Hongfu FM-066/Chinese open mould frame thread

[ZachUA]

Hey guys, I am trying to find which asian manufacturer/open mold frame these are coming from.

If it is open mold, it should be available unbranded somewhere? I don't see if listed on any of the sellers like Dengfu or Hongfu (fm015 looks similar but seat stays are very different), nor can I find it on any of the other common direct from manufacturer sites. Does anyone have an idea who is the true manufacturer of this frame? Any other frames out there that match this one being sold under different brand? I've read element six is same but it looks slightly different to me. Pedal Force doesn't have my size and they don't plan on restocking the QS3 anymore (per email with PF a few months ago).

Examples, Kyklos Featherweight vs Ritte Bosberg:







The seat stay junction appears dead match for Ritte/Kyklos. You can see that sometimes the cables are mounted external and other times internal but otherwise the frames appear same. I believe the first versions were external while later internal.

Ritte's geo chart even looks similar to one of the pics from the Chinese manufacturers:

[prendrefeu]

They are not open mold, but the brands have not developed the molds either.

From this thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=113717&p=1023878#p1023878

Open-mould refers to a frame/set that is available through several vendors. Think of it like "open source" software.
Non-open-mould refers to a frame/set that is either proprietary to a specific brand, or a frame design that is specifically sourced to brands from design firms.

Examples of the latter can be Edge Design, Axman, and a whole lot of other frames that you may or may not hear about since you aren't a manufacturer or brand.
These design firms rarely, if ever, sell their frames to consumers. The only chance to get those is through a purchase of a sample frame through a brand that ordered one. Very, very rarely one may show up on a marketplace such as eBay or CL, or wherever, and these are usually a sample that was passed down the line from a brand after they finished their evaluation.

If a brand (particularly those that are starting off) is unable to hire their own designers and engineers, they will source this skill from a design firm.
Sometimes an upcoming brand can't afford a design firm, so they will source from an open-mould vendor instead and give it a paint job.
Examples of this: Ritte's Bosberg, PedalForce frames, and as we saw at the most recent Eurobike even some slightly-more established brands are sourcing open-mould TT frames.

Examples of the 'open-mould' frames can be found through common vendors, such as Hong-Fu, Deng-Fu, Flyxii, etc:.

BTW - Many of the brands you mentioned, especially Ritte, will claim immediately "We worked with the manufacturer to perfect the geometries" or "design" or whatever. They're bullshitting you to what extent you want to believe the phrase "worked with" to develop "their own" whatever. The design firms give options, you as a brand check off the boxes. That's as far as it goes, really. They won't make a certain geo longer or shorter for a particular brand because that would mean a whole new mold, which if these guys could afford in the first place they wouldn't be using these types of frames.

[ZachUA]

They are not open mold, but the brands have not developed the molds either.

From this thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=113717&p=1023878#p1023878

Open-mould refers to a frame/set that is available through several vendors. Think of it like "open source" software.
Non-open-mould refers to a frame/set that is either proprietary to a specific brand, or a frame design that is specifically sourced to brands from design firms.

Examples of the latter can be Edge Design, Axman, and a whole lot of other frames that you may or may not hear about since you aren't a manufacturer or brand.
These design firms rarely, if ever, sell their frames to consumers. The only chance to get those is through a purchase of a sample frame through a brand that ordered one. Very, very rarely one may show up on a marketplace such as eBay or CL, or wherever, and these are usually a sample that was passed down the line from a brand after they finished their evaluation.

If a brand (particularly those that are starting off) is unable to hire their own designers and engineers, they will source this skill from a design firm.
Sometimes an upcoming brand can't afford a design firm, so they will source from an open-mould vendor instead and give it a paint job.
Examples of this: Ritte's Bosberg, PedalForce frames, and as we saw at the most recent Eurobike even some slightly-more established brands are sourcing open-mould TT frames.

Examples of the 'open-mould' frames can be found through common vendors, such as Hong-Fu, Deng-Fu, Flyxii, etc:.

BTW - Many of the brands you mentioned, especially Ritte, will claim immediately "We worked with the manufacturer to perfect the geometries" or "design" or whatever. They're bullshitting you to what extent you want to believe the phrase "worked with" to develop "their own" whatever. The design firms give options, you as a brand check off the boxes. That's as far as it goes, really. They won't make a certain geo longer or shorter for a particular brand because that would mean a whole new mold, which if these guys could afford in the first place they wouldn't be using these types of frames.

Awesome bit of info. Thank you for sharing! I am still trying to wrap my head around the difference. So even though Ritte, Kyklos, and Pedal Force are selling what appears to be the same frame, it is not open mold...but it is also not available to anyone/everyone? Essentially Ritte does not own the mold and neither does Kyklos but rather both have hired the same design firm to create a frame for them from a stock set of options? If so, wouldn't this design firm own the mold and the ability to resell the same frame with no branding?

[DMF]

They could but they don't. It is their choice.

[Elrey]

I saw this frame today from Deng-fu.
Nice finish, but the bb30 box didn't have a "stopper" for the bearings, which was a big problem and they still have some problems installing the bearings.
So. If you order from Deng-fu and want a bb30 BB. Make sure that they fix this problem for your bike. Don't know how or if they will do it. But, now you know.

[dogg]

a tube spacer could probably remedy the issue

[GONE4ARIDE]

For those of you with the new Hongfu FM069 road frame (or the FM066/66SL for that matter), what are you using for a chain keeper?

I recently built up one of my new FM069 frames, but due to the size of the seat tube and the cut-out design where the front derailleur braze-on is affixed to the frame, I am not able to mount a stock Sram chain keeper. The seat tube interferes with the keeper. Before getting the dremel tool out, or pursuing other modifications, I was wondering if any of you of have had success mounting other chain keepers without having to make any modifications?

[siriz75]

What are the main differences with the FM069 vs FM066s? Is the 69 an improvement or an all out new frame model? I currently have a dengfu '98 but was considering building up a super light frame....


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[syncmaster]

Has anyone noticed Pedal Force's new QS4 frame? Love the matte finish. Internal routing is nice. Weight looks decent:
http://pedalforce.com/online/product_in ... s_id=23951

[ms6073]

I saw this frame today from Deng-fu.
Nice finish, but the bb30 box didn't have a "stopper" for the bearings, which was a big problem and they still have some problems installing the bearings

Look close at the imave and you will see tbe groove for tbe BB30 circlip. I raced on the FM059 when it was first introduced and had no issues with the BB30 bottom bracket.

[Posix1b]

How is the fork clearance on this frame? Can I fit a 23mm tire on a Pacenti sl23 or Archetype rim with no issue?

[glepore]

How is the fork clearance on this frame? Can I fit a 23mm tire on a Pacenti sl23 or Archetype rim with no issue?

If you're talking about the 066, no problem. I run 28 mm Parigi Roubaix or 25 mm Vitorria Open Cx's on a 25 mm carbon rim without any fork or frame clearance issues.

[Posix1b]

@glepore yes 066, thank you!

[dogg]

yeah you'll be fine, i run 28mm resist nomads (which come in at 29.5mm or so) and I've still got room. i reckon you could get a true 32mm tire in these frames

[FlemishCompact]

I had no idea that the 066's had that much clearance! I could definitely picture myself building up one for off duty gravel grinding