Chinese FM028 - UPDATES PAGE 4

philhul

This is my new bike, technically a rb002 from Carbonzone, but the same as the FM028 from everyone else.

The steerer tube is to be cut again when I'm happy with the position. Also, the seat post is to be raised a little but will be swapped as the Thomson ones with setback look rubbish unless there is quite a bit showing.





Frame& Forks: Carbonzone FM028 finished with matt clearcoat
Bars: Ritchey WCS Logic II Alloy
Stem: Ricthey WCS 4 Axis Alloy
Headset: Neco
Bar Tape: Arundel Cork

Brake Callipers - Planet X Ultralight CNC

Shifters: SRAM Force
Cables: SRAM
Front Mech: SRAM Force
Rear Mech: SRAM Force

Seat: San Marco RegalE FX Carbon
Seat Post: Thomson Elite
Seat Post Clamp: Thomson

Cranks: SRAM Force
Chain: KMC X10L
Cassette: SRAM PG1070
Pedals: Look Keo Classic
Bottom Bracket: SRAM GXP

Wheel: Carbonzone 60mm Carbon Clicnhers
Tube: Nutrak 700 x 18-23
Tire: Continental GP4000s
Skewers: Planet X Ti & Carbon

Accessories: 2 x Planet X Bottle Cages finished in matte clear coat

Weight: I don't have any scales suitable for the whole thing but have weighed all components on the postal scales at work. Its came to a very portly 7752g :oops:. However, it had Force brakes and no name skewers and by swapping both I have already saved 125g so am down to 7627g. My goal is under 6.8kg and I will be getting a lighter wheelset and swapping the seat post, handle bars and cables. Hopefully this will do it.

Pseudonym

interesting build. I wouldn't have changed the Force calipers - they are some of the lightest and best stoppers around.

That 60mm wheelset has got to be at least 2kg - you could lose half a kilo easily by swapping those....

Anonymous

Looks great

all show no go

Veeery nice. I've just bought a frame from the same place on Ebay. They are brilliant framesets for the money.

Clank

Dayum, that looks ninja!

It appeals!

philhul

Thanks!!

The wheels are 1704g but I still hope to lose a good chunk there. Don't really want to have to go tubular though.

I saved 65g on the brakes and I've seen plenty of good reports on the Planet X ones - plus they are black!!. Still got the Force ones in case I change my mind but they will be going on ebay fairly soon.

Bill-87

Love it.

Anonymous

Don't change the brakes for weight savings!

Been there, done that, gone back.

If you are wanting to save weight, look elsewhere...

I think that you are overestimating the weight anyway...

Had the planet x ones, they look great and work OK but just don't have the power of proper dual pivots for a fatty like me.

Not a problem on a circuit racing / TT machine though.

leeroy72

Nice bike, stealthy....maybe needs a touch of lime or orange IMO. 8)

philhul

OK - I'll keep the Force ones until I get a good few miles under the Planet X ones to make an informed decision.

By over estimating do you mean the actual weights, or the effect of the weight? If actual weights, I have pics of every component on the work digital postal scales so can prove it! In fact, looking at it has made me realise I made a mistake. Force brakes including pads 289g. Planet X including pads 207g. Therefore 82g saved. If the effect of weight, I don't mind, it's just a bit of fun really.

I may add some colour at some point. Quite like the black Canyons with orange on the inside of the forks and chain stays.

amaferanga

That looks cool 8)

Is it part matt finish or can you see the weave everywhere?

Surprisingly little seat post showing and bars quite high relative to the seat - could you maybe have gone for a smaller frame size?

maxlite

Nice bike....lighter wheels is the way to go.

I'd def take spacers out from stem, agree on Thompson, a normal post with set back is preferable.

denzzz28

thats wicked!! i have always wondered how a chinese frame and fork would look like in a complete bike. im changing my frame soon and i will defenitely buy one of those frame sets/

so how much does your bike weights now??

gmb

Absolutely stunning!

There's something about a "logoless" bike that just looks really good. You can see the shape of the frame without the eye being drawn to blatant advertising.

I've got a Planet X SL Pro which had PX carbon 50 wheels - The words Planet X must have appeared over 30 times!

How are you finding the wheels? I've ordered a set of clincher 50's from Carbonzone. Are you running 23's?

philhul

Is it part matt finish or can you see the weave everywhere?

Surprisingly little seat post showing and bars quite high relative to the seat - could you maybe have gone for a smaller frame size?

It is all matt clearcoat finish but some parts have been painted black underneath, such as around the bottom bracket and around the drop outs, to hide what would otherwise be untidy joins in the top layer of weave. If you look closely at the Carbonzone frames on ebay that are finished in gloss clearcoat they are also painted black in these areas.

The size is spot on. My last bike was one size too small and I was always trying to shuffle black on the saddle even though it had a setback seat post and was all the way back on the rails. Did 25 miles tonight and this one is great. The seat post is already higher than in the pic and will getting raised a bit more. The stem certainly won't be going any higher, I might try lower. Honestly, it's that particular seatpost which does it no favours. I'll post another pic once I've changed it and have got the position sorted, it will look fine.

thats wicked!! i have always wondered how a chinese frame and fork would look like in a complete bike. im changing my frame soon and i will defenitely buy one of those frame sets/

so how much does your bike weights now??

Thanks. I can't guarantee that other people won't encounter problems but based on my experience I'd say go for it. It's currently 7672g but I will be working on that...

I've got a Planet X SL Pro which had PX carbon 50 wheels - The words Planet X must have appeared over 30 times!

How are you finding the wheels? I've ordered a set of clincher 50's from Carbonzone. Are you running 23's?

I very, very nearly pushed the button on a Planet X more than once before I decided on this. As for the wheels, only done 25 miles on them, but they are stiff on hills which would have had my previous wheels flexing, spin up well and seem to maintain the speed nicely. It was quite breezy tonight and I was worried about side winds but whilst I was aware of it it wasn't enough to push me out in front of a car or make me nervous in any way. in stronger winds it might be a problem but I don't think they'd be too bad. The tyres are 23s yes. They were extremely difficult to get on but I think that might be common to gp4000s? Now that they tyres are stretched they come off and go back on easily.


The best thing is the carbon frame. I honestly didn't expect much difference over my previous aluminium Trek and thought that people just got carried away with their expensive bike but it does make a difference. You still feel the imperfections in the road, but the edge is taken off any bumps and crashes. It's great!!!

warrior4life

Love it.

I changed my force callipers for px as well, used them for over a year and no problems.

Ive just sent off for a chinese carbon ebay saddle at 90g.
I sat on a similar one and it was great, £34, Hopefully this one will be good, worth a gamble.

Some pretty light bars and stems as well.

warrior4life

Just curious how much the actual frame weighs?
Which big name frame is this based on/most similar to?

Looking forward to seeing the updated pictures.

Berk Bonebonce

warrior4life wrote:

Which big name frame is this based on/most similar to?.

I've got the ISP version of the Greatkeen FM028 and after lots of looking have decided that it is not actually an unpainted version of anything else. I believe it is a frame Greatkeen make for low volume, private-type sales.

But it is like a Cube Agree.

philhul

Size 54 frame was 1156g and fork 401g uncut.

Anonymous

When I said overestimated the weights I meant I thought it would be lighter than that...

christurbo

Looks great - I would like to see more pics.

philhul

Just another side shot for now whilst out on today's ride. Absolutely love it!! Hopefully the saddle height looks a bit better now.

Should hopefully have access to a good camera tomorrow so I'll take more from other angles then.

MountainMonster

Very nice and very steahtly, but my is it a bit of a porker by the sounds of the weights a bit. Not a problem at all though, especially for the price of them!

marusches

chain looks way out of place on that like

philhul

You mean gold on a black bike?

My bling is staying!

petemadoc

I think it's weird when people look at other peoples bikes and pick on some tiny little detail and say I don't like the chain or the tape or the seat post bla bla bla

Bike looks great mate, chain looks good too!

desweller

[troll]

Model T Ford, anyone?

[/troll]

Seriously though, it looks super stealthy - decided on whether you're going to add a splash of colour yet?

Anonymous

WTF?! The chain looks freaking PERFECT on that bike.

Although it should be in the big dog on the front...

TMR

Why does that frame look so familiar?

wicked

Philhull I love your bike. Very stealthy and mean looking, difficult to justify spending more on a frame if it looks like that. The big question is how it rides? At that price you could have a nre one every year and still be better off than spending 2 grand on an "italian" frame!

philhul

decided on whether you're going to add a splash of colour yet?

I think it's going to stay like that for now. It's not going to be until after the summer that I look to upgrade some of the parts so might add some colour then - but I like it black!!

Although it should be in the big dog on the front...

It has been, quite a lot! It loves being ridden hard and fast.

The big question is how it rides?

The only other road bike I've had was my recently stolen Trek 1.5 so I can only compare it to that, and it's in a completely different league. As an overall build it is quite a bit lighter and I can feel that on hills. It definitely stiffer too, I've ridden 125 miles on it in my first week and my average speeds are quicker and I can sustain hard bursts for longer. That might be the psychological benefits of a new bike, but the figures are there. It is also much more comfortable and does iron out a lot of the imperfections in the road. I didn't expect to notice that but it was apparent very early on the first ride. I think the wheels play a big part too. My Trek had Shimano R500s and these are much stiffer and again I can sustain higher speeds for longer before the fatigue sets in. Don't know how much of an effect the deep rim has but it feels quicker.
If you're looking for the catch I haven't found one yet. Who knows I might be back on in a month slagging it off because it is cracked or something but for now I absolutely love it!!