pesty

I know I’m opening up a can’t of worms by even asking this question... so if you don’t have , or haven’t ridden an open mold frame from China, please leave the discussion to those that’s have.

I finally convinced my wife to let me build up a CX bike after selling off a bunch of parts and old frames to fund it. At this point I only need a frame, but am stuck with a budget if about $500 (inc shipping). Looking for a 56 (+/- 1cm), which are genrrally in short supply. There are a few carbon frames from China on ebay or Ali, or I’ve seen a few used on eBay, CL and the like. I’m hesitant to buy a used carbon cross bike, so I’m looking at alluminum, mostly Crockett’s, E5 CruX, TCXs, etc. In order to stay in budget, I’m a also staying with Canti brakes so I can use the plethora of wheels I already have. I won’t be doing much, if any, racing, mostly for playing around on trails, maybe some gravel, following the kids through the park, etc. my main ride is an Allez Sprint, and I like an aggressive handling bike. The kicker, I’m perilously close to 100kg.

SO, to those who have, or have had, Chinese carbon CX bikes, how well do they ride and hold up? I don’t think I’d have an issue buying a CN road bike, but off road is another’s thing entirely. Also, the canti CX bikes from CN look to be all 2015 molds or older and have about 1cm higher BB drop. Many are between 58 and 64mm. Should this (geometry) be a major consideration going from a 69 on my Allez? The AL bikes tend not between 67 and 69.

Apologies in advance for the arguments this will start.

24/7biker

I would suggest a steel frame for durablity, they'll last a lifetime unlike carbon or aluminum. Check out the Surly Cross Check or Soma Double Cross. At a slightly lower pricepoint there is also the New Albion Privateer. The parts you already have will probably fit these frames, 1 1/8th headset, qr wheels, regular threaded bb.

pesty

Thought about that, but I can easily see being annoyed by the lack of bottom end stiffness in a steel frame. I ended up making a decision and pulling the trigger on a Crockett about 2 hours after posting this. Seller gave me a great deal, and felt better about aluminum than CF in general, regardless of mfg.

hsoverma

I have purchased two Open Mold chinese bikes off Ebay and have had stellar luck. I just recently purchased a "50cm AERO Carbon Glossy Black" Road Frame from them for $300.
Rather than post the link to the item (as it will go away after its sold) the seller is called "Carbon Cycle" (I cant post link in this forum do to some 10 post limit rule)

So here is my full experience on this particular frame:

I heavily recommend contacting the seller and asking to purchase some additional derailleur hangers.

REASON FOR BUYING:
This frame is pretty light and I liked it because I wanted something for criterium racing with a very short wheelbase and BB30 bottom bracket to fit my existing cranks / componentry and my stock of BB30 ceramic bearings. I am 5'8" and this 50cm frame had dimensions closer to a typical 51cm or 52cm frame. I am happy I went with this size. My old frame was a large-ish 52cm with geometry meant more for grand tours. I wanted something cheap and I don't care much about looks. I am a mountain bike racer by heart so crit racing is just something I do for training. (and its fun) In an ideal world, I would have preferred a matt black rather than the gloss. It looks nice but fingerprints and salty sweat really show up.

GENERAL NOTES DURING THE BUILD:
This frame wont accept anything larger than a 25 mm tire. The rear tire clearance is so tight, I have to remove the QR skewer to put the rear wheel on/off. The headset was a bit hard to figure out and took it to the local bike shop to deal with it. I ended up getting a cane creek with 45 lower and 42 upper bearings. 1.5" on the bottom and 1.25" at the top. The BB shell did not come with c-clips so I had to grab some from the local shop as well.

The seatpost that came with the frame was clearcoated and I had to sand all the clearcoat off in order to fit it into the frame. I do not recommend using any chemical strippers as this may cause problems with the carbon epoxy. I sanded by hand and used 120 grit followed by 220 grit and sanded it until I could just barely see the carbon weave.

The steerer tube had a lot of excess length so I cut about 10 cm off of it before getting professional bike fit. (and then cutting a bit more). I used a 32 TPI hacksaw and the park tool saw guide and had no issues with splintering. Dont use anything larger than 32 TPI to be safe.

The frame has internal cable channels so no issues with having to fish cables through the frame. Just push the cables into the cable ports and they come out the other side. Routing is very tidy.

The braze-on front derailleur hanger is well placed and I had no need to use the little stick-on frame protector that comes with the derailleur. I run a 52 tooth big ring and there were no issues dialing this in.

The seatpost will only handle standard seat rail diameters. I had a carbon rail seatpost I wanted to run and couldn't as it has oversized seat rails. I ended up using a Fizik Alliante with the metal rails. The seatpost is a little finicky on adjusting the angle of the seat, (took me a few tries to get it right) but nothing too terrible.

THE RIDE:
This frame is VERY stiff. My old frame was stiff and carbon, but this one was noticeably stiffer after the first crit I did on it. Instant power to the ground. The BB area is super beefy so I'm not surprised here.

The short wheelbase helped in the corners. When I test rode the bike at very low speeds, the tips of my feet (I wear a 41.5 cm shoe) hit the front tire when turning very sharply. Fortunately, turning the front wheel this much will never happen when racing or riding the tightest courses.

The positioning is very aggressive compared to my old frame as well. I am able to get much lower and more aero than in the past using the same bars and stem that was on my old frame. My drop ended up being 9.5 cm running a 6 deg stem.

The BB clearance is a little lower than my previous frame so I had some light pedal hits when pedaling through tight corners running a 172.5mm crank arm length.Nothing I cant handle but a consideration if you are running tight corners.

So far so good, I really like this and am impressed. I only have a three weeks on the frame as of writing this review, but I don't foresee any issues in the future.

The only things that were downsides:
1) I had to sand down the seatpost and its difficult to adjust the angle (removed one star for this)
2) I cant put 28mm tires on this frame, but this is a nice to have.
3) The clearance on the rear is so tight I have to remove the QR skewer to remove/install the rear tire. This is just something to whine about and the trade off is worth it for such a short wheelbase.

Final Build List:
Chinese Carbon 50cm frame with supplied seatpost and fork
2018 Dura-Ace Rear Derailleur
2016 Ultegra 11-28 cassette
2018 Ultegra front Derailleur
Cane Creek Headset
2016 Fizik Ti Rail Alliante
2016 Ultegra Shifters
2016 FSA Gossamer Brakes
2018 Vision 440mm carbon bars
Fizik Bar Tape
Jagwire Cables and Housings
Specialized Carbon S-Works Cranks 52/39
Enduro Ceramic BB30 Bearings
Ultegra Chain
Oval 733 Aluminum Rims
Vittoria Rubino Pro Tyres
Forte 90mm stem 6 deg
Total Weight without pedals and bottle cages: 15 lbs, 12 oz

ph0rk