How to spot AE scams

[neobiker]

I might seem suspicious, but the snippet on Pinarello seemed suspicious. They show the test on a counterfeit frame, but then show the result on another frame

[maza]

That Twitter listing is now deleted.

If you receive an actual bike, you'll probably want to look inside the frame, because if you get a factory QC rejected frame, you may legitimately risk your life.

Wonder if it makes financial sense to assemble and ship out fully built bikes for that low price even if most or all components were QC rejections and subject to be binned.

[acino]

I might seem suspicious, but the snippet on Pinarello seemed suspicious. They show the test on a counterfeit frame, but then show the result on another frame

It was quite a weird video for me. Obviously, there is a massive conflict of interest. It would be unreasonable to expect Pinarello to say "sure, buy fakes/Chinese frames, they are (mostly) safe," they must protect their business.

Some other questions that were popping up in my head during the video were - did they really buy a fake for 3-5 second appearance in the video? Or do they regularly buy fakes? Did they really show a fake or just a result of a random QC fail in their department?

I find these videos of little value, not because I believe that all Chinese frames/fakes are inherently safe, but because of a very clear conflicts of interest which must determine the narrative.

[Serge_K]

I find these videos of little value, not because I believe that all Chinese frames/fakes are inherently safe, but because of a very clear conflicts of interest which must determine the narrative.

If i were GCN management, i'd do this sort of video to pander to my sponsors, ie western brands, which they need to survive. Taking Elite as wheel sponsor is a huge kick in the nuts of the western brand hegemony, so it's not in GCN's interest to start saying that chinese carbon is for the most part safe, or that you have to buy from really shady sellers to receive unsafe stuff. If they start saying that 95% of the viewers would be perfectly served riding a velobuild frame, they would break the industry, and die themselves.
Unless you're mad, you don't bite the hand that feeds you.