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The China Connection - sourcing, discussing and group ordering Chinese/Taiwanese frames/wheels/etc

Sorry, I am not in a position to do that.
The sellers mentioned above have been shutdown (by the Jpns Police, not Yahoo/Ebay etc.), and no longer sell their product online.
Just if you see stuff list for pennies on the dollar vs. MSRP, be cautious.

I post here as a private person, and am just reminding people to do their due diligence on products they use.
 
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@Trek DJ I think the "industry" needs to do a better job educating people about fake products. Most people think about dollars before quality.
 
I think Trek DJ has firsthand experience, and what he has offered sounds like a reasonable consideration--not at all like fear-mongering.
 
There is a review thread on this forum - why don't we upload our first hand experiences there so that everyone can benefit from it. I'll be happy to upload my own run with these products after I've got some k's under my belt.
 
seems a bit dodgy if pointing out obvious fakes and counterfeits is frowned upon. Wouldn't doing so (pointing out obvious fakes and counterfeits) give the thread and resource more credibility?

I think you should provide more detail such as names, dates, sellers, brands, etc. on what is reliable and not reliable according to your first-hand experiences or your post could be mistaken for falling under the following (quoting from the first post in this thread)

Remember - this thread is a resource. If you want to comment on things with which you have first-hand experience, go ahead. If you want to be a fearmonger or grumble about intellectual property etc, please leave it out of this thread.
 
seems a bit dodgy if pointing out obvious fakes and counterfeits is frowned upon. Wouldn't doing so (pointing out obvious fakes and counterfeits) give the thread and resource more credibility?

No obvious fakes were pointed out. Though pointing out obvious fakes would be a bit pointless anyway since they're obvious.
 
Let's not confuse fakes/counterfeits and simple unbranded "X-frames" etc.
Two different issues.

One is illegal for obvious reasons, and one is filling demand in the marketplace (legally).
I would guess that the former is more prone to have unsafe product as the people are definitely trying to maximize profit in any way/shape/form.
 
Let's not confuse fakes/counterfeits and simple unbranded "X-frames" etc.
Two different issues.

One is illegal for obvious reasons, and one is filling demand in the marketplace (legally).
I would guess that the former is more prone to have unsafe product as the people are definitely trying to maximize profit in any way/shape/form.

Yeah, this is correct. I was talking with my mate who is the designer behind all of the Odyssey, Sunday and G-Sport stuff about this yesterday, as it happens. He was saying that he found some fakes of his latest fork design which looked pretty much the same, but had some extremely dangerous design errors included. Making a copy of something pretty much involves getting a hold of an original, and copying the shape. If you are lucky, the counterfeiters will manage to incorporate some of the important design features in so that nobody dies, but there is absolutely no guarantee of this, and as @Trek DJ points out, this will chip away at the only thing they care about; profit.

Counterfeit stuff then, is more likely to be unsafe than generic unbranded OEM stuff from China, as the latter will have at least have been 'designed' with the intention for people further down the supply chain putting their sticker on it and taking on board some kind of accountability / responsibility for it not snapping and murdering someone.

As @bawbag said in the very first post, this thread is for discussing these unbranded / generic / OEM products from China, using first hand experience, so let's continue doing that :)
 
So far my experience with Chinese components is limited. Once my bike is built up I'll be able to offer some more input on the frame. Component-wise, as @Trek DJ says, if you pay peanuts, expect likewise, especially if it comes with a different brand name slapped on it.

The bars I ordered (Hylix branded) seem stiff enough from trying to twist/pull/squeeze them, but again - not really in a position to give them a workout until they're clamped in the frame. Fingers crossed they won't be as noodly as their stems are shown to be.

Component wise - the J & L stuff seems perfectly fine. I won't say "great" as they're not of a quality that meets that word (machining and finish are certainly not first-rate). That said, they do exactly what they're supposed to, ata price point much lower than the equivalent US/EU-made products.

The UNO ASA105 stem will be reviewed in due course too, although initial impressions are that it's shockingly cheap, very light and also as well made as the majority of stems I've seen in my life.

Anyone have any input on rim durability? I guess (as @TCC pointed out) the vast majority of people are riding on Farsports rims, but perhaps someone out there has experience of rims from other manufacturers.
 
Counterfeit helmets? Now there's a frightening thought. Several searches on different China-direct websites reveal a few counterfeit helmets posing as brand name lids — the "Catlike Whisper" and "Giro Aeon" are the most popular. On AliExpress.com, a search for "Giro Aeon" — a popular helmet in the U.S., and a favorite with many riders — reveals over a dozen counterfeit Giro Aeon listings, in a myriad of color choices, all of which look very similar to the real thing.
 
Haha, got any links to these helmets? That sounds well dodgy.
 
I ordered some 35mm depth x 25mm width carbon tubular rims (Enve-alikes) via Nocchi at Effect Cycles (who I can't recommend enough to anyone).

These will be combined with the Chris King R45 hubs I bought off of @danny together with Sapim CX Ray spokes for my climbing wheelset.

I shall let people know if there's any issues with them. I believe they are from Light Bicycle (Nocchi said his CX team use their rims and they've never had issues but, sod's law, I will).
 
Recently bought some real bargain-basement carbon bars. Lots of "reviews", will see how they hold up to social riding.

Following up on these bargain-basement 178 gram carbon bars. I've had them on the bike for 10+ rides now, including hill sprints in the drops and long rides in the sun. They have not slipped, cracked, broken, melted, exploded, or combusted, and feel stiff enough to me (68 kg). I did have trouble getting a SRAM Force shifter to clamp down tightly, but remedied that by adding a piece of inner tube between the shifter clamp and the bars. A Shimano 105 shifter clamped fine as is. They might be very slightly non-straight, but that could be my imagination or the miss-matched shifters I'm using. Anyway, for the price, which is ridiculous, 9/10, until they break, then -100/10.

Also, a new version of the lightweight Kalloy Uno "7" stem is now available on ebay. This one has -17 drop for thorough slammage. I bought a 110 mm for a more aero position during an enduro race but left it on the bike. Feels stiff enough during hill sprints. About 110 grams with titanium bolts.
 
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Your bars and stem were looking on point on Sunday. Slick.
 
Instead of bike part did anyone got sensor from Aliexpress and alike?

I have been meaning to get a cadence sensor and HR sensor that would be Bluethoth, I was aiming for these, but the total price seems a bit too much for a non essential item

Amazon product ASIN B00B58XSZAAmazon product ASIN B00FPL6N8C
Last week a friend showed me some available on Aliexpress, but with no brand name on it, like these
http://pt.aliexpress.com/item/Bluet...id=208e196e-799a-4fad-8251-a7462d6b1824&tpp=1
http://pt.aliexpress.com/item/Bluet...10&btsid=f5f7bac5-01a1-4ef4-9b2f-33f9e8fe5758

Seems trustable, but anyone has experience/opinions on these?
 
Instead of bike part did anyone got sensor from Aliexpress and alike?

I have been meaning to get a cadence sensor and HR sensor that would be Bluethoth, I was aiming for these, but the total price seems a bit too much for a non essential item

Amazon product ASIN B00B58XSZAAmazon product ASIN B00FPL6N8C
Last week a friend showed me some available on Aliexpress, but with no brand name on it, like these
http://pt.aliexpress.com/item/Bluet...id=208e196e-799a-4fad-8251-a7462d6b1824&tpp=1
http://pt.aliexpress.com/item/Bluet...10&btsid=f5f7bac5-01a1-4ef4-9b2f-33f9e8fe5758

Seems trustable, but anyone has experience/opinions on these?

No experience with the aliexpress stuff but I had one of the topeak speed/cadence sensors and it lasted about 3 months before the battery corroded. It also needed a stack of extra magnets to get the speed sensor to work.
 
Wow, I wouldn't expect the Topeak to be this bad. I had read good things about it. Did you moved to the Wacoo or some other?
 
Wow, I wouldn't expect the Topeak to be this bad. I had read good things about it. Did you moved to the Wacoo or some other?
I might just have been unlucky with the battery ruining it and there's quite a gap between the chainstays and wheel on my bike, hence the need for a tower of magnets. If your wheel is close to the chainstays you shouldn't have that problem.

I looked at getting a wahoo to replace it but decided I don't really need to know my cadence so haven't bothered.
 
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