Cheap Chinese carbon fiber frames, anyone build one up in the Chi?

Hey all,
I've been meaning to get a nice shiny new road bike, but don't want to spend the $1800-$6000 that decked out all carbon, dura ace, Record or SRAM Red bikes with carbon wheels cost. I don't want somebody's 8 year old aluminum Jamis or an entry level fuji newest... I want something that looks rides and looks MONEY!
I've been seeing sweet carbon framesets online and people seem to be more or less pleased with the quality as noted here:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=225409

I do not want to build a counterfeit Chinarello or Cholnago bike. I don't care about brand names or badging. To be quite honest, I'm probably looking forward to designing my own graphics more than riding it. While the roadbikereview forum does answer a lot of questions and show several examples, I'd love to get in touch with someone who's done this locally.
My folks were in parts manufacturing so everyone can spare me the bit about buying from an authorized dealer or getting "certified" parts... at the end of the day a rear derailleur costs 10 bucks to make regardless if it's RED, Apex or unbranded. But those reputable companies have research& development, testing, packaging and marketing costs to recoup Blah, blah, etc, etc- screw 'em.
I want to build a slick looking racer with a 100% carbon frameset, carbon clinchers and some whatever group set I can scrounge.
DengFu, HongFu, GreatKeen sports equipment-Anybody here done it?

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Permalink Reply by Len Ayala on April 2, 2012 at 8:38am

I built one up, and have been riding it for a couple seasons already. It's a fantastic bike. Best one I've ever ridden or built, and that includes some that I spent big $$$ on as well. I'm not here to argue or discuss the merits or politics of my bike purchase. I researched, bought, and assembled exactly what I wanted, and then personalized it to make it my own. It has an integrated bar/stem combo, an integrated seat mast, 50mm carbon rims, and weighs around 15 lbs. I fitted it with Campy Record/Chorus 10spd, because I prefer the polished aluminum parts over the black or carbon looking groups.

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Permalink Reply by Michael A on April 2, 2012 at 9:11am

I assume you bought the scale from the same chinese manufacturer.

95% of all carbon frames are made by a few companies. The largest difference is the quality of the carbon fiber cloth and the resin used. That said most of the non branded, and less expensive CF frames are much heavier. I am not saying that this bike does not ride great, and it looks great, I am just saying that around 15 lbs is a bit of a stretch.