Replica Factor Ostro VAM

[acino]

You know what you have to do now, Patrick. The content is imminent 

[estingo]

[quote author=patliean1 link=topic=4449.msg66098#msg66098 date=1727451845

1. Can't remember the full name, but he bought it from a place called Taiwan Carbon...something. $1000

I would get roasted if I reviewed a fake Ostro, but call me very intrigued.

[/quote]

In a fan of your YouTube channel, I would watch it for sure! Awesome story to hear that it was a fake one and you won’t get roasted only if you buy it with factor logos. I experienced that!
He bought it at the same shop as mine. For the handlebar I have to see, I also like your review on the EXS. However I first need to ride and make km/miles. Awesome post for the weekend!

[Serge_K]

I'm not sure how Youtube / Factor would react to your video, because i think in our jurisdictions the mere possession of a fake is illegal, so technically you might be committing a felony by reviewing it. Then there's the reputation / brand IP, and Factor might come raining down on you.
I definitely would inquire before doing the video.
That said, i'd love to see that video!

[OralMaster]

Hi Serge_K,

It was a bit of copy and past through these last few pages (from page 2 to 5 in this thread), but here are some of the answers on the questions you asked a few weeks before as well:
Which seller: https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,4449.msg63172.html#msg63172

I took in the beginning no pictures inside the frame afterward I did, and you compared my pictures (https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,4449.msg64383.html#msg64383) with the ones from Oralmaster his frame. You mentioned if you could choose one or the other you wouldn't prefer mine but the one from Oral master, you can read it here: https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,4449.msg64725.html#msg64725

Yes I did weight the bits from the frame, which ones you want to know, I weighted everything, from the innertube foam, to the seatpost wedge, from the speed sensor to the bolts of the bottle cage. let me know which specific part you are looking for. However my calculated weight was 7.205 kg an my scale wasn't that precise because I first measured my self and then the bike and it came at 7.3kg

How much did you spend and weight: see added picture

Grade of Carbon T1000 UD, did I answered here on page 2 to you: https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,4449.msg63172.html#msg63172

The wheel logos indicate that these are Drive wheels from Elite Wheels, yes it's fake. I explained it here: https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,4449.msg63865.html#msg63865
In the end you have people that like it and you have people that hate it. Ar26 said even:
And I responded with this:
Anyway I don't want to start the debate of good or bad with the fake replica's.

I hope I answered the your questions, it was a bit of a search to be honest, but there you go.

Good choice on the wheels. I got my wheelset from yuanan which also claims to have the same specs as elite drive 50D, overall a set of very good wheels, not sure if they could put on the decals for me but if they could i definitely would!enjoy your new steed! looks beautiful 

[patliean1]

I'm not sure how Youtube / Factor would react to your video, because i think in our jurisdictions the mere possession of a fake is illegal, so technically you might be committing a felony by reviewing it. Then there's the reputation / brand IP, and Factor might come raining down on you.
I definitely would inquire before doing the video.
That said, i'd love to see that video!

This is part of a larger issue I have too. One of my close buddies here just recently open his own bike shop, and is now an auth dealer for Factor. He's hinted to me about working out a deal on pricing to help promote the shop. So I can't imagine the strain it would put our business relationship if:

- I bought a real Ostro from a competing dealer.
- Me parading around with a fake Ostro.

This all sounds like a threesome gone terribly wrong!

[jfcb]

This is part of a larger issue I have too. One of my close buddies here just recently open his own bike shop, and is now an auth dealer for Factor. He's hinted to me about working out a deal on pricing to help promote the shop. So I can't imagine the strain it would put our business relationship if:

- I bought a real Ostro from a competing dealer.
- Me parading around with a fake Ostro.

This all sounds like a threesome gone terribly wrong!

Go for a SL8 replica and do the comparison, problem solved

[Phaxe]

This is part of a larger issue I have too. One of my close buddies here just recently open his own bike shop, and is now an auth dealer for Factor. He's hinted to me about working out a deal on pricing to help promote the shop. So I can't imagine the strain it would put our business relationship if:

- I bought a real Ostro from a competing dealer.
- Me parading around with a fake Ostro.

This all sounds like a threesome gone terribly wrong!

There's potentially a way around it, and that's to do what Serge_K did, and get a custom paint job which says 'Tractor'. Then you can do an apples and oranges comparison between the two and not piss off your friend.

[Serge_K]

There's potentially a way around it, and that's to do what Serge_K did, and get a custom paint job which says 'Tractor'. Then you can do an apples and oranges comparison between the two and not piss off your friend.

I got an open mould frame with black gloss paint, and I designed the logo myself, got it cut in fancy car vinyl by a chap I found locally, and applied the logo myself, making it fully reversible if and when I want to sell, or want to start trolling another brand.
But I agree that a solution would be to order a frame without a logo (ideally without a paint job that screams factor for plausible deniability), and then you'd be fine. Although from a video standpoint, you'd still be promoting a business making fakes and the fakes industry overall, so... Still a no no. I'm yet to find a single counterpart selling fakes that doesn't sound like a complete crook when you interact with him. The running argument is "don't worry just place your order", which is what any drug dealer would say.

[bmrk]

6. Legit groupset, wheels, and cockpit. All the vital contact points if you ask me...

Yeah, because the frame is just an accessory part of the bike.

[rhenders]

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.

What questions did you ask that he refused to answer?

[Serge_K]

What questions did you ask that he refused to answer?

I wrote a recap here
http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,5263.0.html

[jadenchinertown192]

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...

These are just lazy Chinese resellers, all the ones on aliexpress anyways. Many of them don't have a huge amount of expertise.

[estingo]

Quick update on the frame after +/- 500km in, even though it's blacklisted in another forum thread, I really enjoy riding it. It's quick, stable and also responsive and with the Elite Drive D65 wheels, I would say it's even comfortable. I'm combining riding outside with riding indoors on Zwift with the bike. Putting down the power is possible and I'm getting the hang of it.

I ride most of the time solo and I do not overtake or see a lot of other people on the course that I ride, in my garage are also no people judging me on the bike (that it's fake) so still I'm quite pleased and happy with it.

Maybe I need to go to Weight Weenies but I'm looking into shave down the weight of the bike a little. I know I could have chosen different wheels instead of the 65mm and could have gone for 40 or 45mm to save weight (maybe I will at some point), but I am interested in investigating the price per gram if it's worth it, with also considering the aero aspect of it. I still want to be in the sweet spot and not and not "pissing money into the wind" as how he called it on youtube Road.cc timestamp 4:20: In the Diminishing Gains graph, where he plots performance against price
And see in Spring next year if I can get at least 500 grams off by replacing parts some parts e.g.: other discs, tires, Axles, Saddle, Bar tape, Paddle Axles, some bolts, and maybe the radar light and tools that I bring with me every ride.

With the wheels alone will I save +/- 400 gr. if I would buy No. 6: 30mm or farsports Evo S 35mm these are around 1100 grams.

[jadenchinertown192]

Update all. I have ridden my ostro vam for a few thousand miles now. It ride extremely well and it's stiff enough. The bottom bracket doesn't creak. I have it around 7.5-6kg with not really any weight weenie stuff.  Tubes do not flex when pressed. Considering changing to a Factor authentic handlebar, but that also costs a lot more than my frame. I have nothing but good to say. I had to get them to replace the fork since there excess paint for the front caliper and was preventing it from being mounted right but I ended up just using some washers and its okay. They sent my cousin a replacement fork and it got there within 4 days of us complaining. I'm 5,11/6' and 170 pounds. I put in some 12-1300 watts when I sprint and I feel super confident on it. Insane for a sub 2500 bike. I'm using a bunch of Ali parts including 11$ disc brakes, Wuzei 211g cassette, fake CeramicSpeed OSPW, bottlecages, bartape, might try some lightweight ali crankset since the one I have is pretty heavy.

[BeR]

Thanks for the review.

Have you ever ridden a "true" high brand frame in order to compare with it ?

What was the seller ?