Chinese Carbon MTB Forums
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It's been 5 years..
I built four road bikes from Chinese carbon frames between 2017 & 2019. All of them purchased on eBay with free shipping to USA. The first one was sent the wrong frame size to me, filed a dispute and got to keep the frameset for free. After completing the build and test riding it for few weeks, I sold it to a neighbor who actually fits on it better than me. He's been riding it ever since, with close to 2k miles pedaled.  The replacement frame was sent the proper size that I ordered. Built up in 2019 and been my all around riding.  Third frame was aero road frame, cable routing was PITA with the handlebar, only wish it had disc brakes.  Last build was a TT frameset, built up with wireless shifting.  All of them have been ridden regularly. I don't ride nearly as much as I used to since 2020, but still very fun bikes to ride. October 05, 2022, 08:38:02 AM |
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Re: ICAN triaero A9
Just semi-finished my build after the wheels finally arrived today... Very happy about the A9, the quality of the frame was Top notch so far (ordered without handlebar and used a Metron 5D ACR Replica). Proper pictures will follow soon.. Going for a first ride tomorrow January 17, 2023, 12:27:08 PM |
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Deng Fu R13
Hi everyone. Longtime lurker, first time poster. I've learned a lot from the forum over the years so it's time to give back by sharing some knowledge. The first frame that I ordered directly from a Chinese manufacturer was a Hongfu FM069 in 2014. It felt a bit more like gambling then. Fewer people doing this, less knowledge about the producers, and not knowing anything about how customs would work. I was out of the game for some time because that frame lasted until spring 2022. The only trouble I had with it was due to a small design flaw. Shimano changed the front derailleur when they came out with Ultegra 6800 and the arm of the derailleur pressed on the frame, but like I wrote, it lasted for years and thousands of KM, until last spring. I noticed what looked like a slight crack on the top tube while sitting at a cafe after riding. It felt a little soft when I pushed on it, but I couldn't tell how bad it was. I road it a few more times and pushed on it, and pulled on it with my fingernail, etc. I eventually decided that I wasn't going to feel safe riding it at speed on the open road, so I dissected it the best I could around the crack. Long story short, I'm convinced that it is next to impossible to properly inspect a carbon frame without professional tools. Full stop. Sure there are visually obvious flaws, but we won't catch anything internal. The other side is just as true. I'm happy I retired that frame, but I'm not 100% that is was necessary. So I decided to order a new frame and use my existing grupo and wheels. It was spring and I needed a frame asap so I panic ordered a Rinasclta 2020 light weight rim brake road frame. They were professional, I got the frame relatively quickly, even with a custom paint job. It rides nicely and generally does what a frame should do: let you focus on riding. I had a little problem with the rear derailleur hanger. It was misaligned and there is so little carbon where it screws to the frame that I'm afraid to use a derailleur hanger adjustment tool to bend it into place. I made a shim out of thin plastic and that got it close enough that it shifts without problems. I can share photos or a tutorial if anyone has questions about what I did. I'm happy with that bike and it is now on my indoor trainer and I use it as my winter bike. I was ready to take a big step forward after putting in the training time the last few years so this autumn I started looking for a new frame to build up from scratch. My priorities were integrated cables, disc brakes, and somewhere on the aero spectrum of frames. After much lurking on the forums, I finally settled on a Deng Fu R12. The Yeoleo R12 (completely different from the Deng Fu R12) did work with me for geometry and taste. A few final contenders had BB86 bottom brackets, which don't play nicely with sram dub cranks. So the Deng Fu R12 with its BB386 was the call. Mia was helpful and answered my questions promptly. The price was nice. Everything was good until I changed my mind about the size. I wanted at 56cm frame instead of 58cm. The 56cm frame was out of stock. I was disappointed because I was ready to pull the trigger, but she got back to me to let me know that they had the new R13 in 56cm. She said it was very close to the R12, sent me a photo, but didn't have a geometry chart to share. I decided to order it anyway. It came about a month later. Mia shared a tracking number when it shipped and it arrived very well packaged in my country without incident. I tried to look at the inside of the frame the best I could without a proper insertable camera. Everything checked out. The only thing that I noticed was some latex leftover from the molding process. I built it up with sram force. The brake cable routing was easy; I didn't need anything other than tape and the plastic tubing that came pre-inserted in the frame. I'm not 100% happy with how the headset spacers are fitting into the integrated bar/stem. The spaces have a little dot that fits into a corresponding hole in the spacer above and then the stem. The space match up perfectly, but the carbon stem is tightened around the steerer tube, which changes its diameter, making this last interface slightly misaligned. It's about 99% there, just not perfect. Certainly not a safety issue. I have zero other comments other than it was easy to build. I used a Token thread together ninja bb. Besides having to find their tool in stock to buy, it was easy and tolerances checked out the best I could tell with calipers. The other part of the project was building wheels. I bought light carbon rims (Hi everyone. Longtime lurker, first time poster. I've learned a lot from the forum over the years so it's time to give back by sharing some knowledge. The first frame that I ordered directly from a Chinese manufacturer was a Hongfu FM069 in 2014. It felt a bit more like gambling then. Fewer people doing this, less knowledge about the producers, and not knowing anything about how customs would work. I was out of the game for some time because that frame lasted until spring 2022. The only trouble I had with it was due to a small design flaw. Shimano changed the front derailleur when they came out with Ultegra 6800 and the arm of the derailleur pressed on the frame, but like I wrote, it lasted for years and thousands of KM, until last spring. I noticed what looked like a slight crack on the top tube while sitting at a cafe after riding. It felt a little soft when I pushed on it, but I couldn't tell how bad it was. I road it a few more times and pushed on it, and pulled on it with my fingernail, etc. I eventually decided that I wasn't going to feel safe riding it at speed on the open road, so I dissected it the best I could around the crack. Long story short, I'm convinced that it is next to impossible to properly inspect a carbon frame without professional tools. Full stop. Sure there are visually obvious flaws, but we won't catch anything internal. The other side is just as true. I'm happy I retired that frame, but I'm not 100% that is was necessary. So I decided to order a new frame and use my existing grupo and wheels. It was spring and I needed a frame asap so I panic ordered a Rinasclta 2020 light weight rim brake road frame. They were professional, I got the frame relatively quickly, even with a custom paint job. It rides nicely and generally does what a frame should do: let you focus on riding. I had a little problem with the rear derailleur hanger. It was misaligned and there is so little carbon where it screws to the frame that I'm afraid to use a derailleur hanger adjustment tool to bend it into place. I made a shim out of thin plastic and that got it close enough that it shifts without problems. I can share photos or a tutorial if anyone has questions about what I did. I'm happy with that bike and it is now on my indoor trainer and I use it as my winter bike. I was ready to take a big step forward after putting in the training time the last few years so this autumn I started looking for a new frame to build up from scratch. My priorities were integrated cables, disc brakes, and somewhere on the aero spectrum of frames. After much lurking on the forums, I finally settled on a Deng Fu R12. The Yeoleo R12 (completely different from the Deng Fu R12) did work with me for geometry and taste. A few final contenders had BB86 bottom brackets, which don't play nicely with sram dub cranks. So the Deng Fu R12 with its BB386 was the call. Mia was helpful and answered my questions promptly. The price was nice. Everything was good until I changed my mind about the size. I wanted at 56cm frame instead of 58cm. The 56cm frame was out of stock. I was disappointed because I was ready to pull the trigger, but she got back to me to let me know that they had the new R13 in 56cm. She said it was very close to the R12, sent me a photo, but didn't have a geometry chart to share. I decided to order it anyway. It came about a month later. Mia shared a tracking number when it shipped and it arrived very well packaged in my country without incident. I tried to look at the inside of the frame the best I could without a proper insertable camera. Everything checked out. The only thing that I noticed was some latex leftover from the molding process. I built it up with sram force. The brake cable routing was easy; I didn't need anything other than tape and the plastic tubing that came pre-inserted in the frame. I'm not 100% happy with how the headset spacers are fitting into the integrated bar/stem. The spaces have a little dot that fits into a corresponding hole in the spacer above and then the stem. The space match up perfectly, but the carbon stem is tightened around the steerer tube, which changes its diameter, making this last interface slightly misaligned. It's about 99% there, just not perfect. Certainly not a safety issue. I have zero other comments other than it was easy to build. I used a Token thread together ninja bb. Besides having to find their tool in stock to buy, it was easy and tolerances checked out the best I could tell with calipers. The only difference that I can see between the R12 photos I've seen online and my R13 is in the seat stays. The R12 has slightly flared seat stays that are separate when they leave the seat tube. The seat stays on the R13 come off of the seat stay as a single, joined piece that then separates to each side. The other part of the project was building wheels. I bought rims from Light Carbon (https://www.lightcarbon.com/super-aero-undulating-rim-depth-700c-disc-brake-carbon-clincher-rims_p207.html). Super easy to deal with. Prompt emails. Answered questions. Shipped with a tracking number and I'm completely satisfied and enjoyed building the wheels. Last, I used a matte 2k clear coat on the frame and semigloss on the rims. I had more elaborate painting plans, but not a place to warm and dry to realize them in the winter. January 19, 2023, 09:38:30 AM |
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Re: 2023 VeloBuild CX-002 Cyclocross Frame
My build is complete. Went outside in the -13 celsius freezer to quickly snap these. Weight without pedals or bottle cages: 8.3kg SRAM eTap + FSA no.69 headset system = easier bike build I've done thus far. Waiting on some CX tires and I have to swap out the left crank arm for a Quarq/SRAM power meter. Some tidbits about the frameset... The frame was designed by Velobuild rather than being a "homage" to one of the major brands. EPS latex like the VB-177. EDIT: Also I should mention: I’m running a 48/35 chainring up front. However, the front derailleur just BARELY clears the chainring and is mounted at the upper limit of the braze-on hanger. Basically the braze mount is, mounted, really to accommodate a smaller chainring. 46t max probably. February 03, 2023, 04:55:28 PM |
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Re: ICAN triaero A9
Any updates on this one Oleg? How was the warranty return experience? So, good thing is that return is fully completed. 1. Money for the frame came immediately after I showed them post tracking. Still I have lost 80 Euros on currency EUR-USD conversion from my credit card. 2. They have paid me return shipping, but after they have received the package, so 1 month later. From that point of view, ICAN is a fair company. Peggy is also nice, but he can not handle the absence of QC in ICAN. Timewise, I lost 1.5 month on handling the faulty frame. All in all, I went with Winspace T1500 frame, bought used. Now my LBS builds a bike for me. February 06, 2023, 01:50:17 PM |
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***SOLD***Dura Ace 9120 full groupset
Full DA 9120 groupset for sale. Components included - 1. L/R shifters (hydraulic) 2x11 perfectly functional, minimal wear, brand new hoods. 2. F/R hydraulic calipers with pads that have about 200 miles on them. 3. 50/34 crankset. Underside of the drive side crank has consistent rub mark. 175mm. 4. Rotors, 160 and 140mm, ice tech, plenty life left. 5. BBR60 bottom bracket. Smooth, no wear. 6. Ultegra chain, 200 ish miles 7. Ultegra R8000 11-32 cassette, 200 ish miles 8. Front derailleur (braze on) 9. Rear derailleur. Has a scratch on lower bottom of the nameplate. Stuff has cosmetic wear and there but isn’t abused or crashed. Everything works as expected. Beautiful, light, one of the best groupset Shimano makes out there. To run this you just need shifter cables and hydraulic hoses which have been cut. All the consumables except rotors have been replaced within last 2 months. You are good to go for a long time on it as it stands today without anything needing replacing. Asking $1099 shipped to your doorstep in CONUS. Paypal or Venmo fees on the buyer though. Pictures - https://imgur.com/a/3t1l72f July 26, 2023, 11:23:13 AM |
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Re: Groupset News
Perhaps it was on the forum ridinggravel or on Reddit. I use the ID "@烂薄荷_" within China, which means "rotten mint". Although I'm not as professional as the OP, and my comments might be more subjective, I am indeed willing to share these fresh news with everyone. 也许是Gravel论坛或者是reddit。我在国内用“烂薄荷_"这个ID，意思是”腐烂的薄荷“。不过我没有OP那么专业，说的话可能也会更加主观，但是我确实乐意向大家分享这些新鲜的消息。 I have read your name somewhere else before but can't recall where exactly. May be weighweenies? In any case, glad you are here and hopefully providing more insider tidbits like SW. September 12, 2023, 10:22:52 PM |
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Re: Yishunbike G095D (Speed Gravel)
I bought the frame from Yinshun Germany. They only had one left in my size available. And I have to do the paint job myself, that only goes through Yinshun Asia and with at least 3 frames. Has cost the frame with shipping, 890€ September 13, 2023, 01:42:55 AM |
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Re: Elves Vanyar Pro Disc 2023 - UCI Approved
Hi there, We launched it today, all of the details can be found here https://uk.elvesbike.com/products/2024-elves-vanyar-full-carbon-disc-road-framesets,-superlight-disc-road-frame?VariantsId=11450 There is also a short studio promo here- Happy to answer any questions you have. Cheers, SJ September 15, 2023, 08:56:16 AM |
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Re: BXT Gravel 135
currently in progress (self-painted) September 18, 2023, 09:32:36 AM |
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