Author Topic: Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build  (Read 12041 times)

steven-iam

Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build
« on: March 27, 2017, 01:48:59 PM »
Hello Fellow Chinertowners:

I find this site incredibly helpful, and am very grateful to the person who spent the time to create this site.

That said, I’m going to tell you my Chiner story, It’s long and boring, but hopefully it will be my way of giving back, so others can learn from my experience.

I own a Cannondale 2015 Scalpel team. This is another story, but to make a long story longer… it started out as a 2012 Scalpel Carbon 1. Over the years, everything was upgraded except Hollowgram Cranks and the rear shock. When I cracked my frame in 2016, they gave me a new 2015 Team frame. I didn’t like the green, so I had it plasti-dipped black. When they gave it back painted, they informed me it was a small.  I’m 5’9”, I was really happy with my bike until they told me, and it was too late to return. No wonder the bike was always so” twitchy”. I did manage to get third in State in my class, and 1st in the region. (just to give me some credibility...brag)

So, I was in the market for a new “medium” sized bike. 2015 Frames on eBay were about $1600 and had the old geometry.  Cannondale changed the geometry in 2017 by slackening the fork and shortening the chainstays. So I did some research for a cheap Chinese bike frame with the new geometry, and happened to stumble upon a post on MTBR about Deng-Fu, and how nice they were.

So I goggled Deng-Fu and found their Alibaba site (and found this site after I placed my order). I contacted them, and their sales person “Kelsey” was a very professional sales rep, and returned all correspondence promptly. She walked me through the process and updated my Alibaba order to reflect the logo painting, headset bearings,  thru-axle, stem and extra derailleur hangers. They kept their 15 day schedule for custom paint, and shipping through EMS took only a little more than  a week (I was expecting a month).

I ordered a “Lefty for All” conversion kit, xx1 GXP crankset, Monarch XX  rear shock, BB92-GXP sram bearings, RWC 21.85 Shock bearings, and stem spacers ahead of time. So I had everything I needed to assemble.

The frame looked great, except since I kept it flat black; you could very slightly tell where they had to sand the imperfections from the mold. Also there wasn’t enough room for the rear brake (SRAM Guide Ultimates ) so I had to make a spacer to crazy glue to the frame to allow adjustment room. Also you have to grind the Shock Pivot Bolts so they will fit tight, otherwise your frame will have lots of play. One last thing, the bottle cage holes are in the wrong place. I asked Kelsey about this before shipping, and she said this is no longer an issue. She was misinformed. The good part is that the bottle cage holes are so far off, the bottom hole is exactly where the top hole should be, so a handy zip-tie to hold the bottom of the cage works great.

It only took a few hours to assemble, and weighed in at only “22.1” lbs, about the same weight as my Scalpel.

On the weekend, I took my Deng-Fu M06 for her maiden voyage. When I arrived at the trailhead, Cannondale was there giving demos. How lucky is that? Now I can compare my new Frankenstein Deng-Fu against the new 2017 $9,500 Scalpel Team.

The Deng-Fu M06 was great. Much better than expected. It is way  less twitchy, and handles the drops much better than its predecessor, yet super responsive.

The 2017 Scalpel Team was much stiffer and not as stable on rocky declines. Not much different than my old 2015 Scalpel. I felt like the Cannondale was faster… But after looking at my Strava times, I rode faster on the Deng-Fu, and I got 2 PBs. The Cannondale was probably slower due to exhaustion.

Conclusion:
If you can work on your own bike and have the tools, the Deng-Fu is well worth the money. And what a great way to update the geometry of your old bike. It’s like getting a new bike for a fraction of the cost. The few problems mentioned above were very minor.

But if you’re not handy, than I highly recommend buying a new bike from the store, they will support you and fix any warranty issues. If you purchase a Cannondale, their carbon frames are warranted for life, Deng-Fu is 2 years.

Hope I didn't bore you too much. Please feel free to comment or ask questions.

Attached Pics:
Side View
Front View
Loaded on Sea-Sucker bike mounts (photo bombed by my dog)
Fiber washer from Home Depot crazy glued to frame
Zip-tied bottle cage
Cannondale demo compare




« Last Edit: April 05, 2017, 05:09:36 PM by steven-iam »



Midwest-MTBer

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu Build
« Reply #1 on: March 27, 2017, 08:39:10 PM »
Awesome build and great write up! I'm happy to see more reviews coming out about these newer Chinese FS frame designs. I agree that the matte black isn't attractive with the blemishes from production, but I had someone local quote me about $80 to paint the frame. Oh well, in time maybe.

Not to derail this thread... but is that a Fiskar Karma?? I haven't seen one in a number of years. I assumed they all broke down by now.. but seriously, that is a great looking car.

steven-iam

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu Build
« Reply #2 on: March 27, 2017, 09:44:43 PM »
Yep, I bought it new in 2012, it's my daily drive, 45,000 miles and no problems except having to reboot the computer every few months. I'm registering 409 mpg. Love the car.

charlesrg

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2017, 09:34:42 PM »
Definitely the coolest looking car+bike setup of any trailhead.

Stinkfisk

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build
« Reply #4 on: March 30, 2017, 02:24:00 AM »
What chainring do you use? I bought a garbaruk 38t to my FSA SL-K crankset. The 38t hit the chainstay. Is 36t the biggest working chainring? Do you think it is possible to shim the crankset about 3mm to the right to make it work with my 38t chainring?

steven-iam

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build
« Reply #5 on: March 30, 2017, 07:18:38 AM »
I'm using a 32 tooth chainring. You must be super strong to climb with 38 even with a 1x12

charlesrg

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build
« Reply #6 on: April 01, 2017, 02:49:12 PM »
What size is yours ? I want to ensure the bottle holes are not a problem. Dengfu said problem is gone with XL size.

steven-iam

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build
« Reply #7 on: April 02, 2017, 05:07:18 PM »
charlesrg, my size is 17.5

Carbon_Dude

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build
« Reply #8 on: April 02, 2017, 07:05:57 PM »
Nice write up, we (Chinertown Community) really appreciate those who take the time to share so much about their new bike.
2019 Stumpjumper Expert 29/27.5+
2017 Santa Cruz Stigmata
2017 Trek Stache 9.8 (29+)
2016 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Carbon Comp 6Fattie (27.5+) (Sold)
2016 Trek Stache 9 (29+) w/upgrades (Sold)
2014 -036 Full Suspension Chiner (Sold)
2013 -057 Hardtail Carbon Chiner (Sold)
Atlanta, GA

steven-iam

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build
« Reply #9 on: May 05, 2017, 04:23:05 PM »
I would like to order an extra set of pivot bearings just in case they are hard to find when I will really need them.

Does anyone know if there are bearings in the shock link? I'm having a little trouble communicating with the sales person. It seems like there should be 6 bearings and three bushings. I really don't want to take my bike apart to find out. DengFu sent me this pic. It looks like there are only bearings at the bottom, which means we may have wear problems later if that is true.

charlesrg

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build
« Reply #10 on: May 05, 2017, 04:46:42 PM »
I would like to order an extra set of pivot bearings just in case they are hard to find when I will really need them.

Does anyone know if there are bearings in the shock link? I'm having a little trouble communicating with the sales person. It seems like there should be 6 bearings and three bushings. I really don't want to take my bike apart to find out. DengFu sent me this pic. It looks like there are only bearings at the bottom, which means we may have wear problems later if that is true.

I would not worry about bearings. They are easy to get. You can order from RWC or VXB easy.
Just keep a spare derailleur hanger and you should be fine. Rarely someone strips a bolt but I don't think it's worth sticking it.

Have been abusing  my ip036 for almost 3 years with no issues related to those.

steven-iam

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build
« Reply #11 on: May 05, 2017, 05:43:04 PM »
Thank you for the info, There are so many, how do you know which ones?

http://enduroforkseals.com/id169.html

charlesrg

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build
« Reply #12 on: May 05, 2017, 07:23:55 PM »
You can measure it or just read the label on your old one, it will say like 6802, 6901, the letter are the seal types. They are kinda standard. A bearing should last a long long time given no damage to the seal. Very little to worry.

Sizing info here:
https://www.bearingworks.com/bearing-sizes/

I used to order my skateboard bearings here: http://www.vxb.com/


MickeF

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build
« Reply #13 on: May 10, 2017, 03:00:33 PM »
I would like to order an extra set of pivot bearings just in case they are hard to find when I will really need them.

Does anyone know if there are bearings in the shock link?

6901, six of them.

Two at the bottom, four in the link.
« Last Edit: May 10, 2017, 03:02:19 PM by MickeF »

steven-iam

Re: Steven-iam's DengFu M06 Build
« Reply #14 on: June 16, 2017, 09:42:25 AM »
Update:

It's been a couple of months, so I thought i'd give an update on how the bike is working out.

The Deng-Fu M06 frame is definitely not as stiff as a super high end name brand made in Taiwan. The Toray rating of the DengFu is 800 compared to Cannondale's  "BallisTec Hi-MOD" which I think has a Toray rating of 1100. But I happen to like the flex, riding is way more comfy and quiet.

Also i'm riding about a pound heavier than my old Cannondale. But this could be because of the "Lefty for All" conversion kit, cranks and the new wider rim wheels.

The frame is holding up perfectly, I love the geometry, if you get a little too tired  to hop over obstacles, the bike has no problem absorbing them.

So far I wouldn't trade this frame for anything else. I love it.

Here's the latest pic with my new wheels and chain.

Happy Trails.
« Last Edit: June 16, 2017, 09:47:13 AM by steven-iam »