i am currently assembling my ican a40.
Everything seems to be of good quality. the custoum paint is also in order.
They even touched it up because the colour in the picture before shipping was darker than I had specified. Without discussion...


The next build will be a Yishun or a Lightcarbon, I think.

Winspace kept the pricing of their T1500/T1550 essentially the same for 4+ years. Same can't be said for brands like Yishun and Yoeleo.

Hey Pat, can you talk a bit on why Elves didn't make the cut at all? I was pretty interested in the Falath, but ultimately decided the geometry didn't work for me. That being said I like how they're setup with a distributor in the US, feels more Winspace esque than some of the other b2b brands.

I meant to ask this too. If I do another build it will probably be a VB-R-066 or a Falath. Elves def seems to have a more serious distribution setup. I know they are big in Australia and Malaysia too I think.

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 

Not many people post photos of their completed bikes on here, but I always enjoy the posts. So I wanted to post my recently completed build on here, and share how much I spent. A lot of builds on here are really balling on a budget but I really purchased from mainstream vendors for less sketchiness, build came out to $3,288 assembled by my LBS

Mechanics first "Chinese" build at the bike shop, he was very impressed with the quality and noted that the internal cable routing gave him no problems. All of the workers at the bike shop where really interested in the build and none had ever heard of Winspace. This really shows how obscure this forum is, we are so far away from mainstream. He did ride it and was super impressed with it, I told them how my goal was to create an entry level roadbike, but have carbon wheels at the same price point.

8.1 kgs with everything, 17.85 lbs

Frame: Winspace T1550 ($1230 Black Friday)
Wheels: Winspace 2023 Hypers D45 ($1049 Black Friday)
Bar: Winspace Zero SL 380 W 105 L ($171 Black Friday)
Groupset: Shimano 105 R7120 Disc ($688 Merlincycles)
Tires: Conti GP 5000 ($130)
Tubes: Ride Now TPU 36g ($25)
Seat: Specialized Power Comp (Free: Old Bike)
Pedals: Shimano 105 SPD-SL (Free: Old Bikes)
Shop Assembly- $240