Maybe a good idea to check the existing threads on the builds of these frames?

the numbers are in - the improvements were much more in the engine than originally thought.  the fitness test today went much better than expected.  over the exact same course (a gradual long climb), on pretty much the same bike (my hardtail commuter, converted to offroad, with a slightly different 1xoval transmission, and faster rolling rear tyre), with a very similar year of riding (maybe 10 extra hours so far this year, a few more races), i got power numbers that were a consistent 9-11% higher than last year over the targeted 5-30 minute part of the curve.  the key ~35minute segment was done over 3 minutes faster too.  was definitely attacking the steeper sections more.  though it wasnt as painful as last year, i did average 2bpm higher. 

well this explains the recent results a lot.  dunno where this improvement came from.  maybe my kids getting heavier has helped - more resistance towing them up climbs, when i do the twice-a-month trailer rides.  or maybe there's more gains in that oval chainring (for me, at least).  it is not like i have done much different, no structured 'training', just riding to work like i have been doing for years.

i still think my FM058 has helped though.

I am more motivated to do some more events after this.  will do some more mid-length 3-4 hour endurance events.  am more motivated to lose some weight too, as i am getting close to matching the really fast guys, and need to close the gap before taking the big step up.

Since the last post, i have put a racing ray tyre on the front - only 2 rides in, so far so good.  I also purchased an absolute black chainring, which promised a slightly narrow chainline, and a bit less weight - well, it turns out it was lighter, but the chainline was identical to the other rotor chainring, and the oval shape was identical, but slightly different teeth shape (a tiny bit less grindy on the bigger cogs).  The chainline on this non-boost bike is probably the worst thing about it.  good thing i very rarely use the big cog these days.

The play in the rear end got slightly better with some new hardware for the mcleod shock (back in april), where i got another slightly wider (22.2) RWS bearing kit.  but then it got worse again.  After noticing that the hardware was looser than expected (i didn't even need to press it, it just went in easily with a finger), I have been doing some research on the mcleod shock, and have discovered a few issues - 1. the hardware can be loose (can be solved by some custom-sized hardware), 2. there can be some knocking internal to the shock (which is easily fixed by someone who knows what they are doing).  either issue could result in the play i've been getting, but i'd have to send the shock away to get it fixed, and i cant be without by bike at the moment.  so, i bit the bullet, and purchased another mcleod shock, and this time went with standard bushing hardware.  received the shock & hardware last week, raced it on the weekend, and the bike is totally perfect now.  i'll look into getting the old shock fixed, but i am in no hurry.  So, in conclusion, the play was not the bike, it was the shock.

over the last few months, i have continued to improve my results in XCO-format club races and longer 3hour events.  it has been a while since i got worse than 3rd. I have been having the best time racing ever, with a few absolutely glorious finishes, often picking up some places in the closing stages of events of all kinds.  i cannot imagine a better bike for these events.  i have reached a crossroads recently, where my long-time goal, which was to get a top 3 B-grade overall series result at my local club, a goal which has more recently been upgraded to winning the series outright, is now looking like it will be realised - with 2 races to go, i'd pretty much have to DNF to lose the series now.  So, feeling a little goal-less at the moment, the motivation not so good.  need to find another goal.  Naturally, going to A grade is the next step, but it is a big one.  I'll do that next year, but A grade at my local seems to almost always feature guys who frequent world championships etc, so i certainly wouldn't be going for the win in those races.  There are a lot of other races which have age-based cats, so maybe that's a better bet.  In any case, i still have probably 5kg i could lose off me (without getting crazy thin), so there's a bit of speed to gain there.  I certainly am not motivated to upgrade anything else on the bike, as I don't think there are any changes to do that would make me any faster.

i am so much faster now than people who beat me easily last year.  I am trying to think of the reason why.  i am barely 2kg lighter than i was about a year ago (note: i am still 1kg over the healthy weight range per BMI), the bike is maybe 400g lighter (mainly due to the Fox32SC fork).  My power figures lately are pretty close to what they were this time last year - if they are higher, it wouldn't be more than 5%.  I have been riding maybe 5% more hours than last year, a lot of the extra hours are races.  I certainly feel more comfortable on the bike with the handling, and i spent a fair bit of time fine tuning the tyre pressures and suspension settings.  i did move my cleats back a few mm which has reduced the tightness in my calves, and more recently i moved the saddle forward about 8mm.  since about January or february, i have gone all in on oval chainrings (on all bikes), and i am starting to believe some of the claims (better endurance, lower HR etc), especially given how strong i have been finishing races.  I suppose all the marginal gains add up.  the bike certainly helps.  super super stoked with it.

Have you ever had a close look at Gerhard Kerschbaumer's bike?  Looks just like a hongfu 258, which, except for the toptube-seat tube junction, is the same as Hong Fu 058 (the pro-mance 7007 twin, if not the same manufacturer).

Yeah, the FSA 57 is consistent with the one used in the Rocky mountain instinct (a 57E), which is what this frame appears to be a close copy of.

A quick google shows these 3 headsets:
https://shop.fullspeedahead.com/en/no-57e-3425

If you have a tapered steerer on your fork, you can't use the 57E-1.  Either of the other two should work, depending on what stack height you want.  I personally go for the lowest stack height usually, as it give more flexibility to lower the stem further.

To be sure, you could measure your frame's headtube.  The pdf on that page has headset measurements for those FSA headsets.  The cup heights, including the lip, are 12mm top and 11.5mm bottom.  the lips are 2mm, so the headsets will go 10/9.5mm into your headtube.  However, if you look at the diagram, that 10/9.5 includes the taper on the headset, which looks to be about 3mm for the top headset cup, and about 1mm for the lower headset cup (if you compare the thickness of taper with other measurements in the diagram).  Therefore, to fit this headset in your frame, you need about 7mm (10minus3) of depth in the top headtube before it tapers in, and about 8.5mm for the bottom   Does your frame have these measurements (or greater)?  The headset could probably still work with slightly less, but it wouldn't press completely all the way in, so it wouldn't be ideal.

I noticed that the frame's website says it needs a 44mm top and 56mm headset, which is different to the usual 42/52 that these Chinese frames use.  On cane creek's website I cannot see any integrated (IS) headsets in that 44/56 size, but that size is available in the zero stack (ZS, aka semi integrated) configuration. Does your frame have cups built into it?  I'm guessing not.  While heavier, a ZS setup would probably be better for a longer travel frame.  The downside is that a ZS headset needs headset tools to press it in (tools I don't have).

What size shock are you running?  Your spec sheet says 210x57, a size that doesn't exist.  Is it 210x55 or 200x57?  You appear to have mounted the shock in the position for a 210mm shock.  Whatever setup you have, I am very interested in the BB height of your bike (height of the centre of your BB spindle).

Careful clamping your frame like that - you probably shouldn't do that.  You are much better off clamping the post - just make sure you clean the jaws before clamping then thin tube on the dropper post.

Thanks.

Wow, only 305mm?  Geez that's low  I realise that is with 27.5 wheels though.  Could you please measure the height of your wheels (from floor to the top edge of the tyre).  I.e. the outside/rolling diameter of your tyres.  Then I suppose I can confirm the BB drop (I think it was around 25mm with a 560mm a-c fork), and estimate BB height on some 29er wheels

Have you ridden it yet?  If so, what length cranks?  It is pretty low?

Regarding the rear one unfortunately there seem to be no local dealer to get the Manitou Mcleod. So I'm thinking about to switch to the RockShox Monarch Plus RC3 DebonAir. Any opinion on that one?

I also would recommend the McLeod rear shock.  Where are you?  Switzerland?  The Germans (e.g. bike-discount) have the McLeod.  Do they not ship to your country?

Not sure if the performance of the latest piggyback shocks from fox/rockshox is much better, but the McLeod performance is pretty awesome, for half the price.  That frame will give you around 150mm travel with a 200x56 McLeod.