is predicted as 781mm with std dev of 12mm. So 680 to 700mm saddle height.
The size 53 FM015 will allow 45mm of saddle-bar drop with max spacers and an 80x-6 stem for 700mm saddle height and 70mm setback. So that size is probably a pretty safe option. Be sure to get the right width bars in a short reach model (deda RHM are nice) to allow more room on stem length.

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http://www.speedtheory.co.nz