Buying Whole Bike from China

polaxgr

Will i die ?? I am sorry if this isnt the correct section for this and i am sorry that i bring up again this issue. I am guessing you have heard it a lot. But i cannot afford/or dont want to spend a fortune on a full carbon bike from a store ( and i dont like the way the "cheap" ones look like ). I dont care so much if they are as good as the ones from "original" brands or a bit worse. Well i do. But i mostly care if i dont die when and if the frame or carbon wheels break. I have read many opinions and events that have occured and i havent concluded if the risk is worth taking. So could i hear some advice or personal experience from people that bought from brands that have good reputation from china. For example i heard that Farsports make good carbon wheels and yoeleo and leadnovo good frames? Is this true ? Anyone had any of these? Please help if you can.

sam_anon

What's your budget?

I would avoid it and if money is tight look out for a well looked after, entry price second hand bike.

polaxgr

2 to 2,5k euros. I found wheels for 600, frame for 600 , ultegra set for 750 and other bits all together for ~100.

sam_anon

I read an article recently about a couple sourcing brand name quality components in Taiwan and shipping the bikes to you in bits, might be a good halfway house?

cattytown

Bear in mind that sourcing from outside the EU can be expensive. A whole bike is unlikely to get through customs unnoticed.

Add the price of the bike and shipping. Look up the duty rate (TARIC code 8712003090 - 14%) and add that to the total cost - eg £900 bike, £100 shipping = £1000. Add 14% = £1140.

THEN add VAT - 20% to that total - £228 = £1,368. Yes, that's tax on a tax.

Carriers may also add an unspecified charge for customs clearance.

Splitting as parts may just up the number of handling charges. False declarations of value - cost £900, tell the courier it's worth £50 and guess the compensation if it goes missing.

Paul.

joe_totale-2

There's some enormous threads on the Weight Weenies forums about buying direct from China, specifically which frames are good and which ones to avoid.
I personally wouldn't do it but there seem to be plenty of happy customers on those threads.

trek_dan

Frame wise I wouldn't take a risk bearing in mind your can buy from Planet X or Ribble at the same price (possibly less by the time you factor in import taxes). I've got various carbon wheels from different Chinese suppliers (Farsport, Carbonzone and CN Carbon) and all have been absolutely fine. Again though it doesn't work out as cheap as it appears by the time you pay import duty and handling charge if they get stopped at customs.

polaxgr

sam anon wrote:

I read an article recently about a couple sourcing brand name quality components in Taiwan and shipping the bikes to you in bits, might be a good halfway house?

care in sharing these companies?

sam_anon

polaxgr wrote:

sam anon wrote:

I read an article recently about a couple sourcing brand name quality components in Taiwan and shipping the bikes to you in bits, might be a good halfway house?

care in sharing these companies?

Trying to find it! Sure I read it on here... :roll:

mamil314

I can confirm that you will, indeed, die - like the rest of us.

In my opinion, importing whole bike is not worth the hassle and does not save you that much. It could work if everything functions fine and you don't need to use warranty/support/returns. By now, there's not that much wrong to go with getting a well established wheelset or frameset from them, but whole bike is another song.

the_jackalcp

I've had wheels from Farsports and never had a problem

Currently have an aero bike that i bought as a frame and wheels from China. Painted it myself and built up with bits from the parts bin and ebay/forum purchases. Cost about £1100 max, probably less. It goes like s### off a shovel, looks fantastic and completely problem free. Buy form the right seller and you will probably be fine.

Matthewfalle

The Jackalcp wrote:

I've had wheels from Farsports and never had a problem

Currently have an aero bike that i bought as a frame and wheels from China. Painted it myself and built up with bits from the parts bin and ebay/forum purchases. Cost about £1100 max, probably less. It goes like s### off a shovel, looks fantastic and completely problem free. Buy form the right seller and you will probably be fine.

Frame link?

the_jackalcp

My bike



Link to site

http://www.velobuildmall.com/2017-toray ... p0097.html

arlowood

Another forumite (JoostG) also had a successful experience with Velobuild. His build is featured here

viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=13081156&hilit=Velobuild

Pic here


More of a cross/gravel build but looks the dogs bo**ocks IMHO

Might be worth considering them in your short list

svetty

The Jackalcp wrote:

My bike



Link to site

http://www.velobuildmall.com/2017-toray ... p0097.html

Steerer needs cutting

svetty

trek_dan wrote:

Frame wise I wouldn't take a risk bearing in mind your can buy from Planet X or Ribble at the same price (possibly less by the time you factor in import taxes). I've got various carbon wheels from different Chinese suppliers (Farsport, Carbonzone and CN Carbon) and all have been absolutely fine. Again though it doesn't work out as cheap as it appears by the time you pay import duty and handling charge if they get stopped at customs.

Planet X/Dolan/Ribble carbon frames are mainly of Far East origin eg the RT-80 from Planet X is the FM-066 Chinese frame.....

Matthewfalle

Svetty wrote:

The Jackalcp wrote:

My bike



Link to site

http://www.velobuildmall.com/2017-toray ... p0097.html

Steerer needs cutting

sweeeeet. very nice.

how did you find dealing with them? i've dealt with Carbonzone before who were spot on...

polaxgr

mamil314 wrote:

I can confirm that you will, indeed, die - like the rest of us.

In my opinion, importing whole bike is not worth the hassle and does not save you that much. It could work if everything functions fine and you don't need to use warranty/support/returns. By now, there's not that much wrong to go with getting a well established wheelset or frameset from them, but whole bike is another song.

sorry..i wanted to say that i would buy parts. mostly frame and wheelset. I will get the groupset from my local store (Greece). Saddle + integrated handlebar also bought from ali, which in 1st glance are very good and light. saddle = 119g, handlebar = 340g

polaxgr

The Jackalcp wrote:

I've had wheels from Farsports and never had a problem

Currently have an aero bike that i bought as a frame and wheels from China. Painted it myself and built up with bits from the parts bin and ebay/forum purchases. Cost about £1100 max, probably less. It goes like s### off a shovel, looks fantastic and completely problem free. Buy form the right seller and you will probably be fine.

I will buy from Farsports, now my dilemma is dt 350 or 240 ? Any suggestion guys?

Also the frameset i want is counterfeit...i am sorry..SORRY...but i like it...thats why i wanna hear opinions about those in particular..

darkhairedlord

polaxgr wrote:

The Jackalcp wrote:

I've had wheels from Farsports and never had a problem

Currently have an aero bike that i bought as a frame and wheels from China. Painted it myself and built up with bits from the parts bin and ebay/forum purchases. Cost about £1100 max, probably less. It goes like s### off a shovel, looks fantastic and completely problem free. Buy form the right seller and you will probably be fine.

I will buy from Farsports, now my dilemma is dt 350 or 240 ? Any suggestion guys?

Also the frameset i want is counterfeit...i am sorry..SORRY...but i like it...thats why i wanna hear opinions about those in particular..

If they were any good at making frames they wouldn't need to fake it.

trek_dan

Svetty wrote:

trek_dan wrote:

Frame wise I wouldn't take a risk bearing in mind your can buy from Planet X or Ribble at the same price (possibly less by the time you factor in import taxes). I've got various carbon wheels from different Chinese suppliers (Farsport, Carbonzone and CN Carbon) and all have been absolutely fine. Again though it doesn't work out as cheap as it appears by the time you pay import duty and handling charge if they get stopped at customs.

Planet X/Dolan/Ribble carbon frames are mainly of Far East origin eg the RT-80 from Planet X is the FM-066 Chinese frame.....

Yeah obviously. My point is though if you pay VAT, import charges, handling fee etc on a chinest frameset it becomes just as cheap to buy from Planet X etc and you get a warranty.

Matthewfalle

either way. its better than owning a Trek.

Matthewfalle

darkhairedlord wrote:

polaxgr wrote:

The Jackalcp wrote:

I've had wheels from Farsports and never had a problem

Currently have an aero bike that i bought as a frame and wheels from China. Painted it myself and built up with bits from the parts bin and ebay/forum purchases. Cost about £1100 max, probably less. It goes like s### off a shovel, looks fantastic and completely problem free. Buy form the right seller and you will probably be fine.

I will buy from Farsports, now my dilemma is dt 350 or 240 ? Any suggestion guys?

Also the frameset i want is counterfeit...i am sorry..SORRY...but i like it...thats why i wanna hear opinions about those in particular..

If they were any good at making frames they wouldn't need to fake it.

what is fake about it?

darkhairedlord

Matthewfalle wrote:

darkhairedlord wrote:

polaxgr wrote:

The Jackalcp wrote:

I've had wheels from Farsports and never had a problem

Currently have an aero bike that i bought as a frame and wheels from China. Painted it myself and built up with bits from the parts bin and ebay/forum purchases. Cost about £1100 max, probably less. It goes like s### off a shovel, looks fantastic and completely problem free. Buy form the right seller and you will probably be fine.

I will buy from Farsports, now my dilemma is dt 350 or 240 ? Any suggestion guys?

Also the frameset i want is counterfeit...i am sorry..SORRY...but i like it...thats why i wanna hear opinions about those in particular..

If they were any good at making frames they wouldn't need to fake it.

what is fake about it?

that bit?

the_jackalcp

Svetty wrote:

The Jackalcp wrote:

My bike



Link to site

http://www.velobuildmall.com/2017-toray ... p0097.html

Steerer needs cutting

Nah, its just how I like it. Something to impale myself on if I stack it.

Matthewfalle wrote:

Svetty wrote:

The Jackalcp wrote:

My bike

[img]http://i68.<span class="skimlinks-unlinked">tinypic.com/4lkcbp.jpg</span>[/img]

Link to site

<span class="skimlinks-unlinked">http://www.velobuildmall.com/2017-toray-800-carbon-fiber-aero-road-frame-vb-r-068-hot-sale_p0097.html</span&gt;

Steerer needs cutting

sweeeeet. very nice.

how did you find dealing with them? i've dealt with Carbonzone before who were spot on...

I would highly recommend Velobuild. Chris, the guy that runs it, has excellent English so there is almost no chance of misunderstandings. He is prompt to reply and goes to a lot of effort to make a sale. I was after a very particular blue and he mocked up a number of images to try and help achieve the right one. In the end I did my own graphics and painted it myself. He kept me informed throughout the process and was responsive when I had some basic questions around the build. How would things have gone if I had issues, who knows and that is the risk with these purchases.

polaxgr wrote:

mamil314 wrote:

I can confirm that you will, indeed, die - like the rest of us.

In my opinion, importing whole bike is not worth the hassle and does not save you that much. It could work if everything functions fine and you don't need to use warranty/support/returns. By now, there's not that much wrong to go with getting a well established wheelset or frameset from them, but whole bike is another song.

sorry..i wanted to say that i would buy parts. mostly frame and wheelset. I will get the groupset from my local store (Greece). Saddle + integrated handlebar also bought from ali, which in 1st glance are very good and light. saddle = 119g, handlebar = 340g

Shop around for the handlebars. There are plenty of links for cheap bars that look quite strong based on youtube videos. There is even a Trek copy of their latest integrated bar weighing in at 260g. If it were me I'd try and buy it all from the same place if possible.

polaxgr wrote:

The Jackalcp wrote:

I've had wheels from Farsports and never had a problem

Currently have an aero bike that i bought as a frame and wheels from China. Painted it myself and built up with bits from the parts bin and ebay/forum purchases. Cost about £1100 max, probably less. It goes like s### off a shovel, looks fantastic and completely problem free. Buy form the right seller and you will probably be fine.

I will buy from Farsports, now my dilemma is dt 350 or 240 ? Any suggestion guys?

Also the frameset i want is counterfeit...i am sorry..SORRY...but i like it...thats why i wanna hear opinions about those in particular..

If you want DT then I'd probably just go 350 unless the weight is a big deal. I've personally used Novatec and Bitex without issue so would save my money and go for one of those ( probably bitex). As for the frameset being fake, most are based on moulds from established brands which isn't a bad thing. The question really is around the quality of the carbon, the amount of resin used and the QC process (if any).

Matthewfalle

darkhairedlord wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

darkhairedlord wrote:

polaxgr wrote:

The Jackalcp wrote:

I've had wheels from Farsports and never had a problem

Currently have an aero bike that i bought as a frame and wheels from China. Painted it myself and built up with bits from the parts bin and ebay/forum purchases. Cost about £1100 max, probably less. It goes like s### off a shovel, looks fantastic and completely problem free. Buy form the right seller and you will probably be fine.

I will buy from Farsports, now my dilemma is dt 350 or 240 ? Any suggestion guys?

Also the frameset i want is counterfeit...i am sorry..SORRY...but i like it...thats why i wanna hear opinions about those in particular..

If they were any good at making frames they wouldn't need to fake it.

what is fake about it?

that bit?

that hasn't answered the question.

there is no reason at all why a frame would fail because it has another bike's paint job on.

so long as it is a good frame you can paint in hot pink and write "froome is a doper but people ignore this fact as they are sky fan boys" and it won't make an iota of difference.

shortfall

Some smart looking frames at that Velobuild site, unfortunately (for me) I can't see any XXL or 63cm sizes. Ditto for many other cut price suppliers from the Far East. Does anyone know of one that caters for taller riders?

cougie

[quote="polaxgr"
Also the frameset i want is counterfeit...i am sorry..SORRY...but i like it...thats why i wanna hear opinions about those in particular..[/quote]

Dodgy as fck. If you take it into France it could be destroyed under their counterfeit laws.

An unknown company making illegal copies isn't going to care too much about standards. They've no reputation to uphold.

If you can't afford the original don't kid yourself with a dodgy copy. Just cut a picture out and look at that. It's safer.

darkhairedlord

Matthewfalle wrote:

darkhairedlord wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

darkhairedlord wrote:

polaxgr wrote:

The Jackalcp wrote:

I've had wheels from Farsports and never had a problem

Currently have an aero bike that i bought as a frame and wheels from China. Painted it myself and built up with bits from the parts bin and ebay/forum purchases. Cost about £1100 max, probably less. It goes like s### off a shovel, looks fantastic and completely problem free. Buy form the right seller and you will probably be fine.

I will buy from Farsports, now my dilemma is dt 350 or 240 ? Any suggestion guys?

Also the frameset i want is counterfeit...i am sorry..SORRY...but i like it...thats why i wanna hear opinions about those in particular..

If they were any good at making frames they wouldn't need to fake it.

what is fake about it?

that bit?

that hasn't answered the question.

there is no reason at all why a frame would fail because it has another bike's paint job on.

so long as it is a good frame you can paint in hot pink and write "froome is a doper but people ignore this fact as they are sky fan boys" and it won't make an iota of difference.

per above.
your question was "what is fake about it?"
My response was to highlight the bit where the OP states he wants to buy a counterfeit bike.
I never said it would fail because of the paint, you did that all on your own.

Further, Please don't turn into Stevo/Fish^2 with all that "answer my question" nonsense!

polaxgr

I just like cipolini frames..so you can understand what i am looking for...thanks for the info and reply. I am 76kg and they told me they did tests on the frame with 200kg. Is that true? I dont know.. I ordered the frame(and wheels from farsport). I feel like i have gambled 1200euros in a casino..now lets wait and see what the outcome will be..I will post when i get them if you guys are interested

Matthewfalle

polaxgr wrote:

I just like cipolini frames..so you can understand what i am looking for...thanks for the info and reply. I am 76kg and they told me they did tests on the frame with 200kg. Is that true? I dont know.. I ordered the frame(and wheels from farsport). I feel like i have gambled 1200euros in a casino..now lets wait and see what the outcome will be..I will post when i get them if you guys are interested

coolio - please post and ignore the haters - they are but square clubbie dullards.

maybe set up a thread on the "your road bikes" section so it doesn't get lost here.

looking forward to this.