them cheap carbon frames on ebay

I HAVE A CHINESE MADE BIKE (confession) AND OH MY!! i brought it for £360 on eBay and it is just brilliant! well worth the money, soo stiff, easy to maintain, lightweight, and looks just awesome! I'm going to order another one just after Christmas that's how good they are. what people tell you about Chinese equipment is nonsense until you own it!

https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/1454716_535827966507406...

Well that's why it's so cheap, isn't it? No one is suggesting you get the same customer service and after-market support with a no-name frame. If you did, it would cost the same sort of money.
It's an extremely cheap, slightly more risky way of getting a very high spec frame. I want a very high spec frame, but I don't have £3-5k to spend on one. And so.

Being a fat bloke that's into steel frames, I've never really looked at carbon. But crikey, after reading this thread, and looking around the web, I'll definitely more choosy about whose wheel I sit on when I'm out on a group ride.

But it's the aftermarket support I'm thankful for (and think is worth it), cracked my frame this summer, I called the shop up they took a look and a few pics contacted Bianchi and I got a brand new 2013 frame to replace my 2010.

You're not getting that with any Chinarello at al

If you get the right company, they'll offer replacements for frames that break JRA. Crash replacement, no. I even had follow-up on my frame a month after I built it up to ask if it was okay and to get photos of parts I said could have been painted better (I'd had a custom paint job).

I bought a 38mm carbon wheelset from Farsport last year for just under £400 and very pleased with them. They've done just over 3 Mm now over 2 summers. I'd happily buy another wheelset from there (e.g. those 3 or 5 spoke carbon wheels are tempting).

There are fly-by-nights, and there are companies that are in it for the long-haul and care about their brand and reputation. This is as true in the UK as it's true in China. Pick a seller accordingly. China has no statutory consumer protection though, but reputable companies there will give guarantees. You must agree on the warranty & returns policy at the time of sale and be very clear on it though.

The Chinese know how to make high-quality carbon, they're making "Western" branded stuff too after all. The prices are going up and up though, as China gets more expensive. Don't forget to take import tax and VAT into account when comparing with LBS prices, as you may end up paying those (particularly for any shipment worth over some threshold, £500?). You don't necessarily save that much money.

There is a website called "VeloBuild" dedicated to people who buy Chinese carbon frames (open mould frames) as well as wheelsets, handlebars and groupsets. They even do groupbuys from selected trusted suppliers and will even deal with the supplier if you have issues (see forum posts for instances).

You can see endless amounts of build threads with photos and tons of information/experiences.

I'm going to get one of these for next summer, and am very excited about it. If the bike fails (and that would seem very unlikely, certainly no more likely than a big name frame) then I can write off maybe 4-6 frames before it costs me more than ONE branded one.

after many ciders i have often considered buying one of these r5/dogmas, even added them to basket.

then i think about the cattle grid i bunny hope over at circa 45 ish mph and just think if, if i have bought one of the dodgy builds that has a head tube made of newspaper, to save a few hundred quid is it worth of the risk of implementing the face brake.

saying that i love love love Ritte bikes and was devastated to find out they are just sprayed up ax or whatever they are called frames.

I am reminded of Keith Bontrager's quote:

Strong. Light. Cheap: Pick two.

Apart from that, rather than buying something direct from the far east, if you buy a Ribble or similar then at least some of your money goes to pay a wage to somebody in the UK.

After cracking my Bianchi this year, it put me right off 'the idea chinese carbon' (I was looking at carbonzone etc rims on eBay at the time).
Not that it would be of lesser quality (I know they roll out the same moulds in the same factories 99% of the time)
But it's the aftermarket support I'm thankful for (and think is worth it), cracked my frame this summer, I called the shop up they took a look and a few pics contacted Bianchi and I got a brand new 2013 frame to replace my 2010.

You're not getting that with any Chinarello at all.

I've heard that the "factory gate" trade price of a carbon frame made in the far east is...

17 dollars.

and that the trade price for an aluminium frame is...

10 dollars.

Having bought a "Chinese Pinarello" frame ,forks head bearings and seat tube 2 years ago.
I completed the cycle with shimano Tiagra components (already had some good wheels)
Am I pleased with the bike ? .......no....delighted.
I would urge readers thinking of such a project to go ahead and not listen to the stupid "pub talk"gossip re. poor Chinese quality.
When the "posh" manufactereurs offer their cycles for sale in Europe at a sensible price I shall buy the "genuine article".
Still no doubt made in China.

Ooops

That should read:

Carbon 24mm Rims....

My bad ..

I recently brought some wheels (24mm Carbon Tubs) from one of the CHinese companies ... FARPSORTS .... and cannot be happier.

My wheels costs approx £350 shipped, Carno 24mm Rims, built on Sapim CX Ray Spokes and lightweight Bitex hubs, weighing in at 1008g if I remember correctly..

They marked them up as samples so no VAT, IMport Duty, etc and I have to say that dealing with them was a far easier experience than dealing with some companies in this country ... SERIOUSLY.

I dont know whether I'd buy a frame myself, but wheels, etc, absolutely no doubt whatsoever.

Nearly all frames are made in the far east,but under close instruction from the bike brands.Top bike makers will mix in various substances in with the carbon weave and resin and specify the exact composition of the material of there super high mod carbons.They will then inspect the framesand guarantee when building them up with the groupset, finishing kit and wheelset to complete the bike.so cheap far east frames can be made of any grade carbon(sometimes very poor) and you only have there word on what modules carbon its made from.Ribble frames tend to be rebranded deda frames and offer brilliant value for money,usualy cheaper then buying a deda without the ribble logo.for example on ebay yesterday i saw a condor Leggero go for £1000 and a ribble scuro hc going for £128 .Exactly the same deda frame with a differt logo.

Last time I imported something you had to add in VAT and couriers "handling fee" so its likely to be about £320 ?

I think I'd be happier going to Ribble for one of their sportives when they have an offer on

izoard is taiwain, matey. BUT dont look at it as a bad thing. most top end bikes including all but the very top colnago etc are made there. i have no issues with it as probably 95% of bikes are made there . they are just clever with the wording i.e. 'built in britain' that means the bike was put together in britain generally as opposed to 'manufactured in britain'

That's where they put them together....out of bits mainly made in Taiwan, China etc

I have a '09 Trek Madone 5.2, and Trek claims they made it in Wisconsin, USA. Is that TRUTH?

Can't wait for Britain to fulfil it's promise of becoming the world leaders in composite technology.

Fringe: "what did strike me was what is the difference between these frames and other 'cheapish' carbon frames (planet x, ribble etc etc) apart from a paint job/stickers and probably a bit more of a mark up for profit margins.. "

+1 I'm riding a carbon fibre frame/forks from Graham Weigh in Deeside, but when I bought it he had a load, some of which were theirs, some were apparently a cancelled order for Terry Dolan, a couple were a similiar thing originally intended for Ribble etc, which I was told were all basically the same thing, churned out of the same far eastern factory to the same template. What's the difference between these and the scary ones mentioned by velotech?

my personal experience has been a planet-x team alu mk2, £199. Carbon
stem, bars and forks from flyxii.com, £102 (including postage). Headset
was either fsa or planet-x, so £20. Pedalon (lbs) did the swap and build.
The bike is good. An alternative frame supplier could be ribble, their sportive
frames are tasty. But please remember globalisation means there aren't
that many mass manufacturers of carbon or alu frames and most are made in
china or taiwan (most goods are made in china aren't they). However the high
end stuff will most probably be european, cervelo being a prime example.