How do yall feel about the value of open mold road bikes vs mainstream brands?

[nickobec]

What would you do?

Personally neither, but for you it depends:
If you are going to hold onto the bike for years and really want a personalised bike the Velobuild, it is different/unique.

If you are going to ride for a couple of years and then sell and replace: the CF7. The resale value of Chinese frames (with possibly the exception of WinSpace) is 0.  Spent a lot of time looking for a 2nd hand rim braked bike. A couple of Chinese frame, Chinese carbon wheels, ultegra mech group set were not selling for 1000AUD.  While mainstream brands Canyon, Giant etc same wheels and groupset were selling for 2000AUD.

I have already built a Velobuild and have Chinese carbon wheels and components on a lot of bikes. At the moment for me, the value was in buying a 2nd hand high end mainstream frame and building it how I wanted.

[Takiyaki]

I would like to hold on to this bike for a long time. I didn't really know what I was doing or looking for with my current build, so I figure that now that I do I can make a better long term decision. Part of the biggie for me is paint- I do want a bike that just looks good. So Im leaning towards a Chiner build. Though I may stick with big brand components.

[nickobec]

Part of the biggie for me is paint- I do want a bike that just looks good. So Im leaning towards a Chiner build. Though I may stick with big brand components.

If you want custom paint, a Chiner frame + paint is probably the cheapest option, unless you want to paint it yourself.

On the other hand, you can vinyl wrap any frame. Cost for this is 250AUD (bit more for custom), adds less than 100gram and can be removed

Chris Miller's of Nero Cycling YouTube fame AeroRoad
https://www.kyso.com.au/collections/bunnyhop-full-wraps/products/nero-show-sydney-edition-full-wrap-kit

[PLA]

A couple of Chinese frame, Chinese carbon wheels, ultegra mech group set were not selling for 1000AUD.  While mainstream brands Canyon, Giant etc same wheels and groupset were selling for 2000AUD.

Good point. Chinese frames are throwaways when it comes to resale value.