chinese imports

[mrcunning]

chinese imports on bike gear,from clothing to full bikes are these worth a gamble or are they to be left right alone..Im interested on some dura ace carbon wheels for £360 quid hmmmmm tempting?

 

[Profpointy]

I bought some titanium axles for my crank brothers pedals. The maker was up front that they were for crank brother, but not by crank brothers. They were less than half the price of proper ones - I reasoned if they're turned to size on a lathe from Ti bar, how wrong is it possible to make 'em? They seem perfectly fine to me, and definitely are titanium. I assumed rightly or wrongly that normal industrial titanium bar is going to be of adequate standard for bike parts, and that there'd be no such thing as "cheap and nasty" titanium - and simple, relatively low-precision lathe work is well within the Chinese's capacity to do.

I also bought a Seiko watch direct from the far east at a fraction of high street price - perhaps 30% of retail after import duty (ie cost 30% not 30% off). I was a bit suspicious of fakery, but if it is a fake they've gone to an awful lot of trouble engraving logos on hidden parts inside etc (discovered 2 years later when putting in new battery). Seems pukka to me.

that said, I've seen pictures of logo'd but almost certainly faked tools - precision watchmaking tools labelled Bergeon - just not quite right.

 

[Tolvar]

IMHO You would be gambling with you life buying wheels from China, clothing or non critical accessories I wouldn't see as being a problem.

 

[mrcunning]

One thing that does make me laugh is groupsets,you can buy the real shimanos from this country cheaper than the fake imports from china..decisions decisions...

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Don't kid yourself they are not DuraAce wheels

 

[e-rider]

chinese imports on bike gear,from clothing to full bikes are these worth a gamble or are they to be left right alone..Im interested on some dura ace carbon wheels for £360 quid hmmmmm tempting?

don't do it - by the time you pay import tax and handling fees, you could have bought yourself a decent pair of £500 wheels from the UK - instead you'll have shite wheels from China instead for the same money!

 

[mrcunning]

worth a debate tho,im like Profpointy on this view..minor items no problems at all major ones i.e bike,groupsets and wheels is a no no..

p.s anyone want to buy original front and wheel shimano dura-ace wheels..haha just kidding.

 

[Noodley]

Im interested on some dura ace carbon wheels for £360 quid plus loads more import tax and handling fees and waiting for long delivery times and no reputable wheelbuilder willing to go anywhere near them when they go wrong hmmmmm tempting?

Aye sounds a right grand idea

 

[MarkF]

I also bought a Seiko watch direct from the far east at a fraction of high street price - perhaps 30% of retail after import duty (ie cost 30% not 30% off). I was a bit suspicious of fakery, but if it is a fake they've gone to an awful lot of trouble engraving logos on hidden parts inside etc (discovered 2 years later when putting in new battery). Seems pukka to me.

Fake. China fakes Casios that sell legit for £5! I bought some Chinese Seiko 5's, they worked fine, kept time for years but the replacing the batteries didn't seem right with "automatic" on the dials..................

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

worth a debate tho,im like Profpointy on this view..minor items no problems at all major ones i.e bike,groupsets and wheels is a no no..

I'm not sharing your or Profpointy view, I would be equally as concerned about buying titanium products from unknown sources as Carbon products simply because Titanium is a very difficult material to work with and requires extreme levels of purity and cleanness, any oil, grease or coatings will be taken into the weld and have weakness. Titanium also absorbs elements like oxygen and nitrogen at the kinds of temperatures used for welding which can make it weak.

The question is not can you trust the material, its can you trust the source imho

 

[Profpointy]

IMHO You would be gambling with you life buying wheels from China, clothing or non critical accessories I wouldn't see as being a problem.

remember though, the "real" stuff is probably also made in China.

However I did once see some cheap (& nasty) "Sabatier" knives - it said on the packed "made in PRC".
Never been anywhere near Thiers clearly.

(note, Sabatier isn't strictly a maker or brand as such, so it's not much worse than "Cheddar" cheese from New Zealand, but still..)

 

[Noodley]

remember though, the "real" stuff is probably also made in China.

The country of origin would not be my concern but the fact that they are "fake" would be. Quality control and all that.

 

[Profpointy]

I'm not sharing your or Profpointy view, I would be equally as concerned about buying titanium products from unknown sources as Carbon products simply because Titanium is a very difficult material to work with and requires extreme levels of purity and cleanness, any oil, grease or coatings will be taken into the weld and have weakness. Titanium also absorbs elements like oxygen and nitrogen at the kinds of temperatures used for welding which can make it weak.

The question is not can you trust the material, its can you trust the source imho

I'm inclined to agree with your point - though my titanium axle was a simple bit of turning from a solid bar - I could have done it myself to be honest - and there was no fakery nor passing off - nor any likelihood of hidden welds, bad carbon or whatever. Generally though, you do get what you pay for - and brands can have a real value - ie quality brands, rather than so called "designer" brands, which I don't get at all

 

[avalon]

I buy parts from all over the world, including China and only very rarely is something substandard.

 

[VamP]

There's a lot of hysteria surrounding the crabon products. They may not be the highest quality, but they are certainly not ''gambling with your life''

I have, and will again, buy Chinese crabon.