So, FM099 is an open mold frame baked in "frame mould ninety nine".
Knockknock biz series#
(“Public- or “common-mold” are also used.) However, the incorrect phrase has now taken hold in bike circles so throughout the rest of this series of articles when “open mold” is used I mean “open design.”Ĭhinese open-mold frames don’t have names they have numbers: three digits after FM (FM stands for frame mould).
The correct term for “open mold” is “open design”. Bike frames are made in clamshell molds, made in two halves. An open mold is one that’s “open” – it doesn’t have a top the sort of mold used for car hoods. Some bike shops also offer own-brand open-mold frames, painted in shop colours.Īn apology: the term “open mold” might be well-known on cycle forums but, technically, it’s not correct. Open mold frames are available consumer-direct from Competent factories or they can be purchased from domestic suppliers. Open mold frames can be remixed by using different rear triangle or bottom bracket configurations leading to unique looking frames at a fraction of a cost of making an entirely new design. These Chinese-made open-mold frames are cheaper than proprietary frames from the premium brands. Competent and Cowboy factories also produce generic "open-mold" cycle frames using molds that are, in effect, rented out to all and sundry. Premium cycle brands pay Cream and Competent factories for the creation of bike- and size-specific molds, and these molds are not used by other companies. They tend to be molded in two pieces, stuck together with glue, and then the joins are concealed with a carbon-and-resin mix. Despite modern non-tube carbon frames being called "monocoques," they are not, in fact, made in one piece. Carbon cycle frames are baked in these molds. Amazingly, it also sells the clamshell molds needed to make these frames.
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