Chinertown
Chinese Carbon Road Bikes => Road Bike Frames, Wheels & Components => Topic started by: boost3782 on October 30, 2022, 09:09:53 AM
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Been lurking here for several months as I am a new cyclist with sticker shock on carbon road bikes here in the US which led me down the rabbit hole of Chinese frames and building my own. Finding this forum and seeing several channels on Youtube that are dedicated to the Chinese parts I want to give it a try on building my own. I have been making some purchases and starting to gather parts. Having watched Trace Velo on Youtube I purchased off Aliexpress the Sensah team pro shifters to be used witha Shimano 105 groupset along with some Junitech f1 brakes. It's taken a turn for the worse with the Elite Wheels purchase he recommends.
On his videos he claims he's not sponsored by these companies and he gives his "truthful" reviews. Looked legitimate to me as I have seen some of his videos he did give negatives on some of the Chinese products. With the Elite Wheels ENT set getting solid reviews by him and people in his video's comment section I gave them a look on Aliexpress. They had hundreds of good reviews so I went ahead and made an order with upgraded xray spokes for a total of $500. Fast forward months later the mangled Elite Wheel box showed up on my porch. The hubs were sticking out of the box on both sides. I opened it up to find many broken spokes and some badly damaged wheels. Needless to say they were paper weights at that point. Contacted Elite Wheels through Aliexpress and they said Aliexpress is responsible for all shipping so start a dispute. Once the dispute was started Elite Wheel denied the claim so it went to Aliexpress for decision. Aliexpress offered $100 refund. Of course this was not acceptable so at this point I started a chargeback through paypal. Come to find out Aliexpress bans you for this.
So with this bad experience going down I left a comment on Trace Velo's video on these wheels kinda as a heads up to potential buyers. That was yesterday. I woke up this morning and checked to see if I needed to reply to anyone and to my surprise the comment had been deleted. I posted another comment and added that I am going to post on here to let people know Trace Velo is deleting negative comments on these Chinese companies that he is supposedly not sponsored by. It was deleted in less than 2 minutes. Now I am not the brightest bulb in the pack but for a person to claim they are giving honest reviews and are not sponsored by the company to turn around and have a negative comment deleted in less than 2 minutes speaks volumes to me. With the above said I do have a screen shot of what I posted. I can post it if that would help. I am more concerned with people knowing which youtubers and forums are legitimate advice to listen to and spend their hard earned money accordingly and who is just making content to make money off people.
Needless to say I am still in need of wheels. I am wanting 700c 50mm deep by 25mm wide carbon wheels. It looks like I most likely will have several xray spokes after the Elite Wheel fiasco so I am not afraid to purchase more spokes and hubs to put something together. What are some recommended brands to go with for wheels? What places are legitimate to purchase from? I am also very interested in the Carbonda CFR1056 frame. Is that frame worth buying over a good aluminum frame with a lifetime warranty stateside for about the same price?
Wish my first post here was more positive but if my situation can help save just one person the headache I went through it was worth it.
Thanks,
Kyle
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Sorry to read that you got a bad eperience with Ali express and shipping of your goods.
I think trace velo got sponsored for the review of the elitewheels drive 50, as he got them for free, and also got a promo code for people to get a discount.
You can check on this forum, with Peter for some wheels.
http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,3830.0.html
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Yes I saw his video on the Drive 50 wheels where he did in fact say he got for free. He did not state in that video he is now sponsored by them only that he got that set for free. The video and wheels I am referring to he purchased with his own money and was not sponsored so he states. If he is now in fact sponsored by a company he needs to make that clear on previous videos where he clearly says he isn't then turns around and deletes anything negative towards said company. It's a shady practice period. I'm sure the wheels are a good product but the company is garbage. To tell a customer they are not responsible for shipping and pass the buck to Aliexpress who they have to know at this point is going to try and screw their customer over is terrible business practice. I would have paid more for the product to package it better for shipping instead of just the thin retail cardboard box they sent them in to be destroyed.
Thanks for the link to the wheels. I will check into them.
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Sorry to read that you got a bad eperience with Ali express and shipping of your goods.
I think trace velo got sponsored for the review of the elitewheels drive 50, as he got them for free, and also got a promo code for people to get a discount.
You can check on this forum, with Peter for some wheels.
http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,3830.0.html
My experience with Peter was very underwhelming. Doesn't really like answering questions or want you to see the product before you agree to purchasing. He completely ghosted me after a while. But just like any seller we talk about on here, YMMV.
I went with Farsports instead.
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Bummer, at least you got your money back. Sounds like it was a shipping issue. If the carbon or hubs aren't cracked or bent you may be able to salvage the wheels by replacing the spokes. I've ordered two sets of wheels from elite directly from their website and the entire process was smooth. The link cramy posted looks like a pretty good deal, hope that works out for you. Farsports and Lightbicycle are two other pretty big wheel brands to check out.
Regarding the Trace Velo comment, I could see it being deleting if it blamed the Elite for the damage instead of shipping. I've had packages no show and other times get a completely different item than what I ordered, that's just how it goes.
BTW what frame are you building up?
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Haven't gotten my money back yet... The wheels are shot. They are bent pretty bad. My comment was letting others know Elite Wheels will simply wipe their hands with a customer after they send the product on Aliexpress when it comes to shipping damage and how Aliexpress will try and rip you off on a low ball compensation offer. That is on his video of the ENT Elite Wheels on Aliexpress which are the the exact ones I followed his advice on and purchased. Nothing more nothing less. I'm just the random average person he is making videos for and wanted to share my bad experience on the exact product he's making a video on that helped make my decision to spend my hard earned money on it. He comes off as he is trying to help the community and deleting comments such as mine is sheltering poor practices from both Elite Wheels and Aliexpress on the exact products he's promoting as a "non sponsor" knowing darn well what he is saying is helping drive people to buy said items.
As for the frame I am really interested in the Carbonda CFR1056. Being new to cycling I have a local bike shop here that I met the owner on one of our local trails. Really nice guy and have done some group rides with him. I'm on a Trek FX2 and looking to get into a drop bar endurance road bike which he is a Marin, Fuji, and Cervelo dealer and has given me some options/pricing. He has stressed to me that the last few Chinese carbon frames he has worked on for customers have been so bad that he will not put them together for customers anymore. He is willing to take a brand new Marin Gestalt 1 and strip it down and sell me the frame so I can build it with what I want for about the same money the Carbonda CFR1056 cost me to get to the States. That frame would be aluminum and have a lifetime warranty. Geometry is close to the Carbonda CFR1056.
The damage from shipping is unfortunate but how it was handled help reinforce how difficult it is to deal with Chinese companies on items with issues. My local bike shop guy isn't pushy or trying to just get a sale but was more concerned for my safety and ending up with a problem bike. That also is making it hard for me to take the risk on spending close to 1k on a Chinese carbon frame to my door. I've seen several posts on here about Carbonda being one of the better Chinese companies which is great but just as you said you had great experiences with Elite Wheels directly on their site and they dropped the ball and left me out to dry on Aliexpress.
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I've owned a 1056 before, it was excellent quality. Even the paint job was top-notch. It's my go-to frame for anyone looking for an endurance bike (meaning more upright position and bigger tyres, but still handles like a race bike, not a gravel bike).
Regarding your shipping issue: I always advise people not to order frames or wheels from AliExpress. Those parts are very susceptible to shipping damage (as you've found out), and Chinese stores don't really care about customer protection, so you're left to the goodwill of AliExpress and its sellers, which is often zero. Most sellers simply shrug off any claim with "friend, we sold 1000 of these, with no complaints".
I always order direct from companies like Carbonda, Light Carbon, and Light Bicycle, and have always had good customer service. They should also have shipping insurance, so when something does go wrong in shipping, they can send you a replacement part and recover the cost from the shipping company.
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Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Sounds like a shipping problem that neither Elite Wheels or AliExpress wanted to take responsibility for. AliExpress does recommend you video record the opening of the box first and foremost when receiving an expensive item. I do that for anything that cost more than $100 bucks fro Ali.
I do own 2 sets of Elite Wheels and they are quite solid. I even use 1 wheelset on my gravel bike, riding very rough trails and they hold up just fine despite not being gravel specific.
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... Needless to say I am still in need of wheels. I am wanting 700c 50mm deep by 25mm wide carbon wheels...
I work mainly with lightbicycle.com and Carbonda.
Precisely because of this kind of troubles.
As commented already, unless their packaging is too weak, it is not really Elite Wheels fault.
For a difference, a box with two Carbonda's frames got lost.
After a couple of months of patience, they did send me another pair.
LB always sent me warranty replacement rims even if sometimes the rider was clearly in fault.
Peter recently reappeared, he's as well very reliable to work with.
And for TraceVelo and the other wannabe influencers, these guys need to pay their bills too. Realise this is in general corrupted info, and always take them with a grain of salt.
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It's good to hear that Carbonda and Light Bicycle are stand up companies. Ill check into Light Bicycle for wheels. Elite Wheels sent the wheels in their retail box so I would put that on them for poor packaging to be sending out of country. It's sad but your right on Trace and the others. I am normally more skeptical but in this case I got got. I appreciate all the replies.
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I have ordered 3 pairs of wheels (two different vendors) and one frame from another manufacturer (TFSA). Every package has arrived without trouble and packed extremely well. Although I don't aim to buy the absolute cheapest out there.
500 bucks including shipping are incredible tbf
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And for TraceVelo and the other wannabe influencers, these guys need to pay their bills too. Realise this is in general corrupted info, and always take them with a grain of salt.
Trace velo is at the very best click bait. at least now he is. He had a recent video of the 1000 pound bike. Which most of those parts were from pre pandemic. IE pre pandemic pricing, I priced those out today without shipping and tax. it was like $1350 usd.
Its dishonest at best.
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Also with that said I have some elite wheels coming. So we will see. I hope they make it in one piece. ok 2 pieces.
And to be fair trace velo reviews are at least some what informative. And can give you some idea what to expect with these bike parts. like I got some chinaplay pedals and sensah 2x11 group set. And he got me interested with getting a china bike.
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He did help get me into Chinese parts so I will give him that positive. Best thing I have going for me is finding this forum.
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With the above said I do have a screen shot of what I posted. I can post it if that would help. I am more concerned with people knowing which youtubers and forums are legitimate advice to listen to and spend their hard earned money accordingly and who is just making content to make money off people.
Can you share the screen shot of your comment on Trace Velo's video here so we can see both sides of the issue and evaluate properly for ourselves.
Mind you, it is his channel and source of business and hence he has the right to do whatever he likes with his comment section.
Most of us ended up in this forum because we started our journey watching Trace Velo and hence built our first bike ourselves and saved a lot of money in the process.
Lots of people here also at one point or the other had issues with dealers. This has nothing to do with whichever youtube reviewers we watched before pulling the trigger.
Just because you had a bad experience with a dealer he reviewed doesn't mean you should come here and run him under the bus.
However, I do sympathize with you on the terrible situation which I feel you should take up with EliteWheels and probably Aliexpress.
Maybe you should make your own YouTube video about the situation and put all the keywords that will direct even more traffic, visibility and awareness to your issue with EliteWheels and Aliexpress.
Try doing something positive for the community first before throwing a major contributor of the community under the bus just because of your one bad issue out of many other successful customers.
In addition, just like Velobuild once did regarding issues with their services, It will be good if Elite Wheels or even Trace Velo can comment on this issue since both have lots of customers and followers here respectively. Always the best to hear from both sides before throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
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Also with that said I have some elite wheels coming. So we will see. I hope they make it in one piece. ok 2 pieces.
And to be fair trace velo reviews are at least some what informative. And can give you some idea what to expect with these bike parts. like I got some chinaplay pedals and sensah 2x11 group set. And he got me interested with getting a china bike.
The good thing about Trace Velo is that he shows some of the obscure stuff on AliExpress that no mainstream bike reviewers would even touch. For example I had no clue heat shrink shift/brake cable ends even existed, but on his latest bike build he used them. I ended putting those on all my bikes! Also I find his bike building skills average at best, so I find it amusing he mentions similar build issues I've had to deal with and I end up finding solutions on stuff he's stumped on.
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Sorry been away for a few days just saw this comment. I am speaking out to help the community not just bash someone. Update on my situation is Paypal now requires you to ship the damaged goods back to Aliexpress despite the cost coming out of your pocket. So Elite Wheels said not our problem its Aliexpress's problem and Aliexpress gave a lowball offer to keep the $505.03 wheels or me pay on my dime to return the destroyed wheels back to China. Paypal* said the same thing so I started a Visa chargeback today as I'm not losing a dime to poorly packaged/shipped items.
Can you share the screen shot of your comment on Trace Velo's video here so we can see both sides of the issue and evaluate properly for ourselves.
Mind you, it is his channel and source of business and hence he has the right to do whatever he likes with his comment section.
No problem here it is.
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Most of us ended up in this forum because we started our journey watching Trace Velo and hence built our first bike ourselves and saved a lot of money in the process.
Lots of people here also at one point or the other had issues with dealers. This has nothing to do with whichever youtube reviewers we watched before pulling the trigger.
Just because you had a bad experience with a dealer he reviewed doesn't mean you should come here and run him under the bus.
However, I do sympathize with you on the terrible situation which I feel you should take up with EliteWheels and probably Aliexpress.
Maybe you should make your own YouTube video about the situation and put all the keywords that will direct even more traffic, visibility and awareness to your issue with EliteWheels and Aliexpress.
Try doing something positive for the community first before throwing a major contributor of the community under the bus just because of your one bad issue out of many other successful customers.
In addition, just like Velobuild once did regarding issues with their services, It will be good if Elite Wheels or even Trace Velo can comment on this issue since both have lots of customers and followers here respectively. Always the best to hear from both sides before throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
I posted my comment I made that he has erased twice off the video as you requested above. I will address the rest of your post here.
TraceVelo was definitely one of the reasons I found this forum. He was also the reason I made said purchase from Elite Wheels on Aliexpress as he made the video of a 2 year review on said product which he purchased from Elite Wheels on Aliexpress singing their praises. He also made it clear in that video he used his own money and was a customer like the rest of us non youtubers i.e. has no vested interest in protecting Elite Wheel or Aliexpress or so he implied on said product. I came here to post my experience with said vendors he took the time to promote and make a video on along with my experience of making a comment sharing my horrible experience on the same video he promotes them encouraging us to purchase said items that he deleted twice.
Suggesting I make a youtube video on this may be your solution but not mine. Most normal everyday people don't know what it takes to make said video, do ad sense and keywords, etc. to promote the video. You suggesting it is ludicrous. I felt posting my experience on the said youtube video in the comments would be more helpful as I read through most those comments and there was not any blatant red flag comments with reasons not to take Trace's review at face value and make the purchase. Now I know why. I trust this forum's content more than anything else so I felt coming here and posting my experience would be the next step in helping people. I am sorry you don't feel that way and think I am trying to "throw a major contributor of the community under the bus". I would say I am most likely not the only negative comment on products and companies he does videos on that he has deleted. Maybe people should question just how major of a contributor he is with him deleting comments such as mine. That just makes him a salesman at this point and not an honest one. I would have never known about Elite Wheels ENT model on Aliexpress if it wasn't for Trace Velo. They don't sell them on their own website only Aliexpress.
I have taken it up with Aliexpress and Elite Wheels. Both have thrown me under the bus. I explained that above but you must have not read through my comments as you were in such a hurry to get on here and defend Trace Velo and try to discredit me. Paypal will now also side with Aliexpress or any other vendor for that matter as of 27NOV2022 as they now make the customer pay for any and all return shipping in claims/disputes despite damage/poor packaging etc. It's not past 27NOV2022 yet you say! Yea I did too. Paypal out of the kindness of their heart has already started using that policy for Sellers. That's pretty helpful information for folks buying bike products off of Aliexpress to know that use paypal. I wonder where I could meet and discuss said products and vendors off of Aliexpress and from China with other like minded people without making a Youtube video?
If me making this post saves one person the trouble I have gone through it will have been worth it. There is a reply in this thread stating don't buy wheels or frames from Aliexpress but go direct. That is the exact opposite of what Trace Velo is promoting in some of his videos. Trace reaches a lot more people than this forum does so shame on him for censoring comments and shame on you for acting like I am the bad guy for posting my experience with all the involved.
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Have you tried posting a review on AliExpress regarding the Elite Wheels wheelset you purchased and also on their seller feedback section? That would probably be useful as well.
Even though I own both Elite Wheels and Superteam wheelsets, I've purchased them via Amazon and/or Ebay, which I tend to think have better buyer protection. My biggest purchase was on Ali has been a bike carbon frame. Even though the box arrived battered, thankfully the seller packed my frame extremely well, secured with abundant bubble wrap.
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Have you tried posting a review on AliExpress regarding the Elite Wheels wheelset you purchased and also on their seller feedback section? That would probably be useful as well.
It was three stars as their review system has you rate certain things and picks what it uses overall I guess. Not sure on how that fully works on Aliexpress. I didn't want to give a full on negative one star review as I am sure the product is decent/good and my issue was with how damaged from shipping is being handled.
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I have had three run ins with PayPal, all regarding photography related purchases on eBay where seller sent lenses not in condition as described or sometimes just not disclosing everything. PayPal has always sided with me as a buyer.
In fact a while ago it was widely known that PayPal would almost always side with buyers. On Fred Miranda and other forums I have seen many cases where some well established, well known sellers received the shitty end of the stick because buyers casually raised a case and PayPal ended up with buyer. That prompted many sellers to only use PayPal f&f that too with other established members and not deal with G&S because PayPals biased policies but it seems from your post that it is not the case anymore.
In any case, I wish you luck to reach a satisfactory resolution.
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I purchased using PayPal paid via my Visa card and I am glad I did. I literally just got off the phone with a Paypal supervisor today about my claim who stated despite how stupid it sounds customer must pay return shipping on damaged goods in a dispute if the Seller requests it. That is the new policy he said. Aliexpress requests the item be sent back for a full refund. I just started chargeback with my Visa card today on this case as I am not paying to return damaged goods back to China just to be thrown in the trash. It's spiteful and poor business practice along with a waste of money. That's if it even makes it to where it's supposed to go as if you look into reddit on Aliexpress they say to NEVER return items to Aliexpress as it is a very low chance for it to get where it's supposed to.
This whole post was simply for a heads up for other people. I stated facts from my situation in hopes to help other.
Fact - Trace Velo will delete negative experience comments about the company/Aliexpress on his videos. Take that as you will.
Fact - Elite Wheels on Aliexpress will not stand behind any shipping issues or damage and instead refer you to Aliexpress.
Fact - Aliexpress will low ball offer you or offer a full refund if you pay to ship the damaged item back in hopes you go away resulting in you making a claim else where to get your money back if you have that option.
Fact - Paypal will now make you pay for return shipping if the Seller wants the damaged items back in a dispute. I was told this today by a supervisor over the phone.
Biggest fact I can give the community here is at this point in time is if you use Paypal on Aliexpress or any where else at this time be prepared to cover the return cost to China or else where on items damaged during shipping if Paypal is your only way to dispute and the Seller request the damaged goods back. Paypal told me that they can not and will not force them to provide a label.
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... and shame on you for acting like I am the bad guy for posting my experience with all the involved.
Again, I sympathize with your issue.
And again in this issue burning an "advertiser / influencer" is childish because we all already know they are on a thin line sharing their experience with these products
even if they get sent products for free or get discounts, they actually also bring value to their audience weather we like to admit it or not.
This is basically the whole business model behind being an influencer in a niche space.
It is their own responsibility to handle whatever backlash the way they see fit.
It is your responsibility to bare the consequences of your actions taken based on the information you get from the internet.
You could have even ask Trace Velo to add his weight (if any) to contact EliteWheels and help resolve the issue.
But because you are angry (of which I totally understand the pain) you just want to burn down everything.
Like you said, making and sharing a video of your experience is hard for everyday people like yourself etc, then you can imagine why Trace Velo would want to administrate / protect his hard work i.e. digital assets, especially when being at the mercy of the algorithm.
Nevertheless, I do feel Trace Velo should give an insight into why he deleted your comments on his video when he claims to be unattached and unbiased on products he reviews.
Look, in 2022 it is childish to blame "the internet" for introducing you to any product or service.
The core of your problem is very bad shipping service, after which EliteWheels and Aliexpress refusing to take full responsibility.
Buying anything from china is basically a game of hit or miss especially with the cheaper regular shipping option.
So blaming a "reviewer / advertiser" for your shipping problem and saying shame on people is actually childish.
Again, the ratio is just off. I.e. running Trace Velo under the bus and questioning the VALUE of the WHOLE of his online content, against your deleted comment of a shipping problem.
Focus on getting your money from the people you gave your money to.
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Me stating my experience is childish and "burning" an influencer? The guy is on a thin line? What are you even talking about. Trace velo deleted my comments why would I even ask him to reach out to Elite Wheels or Aliexpress to help me. He states he isn't sponsored by them so that would make zero sense to do any ways. He isn't an influencer he is a guy doing reviews on youtube or so he states. That's a big difference from an influencer who is sponsored by a company. You even said yourself the guy helped get you into Chinese parts so saying it's childish in 2022 to blame the internet for introducing me to a product or service is mind boggling. What do you think even this forum is doing. You make no sense.
I never once blamed Trace Velo for the shipping issue. You keep saying that but show me in this thread where I have done that. That would make zero sense as he has nothing to do with the shipping. I simply stated the guy is deleting negative comments towards the companies/aliexpress that he's slinging on youtube. Trace Velo comes off as an average guy buying cheap Chinese parts off Aliexpress with his own money and not being supported by said companies. He says that as it lends more credit to him giving an "honest" review. The fact he has deleted my comment in this situation not once but twice should be more than enough for people to "question" his whole content online where he states he wasn't sponsored. You can't have it both ways. Your either the unaffiliated guy slinging your own money giving honest reviews or the influencer having products pushed your way and letting people know your content is biased. Trying to act like the unaffiliated guy while also trying to make that money as an influencer is a scum bag move as people value the unaffiliated guy more than an "influencer" and Trace knows that. That's my problem with the guy. It's that simple.
At this point you still have provided zero usefulness in this thread or situation. What is your deal? Do you have a connection to Trace Velo and are upset I am exposing his shady actions in this situation? Are you in some way affiliated with Aliexpress or Elite Wheels? If this happened to you wouldn't you want to share your experience with this community to try and help others not have to deal with this situation?
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Look, Trace Velo has sponsors for most of his videos and obviously in practical terms he is an influencer because his content has influenced you to buy stuff he reviewed,
of which you had a bad experience and now questioning his legitimacy, correct?
Especially because he also deleted your comment means all the good he has ever done probably should be questioned right? This is the vibe I got especially from your very first post.
So basically the vibe I get from you is; "look my comment was deleted so because of that I want to help people figure out who and which are the bad youtubers and forums. And yo! shame on you for not acknowledging and accepting my reasoning. And hmmm you must be affiliated with all these people who did me wrong."
Btw, below is an example of what you said :
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"""".......... I am more concerned with people knowing which youtubers and forums are legitimate advice to listen to and spend their hard earned money accordingly and who is just making content to make money off people. """"
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He deleted your comment hence he is not legitimate right? Well maybe AND maybe not. I hope we hear his own reasoning too. That is all I am saying Man.
Oh, btw, I have no affiliation with anyone ya.
I have my EliteWheels I paid for over a year now and still going strong.
Fortunately I did not encounter any problems till now. And again I do sympathize with your bad experience.
I just find it fascinating that you are adding a video reviewer as part of your whole problem. You feel because of him you are in this painful situation because his advise made you buy the wheelset.
Take ownership for pulling the trigger after your research on the internet. Period.
Content owner on the internet can do whatever they want with their content comment section on the internet.
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I just find it fascinating that you are adding a video reviewer as part of your whole problem. You feel because of him you are in this painful situation because his advise made you buy the wheelset.
Take ownership for pulling the trigger after your research on the internet. Period.
Content owner on the internet can do whatever they want with their content comment section on the internet.
I find it fascinating that you think I feel because of him I am in this situation. Once again I have never said that you did. His advise from his video helped me make the decision to buy not made me Jesus dude. I was posting here to let other folks know about his actions, Elite Wheels, Aliexpress, and most importantly Paypal. You just have to interject yourself into this thread with your delusional thoughts on what you think I am implying or saying. Obviously we are not going to agree as your reading comprehension is pretty poor. You are offering nothing in this thread. Trace Velo does no wrong in your eyes I get it. Move along dude.
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He deleted your comment.
You posted to help people to be careful because he may not be legitimate.
I'm saying it would be great to know his own reasoning for deleting your comment.
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He deleted your comment.
You posted to help people to be careful because he may not be legitimate.
I'm saying it would be great to know his own reasoning for deleting your comment.
Your name is Velovelo....Trace Velo... Velovelo hmm it rings a bell.
Sorry i am just adding gasoline to the fire, trace velo
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The white-knighting for Trace Velo does seem a bit odd, especially speaking on his behalf about being on a fine line etc.
If the situation is as boost portrays it, he has every right to talk about it. If T-V feels the need to defend himself, I assume he willl - he likely reads these forums to some extent.
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Lol... I'm not trace Velo.
My VeloVelo user name represents the two direct from China frames I ride.
Trace Velo doesn't even have the frames I ride.
I have no affiliation with Trace Velo whatsoever.
I only subscribed to his YT channel.
My comment "....about being on a fine line etc" comment I made is from my experience working in social media management.
Hence I am always open to the possibility of two or more online parties having different reasons in an issue.
Look Guys, I am a very happy Trace Velo Fan from his very first video till now. So much detailed effort and value in the content he puts out.
Suggesting he is not legitimate because of one case of deleted comment, to me, does not balance off with the value he has put out overtime.
Nothing odd or wrong with making this observation because his contribution to the community has earned him at least 1 benefit of a doubt ("unfortunately" me in this case out of other fans here lol...).
I'm interested to know why he deleted the comment. I don't expect him to explain himself either.
Rooting for boost3782 to get his money back.
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Got my alix elite wheels... ent with the xweave... woot.. in great condition... question are they supposed to have one hole on one side of each of the wheels? its my first carbon set so I am asking.
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Got my alix elite wheels... ent with the xweave... woot.. in great condition... question are they supposed to have one hole on one side of each of the wheels? its my first carbon set so I am asking.
Yea its to allow water to get out of the inside of the rim
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As commented already, unless their packaging is too weak, it is not really Elite Wheels fault.
Nah that's not how it works. I see this attitude a lot buying stuff from China. Its just the seller shifting the shipping responsibility to the buyer in an effort to keep their money. The seller is the client of the shipping company. Its on them to make sure it gets to the buyer and in usable condition. Not the other way around.
Someone buying something for money is supposed to receive that thing in working order and the thing is supposed to do what it says it does to a high degree. That is the essence of an honest market transaction. Anything else is chicanery.
On another tack, i've had my negative reviews disappear from Ali. I bought a steerer extender that in no way was up to the task it was supposedly designed for and would have been dangerous to use. Left a review stating as such and it was gone in a few months.
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Sorry been away for a few days just saw this comment. I am speaking out to help the community not just bash someone. Update on my situation is Paypal now requires you to ship the damaged goods back to Aliexpress despite the cost coming out of your pocket. So Elite Wheels said not our problem its Aliexpress's problem and Aliexpress gave a lowball offer to keep the $505.03 wheels or me pay on my dime to return the destroyed wheels back to China. Paypal* said the same thing so I started a Visa chargeback today as I'm not losing a dime to poorly packaged/shipped items.
No problem here it is.
Good. If you're in a country with proper consumer laws you should get your money back no problem.
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I started purchasing from Aliexpress in 2011. I have complete over 200 purchases from Aliexpress (At least $15K in items, not all Bicycle related, but the majority). Over the years I have had 6 total "bad transactions" and only one where I lost money. 3 of the bad transactions were where the seller never shipped the items, and I had to have Aliexpress cancel the transaction and refund my money. 2 were claimed to be lost packages, and the seller shipped out a new order. The worst transaction was with "Trifox" about a year ago. I purchased a 29er carbon fork from them, it took about a month for them to ship the item, and 6 weeks for it to be delivered. This was during Covid times. The box arrived beat up, but the fork appeared to be intact. Upon inspection, I saw that the fork tube was defective and had a big gouge in it right where the lower bearing sits.
I was told they would send me a replacement when I sent the defective one back. (Shipping to China was going to cost more than I paid for the fork.) I complained to Aliexpress, and they offered a $40 credit. I ended up taking the credit and ate the loss. I use the fork now for test riding bike builds before putting on a suspension fork.
Regarding Elite Wheels. I have purchased wheel sets from them without any problems. (They used to have great sale prices before Covid.) My Brother purchased a set from them a year ago and the box arrived beat to *hit, but the wheels were not damaged.
I stopped purchasing from Elite Wheels because they told me they were back-ordered on the wheels I wanted, so I purchased from CLANNAD for basically the same wheels/rims.
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I recently had an issue with my front disc carbon wheel and I contacted Elite Wheels via Amazon (where I bought them). I sent pictures and the serial number. Since my wheels were still under the 1000 day warranty coverage, they said they would send me a new front wheel. Unfortunately it seems their production is backed up and they're shipping wheels as they get built. So there's a 12-14 day wait. I probably won't see the wheel until next year, but I'm wondering if buying through Amazon made them more responsive regarding warranty coverage? I'm a bit paranoid buying wheels from AliExpress and I'd rather pay a little extra and get my wheels within the same week from a local distribution warehouse. Anyways, crossing fingers I get my new wheel!
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Sorry about your experience OP. Just wanted to report another positive experience with Elite Wheels. I bought a pair of 60mm rim brake clinchers on Amazon. They look and work great, no issues so far.
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I recently had an issue with my front disc carbon wheel and I contacted Elite Wheels via Amazon (where I bought them). I sent pictures and the serial number. Since my wheels were still under the 1000 day warranty coverage, they said they would send me a new front wheel. Unfortunately it seems their production is backed up and they're shipping wheels as they get built. So there's a 12-14 day wait. I probably won't see the wheel until next year, but I'm wondering if buying through Amazon made them more responsive regarding warranty coverage? I'm a bit paranoid buying wheels from AliExpress and I'd rather pay a little extra and get my wheels within the same week from a local distribution warehouse. Anyways, crossing fingers I get my new wheel!
Yea, where possible, I always buy direct from the company if they have a site, like Elite. Even better if you can get from a local distributor who can handle warranty claims #shamelessplug
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You are offering nothing in this thread.
Im super late to this thread, but dang it made for an interesting read over coffee this morning. But I actually think VeloVelo's feedback to you is pretty spot on; he was offering a pretty good hot take on your issue with Trace Velo.
It seems like your beef is with Aliepress/Elite/Paypal...leave Trace Velo out of it. Even if he isnt directly sponsored by Elite, its obvious his Youtube channel is there to make some money. He will probably have a harder time getting those sponsors if his comment section is filled with negative anecdotes.
Kudos to VeloVelo for putting in the effort to push back on this. I think its fine if Boost3782 wants to write about his experience with Elite...but what the eff does Trace Velo have to do with any of it? His comment section is not the place to air your grievances, and he should delete your comments if he feels it clashes with his business plans. And at the end of the day, it sounds like Boost got their money back (or at least most of it?)...but is still out there throwing shade on Trace Velo for something that had nothing to do with the youtube channel. It really does seem like a childish response. Keep your feedback directed to the players involved in the transaction and you would have been fine.
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...His comment section is not the place to air your grievances, and he should delete your comments if he feels it clashes with his business plans...
Kind of sad realisation for the naive me that comments on YT could be deleted.
An editor who wants only happy people, can turn the comments off.
Unless someone is trolling the thread. Shouldn't a negative comment be eventually neutralised by counter comments but not deleted?
So a reader can judge.
If there are only a few negative ones. Or they seem inappropriate. They won't have an impact.
I've seen many videos with negative comments that were debated.
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It seems like your beef is with Aliepress/Elite/Paypal...leave Trace Velo out of it. Even if he isnt directly sponsored by Elite, its obvious his Youtube channel is there to make some money. He will probably have a harder time getting those sponsors if his comment section is filled with negative anecdotes.
My only beef with trace velo is that he is dishonest with a few things like the cost of the bikes. Well I guess its not dishonest that it was his cost in 2019 but it is imply that its the cost of the bike now... If he is dishonest about that. what other things is he dishonest about... He needs to be full clear about how much things cost. then and now. if you say something is 100 but in reality its now 150... you need to be using current prices at filming and editing. I know its not a big thing. But it bothers me. and I am kinda turned off to him because of it. As a reviewer you need to give good honest results/ cost/ opinions. So he is now with a grain of salt. a big grain.
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Has anyone been able to replicate the costs like he says? I am always surprised at the prices in his videos. They are quite low as opposed to what you have to shell out in real life. I see his $1500 build, go to AliExpress only to find that the same build will cost me 2k+ :S His gravel build using ICAN frame he got for GBP530 ($640~) is actually $850. Same for other components and this is not even 2019. The gravel video is from May of 2022.
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I read this thread in one go and it really makes me sad how some users "attack" the OP.
He had a bad experience and he wanted to make other people aware of something shady going on. He has proof of it. This takes a lot of effort/ mental energy and we should thank him for the courage. It´s even more remarkable to stand up for it multiple times. There is nothing to personally gain for him. If everybody in the world would act with this integrity there would be much less fraud.
What is wrong with your morals? People (Influencer) who pretend to be honest but are proven to be dishonest have to be blamed. Period. Good behavior does not legitimate bad behavior. What happens on TraceVelo youtube channel is called censorship. It happens onedirectional in favour of a presented brand. It makes me sick to see how people got blinded by capitalism and call it childish behavior if someone stands up for the right thing. It´s not "the internet" and it´s not "aliexpress". It is always people who act behind it. And they must be called by their bullshit.
After all, aren´t you here because you´ve been pushed away from the mainstream bike industry with bought reviews and poor magazine articles?
The same is happening now with many influencers. Wake up.
During the years I have followed many people on instagram and youtubers growing their presence. Some from 100 followers to 100K. Building a business. And when they make the move and quit their day job and start living the dream many throw their morals overboard. Changing the opinion like the flag in the wind.
Of course one can do whatever he wants on his channel as long as it is legal and compliant to platform policies. Still it is consumer deception if someone markets products and does not disclose the affiliation.
I watched almost every TraceVelo youtube video and I really liked his stuff. I always was astonished by his cost rundowns and tried to reproduce his cost. Never got close to it. Never saw any real negative comments on the videos. I was skeptical but just left it that way.
Huge disappointment.
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I recently had an issue with my front disc carbon wheel and I contacted Elite Wheels via Amazon (where I bought them). I sent pictures and the serial number. Since my wheels were still under the 1000 day warranty coverage, they said they would send me a new front wheel. Unfortunately it seems their production is backed up and they're shipping wheels as they get built. So there's a 12-14 day wait. I probably won't see the wheel until next year, but I'm wondering if buying through Amazon made them more responsive regarding warranty coverage? I'm a bit paranoid buying wheels from AliExpress and I'd rather pay a little extra and get my wheels within the same week from a local distribution warehouse. Anyways, crossing fingers I get my new wheel!
UPDATE: I just want to respond to my own customer service interaction with Elite Wheels. I eventually received a replacement rim with no hub or spokes. I was hoping to get a new front wheel and thankfully my old hub+spokes were still good. I had to go to my local LBS and luckily they cut me a discount for the hub+spoke transfer to the new rim (I noticed my friend's bike in the shop and mentioned I was the one who referred her). Anyways, they followed through with their warranty service, but they should have asked if my hub/spokes were still in working order. I'd rate their service probably an 8/10 with room to improve. Though, I'm wondering if they were more prompt to respond since I was an Amazon customer versus an AliExpress customer?
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I read this thread in one go and it really makes me sad how some users "attack" the OP.
He had a bad experience and he wanted to make other people aware of something shady going on. He has proof of it. This takes a lot of effort/ mental energy and we should thank him for the courage. It´s even more remarkable to stand up for it multiple times. There is nothing to personally gain for him. If everybody in the world would act with this integrity there would be much less fraud.
What is wrong with your morals? People (Influencer) who pretend to be honest but are proven to be dishonest have to be blamed. Period. Good behavior does not legitimate bad behavior. What happens on TraceVelo youtube channel is called censorship. It happens onedirectional in favour of a presented brand. It makes me sick to see how people got blinded by capitalism and call it childish behavior if someone stands up for the right thing. It´s not "the internet" and it´s not "aliexpress". It is always people who act behind it. And they must be called by their bullshit.
After all, aren´t you here because you´ve been pushed away from the mainstream bike industry with bought reviews and poor magazine articles?
The same is happening now with many influencers. Wake up.
During the years I have followed many people on instagram and youtubers growing their presence. Some from 100 followers to 100K. Building a business. And when they make the move and quit their day job and start living the dream many throw their morals overboard. Changing the opinion like the flag in the wind.
Of course one can do whatever he wants on his channel as long as it is legal and compliant to platform policies. Still it is consumer deception if someone markets products and does not disclose the affiliation.
I watched almost every TraceVelo youtube video and I really liked his stuff. I always was astonished by his cost rundowns and tried to reproduce his cost. Never got close to it. Never saw any real negative comments on the videos. I was skeptical but just left it that way.
Huge disappointment.
I actually bought some Siroko bibshorts based on "his glowing reviews". Unfortunately they were absolute dogshit because the cuff around the thigh was baggy like a pair of Hawaiian shorts. I posted a critical comment on one of his videos saying the shorts arent that great......i just checked back to see if the comment is there and no it isn't !
I like Luke and often have conversed with him on youtube and I dont think he is a dishonest guy. Obviously he/someone feels that in the interests of the companies who pay the bills they should be protected. It is what it is.
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Not related to the elite wheels persay, but for wheelsets like the clannad ones, is it worth the upgrade to the dt350/dt240 hubs? And are they legit DT hubs?
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@boost3782
Perhaps this refers to you :D ?
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Hahah I have just seen this and thought yeah Trace is probably on here quite often.
You have you answer about comments at least, straight from the horses mouth.