cat0020

Whichever frame you choose, it would be an experiment, learn from it and keep in mind of all the consideration that made you choose specific frame.

For me, to fully take advantage of carbon fiber as a frame material, aero frame is likely the better choice, since majority of our power output on the bike will be overcoming the air resistance once above certain speed.
Aero road frame like Cervelo C5 that allows significant power saving over round tubed road frame are the ones that take advantage of the carbon fiber for frame material.

Rone69

Hi to all,
I'm happy to introduce you my new chinese bike, it's a Fasterway Classic frame, with Ican FL40 wheelset, yesterday I rode the bike for the first time, I'm so happy, the frame is more reactive and more comfortable than my Fondriest R20, the direct mount are an advantage not trascurable .



Frame:
Fasterway Classic(seatpost included)
https://it.aliexpress.com/item/2018-taiwan-marca-FASTERWAY-classic-sliver-grigio-con-il-nero-super-leggero-telaio-della-bici-del/32843352126.html?spm=a2g0y.search0104.3.9.c066485bqo5Uij&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_2_1 0065_10068_319_317_10696_10084_453_454_10083_10618_10304_10307_10820_10821_538_537_10302_536_10843_1 0059_10884_10887_100031_321_322_10103,searchweb201603_51,ppcSwitch_0&algo_pvid=1b6cdb5e-6545-4201-ba0d-f5a080291382&algo_expid=1b6cdb5e-6545-4201-ba0d-f5a080291382-1

Wheelset:
Ican FL40 No Logo
https://it.icancycling.com/collecti....ay-spoke-1400g

Groupset:
Ultegra R8000 (direct mount brakes)

Handlebar:
https://it.aliexpress.com/item/free....39ff4c4dJVIi8g

Stem:
https://it.aliexpress.com/item/Bicy....39ff4c4dJVIi8g

Bottlecages:
https://it.aliexpress.com/item/FCFB....39ff4c4dJVIi8g

Saddle:
Selle Italia Superflow lL3

Pedals:
Time X-Pro10

speed cadence sensor:
Sigma R2Duo

Smartphone Mount:
DIY


Weight 7,0kg (without bottles and smartphone)

cat0020

Easier just post pictures of your bike, most links you've posted do not work.

Rone69

I've edited the post and changed the links, now how does it works?

mstateglfr 

pics show up. The bike is great, but the background is amazing. Where is that?

Rone69

Italy, the hills around Brisighella

Monticino - Caibane

cat0020

Bike looks very nice, does it suit your riding style?

I can imagine lots of hills and descents in your area, does the dual mount brakes offer any better performance than dual pivot brakes?

How does the frame perform during out-of-saddle & in-saddle climbing in the hills in your area?

Below links still not working:

tagaproject6

Are there any other colors beside black?

cat0020

Usual choice of glossy or matte black, other than that, not likely.

These Chinese carbon frame manufactures likely fabricate large quantity of carbon frames for different name-brand manufactures; who want their own paint/decals applied to the frames.

Direct sales to customer usually are frames with zero or minimal decals and no paint, and only subtle differences in frame structure compared to the name-brand models.

Rone69

Try this links
frame
handlebar
Stem
bottlecages

all the item are carbon UD finish, except the stem (black matte)

Yes here there is a lot of hills, not like Alpi or Pirenei, but this is the land of Pantani, and there is many climbs for our legs ....
I think that many people understimate the value of the direct moout brakes, they improve significantly the brake performace, I ride my new bike with Ultregra BR8010 and my old bike with Ultegra BR8000, same wheelset and same brake pads and the difference between the two brakes sistem is real.
The frame is very very confortable, filtering very the road imperfection, but it's stiff, I'm heavy (too much) and I don't feel any flexion by the frame.

cat0020

I have ridden bikes with direct mount calipers, personally I try to use the brakes as little as possible, because brakes only slow you down.
I probably don't weigh enough to feel the difference between direct mount vs dual caliper brakes.
Disc brakes are also overkill for me, but I do have disc brakes on my gravel bike, maybe eventually road bike, too.
Bike looks very nice.

Rone69

Thank you very much.

Rone69

Today 2nd ride with the new bike, I can confirm all I've writed and I can add that this frame have a good descending quality.







First snow of 18/19 winter

Maelochs

Nice shots, nice bike. Looks like a Canyon clone, maybe? Those spindly seat stays are probably great at muting bumps from the rear end.

Rone69

I think it's a closed mould, not a XX clone , maybe there some similarity with BMC Teammachine and yes, this frame is very comfortable, but also responsive.

cat0020

Not only these Chinese carbon frame manufactures cannot put name-brand decals on the consumer-direct-sales frames; but also there are subtle differences with the name-brand frames. Whether these differences produce significant performance or durability gaps is still very difficult to tell, I don't know of anyone has provided significant testing side-by-side of a budget Chinese carbon frame vs name-brand carbon frame of very similar model.

Personally, after decades of building and servicing carbon bikes from name-brand manufactures and building 4 Chinese carbon bikes from framesets in the last 20 months; I can say that there are still noticeable differences between the name-brand and Chinese carbon frames. Especially when it comes to tolerance differences and surface finish details. I usually overlook these details, because I don't expect the same amount of detail/finish with the budget pricing of Chinese Carbon frames. I consider them disposable like a plastic water bottle when I encounter frame failure.

I don't expect the Chinese carbon frames to perform at the highest level, constant sprinting at max rider effort, descends at high speeds, or high speeds over the pave, out in the elements at extreme temperatures day-in and day-out, etc..

At the level of casual cyclist, these frames perform just fine for weekly club rides, few out-of-saddle sprints/climbs here and there, run over a few potholes, etc..
Knowing your expectation of what you may do with these frames, what type of riding will you be doing and more importantly how well you know your equipment under high stress usage, these are keys to purchasing low-cost carbon frame from any manufacture.

Ultimately, it comes down to how much risk you take with your ride.
If you are running over potholes on every ride and in need of super tough wheels, these Chinese carbon frames may not be right for you.

Maelochs

Sorry, I didn't post clearly.

I don't think it would be made from an old mold----just deigned with the same specs as the BMC. I have a R5 "clone" which I assume came from a bespoke mold---not from a stolen Cervelo mold. it depends where you buy them, perhaps. I have a pair and found no issues in any respect.

Not sure about that.

Before i took the plunge on my first I spent many months online exchanging ideas with people who owned and raced Chinese carbon (back about four years ago, Chinese carbon was considered deadly by most cyclists---"aspolsion" was a word used almost constantly.) I found the posters at WeightWeenies included quite a few folks who wanted the lightest possible bikes for racing purposes but couldn't afford the big-name brands, so they tested the Chinese CF offerings---and by and large found them excellent.

The WW posters found some QC and/or design issues, and shared them widely. Because there were so many racers around the world looking for bargain, super-light frames, they tested just about everything and had a good set of recommendations/warnings.

No One talked about frame failure, or complained about unwanted flex, or failure, or poor performance. And since these were racers, i have to think they were going as hard as they could to win, which was the point of their exercises to begin with.

We all have our own impressions. Yours are right for you, mine for me. Personally I would not hesitate a moment before buying another Chinese CF frame from any of the major manufacturers---though I would go to weight-weenies first to find out if there were any specific issues with the model i was considering.
I am a mega-clyde, and I have whacked a few potholes. No problem.

But if you plan on riding cyclocross or something, get a cyclocross-specific frame ... from a major Chinese CF frame manufacturer.

Anyway ... plenty of room for differing opinions. I am not trying to invalidate your post, just offering a contrasting take. People should read both before deciding.

Rone69

rubiksoval

I've raced my Chinese frame in U.S. pro races, dropping 1400 watt sprints repeatedly, cornering at 35+, descending at 60+. Has performed like any of my other frames.

Mine's an open mold, though, which was also picked up by a major UK brand as their in-house lightweight frame, so it's probably one of the better ones out there, though still only $500 bucks.

rubiksoval

I read dozens of threads on WW before buying mine. Good trove of info., there.

radroad

This would prove disastrous for the name brand manufacturers. They are selling carbon models for up to $16K. Direct to consumer Chinese brand frames are available for a few hundred dollars. This is a no-win proposition: if the frames are in any way comparable in quality, it's a PR disaster. If they are significantly different in quality, it's what one would expect given the enormous price gap.

In reality, what you're paying for is the dealer network, bike shop support, multi-year warranty, and 1st world salaries for their design teams for R&D.

What Chinese brands are you referring to? What are the tolerance differences and surface finish details? Are you using digital calipers? Most of the Chinese generics are not painted: just matte carbon with no decals or clear coat. How many of these bikes encounter frame failure? Are you saying Chinese carbon frames cannot be repaired? Funny, just about all carbon frames from the major manufacturers are produced in china and can be repaired in most instances.

This is why pros replace their carbon bikes after each season at the latest, sometimes after just a single tour. You're implying that pro models have an indefinite life cycle and that is completely false.

Also, without data from fatigue cycles in the lab, you really have no evidence at all that the name brands last any longer than Chinese direct to consumer frames. You have made some big claims and offered up no data or evidence of any kind.

cat0020

Why would anyone spend more to repair a carbon frame than just buying the same frame new one at $300-400?

I never said such thing, never implied even, why would you ever think a carbon frame can have indefinite life?

Do you have data from lab for any fatigue cycle? I never claim that I have any specific data. You need to read more carefully and stop implying what's not written.

Steve B.

radroad

Not surprisingly, you've ducked every last question I asked which if answered, would have substantiated any and all of your claims.

1. where are the digital caliper measurements of the differences in tolerances between Chinese brands and name brands?
2. where are the photos of differences in tolerances?
3. where are the photos of differences in quality of finish in the frames?
4. what are the names, models and model years of the Chinese frames from the past 20 months?
5. what are the names and models of the name brands?
6. which of the frames you built, rode, or owned experienced frame failures? Under what type of riding conditions? After how many miles? How heavy were the riders? What were the road conditions?
7. how do you define the "highest levels?" Do you mean professional cycling? Do you know how long professionally ridden frames last?

You present absolutely zero evidence of your claims, zero specifics yet claim ultimately authority on this subject. Furthermore, you are ignoring years of evidence presented in various forums including bike forums, weightweenies, roadbikereview and others, of Chinese brands offering very lightweight, high performance and years long durability at a very tiny fraction of the asking price of the brand names. The evidence is overwhelming; overwhelmingly against you, that is.

radroad

I visited the workswellbikes.com site and while they have a large variety of bike frames for sale, they have no geometry charts for any of the models. Where can I get this information? It seems like this brand is mentioned a lot as a reliable company, should I check out others? It looks like some people have had problems with dengfu. Any other brands I should consider?