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

[kbernstein]

Gaaaaaah!!!
I ordered the axles mentioned below and they arrived today. The front axle on the Basswood is 15mm, not 12mm. Looks like the rest of the info for the front is good and the rear axle fits fine.

I'm guessing at least a couple of people might've followed the same route I did and are still waiting of their axles to arrive. Not a huge deal but with the standard delays from AliX it's a minor setback. I'm still waiting for a couple of other parts to arrive that were ordered later so my personal setback won't be entirely for a front axle.

Speaking of, update on my ZTTO axles from yesterday: The metal is really trash. The bolt strips VERY easily and hexes get stuck inside it. I'd probably try other ones. Not sure if this warrants a customer support ticket but I'm really disappointed
Other minor complaint, the front axle sticks out a good centimeter on my 696 fork. Not very aesthetic but perhaps on me for getting the wrong size.

[TidyDinosaur]

Little warning about this lightweight carbon saddle I bought... Rail snapped on the first ride. I am 64kg and it was a ride on asphalt, so nothing too rough....

[jonathanf2]

I have 5-6 carbon saddles, all have held up fine. I weigh about 68kg and ride my road bikes on rough fire roads and rocky single track with my gravel bike. How much torque did you apply on the saddle clamp and did you use carbon paste? Also for certain saddle clamps, I actually wrap the rails in gaffer tape to prevent slippage and so I can minimize the amount of torque.

[s3si1u]

I've had a couple of these saddles. Sourced from Velobuild and Aliexpress. It's suuuuper comfortable and I absolutely love it, but I fully expect them to break after a while  they're cheap, not very good build quality and available from a bunch of different sellers.
I really do wish this model were a bit higher quality, I'd pay more for it.

[TidyDinosaur]

I have 5-6 carbon saddles, all have held up fine. I weigh about 68kg and ride my road bikes on rough fire roads and rocky single track with my gravel bike. How much torque did you apply on the saddle clamp and did you use carbon paste? Also for certain saddle clamps, I actually wrap the rails in gaffer tape to prevent slippage and so I can minimize the amount of torque.

I did torque them to 5Nm, but did not use any carbon paste on the clamp. I must say that during the first ride I had to change the seat angle and did this by loosening the front bolt and tightening the rear by the same amount of turns... Maybe this was not ideal...
Care to share what your favourite saddles are?

[TidyDinosaur]

I've had a couple of these saddles. Sourced from Velobuild and Aliexpress. It's suuuuper comfortable and I absolutely love it, but I fully expect them to break after a while  they're cheap, not very good build quality and available from a bunch of different sellers.
I really do wish this model were a bit higher quality, I'd pay more for it.

I am actually quite surprised by how comfortable it is... Is is a bit larger than my previous saddle though...
This is what I had before and I have this saddle on my MTB and my gravel bike. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003148022772.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.21.21ef18026V0gSu
It's light and cheap and I can't complain about the comfort. It does wear rather fast. After about 7-8.000 km it is (cosmetically) ready for a new one.

[jonathanf2]

I did torque them to 5Nm, but did not use any carbon paste on the clamp. I must say that during the first ride I had to change the seat angle and did this by loosening the front bolt and tightening the rear by the same amount of turns... Maybe this was not ideal...
Care to share what your favourite saddles are?

I have the saddle you broke. I prefer long nose style saddles, since I can shift position from low-n-tucked for flat speed or scoot up on the nose when I want to spin high cadence up a hill. Looking at your saddle clamp, I'm wondering if that might have caused the breakage? I'm weary of that design, mainly because it seems to apply more direct force into a concentrated section of the carbon rails.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255800039426240.html

I think this style of seat post clamp is the best for oval carbon rails. It spreads out the clamping force across a larger section, plus these type of clamps don't slip with a little bit of carbon paste.

[TidyDinosaur]

Yeah, I get what you mean. The seatpost is also a new one, so not really looking to getting another one... Maybe I could see if I could find the top part of the clamp that would fit my post.

[jonathanf2]

Did you contact the seller to ask them about the torques?
They have an official store: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005401555576.html

FYI - Zeroing returned my message regarding torque settings and they said 54nm for the preload bolt! I think I'll stick with hollowtech style crank arms with 2 piece pinch bolts. Most these AliEx cranksets use M5x25mm hex bolts that only need 8-9nm torque and you can easily upgrade the cheap bolts they supply to higher quality titanium bolts.

[sbellote]

Little warning about this lightweight carbon saddle I bought... Rail snapped on the first ride. I am 64kg and it was a ride on asphalt, so nothing too rough....

the big problem with the cheap 'no brand' saddles is that quality control is nonexistent, and so there's no consistency..
I've had one similar to this, rode 1yr+ and all good, know a bunch of people who had the same experience, but also of some cases of breaking in 1st use (like yours) or after some months
in the end it's just a gamble

[Wet Noodle]

Haven't this one until today. It's another Spirgrips knock-off. I don't have them, but judging from the pictures, they're a bit more beefy than the "carbon" (supposedly nylon / chopped cf, but could be anything really) straight up counterfeit version that you'll also find an Ali. Also, 92 vs 68 something grams.

Several vendors, link just for reference:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005433406892.html?


Hilarious how they messed up L/R (or if it's just some very weird attempt at plausible deniability ... would be even more hilarious).


Just for reference again, actual counterfeit version with print on it (sloppily edited away):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003688287947.html?


Shame, there are no SQ innerbarend clones. I like them just a tad better.

[abedfo]

Little warning about this lightweight carbon saddle I bought... Rail snapped on the first ride. I am 64kg and it was a ride on asphalt, so nothing too rough....

Interesting, I run one on both my gravel and road bikes and at 92kg they have been fine for years. Maybe you overtightened the bolt m

[coffeebreak]

That fantastic Zniino gravel bar (Surly Cornerbar knock off) has dropped in price and is now $60~ with free shipping - https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804059388076.html
I got same for $90 about 2 months ago. No hidden cables but the design is clever and comfortable.

[Tijoe]

I paid $68 for mine in February.  Good to see prices dropping, rather than increasing as cycling season arrives.

[mirphak]

That fantastic Zniino gravel bar (Surly Cornerbar knock off) has dropped in price and is now $60~ with free shipping - https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804059388076.html
I got same for $90 about 2 months ago. No hidden cables but the design is clever and comfortable.

Unsolicited YouTube video of mine