See likes

See likes given/taken


Posts you liked

Pages: [1]
Post info No. of Likes
Re: Patty's Long Rant and Guide To Affordable Frames
Quote from: carbonazza on January 31, 2024, 05:19:05 AM
I'm going to be brutally honest here as well.

I'm likely one of the "super experienced members" you mentioned.
For about a decade, I've been assembling frames and wheels directly from China.
My journey began with discovering groups like MTBR, iPlay, Pieter, etc., and eventually led me to chinertown.com
Infinite thanks and love to Sitar_Ned!!
I hope my contributions have helped build this fantastic forum and gave something back from what I learned here.

I'm fortunate to have a well-paying job that allows me to build bikes for friends and family as a hobby, at no cost to them.
My goal is to provide them with great bikes at fair prices and to make them happy.

I'm historically particularly biased towards Carbonda and Lightbicycle, brands that you amusingly never mention.
This isn't because they pay me (they don't). It's because, among all the providers I've tested, they have never let me down.
Their products are neither the cheapest nor overly expensive.
Moreover, if anything goes wrong, their customer support surpasses that of any Western brand I've dealt with.

I understand that some people, like Trace Velo, Joe, to some extent Hambini, many others, maybe you, chasing followers to carve out a living on YouTube and social media.

However, this has turned on the marketing machine around here.
No-name frames are suddenly sub par, while stickered frames selling at double the price, or even worse, branded frames are the real deal.
Persuading folks they need some stiffness and aero benefits only pros might need.
And it works! People are seeking broader validation and rely on branded visuals to reassure themselves they're not making a misguided decision.

It doesn’t bother me people trying do their thing on YouTube and elsewhere.
But your arrival here has sadly contributed unintentionally to the spoiling of the pristine wilderness that Chinertown once was  :'(
This is unfair and kind of wrong IMO.

1, Pat does not make a living off of YT. I know first hand what YT pays creators. His channel is def a labor of love.
2, some of Pat's recommended frames are exactly the kind of no name brands you claim influencers dunk on.
3, even if YT influencers were as bad as you claim (which they aren't), they have no material effect on you. Carbonda & Light Bicycle still exist (and Light Bicycle is a brand Peak Torque loves). So you can keep buying and building their stuff, and enjoying their products and service no differently than before
4, Chinese bike stuff was going to get more popular and mainstream w/o influencers. The Chinese bike industry WANTS to grow and become mainstream. Them offering high quality stuff at great pricing was going to make them popular no matter what. So the growth of the industry as well as popularity was a foregone conclusion as long as the product and service provided satisfactory value.

I feel like you are unhappy that Chinese bikes aren't a secret anymore.... IDK, on one hand they kind of never were- the long existence and growing popularity of this forum is proof of that. But on the other hand, they still are- I'd wager the average road cyclist doesn't know much about Chinese bike brands outside the fact that they exist. I'm really not sure what your issue is or why people like Pat are to blame  :-\
January 31, 2024, 09:49:19 AM 		1
Re: Patty's Long Rant and Guide To Affordable Frames Influencers may have the biggest return on investment (tangible sales generated against marketing dollars spent), but probably not for the overall sales of any given brand. Especially for a large OEM factory. Winspace of course is probably one of the only exceptions here. It's an easy method to sell a few extra frames without much marketing effort.

Take VeloBuild for example. What are the overhead/production costs to manufacturer a frameset? Maybe a couple of hundred dollars? So if VeloBuild sends out a "free" frame in exchange for review, and that video review generates even two frameset purchases at full price, VeloBuild is already net positive on their investment. We just don't know how much of VB's sales in it's entirety are driven specifically as a result of influencers.

The whole Chiner Bike gatekeeping is interesting. I've been a huge fan of hip hop since the 1980's, so I understand the feelings of wanting to keep a sub-culture at a grassroots level versus going mainstream globally. This also reminds me of the hipster culture in late 2000s and early 2010s. We want to keep things underground even to the detriment a brand's sustainability. At the end of the day every brand/factory/agent is in the business of making money. With or without the help of influencers.

So I've been making videos for over 3 years now and I live in a large metro city. I'm also very active in the cycling community here. However...I have YET to encounter any Chinese brands in the wild that I've reviewed except for Winspace. A few pairs of Hypers and a single T1500 frameset. Talk about perspective. Granted, the social pressure/marketing here to ride S-Works frames and Pas Normal kits (in my particular demographic of cyclists) is very high. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. But no Chinese Bike Dude influencer is going to usurp that.

Sidenote: I've had my eye on Light Bicycle's Falcon WR65 wheels for a couple of months now. 65mm deep, 32mm external, and 25mm internal is such an obnoxious combo that I have to try it for myself. Gonna lace them to DTSwiss 240s.
February 01, 2024, 10:29:31 AM 		1
Re: Ace Sprint carbon wheels on Aliexpress Zero issue for me
Quote from: Wildh24 on February 07, 2024, 07:52:06 PM
Yeah they do look to be the same hubs. No issues?
February 07, 2024, 09:49:11 PM 		1