Hong Fu build thread

macken04

Hi all,
So finally made the jump and ordered a frame from Jenny of hongfu bikes, I went for the fm001, as I am not mad about the cervelo style fm105. For the whole package, including bars, stem, headset and water bottle cages; it came to €415 to my door.

The order was quick and simple, emails where replied to with haste and questions answered. I asked for a matt 3k finish, however, for some reason I think they may not have understood.

So I am proposing this thread to assist me in building the rest, ie groupset, weals etc. It may also serve as a reference for others looking to build up bikes from china. I am currently think a sram Rival groupset from shinybikes for €525 delivered. No idea what wheels im looking for, my first major test of it will hopefully be the wicklow 200.

So any advice, styling (decals) and the rest is greatly appreciated. I will of course update the thread with all I can.

studiorat

Decals if I may :

macken04

brilliant

velo.2010

Save e50 and go for the new Shimano 105. Have the crankset and defo stiffer, lighter than the old one. Great reviews and certaintly challenges Rival at that price point.

Wheels? Well your looking at Fulcrum 3 or similar for a decent light wheel at reasonable cost. CSS have them at e499 but you look handy at finding stuff cheap online so you might pick them up for a little less!

Good luck with the WW200.

EDIT: RS80 wheels for e461 in CSS. 1520g a pair! Good value though issues with build quality on some Shimano wheelsets. Brilliant groupsets though!

CheGuedara

That close |<~>| to pulling the trigger on one of their FM039 framesets myself, they've a great reputation as these manufacturers go, and that girl Jenny is super fast replying to all my emails so far.

macken04

thanks for your reply

yea, was also thinking that. I may be wrong, but I saw sram rival as direct competition for ultegra 6700, its also lighter ( if im correct). Bike24 have the ultegra groupset for €620 delivered, which is an option. However, at that price i would seriously consider the sram force groupset.

macken04

CheGuedara wrote: »

That close |<~>| to pulling the trigger on one of their FM039 framesets myself, they've a great reputation as these manufacturers go, and that girl Jenny is super fast replying to all my emails so far.

yea you should, I have spent the last few days looking over the threads and all seems to be good. Jenny has been very good thus far. The only problem is she quoted me 40days for it to be completed and delivered. However, fortunately I am in no rush.

velo.2010

macken04 wrote: »

thanks for your reply

yea, was also thinking that. I may be wrong, but I saw sram rival as direct competition for ultegra 6700, its also lighter ( if im correct). Bike24 have the ultegra groupset for €620 delivered, which is an option. However, at that price i would seriously consider the sram force groupset.

At the higher end it becomes as much about style choice as it does about performance. Shimano are considered bullit proof in terms of reliability and shifting while SRAM have lightweight and the ergonomics sorted.

Sounds like your talking yourself up the gruppo ladder, it'll be SRAM Red before you know it!!

macken04

yea its a problem alright, so ive told myself the groupset limit is €600. Im not going above that.

Hail 2 Da Thief

Do these frames from Hong-fu & the like come with any guarantees that they've been built to the required safety standards etc?
If something goes snap, will you be left high & dry?

Lemag

Pro-Lite Bracciano wheels. They get great reviews. I don't have a pair but they seem to be the best bang-for-buck out there. Ribble cycles have done them for cheap in the past but they're out of stock at the moment.

Hail 2 Da Thief

Lemag wrote: »

Pro-Lite Bracciano wheels. They get great reviews.

Bought a pair recently & they feel great out on the road. Hard to find them in stock though which probably speaks for itself. Cheapest place I could find them in stock was here. Delivered to my door just 2 days after I placed the order.

Lemag

Are you factoring in the possible cost of import duties?

macken04

@lemag i was told the frame would be marked as sample.

I was looking at the pro lites. They defo look best out there below 500.

Lemag

macken04 wrote: »

@lemag i was told the frame would be marked as sample.

If it is marked as a sample as you've said then customs can insist that you specify a date by which time the "sample" has to be returned. They'll then ask you for a deposit (which can be up to the full value of the "sample") which they won't return to you until you've sent the "sample" back having used it for its "intended purpose".

macken04

yes, I was also told the value of the sample would be marked as 100 usd

Lemag

macken04 wrote: »

yes, I was also told the value of the sample would be marked as 100 usd

Customs can ask you for proof of payment like a PayPal receipt etc.

gman2k

Jesus, why do these threads always have to descend into a customs and taxes debate???
No offence to anyone:D

mloc123

Anyway, a public website may not be the best place to mention your tax evasion plans

Quigs Snr

Another good deal for wheels as previously mentioned are the Shimano RS80's. Go to Merlin Cycles, sign yourself up to their VIP program (free and easy) and the wheels come in at 371. Groupsets come right down in price also. Can heartily recommend Merlin, bought loads from them in the past. Rapid delivery, no messing about.

Lemag

gman2k wrote: »

Jesus, why do these threads always have to descend into a customs and taxes debate???
No offence to anyone:D

I'm not debating. I'm pointing out very possible costs and problems which the OP might incur with their bike build. I'd be very interested to see and hear about the final build but before the OP goes off buying other parts it might be worth their consideration to wait to get the frame first.

However, assuming that it gets through customs it'd still be

Frame, bars, stem, & bottle cages €415
Gruppo ~ €600
Wheels ~ €300
Seatpost & saddle ~ €150
Carbon Fork (and having it fitted) ~ €300

Which altogether is not too far from this which incidentally would probably have a much better resale value. Having said this, I've built a bike. I learned a lot from the experience and it is unique.

mloc123 wrote: »

Anyway, a public website may not be the best place to mention your tax evasion plans

The mods have a tendency to edit/lock these threads.

macken04

thanks lemag, I am aware you where just pointing out the issue. The bike is slightly cheeper than that. The fork and seat post are already included in the €415 price, which I hope will work will all work out. Ive based my build on a few others found online, i would expect the final price to be around 1200 - 1300 euro.

macken04

Quigs Snr wrote: »

Another good deal for wheels as previously mentioned are the Shimano RS80's. Go to Merlin Cycles, sign yourself up to their VIP program (free and easy) and the wheels come in at 371. Groupsets come right down in price also. Can heartily recommend Merlin, bought loads from them in the past. Rapid delivery, no messing about.

thanks for that, have my groupset price down even further.

fat bloke

Sounds cool. I'd be fascinated to hear what the final product is like.

Why don't you go for Chinese carbon deep section bargain wheels as well while you're at it, as a matter of interest?

macken04

I am still considering it, however they where above my current wheel budget. Can only really spring to 400 for the wheels, would ideally like to keet it to 300.

macken04

so got my last tool for the build, a torque wrench. only €20 euro from aldi or lidil. should do the job. Got an update re the finish too, they will give it a matt finish for an extra €10, which I think is fair.

TheBlaaMan

Not sure what torque wrench you picked up, but typically the Aldi/Lidl ones are quite high rated, by which I mean that they have a minimum torque setting of 60Nm or thereabouts, and this my be way too high for most applications on the bike build. Halfords do suitable and good quality T/Ws but they will be a fair bit pricier. You should be able to get a refund from Aldi & Lidl, if needs be....

Lemag

You'll also need the following (if you don't already have them, of course)

Cassette tool
Chain whip
BB tool
Cable cutters
Allen key set
Pliers
Lubes

Is the frame coming BSA threaded? Will the fork be pre installed?

Lemag

TheBlaaMan wrote: »

Not sure what torque wrench you picked up, but typically the Aldi/Lidl ones are quite high rated, by which I mean that they have a minimum torque setting of 60Nm or thereabouts, and this my be way too high for most applications on the bike build. Halfords do suitable and good quality T/Ws but they will be a fair bit pricier. You should be able to get a refund from Aldi & Lidl, if needs be....

+1 I don't know anything about ALDI or LIDL tools but with carbon you won't be exceeding 6nm for anywhere on the build.

macken04

yes I though this could be a potential issue, however it states the minimum torque is 22n/m, which should be fine for most parts, however, the headset and seatposts could be an issue, as it states on the carbon seatpost color to tighten to 6n/m. I though this to be strange as many wrenches are only accurate to +/- 4n/m. This is why all the documents I have looked give 45 - 50 n/m recommendations or something along those lines.(45 - 50 being a random range)

macken04

Hi lemag,
I will have to install the headset, however, it is fully integrated and I have replaced a fully integrated one on my current bike. I used pvc pipe as opposed to the proper tool to install the fork bung (worked a treat). I purchased a general tool set with everything bar the torque wrench. I looked at the sram pdf and for some parts it recommends a torque of 45-50 n/m. Could this be incorrect??