How to buy a Chinese frame/wheelset

[Luegolover]

Hello,

I would like to buy a frame and wheel set from China and am thinking of carrying out the purchase through DHgate.com and wanted to know if anybody has done this already and if there is anything I should be wary of?

Or is there a better way to order and pay for bike parts from China?

Cheers

 

[vickster]

I guess the wariness should come from it not being a tried and tested product and having no come back if an issue. Not to mention the potential for a 30% surcharge for import duty

I am not sure why you would when you can get a fully built ultegra equipped bike from Planet X for a grand, on interest free credit no less http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPULT2/planet-x-pro-carbon-shimano-ultegra-road-bike

 

[jack smith]

Take a look on alien press if you haven't already, seems a heck of a lot better than dh, I've ordered a few things from there

 

[Luegolover]

Thanks for the replies. I am already in possession of a £1000 entry level carbon bike. I'm doing this for several reasons including the desire to own something a little different to the mainstream offerings and the for the fun of the acquisition and build.

 

[Hacienda71]

I have been riding a bike built with a Chinese sourced frame for nearly three years and we'll over 10,000 miles. It is light, handles precisley, accelerates well and has performed faultlessly. I bought mine on Ebay as I could see the feedback for the vendor and had some protection via PayPal.

 

[jack smith]

ali express* dunno what the hell auto correct is playing at and if you do see a nice frame on ali express ask them if they will use paypal alot of them do!

 

[vickster]

Thanks for the replies. I am already in possession of a £1000 entry level carbon bike. I'm doing this for several reasons including the desire to own something a little different to the mainstream offerings and the for the fun of the acquisition and build.

Fair enough, I'd also look at some of the clearance framesets from PX and others

I am pretty risk averse so wouldn't spend that much on something unknown and untested with no come back. Having seen the aggro my brother's girlfriend had trying to get a refund from China after the seller sent her the wrong thing, I'd never buy anything direct from China (and that was under £20)!

 

[smokeysmoo]

@gb155 has built about 3 CCF's, PM him to see where he bought from.

TBH though if it was my money I'd be putting it into something that had a viable warranty with it, just saying.

 

[Luegolover]

Well I ordered the frame and wheels. Just have to wait and see what happens. I've turned my attention to the brakes now. The sensible option is cheap and cheerful cable disc brakes with the TRP Spyre system offering the best balance of technical capability with its dual piston system and price. The other end of the scale is to go for a hydraulic set up with the Hope V-Twin system but this is much more expensive. I'm going to wait and see how the frame looks before I decide.

 

[Luegolover]

After I finished the last post I had a quick look on eBay and discovered a chap selling the Hope V-Twin system. After a little email discussion I bought it. So Now I can only wait for the wheels, frame and brakes. I suspect I could be in for 3 weeks for the frame to be built and similar for it to be shipped, pass customs etc. so I'm in for a long wait. Quite excited though.

 

[Luegolover]

The Hope brakes arrived after a little delay and are pretty cool looking.
The wheels were sent last week but when I tried to use the tracking number supplied it didn't work so I chased it today and the supplier sent a picture of the frames, 38mm front and 60mm back, which look lovely and a confession that the hubs are out of stock and due in 8 days. Feeling a little vulnerable again. Will have to wait and see.
The frame was quoted as being in stock and delivery within 3 day when I placed the order. I then received an email saying that the stock detail was wrong and that it would be 17 days. Sounding familiar? Anyway, that was 18 days ago and when I chased it today they told me that they have shipped yesterday and will provide the tracking number shortly. Seems promising.
It will be odd to get the frame before the wheels when the wheels were the one thing I wasn't troubled by.

 

[Luegolover]

 

[Luegolover]

Look good though, just hoping they arrive

 

[tincaman]

Which frame have your ordered?

 

[Luegolover]