Chinese Carbon 29er

[dottyman]

Hey peeps Ive already started a thread on buyin a 2013 29er and after seeing this would it be cheaper to guy one of these frames and buy the components seperately ?

I agree with the above replies its great fun researching, buying and building from scratch. I researched and shopped a lot on RB. The hardest part to find was a fork I was happy with so I ended up buying new from the US which blew the budget a bit but I got awesome RCTs which match the frame colour. I had a handful of parts around the shed but the build cost a tad over $2k for a bike that's comparable spec off the shelf would be at least a K more. Oh and I didn't want a Giant either.
The only help from the LBS was to cut the brakehose and bleed to fit thru the frame, other than that its pretty easy and straight forward to build. Good luck. Feel free to pm me for mor info or advice if you go ahead.

 

[Australia]

Hi guys,

I am looking to pick up a carbon hardtail 29'er for XCO and smoother XC Marathon races.

At the moment I do my racing on a Giant Anthem Advanced SL0 29er Dually (Large) (Carbon and SRAM XX goodness)

I had a great experience riding the Giant XTC 29 Carbon (Large) recently (my previous hardtail was a Scott Scale 26er (Large) 4 years ago). So I am looking for a bike with similar characteristics to those models.

Obviously light weight and a stiff frame are important, but as this is my first foray into importing a bike, I'd like to prioritise finding an established seller with a good reputation for producing a safe and sturdy ride (this bike won't be treated with kid gloves).

I am looking for suggestions that would assist with the above criteria.

Cheers,

Andrew

P.S. blatantly cross-posting from the super-long MTBR thread - happy to get a response at either

 

[Nath8]

Hi Andrew,
Check out the frames from Hong-Fu. I've had mine for 3 years now and it's still going strong.
I enjoy riding it so much, my other bike sits in the garage and rarely gets ridden.
Good luck with your search.

 

[casnell]

I've got a Hong-Fu roadie and Flyxxi MTB, both good.

 

[Australia]

Could you guys let me know which model you have from each of your providers, and if known, what major brand model characteristics the frame mimics. I note that both Hong-Fu and Flyxii have numerous different models, and the model numbers aren't particularly helpful when it comes to determining what characteristics it will exhibit.

-Andrew

 

[casnell]

I've got a 216 rigid SS. It's not as stiff on power down as my Yeti ARCc, but probably similar in terms of ride comfort. Bit flexy torsionally for a race bike, but fun to ride. I use it as a winter SS.

 

[dare007]

Could you guys let me know which model you have from each of your providers

Also interested in this, I'm ready to order a frame and rigid fork and at this point looking at the IP-057 from XMIplay, but really interested in other people's experiences.

 

[Nath8]

My Hong-Fu is a HF-053. They don't produce my frame anymore.
Good reports of the new 29er frames on MTBR though. Service was good and very quick.
Here is a pic of mine. Its had new paint on it for a couple of months, just to freshen it up.
I enjoy riding it so much, that I'm now selling my Ti 29er through lack of use.

 

[qranked]

Built up a dual suspension 29er frame from Aliexpress (not the common short travel 165mm eye to eye - this one takes a 200mm so I installed a Monarch Plus). Frame weight was around 2.1kg, complete at 11.6kg. Was a bit of a pain to source the correct rear shock spacers as they don't provide the specs, but eventually got there through a bit of guesswork with a ruler.

Haven't seen anyone build up one of these on any forums that I could find, but it's generally great build quality (probably similar to all other Chinese carbon frames). Pivots all smooth and well calibrated, no play, suspension is progressive, complies well to soft bumps and bigger hits, climbs exceptionally well.

All internal routing worked without a problem (correct diameter), BB was machined well. Rear 142 dropout had a bit of excess lacquer which sanded out easily (didn't sand into carbon weave). Finish of internal headset mount was a little rough but tightened up fine without play once a headset was installed.

Had a chance to ride it side by side with friends' S Works Stumpjumper and Carbon Anthem 29, compared favourably - less weight with more travel! Bonus that it looks like an Enduro

 

[twotommos]

Let the games begin...

So much good information on this thread. I've sent a couple of emails to see what's out there and then of course there's Aliexpress....what a find! I'll be venturing down this path soon!