Tri4life

Ok so after an excess of reading forums and reviews till I wanted to die I'm going with a Chinese unbranded frame. Just wanted to see if anyone had better experiences ordering from velobuild or from dengfu directly. Long story short.. I snapped off my braze on derailluer hanger and since its aluminum no one will even touch it. I'm just gonna swap compeneners over and if anything needs to be replaced I'll go for it.

Bunyanderman

There are many unbranded bikes directly from china, and they are very attractive by their low price. I really don't like when they sell the ones that have a fake paint job, this being they paint it according to the real frame/company. I think some paint jobs can be good, but when they paint the cervelo logo it gives me bad vibes.

I have briefly followed this thread Hongfu FM-066/Chinese open mould frame thread - Weight Weenies and they seem to be pretty content with their chinese frames.

bt

I have a frame from hongfu.

it is fine.

Elvo

There can be some QA/QC issues with the velo-build frames especially with tolerances so it isn't perfect. I personally ride an unbranded frame with fake 3T carbon bars and it's the best bike I've ever ridden (compared to Allez, Noah, Roubaix, Felt F series).

TrojanHorse

I was going to go that route a few years ago and read sooooooooo many pages of that RBR thread my eyes went bad. I'm still laughing about the Chinerello Dogpoo though. Bloody brilliant.

Dengfu seemed to be pretty good for the most part. You can also go with pedalforce or even nashbar if you want a middle man in your transaction in case things don't go smoothly.

I ended up getting a used branded frame on ebay for about the same price and was perfectly happy with it.

rpenmanparker 

The Hongfu and Dengfu "66" type frames are among the lightest and according to many folks are made in the same factory. The price from Hongfu is about 60% higher than somewhat similar frames on ebay. I was quoted $732 all in including frame, fork, BB, seatpost clamp, shipping and surcharge for Pay Pal. The ebay near equivalents (less stiff carbon) can be had for $465 delivered. If there is anything like a real warranty, it would be from dealing with Hongfu or Dengfu. The price is not bad, but is higher than I was expecting.

stlcowboyfan

I did this same thing, lol. I would literally fall asleep in front of the lap top at night researching Chinese carbon frames and reading everything google had to offer...and then one day I saw a Fuji SST frameset brand new on Ebay in my size...it was a bike I had been lusting over, but didn't have the $3400 at the moment to drop on a complete bike. So I bought the frameset and stashed it til I was ready to build.

Tri4life

Yeah I'm leaning toward the Dengfu, it seems super light. Especially the TT frame. Hongfu didn't have the TT frame I needed, only the "super bike" type. So for the prices it's Dengfu or Velo Build. Dengfu looks like the better build, but velobuild looks a like the easier one to deal with. Anyone have experience with either?

rpenmanparker 

I wouldn't be surprised if they were all built in the same factory.

bugly64

This is my Velobuildmall R-041. It's also sold as a FM 098 at Defung I believe. I bought the 88mm carbon fiber rims from Aliexpress. The Ultegra Di2 was a take off a brand new bike I got for a really good price. I have about 2,000 miles on it, and it is doing fine. I have taken it 107 miles in one day conquering San Francisco's toughest climbs.

noob_rider

good lord, that's hideous. well done.

Stucky

Hah! Love it! Especiallyu the "Schmenge" part!

Now all you need are some Chinglish safety warning stickers.....

If I ever get one, it's going to be a "Fecalized".....

bugly64

I was going to post it in Hot or Not, but I didn't want to break the internet...
This is my favorite decal on the bike:

KonaRider125

Nashbar sells a carbon road frame as well, check it out.

spectastic

just don't bring it to your bike shop. unless you want park tools being pelted at you by financially distressed bike shop employees

seious question though, how does it ride compared to a real venge? can you notice a difference between it and the proclaimed "FACT IS" carbon layup?

Willbird

Their sizes go 46,49,52,55,58. Riding a 54 Sportiff right now. $600 or add another $650 for $1250 total and get it as a rolling bike in 5800 105. it is gloss black though.....

• Gloss finish is an eye-catching stunner

, the matte black Chinese stuff was what was calling me :-)....not sure if the complete 105 bike is the same frame or not, but it is a matte finish, which I like better :-).

Like most Nashbar, and to be fair other entry level stuff it is not a "complete" 5800 group.....shimano crank is nicer and worth the extra money because you have more freedom in chainring selection IMHO.

Shopping groupsets in the UK I see Merlin has a complete 105 carbon road bike for around $1300 shipped....not sure if there are any import duties there though.

Bill

indyfabz

Thanks, man. I just spit coffee all over my computer.

indyfabz

You should add a decal that reads "PUT ON GROUND. LIGHT FUSE. GET AWAY."

Willbird

Isn't that QR position an invitation for the haters lining up there to make your "sprint" a low slower ?? :-).

indyfabz

Huh?

BTW...The QR lever is in the proper position.

velociraptor

Some people like to tuck it into the corner between the seat stay & chain stay, but racers like to have it hanging off the back.

For that extra millisecond saved when wheel changes are necessary.

A more considered opinion is that it ensures the skewer QR isn't somehow disturbed by the back of your shoe.

Hiro11

I bought a ~$500 frame from ICAN a few years ago and it was pretty good. A couple of issues:

1. The internal cable routing was complete garbage. It rattled constantly and loudly, had a lot of friction and had an extraordinarily stupid design both around the BB and in the rear dropout. Bike-killing level bad design here.
2. The RD hanger wasn't square when I got the bike. The necessitated a trip to the bike shop for a slighty nervey bending sessions.

Other than that the bike handled really well, was extremely stiff, cosmetically looked good, was built like a tank, had a square BB and well machined headset race and a had nicely designed seatpost. Unfixable binding and ever increasing friction in the internal cabling ended up killing the frame. At least it was cheap. My experience is just watch it with the details on these frames.

Willbird

I had read years ago that in the racers book of tricks was to flip a QR in that position OPEN using your front tire ? Google search says "accidental" but what I read years ago implied it was an intentional offensive tactic :-).

Stucky

I want to know if that warning sticker on his wheel has some funny Chinglish in it! (I loved the ones which were on the Chinese ATV I once had! They were hilarious- and made absolutely no sense!)

SirHustlerEsq

I would do a Nud frame, not the stuff suggested here. A buddy bought one from HF I believe, RD shifted differently based upon rear skewer torque, had a death-wobble at speed, frame filled-up with water in rain.