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Re: Advice on where to buy a frame - dengfu/ican/velobuild ? my 5 cents: 177 or GF002.
November 09, 2022, 06:41:51 AM
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Re: Interesting Aliexpress finds! - good deals, interesting stuff, new products etc!
Maybe I’m blind, but I couldn’t find anything on the Ingrid website or socials that indicate where they are made.

I did find this one 30mm spindle version, but only one chainring size.  :-\
US $108.70  39% Off | INGRID ROAD CRANKSET CRS-R2 Bicycle Hollow Bike Crank Chainring 110BCD
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mLoaBiM

Looks super nice. Cycling has become a dentist sport, the margins on many of the components are insane. The pictures on your link look like very well machined aluminium. Most likely, the real ones are made in china. You take a block of metal, launch a well calibrated CNC machine with the right drill bit and voila. It's not rocket science. The question is more whether what you receive looks like the pictures, i'd say. If i were in the market for such a crank, i'd get it, looks awesome.

November 10, 2022, 04:35:56 AM
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Re: Advice on where to buy a frame - dengfu/ican/velobuild ?
Thanks. Yes, admittedly, I'm not at all well versed on geometry and I did notice that the tubes seemed more geared towards weight savings in some and aero in others. 

I currently ride a 2011 S-works SL3 with R7000 105 components. Rim brake, obviously. It's on its way out and I'm not that happy about what you get for your money from the LBS these days, so want to build up my own bike. Not just for the cost savings, but also for the learning experience.  I thought I'd go with some frames that were similar to the SL7 but obviously I've missed the mark. I'm obviously many years older now, and I'm wondering if my reach has shortened a bit.  I'm also heavy enough that the weight savings from a very lightweight frame will be wasted on me. I'd rather go with a frame that is a bit heavier but well made and remains stiffer for longer.  I don't race apart from a couple of 160km sportive's per year, so happy to go with a more endurance type bike.

I know this is a very open-ended and question, but if you do have any suggestions about a frame that might be a good match, let me know. Thanks.

Will depend on where you live, but if you're happy with rim brakes, look at branded second hand bikes, you will get the most value out of those. If it comes with shitty wheels, get 60mm carbon ones, you can get a set shipped to you for c.600 usd, or also buy that second hand. Pay attention to the brake track though. Giant TCR, cannondale supersix, there are so many of those for sale and they're so good, you can't go wrong.

November 10, 2022, 04:42:56 AM
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Re: Advice on where to buy a frame - dengfu/ican/velobuild ?
My preferred action is going to be to build up a new disc brake bike for the reasons stated above

I read "Rim brake, obviously" in your previous post and thought you wanted rim brakes on your next bike :)

Between the Dengfu and 177, i'd go with the 177.

November 11, 2022, 09:34:17 AM
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Re: Frame pricing as a guide of quality People vote with their feet, or with their money. I'm about to buy several VB frames.
Just like the future of twitter is some vetting system so that the irrelevant voices are drowned out, we would ideally get people's views weighted by the number of miles they've ridden, over how many years, the watts/kg they can do, and the bikes they've ridden. Just because you dont get medical advice from your hairdresser and vice versa.

Everybody wants a stiff yet comfortable frame, but who can actually tell the difference? How many times is the difference actually due to one bike fitting better, a different wheeslet, different tyres, different tyre pressure? Or pure subjectivity of the rider, like day 1 is sunny and you're fresh, day 2 it's cold and you're tired. Do you think your riding experience with the same bike will be the same?

I have a giant propel with farsports rims & sapim spokes. And a cannondale supersix himod with campag bora wheels. I can tell you i get wheel rub out of the saddle sometimes on the giant. I don't think i do on the cannondale, but i never ride them side by side on the same routes. And i wouldn't know which one is stiffer, and if it told you, that opinion would only be worth something if i had isolated all variables but the frame. I'd have to change the wheels, the bars, even the crankset. Needless to say, i'm never doing that. Is a frame that flexes actually flexes, or do you have the wrong bottom bracket, crank, bars, wheels, tyres, or pressure?

Then there's the question of "good enough". A given frame might be better, but if it costs double (or 8x more) and you can only tell the difference by riding 1 right after the other in a strict experiment, then most of the bike riding population should be perfectly happy with the cheaper one.

Then there's the question of status. People like to flex. I have friends who literally take pride from paying full retail price for stuff. For them paying top dollar with sticker shock is a badge of honour. With behaviours like that, you have the luxury industry, like Pinarello.

Anyway.

On relative value between brands you listed, Velobuild, as far as i can tell, sells quite a few more bikes than most competitors. Business wise, that could justify their lower price point. From YT & forum content, it is not clear to me that a dengfu or a carbonda is automatically better. And Winspace and Elves probably have better finish and QC, but if you get one of the VB that does NOT have problems, is it really a better bike in a way you can measure? If you get a poorly finished VB one, it seems that people get frustrated for a bit, then the problem gets fixed. I guess the more you pay the less you should expect to get your hands dirty. Some people like that, others don't.

It also seems clear to me that the VB177 is better made than the 168: it seems VB (or SPcycle, rather) is getting better over time.

Winspace is paying youtubers a lot, their marketing budget overall seems quite important. Someone has to pay for that. They're like Farsports, in a way, their pricing has gone up a LOT in recent years because they're marketing themselves, successfully, as a legit brand, not just an OEM.

Blablabla. Back to my starting point: voting with my money, I'm about to buy several VB frames. Maybe i'm mistaken, wish me luck :)

November 15, 2022, 10:29:23 AM
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Re: Velobuild VB-R-168 Frame


Nice build Berzerko! My two cents on buliding up the 168 with Di2 (mix of old and new gen stuff, all 11sp). Everything went smooth for me except for the wire to the FD. The metal grommet that I got with the frame was too narrow for the head of the wire to come through, so I just drilled it out a bit and all was ok after. Note that if you take it out to drill, which you probably should, it can sometimes be tricky to mount it back to the frame with the screw it comes with. Was fine for me. Also, possible you get a different type of grommet that makes things easier.

I like the matching decals on the OSPW! Those decals, they're just slapped onto the frame, or the process is more involved (clear coat and what not)?

November 16, 2022, 01:47:00 AM
1
Re: Interesting Aliexpress finds! - good deals, interesting stuff, new products etc!
I find my interest in AliExpress parts has started to wane. I do like the carbon components, but other than that I still would rather stick with name brand drivetrain parts even if I have to wait for discount sales or buy used domestically.

Same here. Prices have been going up a lot. Now they have to charge VAT to the EU, that didn't help, but on top of that, prices are often so high that you can spend virtually the same amount buying from a legit european online bike shop. Very disappointing. Aliexpress used to be cheap stuff that usually worked, sometimes didn't, but if it's not cheap anymore...

November 18, 2022, 11:30:04 AM
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Re: Velobuild GF-002
Confirmed that the two small parts are cable stops/guides for front derailleur. But I wasn't able to utilize them and received this answer "You can use either one" from Chris for my detailed questions and back and forth over the email. None of those nozzles fit tightly into the hole for cable.
Decided not to use those and hack something else to fit. From the local hardware store I bought 3 parts.

1. A rubber grommet.
2. A small flanged spacer
3. A slightly bigger flanged spacer than above.

The spacers are sized such that the smaller one inserts into bigger one and since both of them are flanged, my idea was to sandwich frame material between the two.
It worked perfectly.

Basically the larger spacer went into the hole from inside the frame with little circus and then I inserted the smaller one along with the rubber grommer into the bigger one which was now sticking out from the frame.

This created a nice tight guide for the cable and also closed any gap around the spacers.

Hi, would you mind posting a couple of pictures? I'm unsure what you did, but I have the same problem, and Chris has replied something cryptic when I asked him. Thanks!

May 16, 2023, 02:06:00 AM
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Re: Consensus on replica frames ?? My 5 cents. Aero road bikes now look very similar, with maybe Trekk as an exception. Look at Spec, Cannondale, Scott, BMC, their aero all rounder road bikes look alike.
Henceforth, I'd say buy a velobuild type frame, like the 177. It's heavily inspired by current trends, but it doesnt parade as a knock off. It's illegal in most places afaik to buy fake goods, but you can't be blamed for buying proven engineering. Customize your frame however you want, but don't slap a Specialized logo on it.
I wouldn't buy a frame that is marketed as fake specialized or a fake pinarello, because it's illegal, and maybe more importantly, you shouldn't trust thieves & crooks, so why risk your life riding something crooked people sold you?
I also believe it is very clear that the fake frames are NOT the same as the real deal, they dont just happen to be extra units, all else equal, from the same production line. While that might happen sometimes, most of the time it's going to be different QC, materials, moulds, factories, and so on. 

May 16, 2023, 05:28:14 AM
4
Re: Scott Foil replica
I mean how likely is it that they would produce Syncros branded bottle cage bolts for a fake frame? Can’t be sure. But I think the photos are showing the real thing.

if i were making fakes... it's one of the cheapest ways to make your stuff look legit. Or maybe the bolts are legit. I was in China eons ago, there were shops selling branded paper bags and branded logos in various formats. Some with authentic spelling mistakes, it was hilarious. There's also a big market for authentic branded bags and boxes, precisely because it's cheap, but gives a veneer of authenticity to the fake product.
Thieves are often creative people.

May 16, 2023, 05:33:44 AM
1