Interesting Aliexpress finds! - good deals, interesting stuff, new products etc!

[TidyDinosaur]

Yeah, I think (hope) the first sellers are setting their price really high...

[jonathanf2]

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804436031313.html

I have no experience with these BXT gravel frames, but with the current Black Friday $40 USD coupon 40DEAL, this makes it one of the cheapest gravel setups on AliEx. I already own two gravel frames, but if anyone is looking this could be a good bike build.

[00Garza]

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804436031313.html

I have no experience with these BXT gravel frames, but with the current Black Friday $40 USD coupon 40DEAL, this makes it one of the cheapest gravel setups on AliEx. I already own two gravel frames, but if anyone is looking this could be a good bike build.

Seriously tempting.

[coffeebreak]

Update on eBay chain (Ultegra spec) that I got at $17 earlier this week. While it was in transit, I went ahead and got the same HG701 from REI too just to compare the two.
Here are some observations with regards to packaging - slight difference in font type face in some places, font size on the rear of the box and texture of the overall packaging is a little shiny on eBay one v/s matte on the REI one.

Biggest two difference that I can see are 1) inner transparent plastic sheath that wraps the chain. The eBay chain had masterlink and rest of the chain all packed together, while REI one came with a neat little separate pouch for masterlink and another for actual chain.
2) eBay chain can only be had in 116 link length while REI's came with 126 links.

Apart from that, it is VERY hard to distinguish the actual chains from one another - both came with slight lubrication, markings are all correct, even the master links are exactly same not to mention the weights. I honestly don't know what to make of the eBay chain. For reference eBay chain came in at $17 + tax while REI was $40 + tax.

[FullCarbonAlchemist]

There are a ton of Shimano fakes out there right now, notably clipless cleats. Shimano changed their packaging in the last year or so specifically to combat this.

[jonathanf2]

For my blingy gold bike chains, I've been gravitating towards PYC chains. They're Taiwanese based, but they aren't getting counterfeited like KMC or Shimano. For cheap name brand chains, SRAM chains seem to sell for decent prices so I just get those whenever they're on sale.

[Tijoe]

I purchased and received 2 of the chains that were sold on Flea-bay.   I have already filled out a request for a return/refund.   The boxes appear to be the correct CN-HG901-11 but the chain inside is a lower end Shimano HG-11 chain. 

The first image shows a correct HG901-11 chain. (Note the hollow pins!)

The second image is the chain I received from the Ebay seller.

[coffeebreak]

The non hollow pin chains are hard to make out. The 901 fakes at least make it easier. I put the OG on my build and have shelfed the eBay one for now instead of returning. It will go on my hybrid bike build for which I am waiting on groupset to arrive. The  groupset is supposed to come with KMC chain which at this point I am guessing will be a fake too.

[Tijoe]

It irritates me that there are sellers that fake you out and misrepresent what they are selling.   In the pics attached:  First pic shows the chain that is not really a CN-HG901 model chain.  The seller's posted pictures correctly show that the chain they are selling is not a hollow pin chain, but the box that the chain is in is labelled as a CN-HG901 chain and their title states this to.  This is very misleading.   When I examined the chain I received, it is a Shimano chain, but a low end HG chain.

The second and third image show pics of a true CN-HG901 chain (As sold by Jenson)

I complained to the sell, (Chinese company with California distribution) and they were happy to take it back.  They even paid for the shipping back to them.

Question is: Should I pursue this with Ebay and or Shimano and complain that they are ripping off people making them believe that are purchasing a top end chain?

[jannmayer]

They are lying about what they are selling and hoping that most people won't notice the differences. I think that should be reported. For every buyer who catches this difference there are a bunch who won't and don't get the item they paid for.

[Tijoe]

They are lying about what they are selling and hoping that most people won't notice the differences. I think that should be reported. For every buyer who catches this difference there are a bunch who won't and don't get the item they paid for.

I wrote Shimano USA asking them what I should do to report, and added the E-bay seller link.   Let's see what happens.

[Icyseanfitz]

I bought a m8100 chain earlier this year, after 3 rides I checked chain wear, it was worse than 1, so they must have sent me a used chain repacked, not worth your time buying Shimano chains on Ali imo, nearly the same price in eu stores anyway

[kbike]

I thought shimano chains use the pin you press in not the quick releases.  Has shimano changed to supply the quick releases now?

I haven't used shimano chains since 2017 when I bought 5800 and 6800 groupsets.

As for the cheap hollow pin and plate chains.  They all flake off metal particles(is it chrome plating).  I've had binding to too loose of links new. Think this is caused from inconsistent link sizes. This makes the chain tool not measure wear accurately. 

I still use these chains but adds another thing to check that shouldn't be needed after every cleaning.

[impmonkey]

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804436031313.html

I have no experience with these BXT gravel frames, but with the current Black Friday $40 USD coupon 40DEAL, this makes it one of the cheapest gravel setups on AliEx. I already own two gravel frames, but if anyone is looking this could be a good bike build.

I have road a BXT fat bike frame the last two winters with success. That said I purchased a this frame with the BF deal, Gloss white. Will end up being a spare/trainer bike with my Carbonda 969 being the primary. I also ordered an integrated handlebar/stem for it. Look forward to yet another build.

[gandalf]

Keep us updated when received, please!

I have road a BXT fat bike frame the last two winters with success. That said I purchased a this frame with the BF deal, Gloss white. Will end up being a spare/trainer bike with my Carbonda 969 being the primary. I also ordered an integrated handlebar/stem for it. Look forward to yet another build.