Everything can break whether it's high end brand or Chinese no name. Just watched live tv coverage of the Super Prestige cross race from Gieten. Sven Nys sheared a pedal (Shimano I presume) clean off the crank sprinting out off the last corner for the win. Meanwhile Tom Meeusen (Fidea) riding a Ridley carbon frame (undoubtedly Taiwanese or Chinese re-badged) successfully crossed the line to take the points...

Dag danoontje WOW!!!!! Stunning bike, good job well done.

Interesting thread so far with lots of good arguements either way.

If I remember correctly, Cadel rode a generic carbon TT frame in the prologue at the Tour when it was in London, it was the same frame that Planet X use for their PX Stealth, I had one fo these and whilst it was not the greatest bike in the world, it was still, comfortable and fast (although not that fast under me).

I am toying with pulling the trigger or one of 3 different chinese unbranded frames (FM -838, FM015 and the dogma replica from greatkeen), all will be kept unbranded and black, however I am still considering all the options.

As for branded products failing, I have snapped 2 Scott Addict SL's, cracked a Trek Madone and also had the BB on a CR1 crack as well, also in addition to that I have had the pedal thread on a Carbon Record Crack come unbonded and break, the difference I had though is all products were covered by a warrenty and replaced without quibble, ok the price was A LOT more than the chinese frames but I suppose I am not paoying for that level of support and if you enter into it with that frame of mind then it can make good sense (as long as the frames are safe and do not fail whilst descending at 40mph)

ha ha, just read the last post was 18 months ago, I like to keep my finger on the pulse

First time Chinese frame buyer here.

Happy to report that the FM015 has exceeded my expectations. Stiffness wasn't everything to me when I bought this frame, although it is quite stiff. I was mainly concerned with geometry. FM015 is perfect for me

I fluctuate between 150 and 155 lbs at 5'10". Frame is plenty stiff for me when sprinting and climbing and descends incredibly well with solid handling. Feels excellent when maintaining speed on flats. Coming from a CAAD10 and BMC Road Racer SL01, I'd say this frame is somewhere between those two bikes in terms of stiffness and geometry. The FM015 is very similar to the Cannondale in terms of handling.

what is the weight of frame

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http://www.strava.com/athletes/motomatt

According to the web site, it's 5000 kg (shipping mass).

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Fuji SL/1
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5000 kg. Oh, that could be a nasty shipping cost from China.

Frame = 1.2 +/- 0.04 kg, so maximum of 1.24 kg, fork = ~ 0.4 kg, heavy duty box ~= 6.4 kg, and 4992 kg of styrofoam peanuts.

Thank you

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http://www.strava.com/athletes/motomatt

That might be for the ISP version. I think a 105 frame of that size (53?) should be about 1060.

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r o y g b i v

You could be (almost) right. The website is screwed up. If you go to http://www.e-hongfu-bikes.com/index.php ... x&cPath=65 and click on HF-FM-015, it shows a picture without ISP, but the description says "Integrated Seatpost" and "Weight:1200G+_40g". If you click on fm015-ISP, it shows a picture without ISP, but the description doesn't mention Integrated Seatpost (or ISP) and states "Weight:1000G+_40g". So at minimum the website is screwed up, but perhaps it was intended to state 1000 +/- 40 g for non-ISP and 1200+/- 40 g for ISP version. And for whatever size that is, and accuracy of weight claim, etc.

I think it all depends on one's personal views and circumstances.. A few years ago, I bought a mail order Planet X track frame. Having looked at the internal structure of the tubes, I sold it asap. Not because of safety concerns but because I just thought the manufacturing was horrible. The person I sold it to is happily racing it.

I've had a whole string of high end bikes in every material that bikes are made from. Currently, as my "best" bikes I have a Stevens SLC and a Storck Fascenario 0.6. Previously, I had a Colango EPS.

The fit and finish of the Colnago was superior to either of the current bikes. That said, the SLC is an amazing machine for racing - light and incredibly stiff. The Storck is a little lighter than the Stevens, still stiff, and has a more refined ride quality - but its double the price.

Personally, if budget was an issue and I could only have one bike, it would be the Stevens.

However, if I was on my uppers, I'd go out and take a second job to afford a bike like the Stevens rather than ride a generic carbon bike from the great bike factory of you know where.

And that's simply my view rather than anything to to with Xenophobia.

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Not everything that counts can be counted. Not everything that can be counted counts.

I feel that hongfu and other Chinese sellers would get a lot more business if they let someone in the US handle their website.

If they had all relevant information cleanly laid out (not all items have a weight to them), we wouldn't have these issues.

Yikes... my 54cm FM028 was only 1050g.

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formerly rruff...

Any particular reasons to give up on BMC Road Racer SL01 and build up a no-name frame?

I am looking for my first road bike, and lean towards BMC rather than cheaper carbon frame...

Chris.

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MSC Koncept Carbon Di2 - 6955g
Leichtkraft Team Carbon - 6868g.

The BMC road racer SL01 is an awesome bike. Last year, CC had a sale which coupled the roadracer SL01 with Ultegra 6700 for $2200. To me, that is a steal.

Unfortunately to buy this bike, I had to compromise my fit a bit. I figured what's another 10-20 millimeters of reach?



To be honest, from bike to bike, the thing that made the most difference for me was fitment, and tires - in that order. I know my own capabilities on the bike well, and know when something on a bike actually improves my speed and power. From wheel to wheel, nothing discernible. From frame to frame, the largest difference was when I jumped from steel to carbon. For about 500 miles, I did try out a CAAD10 after the BMC. It was every bit as good as my carbon bike(s) - very stiff, great geometry, and advanced as it is for an aluminum bike, it isn't a carbon bike. Over time, the carbon bike absorbed the road quite well, and left me less tired than the AL bike.

Frame - Geometry over anything else...
Wheels - These really don't make a huge difference across the board, aside from aerodynamic wheels. I've owned the older alloy campagnolo shamal hpw-12 wheels and they zoom at higher speeds.
Components - I guess this would be down to preference and weight. Otherwise again, these are nothing magical.

The most magical thing for me was tweaking every little thing on the bike to fit the unique proportions of my body. Granted, I did not go in for a professional fitting. My current fit is just based on my own riding, and I feel most people can get a good feel for fitment through trial and error.

I plan to get a professional fitting soon, and am quite excited about that. I am very curious to see what type of fit they will provide for me compared to what I already have. I feel I have the reach and drop down quite well, and saddle angle isn't too bad, but my cleat positioning doesn't feel right. I'm quite positive one of my legs is longer than the other, and would prefer to seek professional advice on how to attack this problem.

So overall, fitment over anything (for me). I swear it is magic what my bike feels like now, compared to my older, higher-priced BMC. I would say good bike fit leads to more accessible power.




EDIT : Well, in writing down my thoughts, I realize that what I needed to do is measure my legs. Since apparently this cannot be accurately measured without an x-ray, I tried my best to get an approximation with a long ruler. My left leg is ~32.2" in length, while the right leg is ~33" in length. I am 5'10.25". This proves my suspicion! Not a huge problem, but addressing this will definitely contribute to feeling better on the bike.

Since saddle-height seems likely to account for the shortest leg, the cleats should be compensated and adjusted in the same way. Example, if the right leg is longer, well, since the saddle height is set to accommodate the shorter leg, the cleat should be moved towards the middle for the longer leg, otherwise, the longer leg will be cramped and overextending, causing strain and imbalance.

I'm just speculating here, though. I will be going to a "professional" fitter and for $75, apparently he does cleat placement. However, when I walk into his shop, I may be tempted to do the whole thing .