Interesting, and they have an online shop:
http://www.e-hongfu-bikes.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=86&products_id=247

This guy appears to have a good experience with Hongfu:
http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/who-on-cc-has-bought-a-cheap-chinese-carbon-frame.72080/

FM028, 60CM, None ISP, SRAM Rival/Force, My Carbon Fibre Has Taken Its Maiden Voyage

As said, frame is lovely but components are earlier.

Best to split it and ebay it – frame, forks, wheels, groupset as separate listings.

If you want to make the forks work again, then new elastomers come from: http://www.suspensionforkparts.net/eshop/index.php?_a=viewCat&catId=8

Although you are much better off spending the money in the pub.

As David B says, Phone gap great if you already know Html / css / javascript.

Plus its cross platform so you can build it for android etc without re coding it.

Ah right the trance advanced I had took a 27.2 post.

I had a QR on the NRS composite I had a few years back, I was perhaps irrationally worried about scraping grit down the tube so I took it off.

Sounds like you will be fine if you can find a suitable clamp.

The anthem advanced has 2 bolts on the seat clamp doesn’t it? To spread the load.

You would need 2 x Qrs…. and scratch all that lovely carbon when grit gets dragged down.

Being 27.2 you are limited in the choice of dropper post. If you are bothered about weight then I’d go with a gravity dropper or clone – keep an eye on this thread http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/forca-vario-dropper-seatpost-gravity-dropper-clone-272/page/2

Drilling new holes will significantly weaken the post so isn’t recommended.

Here is a nice video showing the operation of the post:

Wiggle, the online cycling retailer, has been acquired by the private equity firm Bridgepoint in a deal worth £180m.

Bridgepoint saw off competition from EQT, the Swedish buyout company, to purchase Wiggle, which serves customers in 88 countries from Japan to New Zealand. Bridgepoint also owns the retailers Fat Face and HobbyCraft, as well as the sandwich chain Pret A Manger.

Wiggle grew its pre-tax profits by 55 per cent to £10.2m for the year to 31 January, on sales of £86.8m.

The deal is a coup for the private equity firm Isis, which acquired its majority shareholding in Wiggle for £12m in 2006. Rothschild ran the sale process.

Vince Gwilliam, a Bridgepoint partner, said: “Wiggle is benefitting from strong structural market drivers such as the shift to online retailing combined with the trend towards fitness and healthy living.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/bridgepoint-rides-off-with-wiggle-6273795.html

Sounds like it was already in PE hands.

Didn’t wiggle start off selling condoms?

I’m sure I remember them selling condoms alongside the bike stuff many years ago.

Any seal is going to be pretty much useless on this I’m afraid.

There is a big hole in the upper post (where the pin locates) that will fill up with dirt without a boot.

When you drop the post, this hole (full of said dirt) passes through the seal, through the bushing to the point where the pin drops in.

The pin nicely moves the dirt around so you will always end up with dirt in the bushing and seal.

The only solution as far as I can see is to cover the whole lot up and give it a quick clean out frequently.

I have no idea how gravity droppers fare in this regard- I think they will be the same- however their holes are on the front so perhaps less likely to fill with dirt. Plus GD always seem to be wearing boots.

And with that my boot has arrived (seems to be decent quality):

I have a bunch of these posts coming in (with different branding and better, vertical cable entry). If anyone wants one then send me a message through here and I will sort out a STW special price when they arrive. I will also attempt to get spare bushings thrown in. Not going to be before Christmas though I’m afraid.

Hi everyone,

I have had the post for a few days, here are my notes. Bear in mind I’ve never owned or ridden any dropper seatpost before, so cannot compare with anything else. I’m now not sure I can ever ride again without a dropper post – what a revelation!!!!

Components:
First thing to do when you get a new toy is to take it apart:

As you can see its very simple construction, very similar to the gravity dropper turbo – see http://gravitydropper.com/products/turbo-parts/

The upper post is cro-mo steel, the lower alloy and the bushing some kind of plastic.

The cable is a “base” quality gear cable and feels rough – the unit would benefit from a nice shimano SIS cable, so budget for this. I greased up the upper and lower bushings, keyway and the locating pin (attached to the end of the cable) and pin spring before use.

The cable has some adjustment, insert allen key into lever and turn. I made the mistake of setting it up too “tight” so the pin wasn’t fully extended (again crap cable doesn’t help here with adding resistance). When lowered the post would occasionally therefore shoot up unexpectedly! However slackening off the cable a little so the lever was ‘just’ loose did the trick and it never did this again.

On the Bike:

With the seat in the extended position – you can feel rotational slight movement in the seat when off the bike, – its not noticeable when riding. With the seat dropped and when stood up, the unit does rattle a little.

I ran WITHOUT any kind of boot or protection over the post (my boot hasn’t arrived yet) and on a very wet day in very gritty muddy conditions. I did run with my Race Guard and protected the rear cable entry with some tape as pictured. The Race Guard gives pretty good protection for it.

Towards the end of my ride (after maybe 20 or so uses of the post) the post would be slow to return – I had to stand clear of the seat and release the post (so the spring had more force), rather than sitting, release and letting it rise with my body. If I let it rise with my bum then it wouldn’t make it all the way up. If you wind in the silver alloy spring base in the bottom of the post you can increase the spring tension to counter this.

Clearly crap had got in and slowed the post so once home I disassembled the upper post (very easy to do on the bike – unscrew collar, push lever and draw whole upper post out). It was clear the seal on the post is not great and crap had got between the bushing and the inner post creating resistance and scratching the upper post.

I would imagine if I had just carried on riding without protection the upper post would be scratched to hell and eventually the bushing would wear down and the whole thing would move more freely – just like the German magazine picture. However I intend to keep it greased up and protected in future.

Rather than use the shock boot designed for it (because it hasn’t arrived yet), I used a length of old inner tube, which fitted nicely with a couple of zip ties. This should keep the crap out, hide the scratched upper post and enable more grease to be used on the upper bushing area.

Summary:
After one ride I don’t see myself riding without a dropper post again. I’ve ridden mountain bikes for over 15 years mainly XC / trail riding, latterly in the Lakes and trail centres. Always I’ve had sections where I’ve held back as a high seatpost has caused some instability. I’m one of those people who can’t stand pedaling on the flat or uphill with my seat set even an inch below optimum, and I really hate stopping to adjust as it ruins the flow of the trail, and I can never seem to get it set just so again quickly.

With a boot I think this post will stand up well over time, but without a dirt protection boot I bet it would wear and get loose fairly quickly. That said, the plastic bushing and keyway won’t be expensive to replace, and the German mag review had ridden it for 2000km without a boot….

Cheers just bought a couple of items!

If it’s not a silly question, isn’t the cable coming out of the wrong side of the post? I’d have thought that it would be better exiting from the front to run it along the top tube, so you don’t have a loop of cable behind the post…

(The RASE post, and the Gravity Dropper both have the cables on the front.)

Modable to put the stops in the other side of the ‘stanchion’?

Not a silly question and yes I think it would be better like that, as well as a lower profile vertical cable exit.

Drilling holes in the other side would weaken the post too much I suspect.

I am seeing what I can do with my order to have some modifications.

Just received my order from Germany:

Quality has exceeded my expectations. One of the seatpost shims isn’t very long so I will use a wiggle “post moderne” £3.99 one to shim upto 30.9 for my old bike. 27.2 will fit my new frame directly.

I will install and give it a ride this weekend, expect my feedback!

I am negotiating to buy a large quantity of these to sell through my retail outlets, so watch this space for a special STW price to beat the German delivered price (this cost £89 delivered in total).

Would there be any interest in these for around £90 to your door shipped from UK?

Similar price to the German ebay seller but including the boot and faster service.

Some people on that Mtb-news forum link have added an extra stop halfway, which what I plan to do.

Not sure I would do what you say sweepy as the overlap maybe reduced too much!

looks like a giant trance rear triangle!

Fantastic! thanks for that.

Even cheaper from here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400228107736 I just bought one, they do ship to the UK. The “shock boot” is extra.

Theres a few users on MTB News that seem happy with them: http://www.mtb-news.de/forum/showthread.php?t=501708

E46 M3 achingly good value. I have a 350Z and am looking to get one of these for better practicality early next year.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3123787.htm

I had a Mk1 TT 225 which is not such a good sports car but I do miss it (not the hairdresser jibes). It was a great mix of practicality and it went well (even with bikes on the roof).

Listen to it for free on spotify now: spotify:track:2U27Yjlo1Hgbo6nofODGMu

I’m enjoying it.

Hi everyone thanks for the advice.

If I wrap a repair layer of CF around it the tube will obviously be fatter and also slightly out of “round” with overlap. I’m not sure you can get a front mech larger than 34.9 so e-type is an interesting option, would need a solution for the retaining screw.

However I’m also not sure an e-type mech will fit with all the maestro suspension gubbins. Might be worth a try though.

There is a way of pre paying the duty and VAT so you don’t get charged the ridiculous handling fee.

You can contact customs and say I’m expecting a parcel containing X of Y value from Z, and pay them. So long as the shipping label matched up then it will come seamlessly to your door.

This is the way businesses import stuff and individuals can do the same.

Some american car parts places will pre pay the duty for you (e.g. rockauto.com).

The 530 is decent enough, as said though it deals with conventional bike frames best because of the clamp design.

My NRS is fine in the clamp, but a friends Cannondale Prophet got me thinking as it has a really fat down tube and has never seemed as secure as my NRS.

I tend to mount one bike facing forwards and one facing backwards on my roof.

Maybe if you mount the bike facing backwards on on the car then any wind buffeting would push the bike "into" the support.

A strap sounds like a good idea around the frame and clamp to stop them popping out, I will start doing this.

BTW everyone, I do have access to an 06 Golf too.

I'd much rather drive the Chim the hour and a half along superb roads to the lakes!

That is more like it :)

See everyone, its not such a silly idea after all!!!!

:)

I could always try to fit the bike frames into the boot and strap wheels to a boot rack. Then see how much gear will fit around the bike frames and put soft luggage behind the seats.

Otherwise I'm thinking of getting a spare bootlid from a breakers, and construct a rack mount into that. You do see them with boot racks carrying luggage now and then and they seem pretty strong.

Servicing of the TVR will not be an issue, I am a competent mechanic with a well equipped workshop at my disposal.

If you have a TVR why do you want to ride a bike?

Long road warm up to get to Ambleside for a ride!

oh and dont forget – if you can get the bikes on the boot lid – only travel as far as a tank of fuel can get you – since the filler cap is inside the boot.

Yeah I thought of that, I suppose a boot rack could be whipped off. Bit of a pain though.

Nah I don't have any desire to have a second car. I don't want waste money on tax and MOTs when the fun car can do everything.

This isn't a "what car for carrying bikes" thread, its a genuine ask to see if anyone on here has ever carried bikes on their tiv / similarly constructed sports car.

Something like this would be ideal:

Lol, its a serious question.

Currently I have this:

Which luckily had a roof rack available. A Chimaera is top dog for my next car so long as I can hang a couple of bikes off it somehow.

Mine – Audi TTC 225 after the weekend at Glentress and Innerleithen.

I ordered mine on Sept 7th, notified it was shipped Sept 18th and am hoping it wioll arrive before the next ice age.

FWW I've bought stuff from dealextreme before and its arrived within a week. I think they have had some hurricanes over there which may have delayed things.

Duty and VAT – I think if the value is less than £100 then they don't bother chasing it up.

Get it welded and carry on :)

Or sell it to me and I'll weld and then ride it…

Thanks guys, gives me something to go on.

Audi TT 225 Coupe.

Because its a design classic, a nice place to sit, pretty quick and just about big enough for my life.

Looks like this but blue and without the OTT wheels: