Budget Carbon Frames! ...who has bought one?

[Jason @ect]

We all know the big brands when it comes to bicycle manufacturing (frames) and the assured quality you would expect when purchasing a well established brand, however, with manufacturing becoming ever more prevalent across the world (particularly Asia), i'm curious to find out if people are being lured in to purchasing the 'budget end' carbon fibre frame (or complete bike). We've all seen them on eBay (or other online sites) and I've read some things written by a few folk and i think i have my own opinion on the topic but curious to actually hear from people and to learn their experience of purchasing, riding and maintaining a low budget carbon fibre frame (or complete bike)... have you bought one??

• Is the quality level poor, adequate or surprisingly good?
  Has the product lasted well - can it take the miles?
  

Interested to hear...

[Papa Dom]

I am also curious to hear success/failure stories involving carbon road bikes from Asia

[Jesper]

I took the carbon plunge (except for my lugged 80s/90s Colnago) and bought a used Planet X frameset, but not built up yet. I would only buy a used road frame since I don't trust what a mtb frame of any quality may have been put through. I have no idea as to the actual quality of the frame; paid $100 so I will gather up some parts and see what I think. No idea if Planet X is considered a quality frame; figured it was a generic frame.

[jeffg]

I know 3 people that ride on budget carbon rims from China and have had zero issues. One of them has been using them for 3 seasons, the other two only this year. My guess is the designs and layups are 1 or 2 generations old from the big names that the factories produce for themselves to sell. I'd trust them if I where in the market for a replacement frame.

[JR Namida]

jeffg, I have several friends that ride Chinese or Taiwan carbon frames, forks and handlebars. One of them has ridden a frame from Taiwan for several years, and is thinking about a getting a newer frame as he tried a frame and enjoyed the stiffness of the 2021 built frame.

This is not really the info you are seeking, but I purchased a KBO Stealth Hurricane Bike with a alloy frame, that came out of the shipping box weighing 37.7 pounds. I have replaced some of the heavy alloy parts with light weight alloy and carbon fiber to reduce the weight to 32 pounds as I must carry the bicycle up and down 3 flights of narrow stairs.

I keep looking on ebay for a generic stealth carbon fiber eBike frame to really reduce the weight of the eBike. I feel an electric bicycle should weigh about 26-28 pounds to make a $400/$600 ebay carbon fiber frame purchase. I hope to find a road bike style carbon fiber ebike frame in the next few years and I will look forward to moving my KBO components to a disc brake single speed lightweight carbon fiber frame.

I do not like the step through style eBike nor the frames with a larger battery lumps screwed to the water bottle mounts, that are being kicked off conversions, or stolen from a number of eBikes in my area. I like the stealth road bike model with a 7-10 Wh battery hidden in the downtube not possible to kick the battery off that style frame, and not everyone realises the stealth eBike is actually an eBike.

[Criminal]

(11-25-2021, 07:07 PM)JR Namida Wrote:  jeffg, I have several friends that ride Chinese or Taiwan carbon frames, forks and handlebars. One of them has ridden a frame from Taiwan for several years, and is thinking about a getting a newer frame as he tried a frame and enjoyed the stiffness of the 2021 built frame.

This is not really the info you are seeking, but I purchased a KBO Stealth Hurricane Bike with a alloy frame, that came out of the shipping box weighing 37.7 pounds. I have replaced some of the heavy alloy parts with light weight alloy and carbon fiber to reduce the weight to 32 pounds as I must carry the bicycle up and down 3 flights of narrow stairs.

I keep looking on ebay for a generic stealth carbon fiber eBike frame to really reduce the weight of the eBike. I feel an electric bicycle should weigh about 26-28 pounds to make a $400/$600 ebay carbon fiber frame purchase. I hope to find a road bike style carbon fiber ebike frame in the next few years and I will look forward to moving my KBO components to a disc brake single speed lightweight carbon fiber frame.

I do not like the step through style eBike nor the frames with a larger battery lumps screwed to the water bottle mounts, that are being kicked off conversions, or stolen from a number of eBikes in my area. I like the stealth road bike model with a 7-10 Wh battery hidden in the downtube not possible to kick the battery off that style frame, and not everyone realises the stealth eBike is actually an eBike.

Do they make caliper brake versions? A lot less weight, and I do not need the stopping power of discs being under 150 pounds. All my bikes stop just fine at speeds under 30 mph with calipers many single pivot with short pads.

[meamoantonio]

(11-14-2021, 06:08 AM)Jesper Wrote:  I took the carbon plunge (except for my lugged 80s/90s Colnago) and bought a used Planet X frameset, but not built up yet. I would only buy a used road frame since I don't trust what a mtb frame of any quality may have been put through. I have no idea as to the actual quality of the frame; paid $100 so I will gather up some parts and see what I think. No idea if Planet X is conidered a quality frame; figured it was a generic frame.

I'm super curious how this went, $100 for a carbon frame looks sketchy but if it works I think more people should know about this

[GirishH]

I am eager too. I am wondering whether Jesper actually missed a"0" in that entry...:-)

(06-26-2023, 01:22 PM)meamoantonio Wrote:  

(11-14-2021, 06:08 AM)Jesper Wrote:  I took the carbon plunge (except for my lugged 80s/90s Colnago) and bought a used Planet X frameset, but not built up yet. I would only buy a used road frame since I don't trust what a mtb frame of any quality may have been put through. I have no idea as to the actual quality of the frame; paid $100 so I will gather up some parts and see what I think. No idea if Planet X is conidered a quality frame; figured it was a generic frame.

I'm super curious how this went, $100 for a carbon frame looks sketchy but if it works I think more people should know about this

[Talha]

I don't expect them to be of poor quality honestly. Carbon fiber anything is pretty strong and lasting. If some manufacturer is taking the cost of producing carbon frames and wheels, it's likely they would want them to last. Second, the fiber building process is identical everywhere. Other than the starting material the craftsmanship is arguably same so I would expect them to sustain the loads and weights on their own. Maybe other low quality assemblies with them can cause failure or break contributing to the opinion of them being bad because they are cheap or not from a famous brand.

[Jesper]

(06-26-2023, 01:22 PM)meamoantonio Wrote:  I'm super curious how this went, $100 for a carbon frame looks sketchy but if it works I think more people should know about this

(06-26-2023, 05:56 PM)GirishH Wrote:  I am eager too. I am wondering whether Jesper actually missed a"0" in that entry...:-)

Hello all!
As previously stated, the frame (bare of all components) was used.
I do not know if the previous owner sold it due to some "minor" damage, or if he was purchasing something else. It was sold during owner's moving to another area, and there was damage to the drive chainstay where the chain obviously abraded the stay when it came off during use. The damage appeared superficial (1/32-1/16 inch deep gash) and did not appear to penetrate into the actual fiber (or very very little if it did).

As stated, it was a Planet X frame and I have no idea where they were made nor their perceived quality level. The frame was for caliper brakes, with drop-outs (not thru-axle).
I ended up selling (no profit or loss) it to a client whose steel road bike I serviced. I clearly pointed out the damage and allowed for its return if the buyer had it inspected by a shop which deemed it unusable (I was told by a professional that the damage did not affect the frame's integrity).
I think the present owner is on this site (user name unknown to me), since I recommended he ask advice here about outfitting the frame. I still don't have (in my opinion) the experience dealing with newer bikes (frames and components), and I did not want to provide advice on how to proceed.
In most respects I don't think there are "cheap" CF frames/bikes other than the price point for the consumer (off-brand frame, entry to mid tier components). Most of these CF frames are being built in Taiwan for the major brands who design, and I assume, oversee production and quality control to a greater or lesser degree. There certainly are some localized in-house makers of CF frames, but they are few and far between; and build very expensive low volume bikes at a bespoke level for their own brand or others (e.g. Sarto in Italy; $10000 plus; no missing or extra zeros there).

[Lss555]

I’ve found the budget nice gear works plenty well enough to get the job done, it just a doesn’t last as long. Say a budget carbon frame from china is 100 and lasts 2 years while a nice one is 200 and lasts 3 years (just using random figures here for examples) So it’ll be cheaper to buy the budget one you just have replace it more often but that’s just from my experience

[meamoantonio]

(06-28-2023, 03:42 AM)Jesper Wrote:  

(06-26-2023, 01:22 PM)meamoantonio Wrote:  I'm super curious how this went, $100 for a carbon frame looks sketchy but if it works I think more people should know about this

(06-26-2023, 05:56 PM)GirishH Wrote:  I am eager too. I am wondering whether Jesper actually missed a"0" in that entry...:-)

Hello all!
As previously stated, the frame (bare of all components) was used.
I do not know if the previous owner sold it due to some "minor" damage, or if he was purchasing something else. It was sold during owner's moving to another area, and there was damage to the drive chainstay where the chain obviously abraded the stay when is came off during use. The damage appeared superficial (1/32-1/16 inch deep gash) and did not appear to penetrate into the actual fiber (or very very little if it did).

As stated, it was a Planet X frame and I have no idea where they were made nor their perceived quality level. The frame was for caliper brakes, with drop-outs (not thru-axle).
I ended up selling (no profit or loss) it to a client whose steel road bike I serviced. I clearly pointed out the damage and allowed for its return if the buyer had it inspected by a shop which deemed it unusable (I was told by a professional that the damage did not affect the frame's integrity).
I think the present owner is on this site (user name unknown to me), since I recommended he ask advice here about outfitting the frame. I still don't have (in my opinion) the experience dealing with newer bikes (frames and components), and I did not want to provide advice on how to proceed.
In most respects I don't think there are "cheap" CF frames/bikes other than the price point for the consumer (off-brand frame, entry to mid tier components). Most of these CF frames are being built in Taiwan for the major brands who design, and I assume, oversee production and quality control to a greater or lesser degree. There certainly are some localized in-house makers of CF frames, but they are few and far between; and build very expensive low volume bikes at a bespoke level for their own brand or others (e.g. Sarto in Italy; $10000 plus; no missing or extra zeros there).

Thanks for filling us in Jesper! Would have been awesome to see it built up, I hope your customer sees this thread and shares the outcome of the build.

[tc2wheel]

I built four road bikes from Chinese carbon frames between 2017 & 2019.
All of them purchased on eBay with free shipping to USA.

The first one was sent the wrong frame size to me, filed a dispute and got to keep the frameset for free.
After completing the build and test riding it for few weeks,
I sold it to a neighbor who actually fits on it better than me. He's been riding it ever since, with close to 2k miles pedaled.


The replacement frame was sent the proper size that I ordered.
Built up in 2019 and been my all around riding.


Third frame was aero road frame, cable routing was PITA with the handlebar, only wish it had disc brakes.


Last build was a TT frameset, built up with wireless shifting.

All of them have been ridden regularly.
I don't ride nearly as much as I used to since 2020, but still very fun bikes to ride.

[GirishH]

Wow, tc2wheel this bike/bikes look sick. I am sure they feel and glide like a feather..

(07-22-2023, 09:44 PM)tc2wheel Wrote:  I built four road bikes from Chinese carbon frames between 2017 & 2019.
All of them purchased on eBay with free shipping to USA.

The first one was sent the wrong frame size to me, filed a dispute and got to keep the frameset for free.
After completing the build and test riding it for few weeks,
I sold it to a neighbor who actually fits on it better than me. He's been riding it ever since, with close to 2k miles pedaled.


The replacement frame was sent the proper size that I ordered.
Built up in 2019 and been my all around riding.


Third frame was aero road frame, cable routing was PITA with the handlebar, only wish it had disc brakes.


Last build was a TT frameset, built up with wireless shifting.

All of them have been ridden regularly.
I don't ride nearly as much as I used to since 2020, but still very fun bikes to ride.

[tc2wheel]

(07-23-2023, 11:05 AM)GirishH Wrote:  Wow, tc2wheel this bike/bikes look sick. I am sure they feel and glide like a feather..

They are lightweight, but not like the genuine carbon frames.
I don't ride/race, I don't train hard to demand high performance from my bikes as I used to when I was younger.
These Chinese carbon frame are cheap, easy to build into complete bikes, looks great and rides decent for me & my riding.
But they are not for everyone.

I think in a couple of year when I get tire of them I will get a disc brake version of Cervelo S5 copy.

[enkei]

Apologies if this isn't the BR-user first-hand experience you're seeking but there are a few channels on YouTube with experience with 'cheap' CF road frames from China. I reckon they're worth checking out:

Trace Velo

Jourdain Coleman

Cam Nicholls