Warning, fairly long post incoming. I've spent a lot of money on AliExpress over the years. I thought of doing a video like TraceVelo with my top 5 best and worst but I didn't want to just copy him. Anyways, here's a semi-short list of various items over the years. I broke it down into: Awesome, Not So Good, and Meh (kind of in the middle). In no particular order.
Awesome:
- Carbon bottle cages (Carbon Works copy): 7-8g each, cost was around $20 so not super cheap but better than $80 or whatever the real ones cost, and they've been solid. Have to make sure you get the updated version with a perpendicular bottom lip. I have 4 total and love these (
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805102025523.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.c81b38daE33I3q&mp=1&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa)
- Elita One seatposts: I have three on three different bikes and they've all been rock solid and offer a good weight savings
- Black Inc copies (handlebars and full cockpit): really like these, plenty stiff and decent weight. Actually can't find the handlebars any longer which is a shame because I wanted to pick up another pair. The full cockpit is my favorite bar out there
- UNO (Kalloy UNO) stems: probably the best price to weight stem available on the market. Period. Amazing stems, I have like 4 of them in different sizes on various bikes.
- Magene PES P505 power meter and crankset: $300 for a power meter and crankset is crazy good. And they're just as accurate as western brands. Straight swap for Shimano cranks and chainrings, took 15 minutes to make the swap without any issue. Only small problem is inherent in many spider power meters is they don't do well with oval chainrings (read high). But really hard to beat for a budget power meter
- Spexcel long thermal tights: only one ride so far but they're really nice
- Stone oval 1x chainring: nice and solid, looks good and feels well built
- DIY Di2 satellite shifters: probably one of my favorite purchases of all time. They're way cheaper than real shifters, low profile so easily hidden, and you get two buttons for one wire. They've been amazing. Hard to ride without them on my other bikes (
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805615867809.html?spm=a2g0n.order_detail.order_detail_item.3.274cf19c5jJ5OE&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa)
- random aero socks: cost like $4, decent quality, no aero data but they look and feel just like my much more expensive ones
- Sigeyi direct mount derailleur hanger: more expensive but high quality and low weight, lots of colors
- Mixed brand direct mount derailleur hanger: cheaper but only comes in gray
- WestBiking 3D printed saddle: almost put it in the meh category, but it's a decent saddle, just didn't work out becuase the shape of it required a zero setback seatpost to slam it forward enough. But they did get the firmness in the right spots
- Ti bolts: I've bought so many from various companies. All have been good.
Not So Good:
- Tarmac stem computer mount: does its job, little heavy, weird spacing of screw holes makes swapping the actual mount piece impossible
- Alpinist Cockpit copy: good weight at 250g for bar/stem, but insanely flexy and the computer mount rivnut broke on the second ride and you can't use normal round bar mounts
- ZTTO bar tape (Supacaz copy): terrible quality. I bought some pink tape and the whole top layer was gone by the end of my first ride and my gloves were pink. Like it seriously lasted a single ride.
- Spexcel arm warmers: ripped when pulling them on the very first time
- Balugoe 3D printed saddle (Power Mirror copy): really bad quality. The rails were angled in such a way that the nose was pointing upwards at a very steep angle. Could barely get a level saddle position. The firmness of the 3D material was wrong, too. The rear was super soft (like a sponge) that you sunk in and could feel the carbon base, but the front was rock hard and super uncomfortable.
- Darevie jersey: low quality, weird fit (loose in torso but super tight in armpits), corny phrases on sleeves
- TanTan X19 frameset: terrible quality, multiple issues with frame and supplied (and missing) parts. Even worse customer service, threatened to doxx me (my name, home address and phone number) when I put in a claim
Meh:
- OG-EVKIN bar tape (Lizard Skinz copy) - not bad, nothing special but it's decent. Slightly more slippy when wet than real Lizard Skinz
- Ride Now TPU tubes: I went back and forth on whether these should be on the awesome list or not. They're super light and make a great saddle bag backup tube. They're pretty cheap and you can get a bunch in bulk for a great price. But mine have been hit or miss with quality. I bought a 4 pack recently and 2 had holes right out the box. And you can't really test them out prior to use if you want to pack them down small for your bag. So far, I've bought 10 and 3 have holes without ever being ridden.
- Spexcel jerseys: sizing is odd, L was too big and M fit like a toddler's jersey. Just too big of a gap between sizes. Decent quality otherwise just weird sizing for me
Making this list just informed me on how much I've spent to "save money."
Edit: Fixed the link for the Di2 satellite shifters.
