Chinese Carbon MTB > 29er

Deciding between 057, 256, or 041

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cmh:
Hey all-

Need to build up a backup bike for my wife so she's got something in case something happens to her primary bike. Conveniently, her primary bike is a Scott Scale, a bike whose geometry has been copied almost verbatim in several frames, so that'll make the decision easier. Looking at Peter's site, I see that the 057, 256 and 041 all have comparable geometry. I need to do a little research here on the 041 as I haven't kept up on it, but am familiar with the 057 and 256 as they've both been popular here.

As I see it:

057 Pros:
* Peter's site lists the 057 as on sale, and it was less expensive than the 256 last time I checked, so it could be dramatically so if it's on sale.
* A well known frame with a proven track record

057 Cons:
* Heavier - listed weight is ~200g more. She's a weight weenie, so this is a concern. :)
* The head tube is 10mm taller vs. the Scale in her size, so I'd have to run a pretty agressive negative rise stem to get the bars back to the right spot.

256 Pros:
* Pretty well proven
* Lighter than the 057
* Same head tube height as the Scale removes the need for a funky stem
* More expensive

256 Cons:
* I think I remember some folks having cracking issues near the wishbone.

041 Pros:
* Lighter than the 057
* Same head tube height as the Scale
* Probably more expensive
* 27.2mm seatpost makes more sense for a smaller rider. Always thought the 34.9 post on the Scale was silly.

041 Cons:
* Don't know much about it. (I'll be fixing that)
* 2mm longer chainstay, although I really doubt that'd make a big difference
* Update 6/21/16 Unproven and untested design. I wound up going with the 041 and it cracked behind the seat cluster after a handful of very light rides. If any testing was done on the frame at all, this would have been caught. I'm being told it was a "bad batch" but now to me the entire frame design is suspect.

Thoughts? I think there's a couple folks with experience with more than one of these frames, so I'd be interested to hear your input.

Thanks!

Update 6/21/16: With the recurring cracking issues on the 256, and the problems I ran into with the 041, the only frame I would recommend at all is the 057. I know several big, strong guys who have been riding them for a while with no problems. Unfortunately the same is not the case with the 256 or the 041.

cmh:
So now that I've got the question out there, I'm going back and searching through, here are some valuable things I've found:

Should I get the 057 or 256??

Sounds pretty valuable, and it's a sticky, but it's pretty dated info as it's back from when the 256 was still pretty new. Not much info that really compares the two, wondering if its time as a sticky has come to an end.

Several posts detailing builds of the 057, 256, and 041. All seem to go well and result in beautiful bikes.

Vipassana's comment here is a winner:

"I think this is the frame to get over the 256 right now.   Both weigh the same, but he CS-041 appears to have slightly better features (like the swappable cable stops) and build quality seems a bit better (some the the 256's are rough around the edges like on the bottom bracket cable cover).  Also, the CS-041 solves the issue some have has with the seatstays to seat tube junction.  I really like that you can run cable housing completely through the frame without drilling/modification."

That's a pretty big reason to go with the 041 over the 256, I think.

This post is referenced by the above and has excellent photos detailing the swappable cable stops.

Break a 256, buy an 041. big thing I noticed is that the 041 is stiffer than the 256.

So, based on that info so far, first choice would probably be the 041, with the 057 superseding it if it's dramatically less expensive, and the 256 coming in third.

One downside of the 041 is that I'll have to get a seatpost. I've got a 31.6 seatpost I got for my fat bike that turned out to be too short (I needed a 400) so I thought I could use that. Such problems. :D

trekcarbonboy:
I have no comparison advice to give but Marty's got a 15.5" 057 she could ride to check it out. They are about the same height. It's a rigid SS so maybe not the best test ride but it's a start.
I wouldn't put too much weight on Peters "Sale" price. That's been up forever.

cmh:

--- Quote from: trekcarbonboy on January 18, 2016, 02:55:57 PM ---I have no comparison advice to give but Marty's got a 15.5" 057 she could ride to check it out. They are about the same height. It's a rigid SS so maybe not the best test ride but it's a start.
I wouldn't put too much weight on Peters "Sale" price. That's been up forever.

--- End quote ---

I know from my own looking that the 057 was less expensive than the 256, at least a while back. Guess I didn't look at the 057 page enough to notice the "On sale!" part before. That might actually make the decision easier if the sale isn't anything new and the price difference isn't that much, since the 041 is looking like a winner.

As for Marty's bike, oddly enough, she rides a medium frame - the 17.5". It seems wrong, but as you've seen she rides it well, and when she switched back to her small 26er, she said she felt really cramped on it. Marty's bike would be all types of wrong for her to demo, being a size smaller, and a rigid singlespeed with bars probably 120-140mm wider than hers! Might as well put her on my Epic. :D

Oolak:
Did you give consideration to the 062?

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