I picked up an un-used chinese carbon frame on Craigslist.  I'm noticing a potential problem with it though.  It seems like the top bearing pocket for the headset bearing is pretty shallow.  When I put my old headset in it, it sticks up quite a bit.  I'm thinking this might be ok (when I tighten everything down, it seems solid), but gunk will be able to get in there pretty easy and it just doesn't seem right to me.  I was planning on getting a new headset anyway.  Any recommendation on this?  I have attached some pictures for reference.

Thanks

Hello everyone.  I'm Mike and I'm new here.  I've been riding a 2010 Giant XTC 29er1 Aluminum frame for about 4 years now.  This year the frame decided to crack at the weld where the top tube attaches to the seat tube.  Some repairs have held up short term (don't ask), but they won't last much longer, so this winter I plan to take the components from the current bike and put them on a new chinese carbon 29er hardtail frame. 

I have gotten used to the geometry of the Giant and I am concerned that so far all the chinese carbon frames that I look at seem to vary quite a bit from the Giant. 

The Giant is a 20" frame.

I am 6'1" tall and weigh around 220 lbs. 

So my question - does anyone know of a chinese carbon frame that would compare to the 2010 Giant XTC 29er 1 in geometry, but also be reliable?  I value reliability way more than weight savings.   I know this might be obscure, but I figured I would try. 

Thanks