jasonmccullum
Über Member
I have been thinking about buying one of these frame set for around 6 months. I started by doing some research including visiting the following website
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/bi...-thread-ebay-direct-version-6-0-a-272806.html
this was the 6th version of peoples questions and experience of these frames and other Chinese frames.
They seem to suggest one of 3 suppliers
Hongfu
Dengfu
Greatkeen Bikes
I then broke my Giant frame and thought it was now or never.
I ordered from Jerry at Greatkeen Bikes. I ordered the bike on 4th November and got notice that it was send out of china 6 days later and arrived in the UK 23rd November. Great communication from the seller and they were very helpful with changes I wanted to the colour.
I had to pay £24 customs taxes when it arrived but i was expecting that
I built the bike with the following parts
Pinarello frame, forks, seatpost, headset and hanger £350 (including customs charge and delivery)
Ultegra 6700 chainset £25 used
sora 3500 brakes £0 already had them
sram force front mech £35 new
sram force rear mech £40 used
hollowtech bb £20 new
105 chain £13 new
ultegra 12-27 cassette £25 used
sram red lever £174 used
540 spd sl pedal £0 already had them
all cables £35 new
fizik alicante vs titanium seat £30 new
fsa os99 stem 100mm £12 new
zipp carbon handlebars £31 new
Shimano r501 wheelset £0 already had them
SRAM computer mount £7 new
Yellow Handlebar Tape £10 new
Name Stickers £7 new
total cost £817
First impressions of the frame are WOW, the finish is excellent in every detail down to the fact the frame is actually asymmetrical like the genuine one. The paint is excellent and much better than i expected if I was honest. The BB68 (English) was clean with no paint residue that previously had been encountered and the headset fitted well. The front and rear brake holes were tight but not so tight the brake wouldn't fit. This was my first carbon frame and I was amazed how light it was.
I fitted all the parts and tightened then finger tight as i didnt want to crack the frame. I decided that I would go with the SRAM set up as I wanted to try and get the bike a high spec as I could find and afford, and all the reviews I had read suggested the SRAM was the way to go. The frame comes with internal cable routing and plastic tubes to feed into the frame as guides for the cables. It was a little tricky at first but 30 mins later the cables where in place. Much easier that fitting the cables into the Red shifter..im sure if they tired to make it harder they would struggle.
After fitting all the parts and set the gears up myself but I took the bike to Wyndy Milla (http://www.wyndymilla.com) to cut the carbon steerer down and torque all the bolt to the correct settings (£15).
Finally the bike was ready to test.
First impressions of the ride are positive.
I took the bike out for a 40km shakedown ride to see how it compared to my Giant Defy 3.
The bike is very stiff especially on acceleration there is no sense of the frame struggling to keep up. The gear change is fast and slick especially helped by the zero loss red shifters.
there was no apparent noise from the bike or the cables which again I was expecting
Riding up hills was much easier given the lightness of the frame but I noticed it was a little slower going down the hills (reached 60Kph instead of my usual 65Kph) i'm guessing a lighter bike has less momentum (my defy as 9.1kg, this with winter wheels comes out at 7.5Kg).
SO was the bike worth the money i paid for it
YES.... i bought it as a bit of fun and something to play with, but the quality of the ride and quality of the components are much higher than i anticipated.
Is it the same as the original.... of course not....if you expect that then you will be disappointed.
is it better than a shop bought £850 bike.....god yes
hope this rambling helps anyone who is considering buying one... do it you will be surprised
i have put a few pictures below. sorry about the quality not had time to do proper ones yet
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/bi...-thread-ebay-direct-version-6-0-a-272806.html
this was the 6th version of peoples questions and experience of these frames and other Chinese frames.
They seem to suggest one of 3 suppliers
Hongfu
Dengfu
Greatkeen Bikes
I then broke my Giant frame and thought it was now or never.
I ordered from Jerry at Greatkeen Bikes. I ordered the bike on 4th November and got notice that it was send out of china 6 days later and arrived in the UK 23rd November. Great communication from the seller and they were very helpful with changes I wanted to the colour.
I had to pay £24 customs taxes when it arrived but i was expecting that
I built the bike with the following parts
Pinarello frame, forks, seatpost, headset and hanger £350 (including customs charge and delivery)
Ultegra 6700 chainset £25 used
sora 3500 brakes £0 already had them
sram force front mech £35 new
sram force rear mech £40 used
hollowtech bb £20 new
105 chain £13 new
ultegra 12-27 cassette £25 used
sram red lever £174 used
540 spd sl pedal £0 already had them
all cables £35 new
fizik alicante vs titanium seat £30 new
fsa os99 stem 100mm £12 new
zipp carbon handlebars £31 new
Shimano r501 wheelset £0 already had them
SRAM computer mount £7 new
Yellow Handlebar Tape £10 new
Name Stickers £7 new
total cost £817
First impressions of the frame are WOW, the finish is excellent in every detail down to the fact the frame is actually asymmetrical like the genuine one. The paint is excellent and much better than i expected if I was honest. The BB68 (English) was clean with no paint residue that previously had been encountered and the headset fitted well. The front and rear brake holes were tight but not so tight the brake wouldn't fit. This was my first carbon frame and I was amazed how light it was.
I fitted all the parts and tightened then finger tight as i didnt want to crack the frame. I decided that I would go with the SRAM set up as I wanted to try and get the bike a high spec as I could find and afford, and all the reviews I had read suggested the SRAM was the way to go. The frame comes with internal cable routing and plastic tubes to feed into the frame as guides for the cables. It was a little tricky at first but 30 mins later the cables where in place. Much easier that fitting the cables into the Red shifter..im sure if they tired to make it harder they would struggle.
After fitting all the parts and set the gears up myself but I took the bike to Wyndy Milla (http://www.wyndymilla.com) to cut the carbon steerer down and torque all the bolt to the correct settings (£15).
Finally the bike was ready to test.
First impressions of the ride are positive.
I took the bike out for a 40km shakedown ride to see how it compared to my Giant Defy 3.
The bike is very stiff especially on acceleration there is no sense of the frame struggling to keep up. The gear change is fast and slick especially helped by the zero loss red shifters.
there was no apparent noise from the bike or the cables which again I was expecting
Riding up hills was much easier given the lightness of the frame but I noticed it was a little slower going down the hills (reached 60Kph instead of my usual 65Kph) i'm guessing a lighter bike has less momentum (my defy as 9.1kg, this with winter wheels comes out at 7.5Kg).
SO was the bike worth the money i paid for it
YES.... i bought it as a bit of fun and something to play with, but the quality of the ride and quality of the components are much higher than i anticipated.
Is it the same as the original.... of course not....if you expect that then you will be disappointed.
is it better than a shop bought £850 bike.....god yes
hope this rambling helps anyone who is considering buying one... do it you will be surprised
i have put a few pictures below. sorry about the quality not had time to do proper ones yet
Last edited:
