I have a hard time of trusting any of the Chiner geometry drawings. Not because they are trying to deceive or are just getting it wrong. These open mold frames go through so many iterations that the one we see posted might not be the final iteration or at least the drawing is not updated to the most current geo numbers.

Having said that, you need to at least have a starting point to begin with. Without having a frame here in front of me to measure I have no choice but to reference the drawing. If I were to assume the drawing as listed on their site is accurate at 100mm travel, then according to my calculations shock travels would be as follows:

40mm shock = 101mm travel
42.5mm shock = 105mm travel
45mm shock = 112mm travel

My calculations come from a CAD program that has been used in Motorsports for years to model suspension kinematics and is dead nuts on!

Quote from: zilcho on July 03, 2020, 07:39:36 PM

165x42.5 should give around 120mm of rear travel.

How did you calculate this?
The average suspension ratio should be 2.5 for this frame (100mm wheel travel with 40mm shock as stated by Carbonda)
So with a with 165x42.5 it would be 106.25 mm travel...? Am I missing something?

I believe that calculation was based on linear thinking. When you look at the travel of the rear triangle it is dependent upon the shock stroke, leverage ratio, and the rear axle path. Depending on the suspension design, the initial rearward axle path will have a great effect on final travel. The only way to get an accurate travel number is to model the frame in a CAD program. And that measurement is a vertical wheel travel number. That's why the axle path is so important.

Very nice, but let me ask you why are you riding a medium frame being 182cm tall? No wonder you are using a 100mm stem 

One more thing worth speculating: What if they hadn't performed any production or labour before I said "refund"? Is there any way of knowing?  They expected me to pay their arbitrary costs based on no evidence. I could go on and on but you get the idea.

You are absolutely correct here! Hongfu did a horrible job of communicating with you (probably because they were trying to rip you off). And because of their actions their name is being dragged in the mud, which they deserve!!

He probably works for Hongfu. That or he felt compelled just to join and post that?   

Hey, i'm not trying to be a dick, but in all fairness when dealing with these Chiner companies you do need to know how these transactions work. Now, i'm not sticking up for anyone or any company specifically. It's difficult to know exactly where these open mold frames are physically made. I'm sure Peter from Carbon Speed doesn't manufacture all the frames he sells. Hongfu, Dengfu, Workswell, Ican or whomever never makes all the frames they sell. These companies do deals with each other and give permission to sell each others frames. Hell, some of the places don't produce products at all, they are just re-sellers.

In this case here, the buyer was not happy waiting for as long as he did to receive his frame. So, he decided to purchase it from another seller who had it in stock. Through the buyers own words he mentioned he "assumed" the frame was in stock from Hongfu. The first mistake Hongfu made was to tell him to purchase it through Aliexpress. That to me right there throws up a red flag. I have only dealt with the selling companies directly. It's possible they were trying to get the sale straight away knowing they did not have the frame in stock. Bad business practices for sure! In the early discussions it appears Honfu told the buyer the frame was in production and then would need to be painted. If that is true then the buyer should expect to pay some recovery fee for a project that had been started, even though it's supposed to be an item that would usually be stocked (or maybe they had to order it from another company and the frame was in production). The buyer requested the order be canceled even though it had been started. Hongfu then decided to force the frame down the buyers throat, which in my opinion, has done nothing but cause bad blood and horrible reviews. Well deserved by them. Hopefully the credit card company can get this sorted and funds returned.

Moral of the story, either verify for sure the seller has the frame in their hands, or search around for someone trustworthy that does. If neither of these situations  can be verified, then be prepared to wait a long time to receive your frame. Do not be in a hurry!

Just my $.02 worth 

Very difficult to see but it appears the play is in the hole of the shock itself? It looks as though the rocker is one with the bolt. That's different from what I am experiencing. The only solution I see is to install a bronze bushing in the shock eyelet then hone it out to proper size. If your shock is not machined for a bushing then you would have to perform that. Not the easiest thing in the world to do. You need the right tools. It's totally doable though 

It seems it was the rear axel that wasn't tight enough!
I had a (small) crash and the handle on the rear axel took a hit (and so did my elbow and knee ) and got more tension / tighter.
Anyway, I think that may have solve the problem, because now: silent! 

I went to a DT Swiss RWS axle and it really stabilized the entire rear triangle of the bike! I can get the wheel mounting as tight as I need to and still remove the wheel on the trail if needed. Yes, it's a couple of grams heavier but well worth the weight!!!