Other Resources > Component Deals & Selection
Best and worst overall quality/value components/tools/gear from AliExpress?
PLA:
--- Quote from: Sakizashi on October 14, 2023, 08:09:02 PM ---Any thoughts on RISK vs. Wanyifa bolts? I have had the latter in my cart for while.
--- End quote ---
My risk one were a consistent vibrant rainbow colour. My wanyifa were less consistent, less vivid and one is basically green (out of 5).
Wet Noodle:
--- Quote from: AzureEssence on October 14, 2023, 06:00:23 PM ---Do they make these in 26 or 29" for MTB?
--- End quote ---
Yes to both. The 29er tube is about 60 g. Doesn't hold air quite as well as butyl, other than that no issues so far.
PS: Errr, not sure if they put the alloy valve tubes on the bigger ones as well. I've only seen the "older" type as mtb versions yet.
Maden:
I want to throw out that TPU tubes have one major downside - they are NOT patchable long-term. Despite meticulous cleaning and application, every glueless TPU patch has failed on me after a few days or weeks at best.
Ridenow and Cyclami TPU tubes are still good value, but if you puncture, treat patches a temporary fix to get home and be prepared to throw the tubes out eventually.
I'm cheap and don't like being wasteful, so I switched back to butyl tubes for training rides which I can patch over and over again. I still use TPU tubes for racing and as a spare.
Other Aliexpress items I can definitely recommend:
- $18 2x Carbon bottle cages (Bontrager XXX knockoffs)
- $24 Elita One carbon saddle (the Specialized Power knockoff one)
- $425 Elitewheels carbon rim brake wheels with Powerway R13 hubs and Pillar Wing 20 spokes, 47mm deep and 27mm wide, 1500g. Used for ~3800 miles and no issues except having to retrue each wheel once. No issues braking even on 3000ft+ descents.
- $20 Magene H303 heart rate monitor with chest strap
- $8 2x CYCPLUS Cadence/Speed dual sensors. Yes I got two of them for $8.
- $20-30 Spexcel Jerseys and Bibs
Steer clear from these:
- Kactus Titanium QR skewers. I don't know what Trace Velo was thinking, these are awful. Lots of friction, loose rattling fit on the threads for the nut, extremely sharp edges on the lever that make it impossible to close the lever with any force. Just completely unusable.
- Cheap unbranded stems. The one I got had paint overspray in the clamping areas and screw holes which was a pain to get rid of. The screw holes faces on the faceplate weren't flat and could cause a stress raiser if I torqued the bolts up, so I had to use a faceplate from a different stem I had. Not worth cutting every dollar for an important part of your bike - stick to Kalloy/UNO alloy stems with lots of reviews or western brands.
Wet Noodle:
--- Quote from: Maden on October 15, 2023, 03:42:08 PM ---I want to throw out that TPU tubes have one major downside - they are NOT patchable long-term. Despite meticulous cleaning and application, every glueless TPU patch has failed on me after a few days or weeks at best.
--- End quote ---
No, wait, you're drawing the wrong conclusions here. TPU tubes ARE permanently patchable no problem; you can even cut one to a smaller size and glue the ends back together.
If anything, it may be that you cannot permanently patch them with these instant patches (tbf though, not too long ago, these weren't considered anything more than a temp fix for butyl either ... uh, maybe I'm just really behind the times).
Maden:
--- Quote from: Wet Noodle on October 15, 2023, 05:18:46 PM ---No, wait, you're drawing the wrong conclusions here. TPU tubes ARE permanently patchable no problem; you can even cut one to a smaller size and glue the ends back together.
If anything, it may be that you cannot permanently patch them with these instant patches (tbf though, not too long ago, these weren't considered anything more than a temp fix for butyl either ... uh, maybe I'm just really behind the times).
--- End quote ---
You might be right, I've only used the instant patches from Cyclami. Are there patch kits where you bond a permanent patch in the same way as vulcanizing rubber patches for butyl?
I've heard the rubber cement style patches had the same problem of not lasting very long, and Ridenow don't offer them anymore. Perhaps there's an option that I'm missing (I think I saw a suggestion somewhere online to use electrical tape which seems like a bodge...)
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version