Johnson bikes?

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havana
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by havana

Who is familiar with Johnson Bikes?

http://www.johnsonbikes.com
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RichTheRoadie
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by RichTheRoadie

Catalogue bikes from China / Taiwan painted with a logo some bloke in Noosa (near Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia) came up with and spoken about as if the frames are their own design.

Don't look bad and probably ride ok, though.

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havana
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by havana

Open Mould?

If so, which model is the Esquire?
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RichTheRoadie
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by RichTheRoadie

Yes, open mould.

I have no idea what model is what, but there is no way that the "mammas & pappas" bike shop that the company is based out of can afford this many (or probably even one) of their own moulds.

phlip
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by phlip

The Johnson Cavalier is the Hongfu HF-FM069.
The Johnson Esquire SL is the Hongfu HF-FM066.
The Johnson Esquire SL Disc is the Hongfu HF-FM166.
The Johnson Riddler AR is the Hongfu HF-FM169.

I could not find what Johnson sells as their Riddler MKII yet, perhaps someone else has an idea?

I quite like Johnsons paintjobs. But I would not pay 1500 EUR for them. (That is about the difference between their price and the naked frame from Hongfu).

McGilli
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by McGilli

RichTheRoadie wrote:Yes, open mould.

I have no idea what model is what, but there is no way that the "mammas & pappas" bike shop that the company is based out of can afford this many (or probably even one) of their own moulds.



From their site - this is about their wheels - but makes no sense - wh wouldn't they use rebadged chinese wheels?

"We purchase the carbon in single strands fibres, then weave the carbon fibre strands with a patented 280 degree resin - exclusive to our factory."

RichTheRoadie
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by RichTheRoadie

McGilli wrote:From their site - this is about their wheels - but makes no sense - wh wouldn't they use rebadged chinese wheels?
"We purchase the carbon in single strands fibres, then weave the carbon fibre strands with a patented 280 degree resin - exclusive to our factory."

I'd guess that is taken straight from the same Chinese catalogue that they buy from. If Johnson had their own carbon weave capability, they would be *much* better known.

baldy
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by baldy

The Riddler Mk 2 is a Hongfu TM06

lvmises
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by lvmises

phlip wrote:
Sat Oct 08, 2016 3:10 pm
The Johnson Cavalier is the Hongfu HF-FM069.
The Johnson Esquire SL is the Hongfu HF-FM066.
The Johnson Esquire SL Disc is the Hongfu HF-FM166.
The Johnson Riddler AR is the Hongfu HF-FM169.

I could not find what Johnson sells as their Riddler MKII yet, perhaps someone else has an idea?

I quite like Johnsons paintjobs. But I would not pay 1500 EUR for them. (That is about the difference between their price and the naked frame from Hongfu).
Can I dredge up an older post? I am interested in Johnson Bikes from Noosa, QLD Australia: www.johnsonbikes.com

I came across this 2016 post which has me fascinated. Does anyone know if this info is correct? I am now giving some serious thought to buying a Chinese frame and building up my own bike.

Steenj
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Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2016 1:02 pm

by Steenj

It is through, several “brands” use frames from open molds. With Johnson, he use the Hongfu frames, which is one of the high quality frame suppliers, the same do lambda with his Avenger bikes. Most of the frames, also the high brands, are produced of Chinese manufacturers, that dosnt make them bad.
These Factory’s know how to make frames. Even the design are often done by externally design company’s. The facrory often use the frames from open molds to show the high brand customers, what they can make. Just a example, look at the Hongfu fm169 frame from 2016 and then look at the specialized Venge from 2019. Even angels and dimensions are very close to its other. So the thought about who copy who, give another view. The high brands use a lot of resources to convince people, that there’s specific fame is special and better than the competitors, the truth is, there is not that big differences on these frames.

ChiZ01
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by ChiZ01

Steenj wrote:
Sun Sep 15, 2019 3:23 am
It is through, several “brands” use frames from open molds. With Johnson, he use the Hongfu frames, which is one of the high quality frame suppliers, the same do lambda with his Avenger bikes. Most of the frames, also the high brands, are produced of Chinese manufacturers, that dosnt make them bad.
These Factory’s know how to make frames. Even the design are often done by externally design company’s. The facrory often use the frames from open molds to show the high brand customers, what they can make. Just a example, look at the Hongfu fm169 frame from 2016 and then look at the specialized Venge from 2019. Even angels and dimensions are very close to its other. So the thought about who copy who, give another view. The high brands use a lot of resources to convince people, that there’s specific fame is special and better than the competitors, the truth is, there is not that big differences on these frames.
Just imagine the amount of QC they have to skip to make a profit on a $600 frameset. Not all carbon frames are created equal. I would especially stay away from open mold forks, Salsa got into big trouble using cheap forks on their Warbird, they had to recall all of them, as they simply break apart on contact. When your fork fails, it is GG for you.

https://www.velonews.com/not-all-frames ... feit-bikes

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wheelbuilder
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by wheelbuilder

Wow. Pretty shameless website.
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Steenj
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by Steenj

I did not mention fake replica frames, but frames from good Chinese manufacturer.s. Some of them get UCI approval and have ok QC. Fake replica makers use another’s R&D work and try to make profit without any moral or ethic as well as the users for those. Open frames with there own name, is just competition to another frame builders. This can be Dengfu or Hongfu etc. they make there products and do not call them by a big brand name, but just sell ok products. I have ride on a old Hongfu frame fm001 since 2012 and have now another Asian frame. Have never had any issue or problem and will not hesitate to buy products from them. I live in China and can easy get the products, also easy to get changed, if anything should happens. Of course it’s a privat choice, which frame and from where you want to buy. But compare the fake replica’s with the Asian frames, forks or another components from decent Chinese suppliers is not fair. Some make poor products some good stuff.

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Karvalo
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by Karvalo

Steenj wrote:
Sun Sep 15, 2019 3:23 am
Just a example, look at the Hongfu fm169 frame from 2016 and then look at the specialized Venge from 2019.
What about them?
Even angels and dimensions are very close to its other.
No kidding. Angles and dimensions of almost all road race bikes are very close to each other. Because that's how you get a road race bike to fit and handle like a road race bike. After 100+ years of design there's no big secret to conventional race geometry. :noidea:

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