Carbon Bike Frame Seller Catalog

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A reader (thanks Graham!) was kind enough to email me a spreadsheet he’d been working on cataloging all the unbranded carbon bike frame sellers, their AliBaba and Ebay stores and what frames they sell.

Obviously this is a big job, so I’ve turned it into a Google spreadsheet so that everyone can add their knowledge.

Please add everything you know about each seller. If there is something you aren’t sure about or (you think you broke the spreadsheet :) ) drop me an email and I’ll try and fix it: [email protected]

To edit it go here, or just view it below:

New bike geometry diagrams

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Thanks to a kind reader, I’ve been able to post new geometry diagrams for the following frames:

If you have any further diagrams (for these or other frames) I’d love to hear from you. Pics of your built up bikes (and details of the builds) would be great too: [email protected]

Has anyone build one of the mountain bike or TT frames? I seem to see a lot less of them.

FM006 Bike Frame Geometry

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A reader sent in the drawing for a 57cm FM006 frame (thanks!). If you have any other sizes, please send them in ([email protected])

57 cm:

57cm FM006 bike frame

Cheap bike frame with warranty from a company you’ve actually heard of!

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Chain Reaction Cycles currently has a clearence on Vitus frames
with some pretty good discounts (over 80% in some cases).
Most of their frames are alloy, but both the Zenium VR and (I think) the Zenium R‘s have carbon seat stays (which is one of the more effective ways to get the vibration absorbion of carbon).

Vitus Zenium R frame

It’s the prices that make these worth looking at though. The Zenium R
is priced from $149 (+$23 shipping to the US), and the Zenium VR is from $170. Those prices are pretty competitive with anything you’ll find on ebay, and in this case you get a well known reseller backing it up.

I really like the look of the Zenium VR frameset, too.

Vitus Zenium VR frame

Bike Frame sizing calculator

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Given that it’s pretty hard to walk into most bike shops and try out a HongFu bike frame (ignoring the many bike shops selling them as their own brand for the moment) it seemed useful to try and help out with sizing the frames as much as possible.

One recent innovation in sizing frames has been using Stack and Reach measurements because these can easily be compared across frames and sizes.

Most geometry charts still don’t come with Stack and Reach measurements yet, so I’ve created a calculator, preloaded with the FM015 & FM028 geometry.

Try it out now and let me know what you think: Frame Size Calculator

Discuss this at the new Bike Sizing Forum.

aikendrum’s FM015 build

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A reader (Thanks aikendrum!) sent in the details and pictures of his matte-black FM015:
Upgrading from a flat road road bike (CRX1) I simply could not find a happy medium with factory built road bikes on the market – I wanted something fast light and within budget – the closest I came was the Felt AR4/F4.
After searching for carbon frames I stumbled upon the forums at roadbikereview.com there I made the discovery regarding Hong Fu – it took me quite some time to gain confidence in purchasing from a Chinese unbranded manufacturer however the more threads I read the more confident I became.

aikendrum's FM015

I settled on the FM-015 which appeared to fit the bill, SRAM force components and Ritchie accessories.
Final Build List is as follows;
1x HF-FM015 Carbon Frame (3K Black Matte Finish)
1 x HF-FK007 Carbon Fork to match FM015 frame
1 x HF-HB003 Carbon Drop Handlebars – Aero styling.
1x SRAM 2010 Force Groupset 175mm Crank, 11-23
1 x Hope Single Bolt Seat Post Clamp Black 34.9   —> to be replaced with 1 x Thomson Seat Collar Black 34.9
1 x Ritchey Pro Carbon Matrix 4-Axis 44 Oversized Stem Carbon 110mm
1 x Fizik MicroTex Bar Tape Black
1 x Ritchey Pro Carbon Seat Post Carbon (Red Logo) 300 x 31.6
1 x Ritchey Pro Biomax Saddle Black (Red Logo)
1 x SRAM S27AL Competition Clincher Wheelset Black SRAM Freehub
2 x Continental Grand Prix SuperSonic Road Tyre  700×23 (150g each!)
1 x Zefal Tyre Liners for MTB, Road and Hybrid Bikes Grey
2 x Continental Quality Road Inner Tube Presta 42mm 700×18-25
Pedals will be Speedplay Zeros.
Notes:
  • The “SRAM GXP Bottom Bracket Cup Set English Thread” which comes as part of the SRAM Force Groupset is as soft as butter (for want of another word!) be super careful when applying torque to the cup ensuring your wrench does not slip off causing cosmetic damage in the least or mechanical in the worst case. I had this issue and even though it didn’t affect the performance I replaced it with a new Cup Set ~ AUD$29.13 from Wiggle
  • Hongfu sell a Seatpost (1 xHF-SP003 $38.00) – it appears their is no adjustment for the pitch – mine was pitched at about 5-10deg to the horizontal – no good I simply could not use it – no great loss at US$38 but just be warned.
  • The HF-SPC001 seat post clamp works well but is heavy and can be opened by hand – I initially replaced this with a Hope clamp as above however this is made of a very weak aluminium and I ended up splitting the bolt – Hope sent me a replacement no questions asked and I am currently using it but would like to replace it with the more robust Thomson Seat Collar.
  • I used the Neco headset from Hongfu, so far so good – I didn’t have too many issues installing it but used a different technique (Not PVC) for installing the race onto the fork. I used a plank of wood – drilled a 2-3inch hole, supported the plank of wood between two chairs, placed the race onto the fork and banged the race down onto the fork through the hole as opposed to the PVC method where you may be putting excess pressure on the fork and will have to support he fork somehow. (comprendez vous?)
  • My frame did not come with any cable barrel adjusters – I purchased these from my LBS.
  • No issue with the FM015 Top tube internal cabling however I found the SRAM rubber gromits used between the end of the gear/brake cable and top cap made the brake/grear change spongy – I ended up not installing these – I will have to be vigilant of water ingress but so far so good
  • Underneath the BB there is a plastic gear guide – this was screwed into place with a factory screw and didn’t look very durable – I replaced this with a decent Stainless Steel screw for good measure.
  • The 3K black Matte finish is better than I expected – it’s actually a paint finish ontop of the raw carbon so water et al beads off without worry. I have protected the underside of the down tube with psuedo 3M Helicopter tape – stones flicking off the front tyre made quite a noise however produced no noticable marks – the 3M tape is just for insurance!
I have now put approx 1000km on my new Carbon HF bike and it’s a sweet ride – accelaration is awesome – the SRAM 27AL wheelset combined with light tyres make easy work of hills.
Overall weight is currently 7.4Kg without pedals – once I get the Speedplay zeros I expect it will fall into the 7.6Kg range.
(edit – seatpost collar was stated as 31.8, should have been 34.9)

3K or 12K Carbon?

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Most cheap carbon bike frames come in both 3K or 12K versions. Many people ask which is best.

Firstly, what is the difference between the two types?

Carbon fiber is made of thin carbon “threads”, each of which is made from even smaller carbon filaments. 3K or 12K refers to the number of filaments per thread – ie, 3ooo or 12ooo filaments per-thread.

Originally, most carbon fiber was woven using 3K fiber. During the early to mid 2000′s, though raw carbon fiber increased in price as more and more of it was consumed in military and aerospace applications.

New carbon fiber manufactures developed processes to use 12K fiber instead of 3K. This new fiber could be manufactured cheaper, but had the disadvantage of being more difficult to handle and mold, especially on tight circumferences as well as being not as strong as 3K filaments. For example, cstsales.com lists the strength of 3K fiber at 7400 ft/lb while 12K is listed at 1800 ft/lb. (Edit – it has been pointed out that these measurements are actually for weight per length, not strength at all. Doh!)

Now, most handling problems have been overcome and for bicycle frames the molding problems are not an issue. The finish on the frames looks different though, because 12K filaments cannot be woven as tightly as 3K fiber.

3K carbon fiber weave. It is impossible to weave 12K fiber as tightly as this because it will not flex into the tight circumferences required.

12K carbon eave close up

3K Carbon Weave close up

Unfortunately, for most bike frames it can be difficult to know how much of the frame is manufactured from each type of carbon fiber. Carbon fiber frames are manufactured by laying down layers of fiber weave with resin, and we can only see the outer, cosmetic layer. Without destructive testing and/or a forensic investigation of a cut up frame it’s impossible to know what (if any) effect weave has on a frame’s riding characteristics.

In conclusion, you are probably best off buying the type you like the look of, or whatever is available.

Update: I found this document from hexcel which lists the strength of various fiber type. It gives some useful information, but really shows how the exact grade of fiber used has a much bigger effect than if it is 3K or 12K.

FM001 Carbon Bike Frame

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The FM001 was the original HongFu bike frame and is still available. It can be ordered in 3K, 12K or unidirectional carbon and I think it’s a very good looking frame (although I don’t like the fork in the picture below).

FM001 Frame Image

52cm geometry:

FM001 52 cm bike frame

54cm geometry:

FM001 54cm Frame Geometry

Sizing chart:

FM001 Sizing