It sounds like in that video he hit a big pothole (presumably at fast speed in a race) which resulted in a serious crash, severe enough to damage to his bike, damage his bars, and dnf the race. Seems to me like the bars are not to blame. If the crash was bad enough to damage his bike frame, why is he emphasizing that the bars cracked as well? It’s not like the bars failed under normal riding…. In fact he even says prior to this he rode the bars over really rough roads without any issues.

I think he asserts that the pothole hit broke the bars which caused the crash. He’s also assuming a name brand would fare better. A big pothole hit at speed can easily destroy anything carbon.

My first batch of Choice items arrived with no additional fees. Other than high volume, small replaceable items (disc rotors, brake pads, etc.) which haven't been affected too badly by price hikes, everything actually decent on AliEx seems way more expensive and/or no longer available. 

Yup. Here is the price difference I'm seeing on things I've purchased.
What I paid vs price now. (If they even ship here anymore)

Tagoola Carbon wheelset $373 with expedited shipping vs $450 with slow shipping.
Ltwoo egr group $413 vs $614
Tubleess tires $23 each vs $43 each
Senicx crank $58 vs $92
Lexon integrated handlebar $124 vs $216
Bxt 135 frame $425 shipped vs $625 shipped

Secondly, the batteries that came in the groupset were bad. From 100% charge it went down to 67% in just one ride of approximately 30 miles. Not sure if those are faulty. Thankfully I had ordered a set of Vapcell F12 (https://liionwholesale.com/products/vapcell-f12-14500-3a-flat-top-1250mah-battery-genuine?variant=40620938330181) before the groupset so I replaced brand new batteries with Vapcell and after clocking in about 120 miles, the battery % shows at 91 - quite a drastic difference. I am guessing the battery life to get better after a few charge cycles.

That link is for flat top batteries. My eGR came with button tops. Did I get sent wrong batteries?
Not a battery expert. Is it ok if the mAh and voltages aren't exactly the same?

It clears T47 bottom brackets and has active temperature compensation, i think that those are the 2 main upgrades.

I think the T47 compatibility was the biggest driving factor since everything seems to be going that direction.

if you have telegram you should follow This Channel which posts working coupons regularly. And send updates before evry new sale.

So thats how you get those! I was beginning to think you were an Ali mole encouraging us to shop more.
By the way, you've probably saved me a few hundred dollars with your coupon posts. Thanks!

Ever since I learned how much steerer tubes deform from stem clamping I also use those long expanders. No issues even when I had some spacers above stem working out my fit.

https://youtu.be/8bSnbjHiFXc?si=Yfnk55uRRVly3YDB

Was thinking about starting a guide on how to get the best deals including different checkouts, coins, AE discount codes, store discounts, and events.

That would be great! I've had some good deals with coins, but they were totally unintentional finds. And I tend to forget about checking for store coupons.