Who on BR has bought a 'cheap' Chinese carbon frame?

bompington

Italy = spaghetti
Germany = overpriced, over-unionised engineering
China = the country with the longest history of science, technology and engineering

vs

would they like to clarify where there bikes came from and why they feel they get such 'good value' from an expensive paintjob / set of stickers?

Viner Maxima, custom made in Italy - just as amazing as they say - incredibly stiff but still extremely comfortable and light enough for me.

jonmack

vs wrote:

would they like to clarify where there bikes came from and why they feel they get such 'good value' from an expensive paintjob / set of stickers?

Viner Maxima, custom made in Italy - just as amazing as they say - incredibly stiff but still extremely comfortable and light enough for me.

Yeah that's great, except they're about £3500 for the frame and fork. These cheap chinese frames can be bought for under £500 shipped to the UK.

Don't be such a f*cking tool.

GoingCarbon

9jan11 wrote:

Italy = passion, legend, tradition
Germany = precision engineering
China = noodles

China is one of the oldest civilisation is the world. Amongst the things the Chinese have invented are noodles, also pasta, paper, gunpowder, the compass, the plow, porcelain, printing and many more

mcrdave

Re. VAT

All of the stuff I've bought from the states has been liable to VAT but I'm pretty sure all of the stuff from far east hasn't, mainly because the sellers are better clued up and label the packages 'creatively'.

I've bought a lot of stuff as well!

vs

Yeah that's great, except they're about £3500 for the frame and fork. These cheap chinese frames can be bought for under £500 shipped to the UK.

Don't be such a f*cking tool.

Sorry but there seems to be some folks on here that assume that all manufacturers frames come out of the same moulds as these China jobs - some undoubtably do but not all...

mroli

GoingCarbon wrote:

China is one of the oldest civilisation is the world. Amongst the things the Chinese have invented are noodles, also pasta, paper, gunpowder, the compass, the plow, porcelain, printing and many more

Although having watched QI on Dave last night - they failed to invent glass (thought to be be due to the fact they discovered porcelain instead) so it meant that they failed to invent lens grinding and coming up with things like spectacles and telescopes and also glass being neutral meant that it has medical/scientific applications etc etc....

Not sure how that works with carbon fibre frames though...

Fogliettaz

Has anyone bought a set of the wheels from Hongfu or Yishun? and if so what are your impressions?

GoingCarbon

[/quote]

Sorry but there seems to be some folks on here that assume that all manufacturers frames come out of the same moulds as these China jobs - some undoubtably do but not all...[/quote]

At last we agree on something

All the more reason we (hope others don't mind me speaking for them) were surprised you were initially so dismissive.

I'm a Cervelo owner with a lifetime warranty and it appears Cervelo will honour it should I need them to. But should I spend £400 on a frame and it lasts a couple/few of years for me that's still good value. If it turns out to be a dog and the seller ignores my pleas for a refund, I'll be disappointed but it was my decision to take the risk.

But posts on this forum and others seem to suggest that a little research and the buyer can get a bargain, hence my research. All comments are welcome, yours included.

But I'd never dismiss something until I've done my homework. It might not be relevant but I'm happy to shop at Waitrose but I'm equally happy to shop at Aldi. Often the difference is the packaging and the presentation and not the product.

gb155

This has perked me up on this,cold, wet , January morning.

Do these frames have a maximum rider weight ????

Gaz

mcrdave

I'm not sure Gaz but if you email the seller they should be able to tell you. I know the frames aren't super light (just below 1200 grms for 58cm frame) so shouldn't be an issue.

Just had a look at your blog, bloody brilliant, well done mate keep it up.

vs

Just had a look at your blog, bloody brilliant, well done mate keep it up.

Me too...amazing mate, well done indeed, speechless...

bompington

vs wrote:

Just had a look at your blog, bloody brilliant, well done mate keep it up.

Me too...amazing mate, well done indeed, speechless...

Definitely quite amazing achievement - but don't keep going too long, I've calculated that on the 29th May 2012 you'll actually disappear

tx14

vs wrote:

bicycles are about as high tech as a kettle

If they come out of a far eastern mould I'd agree but try having a little discussion with Mr Storck about this and see if you come away with the same opinion!

the diamond shape of the frame have not changed for like a hundred years.
most advances have been in the material. and that work is done by aerospace/automotive engineers years ago. using materials like titanium, carbon fibre, and using different tube profile to increase strength had been done for decades.
and safety standards for a bicycle is not comparable with that of a car. just count the moving parts in a bike and compare the number to that of a car. the amount of engineering required for a modern bmw vehicle is magnitudes more than a bike or your viner. I'm not saying that a viner frame is the same quality as a no name frame, i have riden neither. but quality is not always proportional to price in a marketing heavy industry, it rarely is.

gb155

bompington wrote:

vs wrote:

Just had a look at your blog, bloody brilliant, well done mate keep it up.

Me too...amazing mate, well done indeed, speechless...

Definitely quite amazing achievement - but don't keep going too long, I've calculated that on the 29th May 2012 you'll actually disappear

BONUS LOL :-)

gb155

mcrdave wrote:

I'm not sure Gaz but if you email the seller they should be able to tell you. I know the frames aren't super light (just below 1200 grms for 58cm frame) so shouldn't be an issue.

Just had a look at your blog, bloody brilliant, well done mate keep it up.

Thanks for the encouragment guys, much appreciated

With regard the frame, I have only skimmed over this topic, as im in work, but didnt see a link to the seller ? am I missing something ? (im sure I am LOL)

Cheers

Gaz

mcrdave

There wasn't a direct link but here is the seller I bought from, they have other frames as well, this one is slightly more sportif geometry, more relaxed than the FM015.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-New-3k-full ... 255fe73755

gb155

mcrdave wrote:

There wasn't a direct link but here is the seller I bought from, they have other frames as well, this one is slightly more sportif geometry, more relaxed than the FM015.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-New-3k-full ... 255fe73755

Appreciate that, thanks mate.

45rpm

I bought one of these chinese carbon ebay frames about 18 months ago, only thing wrong was i had to straighten out the alloy rear gear hanger using a hammer and a wall, everything else is fine. Hit a pot hole at 30mph+ and not a thing wrong with the frame forks or steerer. pics later

45rpm

Fogliettaz wrote:

Has anyone bought a set of the wheels from Hongfu or Yishun? and if so what are your impressions?

Are they Matrix wheels? i got some from a chinese seller, not sure if it was Hongfu or Yishun, but they're a great price. arrived true, had to tighten a few spokes after the first ride. Done 2000+ miles on them, then had to start winter commuting with them. This popped a rear spoke. Still the bearing and freehub run smooth so great for racing/fun rides but not so hot for commuting.

Fogliettaz

Are they Matrix wheels?

Not sure, I have bought a couple of frames from Hongfu and would like to upgrade road wheels to 38mm/50mm carbon clinchers. I have read the forum on road-bike review and they seem to have a very good reviews from both Hongfu and Yishun + the communication from both companies is very good.

Intherain

I am about to pull the trigger on a 'Chinarello' myself - ok, so its not a Pinarello copy but an FM015 which some of the others have here...

Crazy cheap price - something like £350 shipped for frame, fork and headset. All the naysayers have to justify their expensive purchases somehow - I just see it as paying the fraction of the cost a UK seller would charge for a very very very similar product. If I had £2k to splurge on a bike then I MIGHT go for a brand, but having read up on these Chinese bikes maybe not now - my dad is looking at a carbon merkx, i reckon I can pick up a very similar frame for much less.

If you take the time to read all 4 threads on the bike review forum you'll see that loads of Americans in particular have gone for these frames with very few complaints.

1stGenRex

This thread is interesting, and it makes me want to buy one of these frames, for a build WAYY down the road.

calvjones

bompington wrote:

China = the country with the longest history of science, technology and engineering

Nope. Read 'Why the West Rules for now'. We typically have 2000 years lead on them until about 400AD when they overtook us. only for us to push ahead again in 1750ish.

Very interesting read

[/OT]

GoingCarbon

I'm fairly certain I'm going to order a frame. So over the few weeks I've got to narrow down the frame and the supplier. The FM015 seems very popular but again I'll do some research.

Pls keep posting your pics of your imported Chinese frames

alfablue

I have nothing against these frames, nor anything in favour of Ribbble, just it seems they have similar looking frames at prices that wouldn't seem to differ too much from these Chinese ones. Are they significantly better value than Ribble's offering?

sturmey

I have nothing against these frames, nor anything in favour of Ribbble, just it seems they have similar looking frames at prices that wouldn't seem to differ too much from these Chinese ones. Are they significantly better value than Ribble's offering

+1

Word for word more or less what I was going to say myself.

These Ebay jobs are not significantly cheaper than the Preston offerings yet they present a host of potential problems to the buyer if somethng isn't right with the product. You are at the mercy of these Ebay traders. Who are you going to complain to if something's not right? Ebay don't wanna know these days when something goes wrong for the buyer.

If the frames were,say, £150 delivered, I would call that a good buy. At their current price I would say they are a gamble.

Chip \'oyler

vs wrote:

would they like to clarify where there bikes came from and why they feel they get such 'good value' from an expensive paintjob / set of stickers?

Viner Maxima, custom made in Italy - just as amazing as they say - incredibly stiff but still extremely comfortable and light enough for me.

+1

Off the peg mass manufactured suits are great - but give me a bespoke Saville Row suit anyday!

ADIHEAD

Sure I agree, get a fully built up Ribble full of Deda and Campag and you've got piece of mind But as a project in itself then I suppose it's fine if someone wants to take a risk and it's nice to see someone riding something different I suppose. Like I say, I'd take the Ribble though if I wasn't thinking Titanium next time

1stGenRex

sturmey wrote:

I have nothing against these frames, nor anything in favour of Ribbble, just it seems they have similar looking frames at prices that wouldn't seem to differ too much from these Chinese ones. Are they significantly better value than Ribble's offering

+1

Word for word more or less what I was going to say myself.

These Ebay jobs are not significantly cheaper than the Preston offerings yet they present a host of potential problems to the buyer if somethng isn't right with the product. You are at the mercy of these Ebay traders. Who are you going to complain to if something's not right? Ebay don't wanna know these days when something goes wrong for the buyer.

If the frames were,say, £150 delivered, I would call that a good buy. At their current price I would say they are a gamble.

ebay trader or not, If I was buying a bike from someone like Specialized, and they determined the "defect I was complaining about was user error/damage/abuse...complainging doesn't mean they'll give me a new one, does it? Sometimes, you get a lot less support from the big names, than from the smaller names. Not saying anything against any bike company, as I'm new to this whole thing, but I've experienced that in other industries.