Who on BR has bought a 'cheap' Chinese carbon frame?

kfinlay

To come back to the topic of Chinese Frames (and try to be a bit more positive instead of all this confrontation and aggression - children please!)

Here's the design I have worked out for my frame should I go ahead. Thought I'd do something different from more usual black (even though I do like matt black)
Comments welcome

warrior4life

Thats pretty nice.
I'm tempted by a mountain bike frame myself

kfinlay

mcrdave wrote:

kfinlay - I like it, might be tricky to get the 2 thin pin stripes that thin in vinyl though. I like the design though, looks a bit Baum like. Plus I also like the current trend of graphics on the inside of forks / chainstays, very 'on trend!'

Want it painted this way. May have to get the 'FORZA' name in vinyl though but really want the rest of the design painted. And yeah Baum inspired but wanted something that wouldn't date either.

chrisdresser

There must be a few riders out there who have ridden both "expensive branded" and "cheap import" frames. Can you tell us which bikes/frames you've ridden and how they compare ?

cal_stewart

kfinlay wrote:

To come back to the topic of Chinese Frames (and try to be a bit more positive instead of all this confrontation and aggression - children please!)

Here's the design I have worked out for my frame should I go ahead. Thought I'd do something different from more usual black (even though I do like matt black)
Comments welcome

looks a little like the katusha focus.

SnotRockets

Hi gb,your story is an inspiration to all,bike rider or not.
Your question whether your frame can be clearcoated depends on whether the graphics are cut vinyl or waterslide decals.
I suspect the former.If they are, maybe whover made them for you will have the graphics on a file.You could get a spare set or two cut to replace any bits that might start to peel at the edges.
If theyre waterslide-type decals you can clearcoat the frame no worries- a light coat first to make sure theres no reaction.
Worked in graphics of this type for years and maybe this helps or not.
Just noticed that the thread had descended into a whether-its-right-or not kinda debate...
And some people will do anything in that last minute scramble for the high moral ground wont they?
Anyway,Im only looking at these threads because Id like to buy one of these frames myself.
Im thinkin of doin just one word in big Hevetica-Fred!Would describe me perfectly!
Buy a frame,pimp your ride however the f*ck you want to folks and f*ck th begrudgers!
And gb Im sure you must be aware of the massive amount of goodwill and positivity your story has has brought-a snidey comment from an internet troll is way,way beneath you mate.

petemadoc

kfinlay wrote:

To come back to the topic of Chinese Frames (and try to be a bit more positive instead of all this confrontation and aggression - children please!)

Here's the design I have worked out for my frame should I go ahead. Thought I'd do something different from more usual black (even though I do like matt black)
Comments welcome

Great design, coming up with something is harder than you'd think.
I'm assuming this is the FM015?

gb155

Just wanted to say thanks to all who have offered support in light of the Troll's attack, its appreciated guys.

stephenswindley

DrKawaszelong wrote:

hi all, new to this forum... got a PX sl pro, chinese frame?!

i think the chinese frames look awesome value for money, and also the wheels (thinking of getting some on ebay from carbonzone), but would there be any problems/has any one had problems with customs buying stuff from china via ebay?

i read NapD almost did, but it wasn't through ebay :?

also, i think Mattsy666 is a right knobber for saying that wheelchair "gag"

and Gaz, fair shout, well done, congratulations, on your massive weight loss! that really is one of the most inspirational stories i'd ever read, and i love the livestrong idea of the paint job! (none of that was sarcastic btw! )

Hi there, I recently bought an FM015 ISP frameset with headset, handlebars and a pair of 38mm carbon tubs from carbonzone on ebay and have not had any problems with customs. He posted the wheels seperate from the rest and they took about 5 days to come the other bits took about a week and so far all looks good, just need to get a couple more bits before I can start building it up.

nomadicbry

@kfinlay Loving the decals really nice choice and design

@Mattsy666 Just wrong, hope the moderator bans you. There's no place for that here. Argue the hell with each other about the usual cycling fault lines…shimano vs campag, what tyre Alu vs carbon etc etc but keep it at that level not the vile puke your post represented

@GB155 I checked out your blog. What an amazing story well done and keep up the good work. More power to you mate!

gb155

nomadicbry wrote:

@kfinlay Loving the decals really nice choice and design

@Mattsy666 Just wrong, hope the moderator bans you. There's no place for that here. Argue the hell with each other about the usual cycling fault lines…shimano vs campag, what tyre Alu vs carbon etc etc but keep it at that level not the vile puke your post represented

@GB155 I checked out your blog. What an amazing story well done and keep up the good work. More power to you mate!

Thanks man, Quick question re your Sig, Have you rode a CAAD10 ? how are they vs the CAAD9 ? Worth upgrading ?

nomadicbry

@GB155 Bought it on Friday and did 20 miles that day and 40 today and have to say it is an incredible bike. i also upgraded the wheels from the standard build Shimano RS10s to Mavic Kysrium Equipes. It feels like it keeps pushing you to go faster. the one thing I really didn't like was the 34/50 chainset. i'm used to a 39/52 and I was struggling to find a nice gear on the 34. Felt the 34 is just to small and i ended up sitting on the 50 a lot as i found it easier to find the sweet gear with that one. That was on rolling roads with some nasty hills thrown in for fun haha.

I can't compare it to the CAAD9 as i've never ridden one but weight wise with the new wheels it matched the Tarmac which really surprised me. reckon with the new wheels it's close to 17lbs.

I'm yet to read a review which didn't rave about it if that's anything to go by

I would highly recommend you give it a test ride at your LBS if they have one. It'll then give you a feel for how it compares to your current bike.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Bryan

drkawaszelong

stephenswindley wrote:

Hi there, I recently bought an FM015 ISP frameset with headset, handlebars and a pair of 38mm carbon tubs from carbonzone on ebay and have not had any problems with customs. He posted the wheels seperate from the rest and they took about 5 days to come the other bits took about a week and so far all looks good, just need to get a couple more bits before I can start building it up.

oh awesome! thanks i was just worried about the charge that could've been implemented...

what are the wheels like? i was looking at 38 and 50mm ones.

And anyone bought the integrated stem and handlebars from ebay seller "carbon bicycles" ? any problems with customs or shipping etc?

stephenswindley

DrKawaszelong wrote:

stephenswindley wrote:

Hi there, I recently bought an FM015 ISP frameset with headset, handlebars and a pair of 38mm carbon tubs from carbonzone on ebay and have not had any problems with customs. He posted the wheels seperate from the rest and they took about 5 days to come the other bits took about a week and so far all looks good, just need to get a couple more bits before I can start building it up.

oh awesome! thanks i was just worried about the charge that could've been implemented...

what are the wheels like? i was looking at 38 and 50mm ones.

And anyone bought the integrated stem and handlebars from ebay seller "carbon bicycles" ? any problems with customs or shipping etc?

I haven't had the chance to use them yet and probably won't for some time (still waiting for some tub tape in the post), but they certainly look good, their weight without skewers is 1321g which is pretty good for £260! They also came well packaged and are true so I have nothing bad to say about them yet, touch wood it stays that way!

gb155

nomadicbry wrote:

@GB155 Bought it on Friday and did 20 miles that day and 40 today and have to say it is an incredible bike. i also upgraded the wheels from the standard build Shimano RS10s to Mavic Kysrium Equipes. It feels like it keeps pushing you to go faster. the one thing I really didn't like was the 34/50 chainset. i'm used to a 39/52 and I was struggling to find a nice gear on the 34. Felt the 34 is just to small and i ended up sitting on the 50 a lot as i found it easier to find the sweet gear with that one. That was on rolling roads with some nasty hills thrown in for fun haha.

I can't compare it to the CAAD9 as i've never ridden one but weight wise with the new wheels it matched the Tarmac which really surprised me. reckon with the new wheels it's close to 17lbs.

I'm yet to read a review which didn't rave about it if that's anything to go by

I would highly recommend you give it a test ride at your LBS if they have one. It'll then give you a feel for how it compares to your current bike.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Bryan

Appreciate that

Im considering either a FM015 with SRAM RED

Or a CAAD10 but will probs only have 105 on it.

I love the aggressive nature of the CAAD9

slunker

Link
Anyone know what frame this is??? It looks familiar to me but not sure what it is.

drkawaszelong

stephenswindley wrote:

DrKawaszelong wrote:

stephenswindley wrote:

Hi there, I recently bought an FM015 ISP frameset with headset, handlebars and a pair of 38mm carbon tubs from carbonzone on ebay and have not had any problems with customs. He posted the wheels seperate from the rest and they took about 5 days to come the other bits took about a week and so far all looks good, just need to get a couple more bits before I can start building it up.

oh awesome! thanks i was just worried about the charge that could've been implemented...

what are the wheels like? i was looking at 38 and 50mm ones.

And anyone bought the integrated stem and handlebars from ebay seller "carbon bicycles" ? any problems with customs or shipping etc?

I haven't had the chance to use them yet and probably won't for some time (still waiting for some tub tape in the post), but they certainly look good, their weight without skewers is 1321g which is pretty good for £260! They also came well packaged and are true so I have nothing bad to say about them yet, touch wood it stays that way!

ah nighmare! hope the tape arrives soon as it's nice weather out! (well in bristol anyway )

wow, that's quite light, can't find any carbon wheels for less (pricewise) anyway.
cool, thanks for all your help

buder

@Kfinlay

Did you see my reply to your headset gap question it may have got lost in all thats been going on over the last 3 pages.

Just to say my frame does have a gap as you talk about.

EkO

Sooo... back on with the subject of the thread then?

Been checking this site every day for quite a while, and I've been considering one of these Chinese frames myself since seeing this thread.

Anyone else got any more views, or pictures of finished bikes/work in progress using them?

Currently using an aluminium frame, would I particularly notice the difference in feel and weight?

rolf_f

EkO wrote:

Anyone else got any more views, or pictures of finished bikes/work in progress using them?

Crikey - there's 28 pages of views and pictures already. If you have this much stamina for more on your bike, you'd probably be quick on a bike that had just been dragged out of a canal!

Welcome to the forum anyway. I think consensus would say you would feel a less buzzy ride more than anything (assuming your alloy frame is a decent one). The weight is more dependant on other factors. My Ribble (equivalent to these Chinese frames) is noticeably heavier than my posh bike but, when I swap the wheels between the two, the difference is far less marked. So, if you like the ride of your current bike, you might get more results for your money by buying a pair of Campag Neutron wheels from Ribble which will cost about the same as the Chinese carbon frame.

EkO

Rolf F wrote:

(assuming your alloy frame is a decent one)

Well that's just it, my current road bike is from when I made the decision to get rid of my car and all the costs involved and take up cycling everywhere instead. I purchased a Carrera TDF (was a good deal, paid £240 for it brand new from Halfords) to check that cycling was the thing for me, with the intention of spending more in the future rather than blowing a fortune to start with.
Only thing is, situation has changed since, I'm on a crap wage, missus doesn't work at the moment and I've got a 5 year old child that sucks my money up like a sponge.
Due to this, I really can't justify spending a fortune on a new bike, so am interested in a gradual upgrade using cheaper items than the normal exotica from Italy etc...

So seeing what other people have bought and done with them is helping me make decisions on what to do myself.

Anonymous

In your situation I wouldn't be looking at upgrades at all!
Save your money for doing decent family trips and things...

(from someone else whose circumstances have changed somewhat...)

rolf_f

NapoleonD wrote:

In your situation I wouldn't be looking at upgrades at all!
Save your money for doing decent family trips and things...

(from someone else whose circumstances have changed somewhat...)

+1. The extra enjoyment gained through riding an undoubtedly better bike won't come close to the extra enjoyment you could get spending the money elsewhere.

EkO

*hides this thread from the missus*

supersonic

mattsy666 wrote:

I still make no apology, the lady in question us in a wheelchair

I advise you do apologise. Or you will never post here again. Your comments are well out of order, regardless of what you think of the OP and his wife.

gb155

supersonic wrote:

mattsy666 wrote:

I still make no apology, the lady in question us in a wheelchair

I advise you do apologise. Or you will never post here again. Your comments are well out of order, regardless of what you think of the OP and his wife.

Thank You Sonic

mattsy666

supersonic wrote:

mattsy666 wrote:

I still make no apology, the lady in question us in a wheelchair

I advise you do apologise. Or you will never post here again. Your comments are well out of order, regardless of what you think of the OP and his wife.

I, sir, challenge you to a duel ... I shall see you at dawn ... Now all we need to decide is the timezone ...

drkawaszelong

mattsy666 wrote:

supersonic wrote:

mattsy666 wrote:

I still make no apology, the lady in question us in a wheelchair

I advise you do apologise. Or you will never post here again. Your comments are well out of order, regardless of what you think of the OP and his wife.

I, sir, challenge you to a duel ... I shall see you at dawn ... Now all we need to decide is the timezone ...

*pacifism is the way forward* oommmmmm

and, erm, back to the original question, anyone have one of the chinese TT frames? they flex much?

nicklouse

mattsy666 wrote:

supersonic wrote:

mattsy666 wrote:

I still make no apology, the lady in question us in a wheelchair

I advise you do apologise. Or you will never post here again. Your comments are well out of order, regardless of what you think of the OP and his wife.

I, sir, challenge you to a duel ... I shall see you at dawn ... Now all we need to decide is the timezone ...

My time-zone will do. Bye Bye.

supersonic

The ban hammer works in all time zones ;-)