Carbon fiber has changed the game. If you found this blog, chances are you are a cyclist, and you were researching Chinese carbon frames so extensively that after reading everything else on the first ten pages of Google, you found yourself here.
*A lighter weight bike takes less effort to move. The stiffer the frame, the less effort is lost frame flex (though this difference is truly miniscule compared to the effect of weight). Newish (2006ish) tests are coming out showing that aerodynamic tube shapes may actually influence speed more than bike weight, but let's dive into that one at a later date. But don't act like Sir Velo never did anything to educate you.
You are probably wondering about the quality of carbon fiber frames coming from China. How do they stack up to bikes offered by the major brands? This question is further complicated because the vast majority of frames that major brands sell are manufactured in China and Taiwan. What may surprise you, is that this argument doesn't start and stop at cycling.
As an ice hockey coach, I have seen carbon fiber change hockey even more than it has cycling. Carbon fiber hockey sticks are much lighter than wood, stronger than wood, and facilitate harder shots because of their tuned flex patterns. Like bikes, most carbon hockey sticks, though branded differently, are made in the same factory-town in China. That doesn't mean that the only difference between two sticks from different brands is the logo on the stick. The companies have different specifications that they give the manufacturer (how much flex, what curve in the blade, how heavy the stick should be, etc).
In general, the lighter the stick, the more you pay, because a more expensive carbon fiber weave is used in the manufacturing process. Better materials cost more in any industry. The difference between the materials in this case is not necessarily strength, but strength vs. weight.
And (I'm sure you saw this one coming) strength (stiffness) to weight is the critical ratio that all cycling manufactures aim to maximize. Lighter and stiffer means faster.* So, if you buy a sub 1400 gram Hong-Fu** frame, (with frame, fork and seatpost included in weight), is it faster than the ultra coveted Pinarello Dogma 65.1 Think 2 which weighs a full pound more? Technically, yes. In fact, technically, the Hong-Fu frame will most definitely come with a BB30 (or some other press-fit type bottom bracket) while Pinarello still uses the older threaded type. In every professional bike review, the bottom bracket is mentioned. The overwhelming consensus in the cycling community is that BB30 is stiffer and lighter than the older 70mm italian threaded standard. When reviewing the new Dogma F8 (as well as the 65.1 Think 2) the reviewers gloss over the fact that Pinarello has still not adopted the modern bottom bracket standard. One even mentions that it is easier to service. I guarantee that someone buying a $6,000 bike frame prizes performance over serviceability every single time.
So there you have it. You can easily order an unbranded Chinese carbon frame that is significantly lighter and stiffer in the bottom bracket than the bike that won the Tour in 2012 and 2013. It will also cost you one tenth of the price of the Pinarello Dogma.
So, are you going to run to Hong-Fu and place your order ASAP? No? Neither am I. Why? Because there is something about a brand name product that just feels good, and nothing feels good like a Pinarello! No matter that the frame/fork/seatpost weighs roughly twice what a half as expensive Cannondale Evo weighs, I have never read a review giving the Pinarello Dogma less than 5 stars. Reviewers gush over the ride quality and handling of the bike. One even said that he felt that the Dogma was pulling him up hills! Oh yeah? I call bullshit. Ride quality is entirely subjective. Some people like to feel every bump in the road, and some people like a completely muted road feel. Some people like quick handling, and others like something that feels more stable going through turns. The Dogma and Hong-Fu and every carbon bike are all going to be somewhere in the middle. Road feel has to do with the stiffness of the carbon, the laying of the carbon fibers in different directions in different points of the frame, and tube shapes and thickness (and of course the previously mentioned bottom bracket). Handling has to do mostly with the wheelbase and fork angle and rake (curve in the fork). I could only imagine that if you took 100 professional bike industry reviewers, blindfolded them, gave half Hong-Fu's and half Dogma's, all would crash. And therein lies the rub.
There really is no fair comparison for ride quality without being subjected to the branding of the bike. Despite the fact that it is much heavier and features old bottom bracket technology, due to its intangible desirability, the Pinarello Dogma 65.1 Think 2 is the #1 MOst (get it?) illegally replicated frame in China (yet another win for this most decorated frame!). From my own Google research, I have yet to find someone who has ridden a replica and an original and been able to tell the difference in ride quality (though fakes can be spotted through minor differences in finishing). I challenge any reputable cycling magazine to do a side by side test of a Chinarello and an authentic Dogma, and see if average Freds and/or professional editors could actually tell the difference. My guess is that they want to desperately, but publicizing the fact that knock-offs exist is bad for Pinarello's business (and would be worse yet if the fakes rode just as well).
The real problem with buying a fake Pinarello, besides the fact that it is illegal, is that you are forced to either lie (claim that you bought a real one) or tell all of your friends that you bought a knock off. Either way, I must imagine that you'll feel at least a little douchey.
Buying a blank (or non-blank) Chinese carbon frame is a different story entirely from buying a fake Dogma. If you can rise above the marketing hype, and pick based on performance alone, you would certainly buy an unbranded frame direct from a reputable dealer. If you just can't bear to cut out the middleman, I suggest you splurge $4,000 on a Ritte Bosberg. Ritte is a Los Angeles based company that paints beautiful blank Chinese frames, making them even more beautiful, and selling them for 10x more than buying direct (to add insult to injury, the paint adds weight!). But along with that bitchin' paint, Ritte sells an alternative, ironic facial hair sporting, Pabst slamming, hip/nerd cycling lifestyle that I personally find very attractive, maybe even more attractive than the sexy black panther (Jaguar?) in the Pinarello ads...
A Louis Vuitton bag doesn't carry your stuff any better than a purse from Target, but something about that luxury branded item just feels good. That said, I would feel the opposite of good if six months ago I had laid down $6,000 to buy a Dogma Think 2 frame, and then a few months later the Dogma F8 came out. The new iteration of the Dogma completely decimates the features (most notably the ONDA forks/stays) that presumably gave the 65.1 Think 2 such exquisite ride quality, and replaced them with lighter, slighter, more aero shapes that other manufactures, Chinese and otherwise, have been using for years. What does the bike industry say to that? Sorry that we told you that this old heavy Dogma 65.1 was bike of the year, because this new one that looks more like all the other aerobikes, despite of course the Dogma F8's lack of BB30 and success in Le Tour, is really much better?
Which leads me to my conclusion. If you are a pro, go ride whatever your sponsor tells you to ride and tell the media you love it. And eatin' is cheatin'. Sucks to be pro. If you are anyone else, go buy the bike that you think looks the coolest, because at the end of the day, whatever gets you out on your bike most often is the best investment you can make. And most of the bike's performance/ride quality comes from the wheels(et?) anyways, but I guess I'll save that rant for another day.
Author's Note: I'm not going to start talking about which manufacturer offers you the best warranty, service, etc. Obviously you can draw your own conclusions about returning a broken $400 frame to China. I will say that my friend's 2006 Ridley frame failed at the dropouts, and they told him, "we hope you consider another Ridley," not even accompanied by a 10% off coupon. His Spinnergy wheels were damaged in the debacle, and the company took them back, replaced the broken spokes, and sent them back for free within less than a week. In a somewhat unrelated sidebar, I met Bob Roll at a bike shop where he was getting his Cervelo R5ca serviced before the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix. He left the shop with an autographed American Classic Wheels cardboard cutout of himself, but when I asked him what wheels he was riding, ironically he said that they were debadged Spinnergys. He also had the mechanic take his bike off the stand so he could quickly adjust a 12 year old's SRAM Rival Front Derailleur that failed to upshift. Stand up guy that Bobke. Do I think that Hong-Fu will do more for you than Spinnergy? I doubt it. But they couldn't do less than Ridley.
And another thing: I own a Dogma 60.1 (a bike so heavy that I can only imagine that it was designed simply to look fantastic). I love it. I ride it almost every day. Gives me Adrenalina Italiana just thinking about it. I owned an unbranded Hong-Fu (stealth is so ho hum right now). Great bike. No boner. It just is what it is. I bought both second hand on craigslist. Most of my Strava PRs have come on a steel Serotta CDA....so what does that tell you? Nothing? Yup.
And another thing: I own a Dogma 60.1 (a bike so heavy that I can only imagine that it was designed simply to look fantastic). I love it. I ride it almost every day. Gives me Adrenalina Italiana just thinking about it. I owned an unbranded Hong-Fu (stealth is so ho hum right now). Great bike. No boner. It just is what it is. I bought both second hand on craigslist. Most of my Strava PRs have come on a steel Serotta CDA....so what does that tell you? Nothing? Yup.
My two most expensive babies.
**I chose to use Hong-Fu bikes as my example/test bike because they are well reputed for offering blank carbon frames that are equally durable and light as the offerings from major brands. All bikes break when properly crashed!
