Had the bike in action for a couple months and overall am happy. I’m 5’ 9" on a size small (490). Saddle to bar drop as shown is 160mm.I’m doing only TT’s under 1 hour (10M,20K, 40K) so my needs don’t necessarily align with the tri folks directly.
Bike is Campagnolo 10 spd Centaur, Quarq Riken compact (34t-50t), mechanical shifting. Specialized TriTip 40 is a recent experiment with just ok results. Race wheels shown in the picture (Zipp 900 tubular, Zipp 808 tubular both with Veloflex Extreme tires glued) and 11-21 cassette.
I did one modification which is to reroute the rear brake housing from the training edge of the aerobar, along side the stem and into the back of the “sorta headtube”. The basebar is nearly solid resin in a large area where I drilled so no concerns about breaking. I filed a 1/2 circle detail into the stem so I could drill the headtube inside the outer corner. It works fine but the housing rattles inside the basebar which is annoying. I intend to cut the housing shorter but haven’t taken the time yet.
A few niggles.
–Stem to basebar requires assembly paste to keep from slipping with all 4 bolts torqued to 5nM.
–Really don’t like the full length internal housing. The front derailleur isn’t too bad but the rear is just silly long. It also wants to slide back and forth since it’s not secured on both ends. I put a small tiewrap on the ends but would strongly prefer to have a liner in the frame and the housing external. The P-X Exocet 2 I had just before this had the liner with normal housing lengths and worked just fine.
–I finally decided to accept the compromise of the exposed front brake housing and the dreaded “noodle”. Braking is actually pretty good but the rear brake on the drive side has almost no clearance as the pad holder hits the frame.
–The cover for the rear brake required major surgery on the drive side to keep it from rubbing on the brake. Others have reported the same thing previously Not a big deal but annoying for a factory item.
–The headset design is a bit of a headscratcher. With the upper half of the stem removed, there are 2) 5mm bolts that load the bottom half of the stem against the V shaped section of the fork. I can only assume this is intended to be the preload method for the headset bearings. However, it’s overconstrained because there’s also the 5mm bolt on the centerline of the steerer through the upper half of the stem.
–Front tire clearance vertically is really tight. With a normal 23mm clincher on the training wheels, just the small grit that the tire picks up will rub on the underside of the fork slightly.
–I’ve owned quite a few bikes over the years and don’t generally care about toe overlap. This bike however has some serious toe overlap. With 170mm cranks the tire is only 25mm in front of the CRANK, not to mention the shoe beyond that. You really have to watch it starting from a stop.
Yes, the bar tape is dirty. I have been using tennis racket grip material the last couple years but in black. Figured I’d try white. The grip is great, the dirt isn’t “pro”.
@wasfast
Can you please provide some pictures/details of your bar set up and how you got the zipp pads onto the bars? I have the same bars and your set up has intrigued me. Thanks!
The 25mm spacing of the Zipp Alumina pads is a direct fit, no modifications needed.
I’m also using the Zipp VukaAero pad extenders as I have pretty wide shoulders and it’s the only solution that is comfortable for my neck/shoulderblades.
These are sold in the Zipp store:
VukaAero pad wing extension
Adjusts the width of your aerobar arm rests. Gives 3 additional horizontal positions. Bolt holes 25.0mm C-C. Fits VukaAero, Vu kaClip, Vuka Stealth
116618013000
Thanks for that! One more question if it’s not too much trouble. Could the zipp spacers as you have under the pads fit between the basebar and where the extensions mount? I like you have one spacer there but did not get any more so wondering if they would fit to raise the extensions? Thanks agaim
I also posted this in the Chinese TT Frame thread:
Every FM086/7 I see with Di2 (non DIY) has an external battery. I’m working with the BTR-2 & it doesn’t fit in the seatpost. Has anyone found a way around this?
Mine fit easily inside the seat tube. I had to wrap it so it would stay in place. Added a zip tie to the top so I can easily grab it without turning the bike upside down. Very easy. Hoping to have the build complete by end of the week. Thanks to wasfast I am going to have every wire hidden on this di2 build. Cant wait! No ugly wires cluttering up an awesome looking bike.
Nice build. Maybe this is an illusion from the photo, but this bike appears to have a kind of a ‘slack’ seat tube angle. Have you ever measured the STA from the center of the BB to, say, the center of the seatpost fore-aft adjustment? It would be interesting to know that no.
I like how PX lists the frame as a “prototype still in progress” when they are really just over a year late to the party i.e. the Stevens here: http://www.slowtwitch.com/Lifestyle/2013_Eurobike_-_Day_3_3852.html. I buy a lot of my random cycling bits and pieces from them but they certainly spend a lot more money trying to make product sound better than they are rather than trying to actually make better products.
Yeah, I’m looking out for it though. PX are very local to me at I’d prefer to get one via them or another ‘brand’ than from china. That way I’ll get a guarantee / warrenty with a UK contact.
Got to love how Stevens say its wind tunnel tested like its their own frame.
I like how PX lists the frame as a “prototype still in progress” when they are really just over a year late to the party i.e. the Stevens here: http://www.slowtwitch.com/...ke_-_Day_3_3852.html. I buy a lot of my random cycling bits and pieces from them but they certainly spend a lot more money trying to make product sound better than they are rather than trying to actually make better products.
They can have small things changed and adjusted in order to claim its their own, thats the slight difference between a catalog bike and an open mold frame. Look at the PX Exocet 2, you can get that frame except with different cable routing direct from Taiwan for $500-600, they make a big order and they change the routing to be a bit cleaner and its their own frame.
Stevens, Meridia, Hong Fu, DengFu, et al all are basing this off the same mold with minor tweaks. At the very least people have put up some fast times on the PX Excocet 2, have not seen anything mind blowing on one of these frames as of yet.
Mine fit easily inside the seat tube. I had to wrap it so it would stay in place. Added a zip tie to the top so I can easily grab it without turning the bike upside down.
Thanks, that was also my line of thinking.
Another question. Does anyone know if the Xlab Delta Sonic (P5, Plasma) fits the seatpost on the FM086?
Leng, any more pictures you have of your build would be appreciated. I’ve been emailing back and forth with a couple companies, Dengfu included, about that frame. After waiting too long for Hongfu to come out with their new SC9 clone, I decided I liked the TM01 clone better anyway. Here’s the odd thing: Dengfu will sell your frame with the flat ‘plasma’ stem from the 086, but Miracle won’t. And Honsen has a new adjustable stem for their TT rig, which should fit. I’m waiting for it to migrate over to Dengfu.
+1 on some more pictures of your build, as I have been in touch with Dengfu also and am interested in this frame or the FM086 (maybe too aggressive for 40+ year old).
