They don’t design, they hire or buy an open clam-shall frame mould then build the frames using the mould. This frame looks like Frame mould FM258, which you can also buy from Hong-fu, which is also located in Shenzhen - on the mainland near Hong Kong. I have a Degfu FM58 cross frame - the engineering tolerances are shocking but it only cost me 320GBP direct from Degfu and I raced it for 3 seasons without incident (with Chinese carbon disk wheels). Open moulds can be bought or hired by many manufacturers, so it is possible/probable that the same frame is being constructed by multiple manufacturers. Premium brands tend to have their own moulds.

1. All frames are chinese (ok almost all) 2. That aint cheap

I've been looking to the TRIFOX for some time already, so the expectations are high for your next Video🚵‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴

Looking forward to see the complete build and the review on part 2!

Please say "cheap Chinese frame" again

I'm looking forward to seeing the results of this. It certainly looks the part.

I let this comment on the insta account too. It would be really interesting to have the frame scanned before building the bike.

“My plans are to put some parts on it”. Thanks for clearing that up. Twist ending.

Looking and actually being well made can and often are two different things! Loving the channel. cheers.

It's an exact copy of the Scott Spark frame 😂

I really like the paint on the frame it looks awesome

For less than e3500 you could get a full suspension carbon bike with lifetime warranty on the frame and all

Hi, i have the previous version when this frame was not so famous and i bought just for 700€ with xdb shippment. I dont understand how is possible that the price now be 100% more...

Basically factory direct price. Not “cheap”, just simply removing all the necessary markups attached to the traditional sales channel. These factories are most likely producing for brands around the world and selling excess frames direct to the public.

Hi Dave are you going to shoot a build video ? i think it would be interesting

Love your video very helpful

They sent me the same frame, Will reviewing it soon, what size of shock did you put on it?

About six years ago I bought & built up a Chinese carbon 29er full suspension frame & put all the good bells & whistles on it that where out on the market @ that time & rode it hard & put it away wet. I still have it but I don't ride it anymore because I moved on to something with a little more travel.

KEEP IN MIND: These Chinese carbon manufacturers don't really pay for any marketing, which is a huge cost to major manufacturers. Major manufacturers also have a much longer and more expensive supply chains and operating costs then Chinese direct-to-customer sales do. There are no wholesalers, distributors, delivery/shipping trucks moving bikes all over the country, the taxes are less, and they do less volume (6 or so frames a day). When I watched a video on the factory for Canyon bikes it was way over designed (architecturally) and expensive for a factory: part of your expensive bike is paying for the vanity of all of their offices, factories, and branding. The labor needed to put fancy paint jobs on the bike isn't cheap either, especially when you're paying American wages. All these costs are passed on to the consumer. You're paying at least 300% more for the costs of operations that "high-end" brands have to function. Most of the Chinese carbon stuff is UCI certified, etc. too, which means they went through the same rigorous stress testing and had to meet the same criteria that high-end brands have to go through. They wouldn't be able to survive at the low volume they do if each frame was being sent back under their 2 year warranties. That's a whole lotta noise they can't afford in their business model. Anyways....that's my 2 cents.

"Cheap Chinese frame" it actually has quite a nice ring to it

I have this frame for about 1.5 year. I like it, have 120 mm front and 116 mm rear susp. Rear downlink bearings have backlash and need to be replaced, trunnion rear shock mount hardware need to be find or made by yourself. Otherwise the frame is ok.

Guy looks at a knock off Scott Spark and goes: that looks pretty good! Guess what, if I model a silicone doll after Scarlet Johanson, it/she is going to look pretty good too. BTW, $1300 with no rear shock is pretty expensive. The same frame goes for around $450 on mainstream Chinese e-commerce websites. I suspect the warranty will be solid, since you paid 3 times the price of that frame.

Over 3yrs I clocked thousands km on my Full Carbon Frame CE Standard CHINA bike comes with FSA Handle, FSA Seat Post and Shimano Ultegra Groupset. Nowadays, TourDeFrance Brands full carbon frame are MADE in CHINA.

Looks ok but ive seen some by seraph and bxt for about usd400 to usd 600.

I really like the color!

Damn, I thougth it is Trinx. The brand itself is like combining Trinx and Foxter.

In my opinion, it really depends on which manufacturer in China you're dealing with. Product and production engineering is of different issue. In production is all about consistency and precision engineering. Based on my past experiences, if one purchase a carbon frame from China, it can be good or of poor quality depending on their batches. Further, the epoxies that is use to bond the carbon fiber plays a role in the overall quality. More than a decade ago I have visited certain factories in China and they mix and match recycled materials with new just to reduce cost where clients don't see and know. Today I have seen improvements on their products. Good video. I am keen to see the results and quality of the ride.

Thanks. Good job.

I wonder where this frame is from and what price category it falls under ? 🤔

Maybe do a video of the build.

Looks like Scott!! Do your own paintjob and at the end you have a rother cool bike!! Unique👍

Looking very forward to that build. Unfortunately only L is largest size. Needing XL I might end up taking Carbonda in the end

I build up a xc fully from BXT (bxt-mtb-077) which costs a mere 500€. That’s cheap. Very nice to ride as well.

When are you going to update us on the cheap Chinese frame build?

Sup bud where the frick is this new video? Can't find it anywhere

Until today, cant find any vid on this build

How many finish nicks are from leaning it on the cinder block wall? :)

Cheap, or inexpensive? Big difference. 'Cheap' connotes low quality, which you don't know to be true yet, and the use of the word across all Chinese offerings is likely unfair and revelatory of bias. If a statistically significant sampling of lower-cost chinese frames have found to be defective at higher rates than non-chinese companies... than the bias is apt, as is the 'cheap' moniker. But if all of that intricate research has not been done, better to start with the moniker, "less expensive" or "lower cost."

3 years ago I bought a Chinese carbon hardtail it was $500 shipped, it showed up the day they said it would and the quality was awesome. I built it up with carbon wheels, bars, seat post, and XT components and it weighs 21lbs. All said and done I have about $2700.00 in this bike and it was worth it and I still ride it and it handles and rides better than an S Works I used to have. If you walked into a bike shop and tried to buy something similar it would easily cost you about $6000.00 I have been very happy with this bike the only downside is if I ever wanted to sell it I probably could not get what I have in it other than that I have No regrates.

Do we assume this broke the first time you took it out on the trail since it disappeared without trace?

Just came from a video of a guy snapping his femur from this frame when the tail section broke in half on both sides

Build it and test it, have been waiting for this.

There's a local brand frame in my area called the Brusko Kalis frame, it's around 600$ and the quality is quite great.

it's very aesthetically pleasing...

I'd like to see it put together.

would be interesting to see Hambinis opinion lol,lovely colour.

That’s the American Eagle frame that the CST team uses in World Cup races. At least the same mold.

I think when they say they design their frames, they mean just the print job, because that's clearly a OEM model name

Ok looks good 👀 is it actually safe to ride? NDT scan maybe

Wonder how it’ll compare to the Synonym 😜

Any updates on this frame? It's been two weeks, and you seem to have done a lot of other videos, but have forgotten about this

did you end up building this mtb up? eager to see the ride video and review on this frame. thanks

Good Video for this LARGE Frameset How tall are you ?

What a great concept, when can we expect a follow up video?

I'm really enjoying my generic ebay carbon HT frame. I built it up myself, with stuff I had and a few purchases. What I got for what I ended up spending is awesome. And the bike is a rocket ship on the right trails.

So a little less than half the price of an Evil or ibis etc etc frame.

Well, hopefully the bottom bracket isn't too much out of alignment. The BB90 on my Checkpoint SL still gives me nightmares, especially after Hambinis last video although it hasn't started creaking, yet. Trek seems to be pretty great on warranty, tho.

Pinarello f12 actually made in China, paint in Italy. Specialized made in Southeast Asia and paint in Taiwan now. (not sure with the high-end sworks)

How does it handle sand?

The price of the epic evo frame you mentioned is for the regular s works epic which comes with a fork as well, driving up the price

Could you please suggest me a carbon fiber frame for road bike

Hi, where did you buy the frame from? Would be awesome if you could share a link. Will be fun to your endresult :)

I know that 1299 is a good deal but it’s still not cheap for me

Hi, a while back (20 years) I was a really keen cyclist,I have now got back on 2 wheels and wanting a new bike, but the market now is swamped, wanting to spend about £1k would u recommend ali express and if so, which bike would be best road trial hybrid?? Cheers mate

Did you ever build this up?

That's a nice scott spark RC team ya got there ,🤣🤣🤣

Need a update on this build

Good video David but when you said cheap Chinese frame I was thinking 300 quid, by the time you have added, wheels, shock, forks, group set and finishing kit you will be way north of 3k which is what you can pick up a full carbon full sus with nx eagle on it from an online retailer or shop and have full warranty, would need to be less than 1500 complete with good componentry to be an alternative in my opinion.

any specific reasons u chose a Press Fit BB?

Have you heard of Twitter bikes ? I am looking at purchasing one

if you guys want to buy cheap bikes go for the brand name: TRINX. they have good reliable frames and built bikes, even carbon ones!

Guy forgot to mention that all his expensive frames also came from China.

I will recommend Giant and treK frame

I’m guessing carbon frames are all made in the 1-2 factories... why wouldn’t they sell direct

Did this build ever get complete? Link?

This looks so similar to a scott spark tho

So you have a Scott Spark knockoff, which is awesome. The main issues: 1. What’s your recourse when the frame fails? With that 2 year warranty, you need to be able to contact the manufacturer and have them be responsive. If you’re riding the piss out of an XC race bike, you’re going to break it at some point, that’s just the price of doing business. 2. It’s heavy.

Looks like the giant trance. Also you've paid way over the odss.. £1k for frame.. Really? Pretty sure trifox sell it on Ali expo for half that.

The Trifox site currently has them at $999.

Thats looks awesome,but I can't afford it

did the frame still survive from crack?

Top d+ 😍😍

What kind of unit "NM" is ?

If it give it to me i wont regrets a relatively cheap thought i would be gladly happy about it😁

So, it costs as much as an aluminum frame, and weighs more

I wonder if this is a cheap chinese frame?

I'd love to try one but every single frame I look at is XC geometry with steep headtube angles. Not really my style of riding. I want to build a trail capable hard tail with a headtube angle around 64-66 degrees and every one I see is 68.5-70. Too XC-ish for me.

Buying a cheap Chinese knock-off bike frame is right up there on my list with buying cheap Chinese knock-off baby formula or a cheap Chinese knock-off paraglider.

You should add the medical bills to that frame price tag.

this is very good frame better than some good frame too

David - How Tall are you for this Large Frame ?

I thought the frame was Trinx brand

Not a "killer" deal. You can get a premium frameset with premium shock from 2k. Evil Following frame with Rockshox Super Deluxe for 1,900 on Backcountry. Ibis, SC, Yeti all have framesets from previous-gen models. But the proof is in the ride so who knows.

Nice vid! Any update yet?

Send it, with that frame

now test it to destruction where you violently pedal and throw your self and it into a wall at high speed . its called the impact test and needs to be done immediately .

It looks like the Scott spark

Is the result ready yet??? Still waiting

I heard from a Brand called Tryfox witch copied 1:1 the Scott Spark. :(

Hey isnt that a Scott Spark with a trek typeface?