New DengFu M06 Build Coming

[adbl]

Hey people,

I had an incident happen to me this past weekend that is prompting a M06 build. I currently have a CS-057 hardtail purchased from Peter and have been riding it for about a year and a half. I love the bike! It is fast, responsive and light - 22lbs with a Sram 1x10 drivetrain. I've been having issues with the drivetrain jumping gears and i know from experience it's time to replace the cassette, chain and possibly the crank gear. I'm currently running a RaceFace Cinch NW 30T. I figure if i'm going to spend the money to revamp the drivetrain why not switch all of my components over to a new frame??? 

The trails I ride in North Carolina are woodsy single track. Mountain Biking and Trail Running are becoming very popular here and the trails are starting to get beat up. Getting very rooty. This has made me think about going back to a full suspension bike. I still have my Giant 26 FS and had taken it for a ride the other week and was surprised how much i liked it! I haven't been on the bike since i built the 057. If i can combine the small bump compliance of a FS with the benefits of a carbon 29er then i might really have something i'd love   

So i have been keeping an eye on a few 29er FS here on the forum, mainly the CS-821, CS-FS29 amd the M06. I like the M06 the best as i do prefer the one piece rear triangle. I like the single pivot design with shorter chainstays and slack headtube. It's built more like the Yeti ASRc and i like all of the attributes that design has. I have been dealing with Melody from DengFu on the purchase as i find her very responsive and trustworthy. I purchased a carbon road frame from her 2 years ago and love it! It is first class and performs better than i could have imagined.

As of me writing this, i have not given Melody the official go ahead. I will probably pull the trigger in the next couple of days. Unfortunately i deliberate too much in my head on decision such as these  So my fellow Chinertowners, i would like any feedback anyone has to offer. I have messaged with a few M06 owners already and have been pleased with their comments. If i do purchase the M06 i will document my build here for all who might have interest. Some of the issues prior builds have come across have supposedly been resolved so we'll see if that's true. Thanks for reading and again, any thoughts are welcome 

[Klaster_1]

Some of the issues prior builds have come across have supposedly been resolved so we'll see if that's true.

abdl, what issues Dengfu claimed to have been resolved? Did you ask them about something in particular?

[adbl]

abdl, what issues Dengfu claimed to have been resolved? Did you ask them about something in particular?

The two issues i ask about were 1) The water bottle cage bolt placement being too high 2) The inside measurement at the rear hub being 146mm or greater instead of 142mm. If purchased i'm going to take the frame completely apart and measure all tolerances and clearances, along with all mounting hardware to ensure it all goes together properly. 

[Klaster_1]

If purchased i'm going to take the frame completely apart and measure all tolerances and clearances, along with all mounting hardware to ensure it all goes together properly.

Sounds cool, I'd really appreciate a look into frame innards without disassembling mine.

[ArAddict]

I placed my order on a m06 some days ago. i also asked about the water bottle issue and was assured it was resold.

[dopestar]

I'll subscribe to this awesome build. I hope you will update your build from time to time and with pictures please...

[adbl]

The frame has been ordered! Melody told me about 20 days until shipping. In the mean time i am getting a list together of parts i need. I'm going to be using some parts off of my CS-057 hardtail so i'll be cleaning them up and getting them ready to be installed on the new bike.

Build photos and descriptions are soon to come 

[ArAddict]

The frame has been ordered! Melody told me about 20 days until shipping. In the mean time i am getting a list together of parts i need. I'm going to be using some parts off of my CS-057 hardtail so i'll be cleaning them up and getting them ready to be installed on the new bike.

Build photos and descriptions are soon to come 

Looking forward to follow your build, as I am doing the same

[adbl]

I just received an update from melody at Dengfu informing me the frame is being shipped out today! That makes the total number of days from construction to being shipped out as 22 days. She quoted me 20 days so i'd say she was pretty much spot on! Can't get much more accurate then that. As soon as the frame gets here i will inspect it closely as well as disassemble the frame checking all the pivot bearings and hardware. I want to ensure it was put together correctly and all of the hardware sizes and lengths are appropriate. Of course i will be documenting the build here for all to follow 

[adbl]

Christmas in July!!! The frame arrived today. It was finally time to inspect it to ensure it was in one piece. The box was a little beat up but the frame was well wrapped and protected.

[adbl]

I went over the frame entirely looking for any defects or scratches in the paint. The frame was perfect! The paint was done well and the color exactly what i wanted.

[adbl]

I then took some measurements getting myself ready to have to order shock mount bushings but to my surprise all the dimensions were spot on!!! The shock installed straight away with no clearance issues. The mounting hardware size and lengths were also spot on. As you can see the shock fits perfectly with no shimming or sanding of bushings necessary.

[adbl]

People have talked about the water bottle cage mounts and although they might be lower than the early versions, a large water bottle would really be a stretch. I think the issue with these mounts are the nut-serts. They are installed after the fact and usually need a tool to expand the base of the nut-sert to keep it secured. Kind of like a pop rivet. Having experience with these tools i believe the reason the nut-serts aren't installed lower is because you can't get a tool in between the frame. They most likely installed the nut-serts as low as they could to have to fit the tool in. As you can see in the pics a large water bottle probably isn't practical to use but a smaller one absolutely can be used. I'll probably install a side loaded cage with a smaller bottle. That works for me because i'm not a huge bottle user to begin with. If it's a long ride i usually use my Camelback. So really, it's not a big deal for me.

[adbl]

I was pleased to find offset chain stays. It wasn't clear to me from pics posted as to the design there. I have always felt bikes with offset chain stays pedal more efficiently. Dengfu talks about the seat stays adding a little suspension to the system and so far i can tell that's true. After mounting the shock i cycled the rear triangle quite a few times to check for full travel and clearance. There is plenty of clearance when the shock is fully compressed and you can feel a little spring tension coming from the seat stays. Not a crazy amount but enough to be able to feel. It will be interesting to see how this feels while riding. The bottom bracket area looks clean and well supported. A proper installation should yield solid pedaling!

[adbl]

The fork and bottom bracket should be here in the next day or two so the build can really start to take shape. Hopefully the wheels will be here by the end of the week, early next week at the latest. I think i have 95% of the parts needed to finish the build other than those i just mentioned. Of course they happen to be the first needed to be installed