Hongfu FM-066/Chinese open mould frame thread

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sienarot
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 4:36 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

by sienarot

While my build isn't a light bike by WW standards, I did get a lot of valuable information from this thread and I always like to reciprocate in case anyone else is researching for information my experiences might be able to provide.

I initiated discussions with Workswell back in February and they were pretty good with responding to my questions. After about a month of back and forth (mostly due to indecisiveness on my part), I finally went ahead with the order mid March. I initially intended to get a Workswell WCB-R-085 for a budget endurance bike, but there wasn't much useful information out there on this bike and a few members here who have gotten it suggested it wasn't a very exciting bike, so I decided to spend a little extra and go with the WCB-R-081 with V-brakes. They said it was going to take about 4 weeks to build my frame and ship out and by 4 weeks, they said there was a delay and it was going to be about another 2 weeks (so 6 weeks from time I placed to shipping). Not a big deal for me since we've had a ridiculous amount of snow up here in western Canada this year and it didn't seem like winter was going to be ending soon, plus I was still in the process of sourcing out some needed parts. From the time it shipped out from China, it took about a week to get to Canada. When I picked it up from the post office, I almost tossed it over the table because I was expecting a much heavier box and over estimated the strength I though I needed to lift it haha

When I inspected the frame, I was very impressed with it. Overall the build quality was quite good; certainly better than I expected for a budget bike frame. I went with the matte finish and for the most part it was done well, though there were a few spots that had some light rubbing like around the rear wheel well. Personally I didn't see this as a big deal because a) my intention is to eventually paint the frame myself, and b) after a few weeks of regular riding, the rubbing would have developed naturally from normal wear and tear anyways.

Now, as I proceeded with the build I did come across a bit of a problem. The upper and lower clamps that hold the saddle didn't appear to line up correctly.

Image

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And yes, the saddle *is* clamped down in these photos. Coincidentally, Workswell emailed me as a follow up with my purchase just as I discovered this so I brought it up with them. They asked me to measure the rails on my saddle to confirm they were 43mm and parallel, which they were. Their response to that was, and I quote:
For all our clamp produce by the same mold, it do not occur this problem before.
Now it should be install problem.
That was disappointing. It's not that hard to install a saddle that someone could mess it up. In the end, I just left it at that, cause I could probably fix it with a bit of filing around the rail holes or maybe put in some rubber inserts from cut up tubes to increase the friction (or both). But even without any modifications, the saddle is still held firmly in place. I was just a little annoyed that all customer service went out the window once they got my money.

Other than that, the install went very smoothly. Workswell provided all the necessary parts for the frame, as well as extra spacers and plugs and other odds and ends. Since I was building a 1x, I wasn't going to be routing a cable for the front derailleur and they supplied a holeless cap where the cable housing would have normally gone into, so that was nice. They also provided a compression stem cap for the headset, which I wasn't expecting. I could have saved myself a bit of money by not buying one in preparation for the build haha

The frame, uncut fork, and uncut seat post came out to be 1.781kg which is slightly more than the advertised weight. In the end, my final build came out to be 8.33kg, which really isn't a surprise considering this was a budget build mostly done to help get rid of spare parts I had getting in my way, including some junker WH-R500 wheels I kept tripping over in my storage room. I may or may not upgrade to some lighter wheels next year, but for the time being I'm just going to enjoy riding it.

This is both my first road bike and carbon frame, so it's noticeably stiffer than the aluminum cx bikes I'm normally used to riding. In my first two rides, I already set 31 new PRs with an additional 20 achievements on Strava :beerchug:

Feel free to ask any questions I may be able to provide about the build.

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One thing I did want to mention that I had difficulty finding information for: according to the Workswell specs, the maximum tire size for the WCB-R-081 is 700x25c though someone had mentioned on this forum that 30c might be tight but it could probably fit a 28c. I'm using Continental GP4000S II's in 25c, which we all know measures about 27mm. A true 28c width tire shouldn't have problems on this bike. If I come across a 30c tire, I'll give it a try.

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Beaver
Posts: 796
Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:06 pm

by Beaver

Does anyone has experience with these copy-cat frames:

https://de.aliexpress.com/item/Costelo- ... 23465.html
Last edited by Beaver on Fri Jun 01, 2018 10:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

by Weenie


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Wildh
Posts: 75
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2016 6:11 pm

by Wildh

Good write up on the 081. I had bought one last November and had it custom painted. It was a good bike. Great for the price. I liked the fork offset because it got rid of the toe overlap which is a major PIA in my opinion.

Only thing I would suggest for Workswell is to stiffen up the from end and top tube seat tube junction. It's a bit flexy as it is. Also maybe alter the down tube slightly to widen a bit... Especially around water bottles. It's aesthetic only for the most part, but looks nicer.

Otherwise it's a sexy bike.

th3d4n3
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2018 9:45 pm

by th3d4n3

Just ordered the 3T strada lookalike from velobuildmall:
http://www.velobuild.com/_p0111.html
Will give an update on the finish once it arrives, but will be painting the frame before building it up, so it might be a while before i can give any input on the ride quality.

On another note: any suggestions on BB386 bottom brackets for shimano hollowtech II (24mm)?

Hexsense
Posts: 3254
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 12:41 am
Location: USA

by Hexsense

I'm going to step into road disc world soon.

Considering two frames:
Velobuild 2019 road frame disc brake:
http://www.velobuildmall.com/2019-velob ... p0114.html
Dengfu R10:
http://m.dengfubikes.com/index.php?s=/197.html

The Dengfu is currently under design revise. They are changing to D-shape seatpost, improve cable routing for non-integrated bar. Velobuild's mold is finished but they are still waiting for the actual frame.

Main difference between them in my size are the handling geometry:
Dengfu: 71.5 degree head tube and 43mm fork offset -> this lead to 69mm trail for 27mm tyre
according to http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/trailc ... =622&tw=27
couple with 415mm chain stay length. Support for 32c tyre and having ~4mm more toe clearance in my calculation.

Velobuild: 72.5 degree head tube and 45mm fork offset -> this lead to 61mm trail for 27mm tyre
according to http://yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/trailc ... =622&tw=27
couple with 405mm chain stay length. Support for 30c tyre. Shorter wheel base overall, and not sure if chain stay length is a bit short for a disc brake spacing in the rear.

I like Dengfu more for almost everything, except the trail is way too long. If only it has 45-50mm fork offset, or simply steepen the head tube angle to 72 degree, that would be enough to make handling better.
i think i'll spend weeks deciding between them.
Last edited by Hexsense on Mon Jun 18, 2018 10:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Hexsense
Posts: 3254
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 12:41 am
Location: USA

by Hexsense

th3d4n3 wrote:
Tue Jun 05, 2018 9:49 pm

On another note: any suggestions on BB386 bottom brackets for shimano hollowtech II (24mm)?
If you want extravagant, BBinfinite;
https://www.bbinfinite.com/products/bb3 ... it-shimano
or contact Hambini for custom BB
https://www.hambini.com/bike-parts.html

two options above will improve your BB stiffness as they are one piece metal BB.

If you just want it to be creak free, Wheelsmfg thread-together BB is enough.
https://wheelsmfg.com/bottom-brackets/b ... black.html

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Klaster_1
Posts: 1390
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2016 10:25 am
Location: Paphos, Cyprus

by Klaster_1

Hexsense wrote:
Mon Jun 18, 2018 7:21 am
Velobuild 2019 road frame disc brake:
http://www.velobuildmall.com/2019-velob ... p0114.html
Note the cutout under the front derailleur hanger, most likely this was done to improve clearance with Shimano FDs. I wish my FM079 had this feature too.

BigPoser
Posts: 172
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 11:42 pm

by BigPoser

Anyone having issues with getting a shipping update from Workswell?

Ordered a 085 from them May 9th and it still hasn't shipped yet. Was told it would be out of production on the 10th of June, but still no update on shipping.

javierpedroza97
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2018 7:40 pm

by javierpedroza97

Hey Everyone, just purchased the 3T strada look alike frame from velobuild. I hope the turn around time from velobuild is quick! Anyone else purchase one of these ?

th3d4n3
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2018 9:45 pm

by th3d4n3

javierpedroza97 wrote:
Wed Jun 20, 2018 7:44 pm
Hey Everyone, just purchased the 3T strada look alike frame from velobuild. I hope the turn around time from velobuild is quick! Anyone else purchase one of these ?
I just got my velobuild 3T strada lookalike delivered yesterday. It took approx. 2 Weeks (to Denmark).

Initial impressions are good except for the thru axles delivered (i dont think they have the right lenghts) and the images showed bottle mounting possibilities on the "seat tube" which are not there, so one bottle only :(

Finish seems great (black matte) headset fits well and seat post seems tight enough (wild guess, i haven't put my full weight on it)

romanmoser
Posts: 573
Joined: Sun May 06, 2018 8:30 pm

by romanmoser

I've interest too on the 3T like frameset
To build a road bike for commuting , crits ,
Well a bit of all but with the speed and 28mm nominative widh tires

Where did you order from ?
On velobuild it seems to have also holes for bottle holder on the seat tube
That's strange

th3d4n3
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2018 9:45 pm

by th3d4n3

romanmoser wrote:
Thu Jun 21, 2018 8:55 pm
I've interest too on the 3T like frameset
To build a road bike for commuting , crits ,
Well a bit of all but with the speed and 28mm nominative widh tires

Where did you order from ?
On velobuild it seems to have also holes for bottle holder on the seat tube
That's strange
I ordered from velobuild, so their photos don't match Up with what they ship.

romanmoser
Posts: 573
Joined: Sun May 06, 2018 8:30 pm

by romanmoser

Shit ...
Did you pay by paypal ?
That's not right

Even if it rides great etc
Maybe they were lazy and mistake
Or maybe they can't produce it whith hole on a seat tube so curved without issues ?

I dunno know

th3d4n3
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2018 9:45 pm

by th3d4n3

romanmoser wrote:
Thu Jun 21, 2018 10:33 pm
Shit ...
Did you pay by paypal ?
That's not right

Even if it rides great etc
Maybe they were lazy and mistake
Or maybe they can't produce it whith hole on a seat tube so curved without issues ?

I dunno know
I payed by paypal yes,but before escalating anything into that direction i'll give chris from velobuild the chance to respond to my email. i basically asked whether he had sent me a early production model without the mounting brackets (in which case i'd like a new one) or if all of them were like that (in which case he should rapidly update his sales material to reflect his product).

by Weenie


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th3d4n3
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2018 9:45 pm

by th3d4n3

So turns out that sizes S and M of the velobuild 3T Strada look alike do not come with (read are not produced with) bottle mounting brackets on the seat tube.
Chris from Velobuild said he'd update the product description on his homepage soon to reflect this. If you are living in a warmer climate than me here in Denmark you might want to consider the fact that you will have to think into triathlete solutions in order to get a second waterbottle onto the frame before ordering a size S or M.

In general though very fast responsetimes from Velobuild and good communication. Also as written earlier, the black matte finish is excellent, seatporst seems to be clampable and headset fits like a glove.

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