Chinese Carbon MTB Forums
News:
Happy Holidays!
See likes
See likes given/taken
| Post info | No. of Likes |
|---|---|
Re: Consensus on replica frames ??
An open mold is usually a little more expensive. But, because it's a clean sheet design, they are going to design it in CAD and run the basic FEA stuff and use the results to iterate the design. They have both a good understanding of where / how to adjust the layup and the freedom to change tube shapes to get the performance they are looking for. No they're not? Velobuild for instance sells pretty much all their frames at the exact same price point, open molds, replicas, half replicas like the VB168 and so on. You're implying a lot of things here that again go back to my point exactly: It depends who you're buying from. Sure, the more money is involved, the better the knowledge of the people behind the product and therefore its quality. Hopefully anyway. But saying that open mold designers in general "have a good understanding" of the intricacies of frame design is a generalization you cannot really make IMO. There's probably a lot of sellers out there that did not design the frame or they might not even have produced it. And they might not be transparent about it. So there's more to the story IMO. I take you point though that making something work that you did not design yourself might pose a few traps that these companies do not necessarily see coming. The question then again is how they handle it. I chose VB for this reason and luckily was not disappointed by their customer service when I needed it. Would I have bought a Pinarello badged frame from whatever seller on Aliexpress? Hell no. Would I buy another VB268? In a heartbeat. But just because it's a really nice riding bike and I like the looks of it. I couldn't care less how it compares to the real thing. January 02, 2024, 12:43:52 AM |
4 |
|
Re: TanTan TT-X38 Build
1000km update. Despite what it looks like in the pic, I've ridden this bike almost exclusively in very cold, very windy and very wet weather. No issues. The slipping seatpost seems fixed. I marked it with tape and it hasn't moved in several hundred kilometres now. So hopefully it's sorted. The brakes are working very well now. The discs and pads took a while to get properly bedded in bc I live in a flat area so I don't brake much to begin with. Add to that the fact that I did a lot of indoor riding, it took some time. But now they work super nice. No squealing. Great modulation. I'm happy with my fit on this bike now. I feel at home when riding it. My impression is that it is fast in a straight line. No question. Cornering is also very confidence inspiring on this bike - also because of the wider tires. It's very stiff. The only area where I see a lack in stiffness is the headtube area under sprinting efforts. I am by no means a powerful sprinter. But particularly when the speed gets higher in sprints, north of 55 kph, I got it to wobble slightly when pulling on the drops. But that's me being picky. In terms of compliance it feels slightly imbalanced. The rear feels quite comfy but the front can feel pretty harsh when going over rough roads - despite the headtube not being super stiff. I guess it's just a result of the tube shapes, the geometry and the fact that this frame probably doesn't have a super sophisticated layup in the carbon. Also, my impression still is that this is not a frame well suited to climbing. Whenever I go uphill, it just doesn't feel that quick. I'm not necessarily slower than on my other bike but it kind of feels that way, despite having my position sorted now. Not sure why that is. It very much feels like a no compromise aero bike in that way. January 03, 2024, 12:18:21 PM |
6 |
|
Re: Velobuild VB-R-218
I'm not saying this frame is without issues. But if every little problem with brand name frames would be as public and as much discussed in detail as the Chiner frames are on this forum, you'd probably say the same thing about those. Also, it is worth noting that from what I can tell, VB has respected the warranty for this frame in every single case that has been discussed here. January 04, 2024, 12:51:23 AM |
1 |
Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
I've done around 1000k on er9 now. About 250k since I sealed the cable plug on the RD with silicon grease. It's been working flawlessly ever since. I did another wet ride and washed the bike after. No problems. I haven't done anything to the plug on the FD because I don't think that there's an issue with that connection. Ever since the latest FD firmware update the trimming function works a bit better, too. I'm quite happy with it, for the money anyway. So far, that is. 
January 07, 2024, 12:52:07 AM |
1 |
Re: Elitewheels Drive 50D --> Rim Failure
Just woke up to the following email from Anthony, that was pretty darn quick! A rebuild not my 1st choice but I'll take it Will continue to update everyone. Being an amateur wheel builder myself, I wonder how straight forward it is to properly tension carbon spokes. I understand that the elasticity is minimal compared to steel spokes. Therefore tension has to be a lot higher and the margin of error is much smaller when it comes to uniformity of the spoke tension throughout the wheel. I’d probably rather go to a dedicated wheelbuilder than your average local bike shop. Just saying. Good to see that they’re willing to stand up to their warranty though. January 08, 2024, 10:48:18 AM |
1 |
|
Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
I hope the stuff stays backwards compatible + I hope it is possible to buy individual parts somewhere. So if something breaks a few years down the line you don't need to get a whole groupset. When I bought er9 I tried to buy the groupset without the calipers since I knew I wasn't gonna use them. But no seller was willing to sell anything but a full groupset. January 11, 2024, 01:54:59 AM |
1 |
Re: Patty's Long Rant and Guide To Affordable Frames
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. I’m not trying to criticise Winspace. I just don’t think their market position is that unique anymore when compared to a few years ago. We’re kind of back to where we were before COVID in that, if you’re not super picky, you can snatch big brand frames from reputable retailers for big discounts if you’re patient enough. I’m based in Germany. A while ago, a lot of Giant TCR frames were sold rather cheap. After that it was Tarmac SL7 framesets and at the moment I can find pretty good offers for BMC Teammachine SLR framesets at around 1600-1700 EUR. So there’s a lot more going on at the “Winspace price point” compared to a few years ago. Below 1000EUR/USD however, a frame directly from China is still the best option, I think. Unless you’re ready to go second hand. January 27, 2024, 03:54:31 PM |
4 |
Re: Patty's Long Rant and Guide To Affordable Frames
Also I know people on this forum who are REALLY down the rabbit whole that can piece together builds for sub 2k at similar spec. I would guess the main benefit this forum has spread is education on how to get cheaper carbon wheels. Many argue wheels are the most important upgrade ATM, you can only really save serious money if you go full low budget with direct2consumer-parts from China. I built my TT-X38 with LTWOO er9, Magene powermeter and full carbon wheels + a number of 2nd hand parts (like my Sram cranks, saddle and Vittoria tires) for less than 2.5k EUR. But to do that, you're required to invest A LOT of time researching parts, be prepared to deal with problems when building the bike up and you need to take the risk that customer service and warranty might be troublesome or even more or less non existent. I mean, there's a GIANT concept store in my city. For not that much more money, I could probably walk in there, grab a bike and come back and have the shop deal with issues, should there be any. But for me, this is also about the journey. I like to come up with the idea of "my dream bike", source all the parts and think every little detail through and then build up something that I couldn't buy anywhere else and that potentially no one else has. January 30, 2024, 01:00:15 AM |
3 |
|
Re: TanTan TT-X38 Build
My wheels are 24mm wide internally. My Vittoria Corsa 28c tires pump up to just below 31mm. Ample clearance all the way around. I’ll post pics later on.
January 30, 2024, 12:26:32 PM |
1 |
|
Re: TanTan TT-X38 Build
Here are the pics that I promised. As you can see, there's more than enough space. It might get close with a 32c tire at the driveside chainstay if it pumps up to somewhere north of 34mm. But other than that it should be fine.
February 01, 2024, 11:38:04 AM |
1 |