Many riders are quite skeptical about some of the deals that can be had when buying direct from China. They skeptical about quality, skeptical about safety, skeptical about the issue of intellectual property infringement and, let's be honest, skeptical about what their fellow riding buddies will say when they find out the frame isn't a Cervelo or the wheels aren't really Zipps. If this describes you or your hesitance to buy direct from China, this post may change your mind.
I have now made six direct purchases from China. Three items are on their way, but three items I've now had for over a year. Let me tell you about my experience so far.
Chinese Carbon 29er Mountain Bike ($250.00)
If you read my blog from time to time, you have seen the pictures and heard the stories of my beautiful mountain bike. Nope, it doesn't have decals or the cache that comes with having a high end manufacturer's name on the side. You know what else it doesn't have, a large price tag.
I bought the frame from light-bicycle. I picked out the frame I liked from a decent assortment of frames. Unlike some of my other purchases, this frame was not molded directly to look like another more popular model of bike, at least to my knowledge. I had it painted matte black, nothing fancy. It came with a headset, seatpost and carbon fork. The representative I dealt with was friendly and quite responsive.
When the package arrived, the frame was well protected. The paint job was quality with no obvious blemishes, drips etc. It was super light and beautiful. I picked components out as I saw them on craigslist or ebay or even brand new from brick and mortars and built it up. What I built was one of the lightest, coolest looking and durable carbon 29ers out there. I'm going on season three with it. It has been banged around, hit into rocks, thrown through the air and it just keeps on ticking.
I did have an initial shifting problem with it, caused by a carbon piece meant to serve as a cable stop, which was more flexible than it should have been. I contacted the rep and she helped me right away and offered me a couple different options. I chose to get $50 back, which was sent to me promptly and which turned out to be more than the cost of the repair at my lbs. I ended up getting the frameset for $250. You can't beat that!
Chinese Carbon Clincher Road Wheels ($545.00)
I had a pair of Pro-Lite carbon clincher wheels for a while, which were 38mm deep. However, I wanted something a bit deeper. I didn't have a ton of cash to throw around, with two hungry boys to feed. So, I read some reviews and found a set of 50mm carbon clinchers from Far Sports. Again, they were great to deal with and worked with me for several weeks to put together specs of a wheelset that would best meet my needs and my budget.
I ended up getting a set of 50mm carbon clinchers with basalt break surface, CX Ray Sapim spokes, and Novatec 291/428 hubs. The representative was quite friendly and helpful and I received my wheels in a few weeks after ordering. What I got was much more than I bargained for!
I have had Zipps and some other high end wheels and this pair is as stiff and fast as I've ever had. I live in a very hilly neighborhood and there is a noticeable glide with every pedal stroke taken going up those hills. It is obvious that every ounce of energy is transferring from leg to pedal. I'll never forget my first ride with them, I couldn't figure out why all of the sudden I was literally just gliding up the hill. There were no other changes but the wheels. They are great.
Again, shipping was relatively fast and the packaging was great. The wheels have held very well over the past year and remain true. They do pick up the wind a bit, but that is because they are deeper dished wheels not because of the manufacturer. Again, I would say I am very pleased. Heck, they even let me design my own decal for the wheel and applied them. Black matte with glossy black decals. Cool!
Chinese Carbon Road Frameset ($545.00)
My third purchase, after being satisfied with the others was a replica Cervelo S5 frameset. I'm not sure how they do it and I'm not sure I want to know, but the manufacturers make these generic carbon frames with just about the same specs as the real bike. My Cervelo look-alike was just about dead on, but for a mm here and there...literally 1 mm. I purchased the frame from FeiFan Sports through DHgate.com. It came with a seatpost, carbon fork, bb right bottom bracket and headset. It weighed exactly what they told me it would weigh and, again, the custom paint job was right on. No blemishes. The decals they applied were set under the clearcoat, very professional. There were no decals left to flake off. It offered internal cable routing which was identical to the Cervelo branded frame and offered the same aero advantages. Terrific.
I purchased it with the intention of racing in triathlons this year and the frame offered a dual position seat post. However, I got hurt and can't do triathlon this year, so I am selling the frame now, but already have an order in for a new one to build up...the newer version of the S5. It will also be custom painted and I already have the parts to build it up.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is a lot to be gained from dealing direct in China. I would say you have to be careful, deal with larger, more reputable dealers like Fei Fan Sports and Far Sports, who have good reputations. Make sure you do your research about the quality of hubs, spokes etc and look carefully at the type of carbon used etc etc. You have to perform some due diligence, but for the prices, you can't go wrong!
