Mondince FM356

The Mondince FM356 (also sold by TanTan as the GR356) is a carbon gravel and bikepacking frame for tyres up to 61 mm (2.4 in), with high stack, dropped seat stays, a T47 BB, a UDH dropout, a small downtube storage compartment with a mechanical lock, and regular or luggage-mount fork options. The frameset (frame, fork, seatpost, axles, headset, frame bag) costs $625 from Mondince plus about $100 for custom paint and $120-280 shipping, ordered via WhatsApp rather than AliExpress. Owners measured a 61 mm Scorpion leaving about 6 mm at the chainstays and 8 mm at the seat stays and fork, size L weights of 1,400 g (frame), 506 g (fork) and 250 g (seatpost), and complete builds around 9.2 kg. The finish is clean with faced mounts, and riders like the comfort, the stance and the room for mudguards. Recurring complaints: two bottles do not fit together because the cage on the storage door collides with the seat tube bottle (an extender helps), toe overlap in small sizes, very tight chainstay clearance for road cranks with spider power meters, the luggage-slot ghosting showing on slot-free forks, and the high stack and sloping top tube that some find unattractive. Quality varies: one Mondince frame's UDH dropout measured 10.8 mm instead of 12 mm so a SRAM Transmission derailleur would not mount, and Mondince only offered a small refund; a TanTan GR356 measured 12.5 mm and fits T-Type, but arrived with an out-of-spec front axle thread.