Replica Factor Ostro VAM

[BeR]

Disclaimer: i'm not a carbon expert, it's just my (hopefully) educated guess.
Caveat: we're looking at fakes here, not OEM, not chinese brands, so i'm being extra paranoid.

The carbon inside oralmaster's frame (dude, that's so cringe to write every time, i'll call it the white factor) looks laid very flat, very neat, very tight, it's so neat my reaction was "can i live in it?"
The carbon in the other one looks nothing like that. there are lots of lines (presumably because it's not EPS moulded and the bladder inside left excess resin or something like that), but more worrying to me, it doesnt look like the carbon is laid up tight, at all. it all looks wavy inside with creases and dimples and what not.
Does it matter? probably not. Would i buy the 1st one? Yes. Would i buy the 2nd one? No. Your mileage may vary.

Thanks a lot.

[estingo]

Disclaimer: i'm not a carbon expert, it's just my (hopefully) educated guess.
Caveat: we're looking at fakes here, not OEM, not chinese brands, so i'm being extra paranoid.

The carbon inside oralmaster's frame (dude, that's so cringe to write every time, i'll call it the white factor) looks laid very flat, very neat, very tight, it's so neat my reaction was "can i live in it?"
The carbon in the other one looks nothing like that. there are lots of lines (presumably because it's not EPS moulded and the bladder inside left excess resin or something like that), but more worrying to me, it doesnt look like the carbon is laid up tight, at all. it all looks wavy inside with creases and dimples and what not.
Does it matter? probably not. Would i buy the 1st one? Yes. Would i buy the 2nd one? No. Your mileage may vary.

Makes perfect sense to me now with the pictures side by side, thanks a lot.

[Tsunami]

i just managed to retrieve the photos that seller took before shipping out my frame, and for me to pay the balance to him lol…

Looks really neat. Just out of curiosity, would be interesseting to see a legit OSTRO from the inside to compare the looks. That checkerboard pattern looks special, have never seen it on the inside of a frame before.

[SWeiden]

Looks really neat. Just out of curiosity, would be interesseting to see a legit OSTRO from the inside to compare the looks. That checkerboard pattern looks special, have never seen it on the inside of a frame before.

That checkerboad pattern is spreadtow carbon fiber, basically unidirectional carbon fibers lightly woven together, with one benefit being easier to laminate. Its also usually very light.

[jinaaa]

Hey guys , got a Factor Ostro Frame (with no Logo on it, since i just like the way it is but i don't want it to scream FACTOR) and i wanted to ask if you did change something when you got the Frame from Aliexpr. should i move along with the same headset and bearing? did it have any play in it? (asking cause i did build a VB R 177 Last winter, and it had a play despite even getting a new C Ring from Velobuild) or you had to order something else?
IF so maybe changing the expander plugs (any recommandations on which one to order)?

i want to order them already , so that i can go on with the Build project when the Frame arrives.

what about the bottom bracket ( Will build the Ultegra Di2 on it).

[OralMaster]

Hey guys , got a Factor Ostro Frame (with no Logo on it, since i just like the way it is but i don't want it to scream FACTOR) and i wanted to ask if you did change something when you got the Frame from Aliexpr. should i move along with the same headset and bearing? did it have any play in it? (asking cause i did build a VB R 177 Last winter, and it had a play despite even getting a new C Ring from Velobuild) or you had to order something else?
IF so maybe changing the expander plugs (any recommandations on which one to order)?

i want to order them already , so that i can go on with the Build project when the Frame arrives.

what about the bottom bracket ( Will build the Ultegra Di2 on it).

mine was a good tight fit with no play, when i shove the compression ring in, the fork was held firmly without any need to secure the fork to the frame. for the bb type its T47A, there shouldn't be any issues since the bb shell is pre threaded before bonding with the frame (i think)

[estingo]

Same here, no play in the headset, I received the headset bearings also with the frame but I opted for getting other headset bearings (hambini) but for head set bearings I think it’s not worth it in the end. The compression ring I bought a factor original one and I replaced the compression plug for a deda.
Same as Oralmaster the bb is T47A I got one from Cema with ceramic bearings but every T47A will fit.

I have now another problem were I had to disassemble the whole bike as the brake hose twisted and broke. When I checked it was my partial my fault and Wheeltop, the hoses has been used before and I damaged them with the handlebar because I place them 2 times through it because I forgot the headspacers the first time. When putting the compression screw on torque the cable ‘broke’ internally. Where I can’t rely on anymore. Just figuring out now which oil pin and olive head wheel top uses.anyway happy days. Have a good weekend everyone

[Serge_K]

Fwiw, i had a really, really bad experience with First-Class Carbon Fiber Store, the store that made that pretty white factor.
Over the years, i've dealt with a lot of chinese sellers. This one is sketchy AF.
I was considering buying an unbranded frame (to then add my Tractor logo on top myself with vinyl) because I was curious to get a product with such a high finish, and to compare it to my LT268 that costs a fraction of the price, so i started asking questions.
I asked a lot of questions to which i already knew the answer to, and nothing made sense. The guy spent a lot of time shitting on the whole industry, with only him being reputable and knowing what he's doing. He pushed back on every technical question i asked with something along the lines of "trust me bro".
Basically all his answers were red flags.

My 5 cents: stay the F away. I wish i could block sellers / shops on AliX in order to never see their products again in my feed & search results. Would be a great feature to have.

[OralMaster]

Fwiw, i had a really, really bad experience with First-Class Carbon Fiber Store, the store that made that pretty white factor.
Over the years, i've dealt with a lot of chinese sellers. This one is sketchy AF.
I was considering buying an unbranded frame (to then add my Tractor logo on top myself with vinyl) because I was curious to get a product with such a high finish, and to compare it to my LT268 that costs a fraction of the price, so i started asking questions.
I asked a lot of questions to which i already knew the answer to, and nothing made sense. The guy spent a lot of time shitting on the whole industry, with only him being reputable and knowing what he's doing. He pushed back on every technical question i asked with something along the lines of "trust me bro".
Basically all his answers were red flags.

My 5 cents: stay the F away. I wish i could block sellers / shops on AliX in order to never see their products again in my feed & search results. Would be a great feature to have.

"spent a lot of time shitting on the whole industry", not sure if he's referring to the entire bike industry or the fake frame syndicate in china. but seems like the same dude i've dealt with, basically saying his stuffs albeit more expensive than other fakes, is much better.

[Serge_K]

"spent a lot of time shitting on the whole industry", not sure if he's referring to the entire bike industry or the fake frame syndicate in china. but seems like the same dude i've dealt with, basically saying his stuffs albeit more expensive than other fakes, is much better.

Yeah and all his arguments are 100% empty, baseless statements and promises.
It's like a crack user doing tricks on skid row telling you he could be Elon Musk or some retarded $hit like this.
You willingly bought from a guy like this? Why? He literally answered none of my questions convincingly. Not one.

[BeR]

Fwiw, i had a really, really bad experience with First-Class Carbon Fiber Store, the store that made that pretty white factor.
Over the years, i've dealt with a lot of chinese sellers. This one is sketchy AF.
I was considering buying an unbranded frame (to then add my Tractor logo on top myself with vinyl) because I was curious to get a product with such a high finish, and to compare it to my LT268 that costs a fraction of the price, so i started asking questions.
I asked a lot of questions to which i already knew the answer to, and nothing made sense. The guy spent a lot of time shitting on the whole industry, with only him being reputable and knowing what he's doing. He pushed back on every technical question i asked with something along the lines of "trust me bro".
Basically all his answers were red flags.

My 5 cents: stay the F away. I wish i could block sellers / shops on AliX in order to never see their products again in my feed & search results. Would be a great feature to have.

You should make a list with good/bad sellers for us .

[Tsunami]

Yeah and all his arguments are 100% empty, baseless statements and promises.
It's like a crack user doing tricks on skid row telling you he could be Elon Musk or some retarded $hit like this.
You willingly bought from a guy like this? Why? He literally answered none of my questions convincingly. Not one.

I can relate.
Answers are unprecise, not to the point and the crappy google translate wont help either.
Even I asked him like a lot of times and explaining, he was not able to make clear if or if not his shipping includes taxes and how much shipping is to Europe. Hm.

[Serge_K]

You should make a list with good/bad sellers for us .

Well from 1st hand experience alone, and this is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but I've never had problems with Far Sports, Peter (Xiamen Carbon Speed), and Long Teng. I think Chris from Velobuild is also doing a pretty good job given I suspect they track everything by hand with an excel if not a notebook (given their scale they could use an ERP). I wouldn't buy a frame from Airwolf but i'm very happy with their cockpits (allegedly T1000), which you can find on Aliexpres (on that, a friend just broke one, but he crashed at high speed because of a cat (i love that story, i dont like cats), so i dont think that means they're bad, just that well, if you crash, you can break stuff - earlier in the year he crashed in a descent and broke his front wheel).

If you can avoid it, dont buy stuff from Racework. I have mixed feelings about Winow. And definitely, definitely don't give your money to First-Class Carbon Fiber Store...

[OralMaster]

Yeah and all his arguments are 100% empty, baseless statements and promises.
It's like a crack user doing tricks on skid row telling you he could be Elon Musk or some retarded $hit like this.
You willingly bought from a guy like this? Why? He literally answered none of my questions convincingly. Not one.

i wasn't very bike savvy then (still not very savvy now), how he marketed on the chinese platforms has already satisfied my needs/wants (basically a knockoff factor frame for 1/5 of the price that looks at good and could not be differentiated by the naked eye. I apologize for the inconvenience caused here, i did feedback to him that my frameset was very well received and he should focus more on aliexpress, he didn't took it well though.


but i recently placed a deposit for another "one bike to rule them all" frameset with darimo nexum drag handlebars and darimo seatpost (fake obviously) . call me a sucker i guess.

[OralMaster]

In the end, I ordered the Elite Drive 65D wheels. so they will arrive within 20-30 days.
Also, I installed the Rear derailleur and bottom bracket, the Brake calipers, and brake hoses through the frame, and steering wheel. I added the Wheeltop shifters to the steering wheel and connected the cables. Cut in the end 20 gram from the tube from the front fork to fit. The Deda compression plug looks nice and sturdy on the steering handle as well.

The correct chainring with 52t arrived, but I don't have the correct chainring bolts yet for a 1x setup, ordered them. Same for the 8mm open-end wrench, I have it but I want to strengthen them with the right amount of force so I bought an adapter for my torque wrench, to have the brake hoses tighten with the oil pressure screws with a torque of 10-12 Nm.

I checked the pictures of Oralmaster's frame and compared it to mine, however, I can only see the thread of the bottom bracket from him and compared to mine not really the inner layers. That it doesn't look good, is of course not what I would like to hear but maybe you can explain and educate us a bit like BeR also said in the comment, I also would like to know at what are you looking to compare to make such an comment.
On your question, There are different sellers for this frame and I think he has the one with the more expensive frame, his parts look also different then mine (he has more quality I think, that why I replaced them for better stuff), seatpost wedge, compression plug, headset bearings.

did the frame came with the transition spacer and seat post cover shown in your photos? I had to look elsewhere for the original parts as mine didn't come with the seat post cover and the spacers set they gave was crap