My experience with Xmiplay..

[Sitar_Ned]

When I decided to go the direct from China carbon route my only concern really was finding the best seller.. One with a reputation for a great product, fair pricing, fast shipping, and at least some amount of customer service.

When reading through the giant Chinese carbon 29er thread over at MTBR - It became pretty apparent that Xmiplay, HongFu bikes, and Carbonality had become the favorites thus far.

http://www.xmiplay.com/
http://www.hongfu-bikes.com/
http://www.carbonality.com/

I went with XmiPlay largely due to the fact that one of their employees, Peter, had been the most active in that thread.. They also use the higher quality carbon fiber and had the exact frame that I wanted. While HongFu also had the frame - I emailed both vendors simultaneously and Peter from Xmiplay was quicker to respond and also a bit friendlier and prices were about the same. Xmiplay it was.

The quick response time continued throughout my communications with Peter over the course of the next three weeks. And while I will say that there are few times that I had wished he was just a bit more thorough in answering my questions.. He was always quick to respond and always addressed my concerns and questions. Considering this isn't your local bike shop.. Overall I'd rate communications at about a 9 out of 10. I think it's one of the better customer service experiences to be had with these direct Chinese carbon manufacturers at this point.. but there is still some room for improvement.

As far as product quality and packaging (which seems of utmost importance when shipping carbon products across the world).. Well, I'll update when the frame gets here, which should be within a few short days.

So far.. I can highly recommend Peter and Xmiplay, if you're in the market for a chiner.

EDIT: So it's actually not "Xmiplay" as most of us have been calling it.. it's simply "Iplay". Xiamen is apparently the parent company and with the language barrier there has been a bit of confusion about that. Makes it a bit easier to associate them with their "IP" frames.

[Carbon_Dude]

My experience was similar.  Peter just seemed to be more responsive to my questions and being he was a MTBR forum member helped with me knowing he had more than a passing interest in selling bike parts on the internet.

I also looked at HongFu and a few others.  HongFu impressed with pictures and video on Flickr that showed testing of various bike frames.  I know that HongFu and XMIplay were selling the same product at a similar price.  Again, Peter's quick response sealed the deal.

It took about 5-6 weeks for me to get my IP-057 last year.  The longer lead time was due to the fact that the IP-057 was new and the mold for the Large size was not completed when I ordered.  I also requested custom paint on my frame so at least a few more days there.

Shipping was via EMS, similar to our postal service.  It took 8 days to receive the frame.  Peter sent me a tracking number and I was able to track the shipment via EMS and later USPS when it cleared customs in NY and was processed through the sorting facility.  I also had to sign for the shipment, please make note that they will not leave the package at your doorstep.

When the box arrived I did have a small bit of damage, the derailleur hanger had poked through the box.  Nothing major but it did get scraped up.  When I informed Peter, he asked for me to send a picture.  Once confirmed Peter sent out a replacement hanger which took about 2 wks to arrive, not an issue since I had ordered a spare hanger to begin with.  Something I highly recommend.

The IP-057 frame was very well made with good crisp painted edges and a gloss topcoat over the entire frame just as I had asked.  There were no issues with any of the threads or internal cable routing, everything went together as expected, although I didn't really know what to expect since it was my first ground up build.  I had read so much on MTBR that I basically had all my questions answered before I started.

Every chance I get out on the trail I share my satisfaction of buying my carbon frame direct, saving loads of ca$h, and building a bike with components I've selected.  This really is a no compromise deal if you are willing to put in a little effort, you will be rewarded with a great bike.

[Sitar_Ned]

Okay so my frame just arrived. That's FIVE days shipping time from the day I sent Peter confirmation of PayPal payment, til the time it arrived on my doorstep... That's as fast or faster than when I order from Pricepoint that's located here in the U.S. -  I find that highly impressive to say the least. That can't possibly be typical shipping times.. I suppose I just got lucky then, and if you're reading this and considering.. I'd expect more like a 7-10 day shipping time.

Actually, now that I think of it.. Communication has also been superior to some of the more mainstream, big name suppliers. I think I'll boost my rating up to 9.5 overall. Will post some pics of the packaging.. Haven't opened it yet but I went out of my way to specifically ask Peter to package well because I'd seen too many pics of boxes that arrived looking like they had been through some serious abuse. Hopefully, Xmiplay delivers on that front as well.

[Carbon_Dude]

Good to hear you got the frame so quickly.  Waiting for you to post pics.

[Andy]

Congrats on your new bike SN.  I am so excited to see it.  Please post a few pics when you get a chance. 
Andy.

[Sitar_Ned]

Deliver they did. Frame was packaged extremely well. I'm not sure how typical this is either because like I said, I specifically asked them to package it with thought.. I'm not sure if this is the standard or not, but at least Peter and Xmiplay obliged my request, and made sure to make the effort to package it well. Good by me.

Couple of pics.. I would advise anyone ordering one of these frames to take pics of the box before opening. If there's any damage that occurred during shipping... it will make the process easier when you contact the seller about the issue.









Money Shot. Difficult subject to photograph.











I'll try to get some pics of the frame out in the sunlight tomorrow and post them in the "056/057" thread. These turned out too dark. My lighting was not playing nice with the matte black finish of the frame.

Xmiplay and Peter came through on all fronts and I'll continue to buy carbon goods from them until I'm given reason to do otherwise. Extrmemly pleased with the overall experience and super pumped about the frame. Can't wait to get it built. 

Now.. I need some tools 

[Patrick C.]

Where are XMI's prices?  Do you need to e-mail them for pricing or any customization?  Thanks for sharing- I've almost decided to go the way of the Chiner.

[Sitar_Ned]

Yeah.. Just email peter@xmiplay.cn and he will provide you with all the pricing information.

The way of the Chiner. Lol.

Be sure to post a build thread or at least post some pics!

[manmythlegend]

Peter at XMI play has always been helpful. Only issue was Im not sure he was aware of the headset spacer issues when I had mine. Outside of that he has always been timely , polite , and always willing to provide info. You do have to email for prices.

[Patrick C.]

It's been two weeks since I ordered mine, but it seems like forever...  Mine had extra lead time due to painting, but at one point Peter said there was a 20 day lead time for production.  Not sure if he mixed up the models (I had previously asked about an IP-256), if they have low inventory, or some production delays since this is an IP-057 which he previously said was in stock. 

Either way, EMS tracking shows it got to New York yesterday so hopefully I'll be wrenching on it by the end of the week. 

So far so good, but they are a little harder to deal with just due to the 12 hour time difference.  I never tried to connect on Skype or other real time means, so not sure how easy it is to get Peter or one of the others that way.

[Sitar_Ned]

Yeah.. I don't know about the real time thing. They may not even be able to speak English for all we know? That said, I never had to wait more than 12 hours for an email reply.

I'd say if you get your frame in a little over two weeks, including custom paint... that's pretty good. Please do keep us updated as to how your experience is with Peter and Iplay. As positive as my experience was.. that could change. They get a spike in business, or a change in staffing, and great customer service turns into mediocre customer service, then into crap customer service. Not saying that is the case here AT ALL. Just pointing out that one of the points of this forum is to help us weed out the vendors that don't deserve our money and business, and find the ones that do. So it's important that we have current, updated info about who's taking 3 months to ship a frame.. or sending them poorly packaged causing damage, etc, etc.

[Patrick C.]

Yippee! Frame came today.  The box was in good shape, and when I picked it up, it felt like an empty box.  



Packaged pretty much like SN's frame- bubble wrap cocoon, dropout protectors, and seat post plug.  The wrapped up frame was inside a large plastic bag, along with the headset taped down in a bubble wrap pouch.





The paint is not perfect, but it is really good.  They did have a poor masking job on one side of the BB and on the headset area, so there was a bit of overspray.  The BB threaded in fine- I did not need to chase the threads or clean it up at all.  The headset cups had a little more, and the bearings had a lot of resistance.  I used a felt polisher to clean them out.  Afterward, the headset bearings slipped in easily.





Here it is with the fork, a RockShox SID RLT.  Pretty anxious to ride it, so once I get the fork in I'll have to put the wheels on and take it for a spin as a push bike.



Overall I'm very satisfied- Thanks Peter!  Communication was good, and I got it 16 days after ordering.

[MTB2223]

Really nice color, Patrick. Which name (RAL) has this color ?
Please post some pics (in this topic) when the build is done.
I'm beginning to doubt whether I 'll order an IP-256 matte black or an IP-057 in this color. I ordered already the IP-256, but there's a huge delay in production.

[Patrick C.]

It's Pantone 185 C, with a clear gloss finish.  Once I get a little further along (or run into some problems) I'll start my own build thread in the 29er section. I wanted the IP-256, but didn't think I could wait.

[Carbon_Dude]

Thanks for posting Patrick, looks like XMIplay did a nice job on your frame.  Look forward to seeing more posts from you as you build it up.