Thanks Dank. I thought some members were already sold on the fs27. I was pretty sold myself. Correct me if I'm wrong, but what I've got from this awesome forum is:
1) there has not been a good trail bike out of China. By good I mean modern geo and quality suspension kinematics.
2) there have been some reliable fun hard tails.
3) there have been some catastrophic failures (mostly road bikes?)
4) there have been some unique offerings, mostly of the plus and fat variety.
5) most of the fs bikes have had significantly lower quality suspension hardware and stiffness compared to the brand names.
I know you get what you pay for. It seems like the value is in the high quality hard tails and roadbikes. But if the fs27 and fm058 are identical in performance to the '17 spark plus and race models with close to the same weight and durability then at 1/3 the price (including shock) they are a great value! My biggest holdup is : is it safe? I like to get rowdy and definitely plan to hit jumps with it. Have any of the Chinese bike been proven to take all mountain level abuse?
Please don't buy either FS27 or FM058 thinking you're getting a Scott frame for a 1/4 of the price because you're not. It's not going to be as light neither as strong. The linkages are not the same quality and durability either.
Example: Scott frame weight 1770 grams with shock. China frame weights 1950
without shocks. Scott and high quality brands use high quality Carbon Fiber properly laid for stiffness and strength on the right places.
Buy because you want something cheap that you don't care if it breaks and you ended up having to replacing it out of your pocket.
I own three China frames, have broken the IP-036 in two places so far and I already have my M06 on order. I finished my first build in 2014, with my usage I estimate life expectancy of up to 2 years. I run an XL frame, weight 190lbs and enjoy going fast on the rocky descends. I race about 15 times per year.
I've seen brand frames break. And some brand frames also have similar quality to China Frames.
I enjoy my China frames because I can ride careless about damaging the bike. Scuffs and Marks are stories to tell and not things to hide. I always ride like I stole it.
If I had the funds I would definitely get a Scott or Trek frame. Perhaps next year on a good team deal.