I've been hunting for a new road frameset for a good part of the year and just spotted this frame on pandapodium:
Mentech Aero Sport

Aero frameset that's relatively light, 35c clearance, nice paintjobs, reversible seatpost, really cheap, seems to be in stock and most importantly has a large enough size to fit me. Really tempted to pull a trigger but there's 0 info about it anywhere.

UPD
Looks like it's not going to fit me. Seatpost on XL is only 300mm

This bike will fit perfectly into my manosphere.

Mentech. Paired with an Xpedo home trainer, before the end of the year you're a convicted sex offender.
I feel like Joe is collecting the worst Chinese branding. Big rock was horrendous, wasn't there a mooncock too? It's like there's the same intern in marketing in all these companies who's trolling management and it works every time.

Quote from: Serge_K on November 04, 2026, 04:17:04 PMMentech. Paired with an Xpedo home trainer, before the end of the year you're a convicted sex offender.
I feel like Joe is collecting the worst Chinese branding. Big rock was horrendous, wasn't there a mooncock too? It's like there's the same intern in marketing in all these companies who's trolling management and it works every time.

Personally don't mind the name. Pretty sure most of the western brand names would sound pretty silly if we weren't used to it.

Canyon Giant Specialized - We'd probably say the same thing if their country flags were different.

I can't imagine most Chinese brands initially having their eyes set on selling to the Western market. Which is why Joe specifically curates these particular brands. Kudos to him for all the brands he's helping eventually become household names. Maybe names like Mentech, Winspace, Tavelo or QuickPro aren't whimsical when used or translated in China.

That said, I do chuckle when a brand does want to be taken seriously globally. But didn't budget for a branding consultant.

Panda Podium's "smarter race geometry" (=endurance bike) advertising strategy is really offputting at this point. No, a higher stack is neither more comfortable or "smarter" for all riders, especially coupled with short reach. No, a low stack has literally never been a problem for a race bike! Just make longer bikes and couple them with 2cm of spacers if needed ffs. I can't make a bike lower, and integrated handlebars top out at quite short lengths.

Quote from: patliean1 on November 04, 2026, 05:15:17 PMCanyon Giant Specialized - We'd probably say the same thing if their country flags were different.

My favourite example so far is a friend of mine who told me that he would never ride ltwoo because of how stupid the name is while riding his bike with Sram Force and Sram literally means "I'm taking a shit" in polish

I don't get the hate for brand names, I love showing people my big cock and I'm very jealous of my friends and their cock riders they picked up at Decathlon. Funny names make the whole thing more fun, no need to take things so seriously.

I think Mentech is the (fairly established) parent company's name, so I guess it makes sense. The bike looks pretty cool if you ask me and at least the price is decent. I don't get why it's called the Aero Sport there, though, seeing as the branding on the frame implies it's called Arc.

Quote from: Buffon_bj on November 04, 2026, 10:30:24 PMNo, a low stack has literally never been a problem for a race bike! Just make longer bikes and couple them with 2cm of spacers if needed ffs. I can't make a bike lower, and integrated handlebars top out at quite short lengths.

Not everybody rides a 48. Some people, like Hector the well endowed, or tall ones, need stack. I'm both tall and well endowed. Was this a set up? maybe.

Quote from: Serge_K on November 05, 2026, 04:21:23 AMNot everybody rides a 48. Some people, like Hector the well endowed, or tall ones, need stack. I'm both tall and well endowed. Was this a set up? maybe.

Funny thing is I ride a 58 or 60 at 190cm tall, and I hate it how XL sized frames always just add loads of unnecessary stack without making the bike longer.

Quote from: Buffon_bj on November 05, 2026, 05:30:12 AMFunny thing is I ride a 58 or 60 at 190cm tall, and I hate it how XL sized frames always just add loads of unnecessary stack without making the bike longer.

But at that height, you have a little longer torso than most. I'm 188cm and have a 94cm inseam. I think I remember from one of your other posts that your inseam was a good bit smaller, meaning your torso is longer and thus you need the extra reach. I think a lot of us tall guys would rather get the extra stack. My point being is that they're making frames for the majority, not the outliers like yourself.

Quote from: Eddy_Twerckx on November 05, 2026, 06:25:36 AMBut at that height, you have a little longer torso than most. I'm 188cm and have a 94cm inseam. I think I remember from one of your other posts that your inseam was a good bit smaller, meaning your torso is longer and thus you need the extra reach. I think a lot of us tall guys would rather get the extra stack. My point being is that they're making frames for the majority, not the outliers like yourself.

Well my inseam is 91cm, and at least my bikefitter said that's very much in the middle of the bell curve, just like a 190cm wingspan for 190cm height. 94cm inseam sounds very long for a 188cm fellow – my brother has a 94cm inseam and he's 190cm like me, and he's always needed extra tall suit trousers as 52L has been too short, and everybody's always commented how he has very very long legs.

The most rational solution for RACE bikes would be for brands to invest into riser cockpits and just generally more cockpit sizing options.

You make a bike with extremely aggressive stack and reach, riders can pick their frame size based on reach and select their cockpit based on how high they want their front end. Kind of how the Ridley Noah Fast 3.0 does it. That way you can cover the widest range of the fit bell curve. This might necessitate a fixed seat angle across all sizes, but some would call that a positive.

And as a bonus you get to shift some weight from the frame to the cockpit which will look great on the spec sheet

What I would like to see from more brands:
-FSA/ACR headset system as standard. Opens the door to 3rd party cockpit options.
-Recessed headtube to better integrate the FSA headset dust cover.

My XLAB AD8 has a nice FSA recessed system. I wish more brands paid attention to this detail without needing proprietary cockpits or stems. One of the reasons why the Noah 3.0 caught me eye.

Quote from: patliean1 on November 05, 2026, 11:21:36 AMWhat I would like to see from more brands:
-FSA/ACR headset system as standard. Opens the door to 3rd party cockpit options.
-Recessed headtube to better integrate the FSA headset dust cover.

My XLAB AD8 has a nice FSA recessed system. I wish more brands paid attention to this detail without needing proprietary cockpits or stems. One of the reasons why the Noah 3.0 caught me eye.

I'd rather not have the recessed frame. It makes it harder to use third party top caps. At least with a flat top tube you can run different top caps and they generally all fit ok. I do agree a more universal top cap is needed, but I think the flat top tube makes it easier to do that.

Like this: