Don't know if I have missed a discussion on this, but I have been looking at the frames made in China and most of the reviews have been good. A carbon frame and fork for $300 seems too good to be true. Does anyone know anything about the various frames on e-bay of different values ($300 - 500) and what is different about each of them. They all come in carbon black - does anyone have a feel for the cost of an acceptable, moderate quality, two color paint job?
Thanks. Over the past six months I have purchased several items: pedals, shoes, jerseys etc. for prices like $27.00, $40.00 etc and up to now they have been excellent value and the quality has been exactly the same as that sold in the cycling mags, in some cases better. Therefore I am inclined to give them a chance, but a frame is a different animal than a pair of shoes (which are great, by the way), so I thought that I would solicit other opinions and experiences.
For 'painkiller', I have been looking exclusively on e-bay under carbon fiber road frames.
Thanks. Over the past six months I have purchased several items: pedals, shoes, jerseys etc. for prices like $27.00, $40.00 etc and up to now they have been excellent value and the quality has been exactly the same as that sold in the cycling mags, in some cases better. Therefore I am inclined to give them a chance, but a frame is a different animal than a pair of shoes (which are great, by the way), so I thought that I would solicit other opinions and experiences.
For 'painkiller', I have been looking exclusively on e-bay under carbon fiber road frames.
Just an update, I know that I was looking for info and this might help someone else. I finally decided to buy the imitation Colnago MC10 through Aliexpress. Aliexpress is the importer/ agent. When I made my choice, there was no place to state the frame size I wanted, it had been mentioned on the Forum that they would contact me, so I clicked 'Buy now' and held my breath. I immeadiately received a receipt for the money, but after three days I still had heard nothing else, so I started sending e-mails to 'Contact Seller' After about a week I finally got an e-mail confirming that they had my request for 54cm size and that "Need 15 a 20 day build a paint frame. Be 5 a 15 day on ship." So I gues I can now just sit back and wait. I will update on quality and value when it arrives.
Well, I have now had my Chinese Colnago for about nine months and I'm more than satisfied. Right out of the box it looked great, the dropouts are finely machined, the tolerances are spot on and the paint finish is out of this world, the best I have ever had on a bike.
One cautionary note, I ordered a 54 cm frame and the measurement from the BB to the top of the seat tube, is indeed 54cm. However, the top tube slopes up and therefore, the height at the steerer tube is easily 56cm, which for me, sets the handlebars too high. I have fitted a Ritchey angle adjustable stem to help with this. I guess that I should have ordered a 50cm, but I don't think I would have the confidence to do that.
So you knowingly bought counterfeit merchandise - great. I hope you don't have a bike (or car) accident due to defective counterfeit parts from China.
I sense some cynicism in your post. However, here's the deal, what you see is exactly as it came out of the box. i have raced and ridden since 1955, so I have a lot of experience with bikes, plus I am a retired mechanical engineer. Talk of 'accidents' and 'disintergrating parts' are just fantasies. As I said, as much as you would apparently like it to be otherwise, after visual inspection and almost a year of riding, the quality of this frame is impeccable.
On the moral front, you can support the inflated prices of the western manufacturers, if that's what grabs you, that's up to you. On the other hand, I always look for a bargain and will continue to do so, with a clear conscience.
Counterfeiting of trademarked names is stealing, period - has nothing to do with "inflated prices." Did your source pay Colnago for the money they spent on design of the frame that the Chinese firm merely copied? Did they compensate Colnago for the decades spent EARNING their brand's reputation in the form of licensing so that they could legally use the name?
As for defective products, I was not necessarily referring to just your knockoff frame, which is why I mentioned cars as an example. People who have no compunctions about stealing are not generally going to be very concerned about other niceties like safety. Thus people in China and pets in the U.S. poisoned by adulterated food, and children's toys imported from China with toxic metals in them.
Anyone who knowingly purchases counterfeit merchandise is an accessory to theft.
p.s. If as a mechanical engineer you had created a unique design of a particularly efficient device, having worked on it for your employer for months, and I found an unauthorized copy available on aliexpress for 1/2 the normal price, should I buy it? Would it make a difference if it said "designed by Limey" or "designed by Dun Su" ? What if your company's name was on it as well? Is it OK to buy it? Is that any different than your "Chinese Colnago" in any way except that some anonymous company is getting screwed?
I was in the bike biz for over 20 years, so I'm quite familiar with manufacturing and outsourcing. Aliexpress (a part of Alibaba.com) is known for hosting many companies that engage in selling counterfeit goods, and Limey himself referred to the bike as an "imitation Colnago MC10," so he knew it was not legit from the get-go.
1AvidCyclistCat
Unregistered
(11-23-2014, 06:21 PM)limey Wrote: I sense some cynicism in your post. However, here's the deal, what you see is exactly as it came out of the box. i have raced and ridden since 1955, so I have a lot of experience with bikes, plus I am a retired mechanical engineer. Talk of 'accidents' and 'disintergrating parts' are just fantasies. As I said, as much as you would apparently like it to be otherwise, after visual inspection and almost a year of riding, the quality of this frame is impeccable.
On the moral front, you can support the inflated prices of the western manufacturers, if that's what grabs you, that's up to you. On the other hand, I always look for a bargain and will continue to do so, with a clear conscience.
Well and eloquently stated fellow avid cyclist! I also have been purchasing China carbon frames since 2007 or so, and top quality, durability performance at a bargain price.
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