Interesting Aliexpress finds! - good deals, interesting stuff, new products etc!

[buckfifty]

i just joined the community and this is my first post.  i've found this forum helpful in finding gravel bike parts on Aliexpress, and wanted to share my thoughts on a couple of items I've bought recently. 

Paul Components "Boxcar" stem - Purchased from "Shop1102602987" but can't find them now. 
URL: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805641142650.html
Review: 0/10.  Junk.  Do not buy.
Details: I bought both the 90mm / 0 deg and 90mm 15 deg versions.  When installing the 0 degree version, using a torque wrench set to Paul Comp's recommended setting, the clamp bolts all stripped out suddenly.  I reported this to Aliexpress and they refunded my money in full.  I haven't tried to install the 15 deg version and won't be; I think the aluminum used for this stem is poor quality, and I don't want to take the risk that the clamp could fail suddenly while riding.

Redshift "Shockstop" stem
URL: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256805944907424.html
Review: 4/10.  Arrived damaged.
Details: The stem arrived with obvious damage/deformation to the pivot bolt consistent with someone ham-fisting an allen key tool.  I complained to Aliexpress and they refunded half of the purchase price.  It came with the elastomer inserts (with two installed).  I reached out to Redshift for a replacement pivot bolt and they explained that they can't replace this bolt as it should never be removed from the stem or adjusted, and damage to it will wreck the stem.  As a result, I'm not sure if I will try it on my bike or not.

Ingrid RD-1 Derailleur - Bought from the F1Z BIKE SHOP store; it's saved on my mobile app but can't be found on their website.
URL:
Review: 8/10 good stuff.  Would recommend.
Details: I bought two of these, one in long cage and one in short.  I mounted the long cage on my gravel bike, with an 11-42 cassette and Sensah SRX shifting.  It worked great right out of the box.  Shifts accurately and cleanly across the cassette with no issues.  I'm really happy with it and have been putting in miles on it.  Hopefully it continues to function well into the future.  Along with it, I also bought extra cages, pulleys, and different shifting system adapters.  Just in case something breaks or I want to change it up.

Ingrid Road Crankset CRS-R2 - Bought from the F1Z BIKE SHOP store; it's saved on my mobile app but can't be found on their website.
URL:
Review: 6/10.  Very difficult install, but once installed, working well.
Details: The spindle was out of spec; it's supposed to be 30mm but was closer to 30.5mm.  It wouldn't fit into the appropriate BB30 cups.  I had to spend hours carefully sanding the spindle down to get it to the correct diameter.  The Q-factor of these cranks is very low, so I also struggled to get the spacing right and not have the crank arms hit the chain stays. There's very little room to mess with the spacing since you have to ensure the crank arms engage fully and tightly with the spindle.  I ended up taking it to a bike shop, who added an additional .5mm spacer on each side, and now it clears.  On one hand, I'd be leery of recommending this crankset to anyone given the spindle issues.  On the other, once installed, it's working well and looks great with the matching rear derailleur.  Make sure you buy the 110bcd adapter spider; the only chainring size available on Aliexpress is the 48T that comes with this crank.  If you want any other size, you'll need to buy it from Ingrid at around $150 each; the spider allows you to use normal 110 bcd / 5-bolt chainrings that cost much less.  All-in-all, I would not recommend this crankset unless someone really wants the look and is ready to deal with potentially very difficult install process. 

that's all for now.  I have more items to review, including the Paul Comp seatpost knockoff, POC helmet, various lights, and other bits.  hope this is helpful!

I also got the redshift stem and my pivot bolt was a bit knurled too. But it's not something you adjust or remove. I haven't tried it yet

I got the cane creek eesilk stem from the same seller, doesn't look too bad. The switch doesn't have any writing on it to tell you if you're on the soft or hard setting like the genuine. The machining on the inside of the stem is a bit rough but the finish on the exterior looks similar. Because of the questionable nature of the stem, I question if there is a difference between the different elastometers

[Eskae]

I also got the redshift stem and my pivot bolt was a bit knurled too. But it's not something you adjust or remove. I haven't tried it yet

I got the cane creek eesilk stem from the same seller, doesn't look too bad. The switch doesn't have any writing on it to tell you if you're on the soft or hard setting like the genuine. The machining on the inside of the stem is a bit rough but the finish on the exterior looks similar. Because of the questionable nature of the stem, I question if there is a difference between the different elastometers

interesting that your ShockStop stem has the same damage to the pivot bolt.  I wonder if these stems are hand-assembled and as part of that process they are damaging the bolt.  I agree that the elastomers may be BS, but you can buy a new set from Redshift for $15.

[Eskae]

One update - I bought a pair of Paul Components Klamper brakes the other day.  I haven't installed them on my bike yet, so I can't review them yet.  But I did purchase new pad adjustment wheels from Paul Comp, with the intention of installing them on the Aliexpress Klampers.  I sat down last night to do that, and found out that the tolerances were off on the Aliexpress Klampers.  The piston and corresponding hole in the adjuster to fit around the piston are about a 10th of a millimeter off.  It's enough that the Paul Comp OEM adjusters won't fit on the brakes. 

I thought about milling out a little of the material on the OEM adjusters, but decided it was too much effort.  But good to know that the Aliexpress Klampers are not necessarily parts-interchangeable with the real deal.

[jonathanf2]

The Temai choice store which I believe is probably stocked by the Sensah official store is now offering Team Pro shifters with a Shimano 105 R7000 RD and Empire FD. I wonder if Sensah just gave up on doing a Shimano compatible RD?

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806063438127.html

[paldo]

The Temai choice store which I believe is probably stocked by the Sensah official store is now offering Team Pro shifters with a Shimano 105 R7000 RD and Empire FD. I wonder if Sensah just gave up on doing a Shimano compatible RD?

Looks like Teampro can shift Sram front derailleur now..

[s3si1u]

The Temai choice store which I believe is probably stocked by the Sensah official store is now offering Team Pro shifters with a Shimano 105 R7000 RD and Empire FD. I wonder if Sensah just gave up on doing a Shimano compatible RD?

Looks like Teampro can shift Sram front derailleur now..

Based off my anecdotal experiences with SRAM 11 speed groupsets, Shimano and SRAM 11 speed front derailleurs have always been interchangeable. At least it worked for me? 

[Eskae]

Updates:

Shockstop Stem
I mounted the repro Shockstop stem on my bike ahead of my commute to work this morning and made it less than half a mile before I pulled over and put the old stem back on.  The first bump in the road I hit caused the handlebars to flop up and down like a wet noodle.  Afterwards, I could move them up and down with just my hand; the elastomer inserts don't seem to do anything.  I was using the two yellow elastomers that came already installed in the stem.  Also, I installed the faceplate screws with a torque wrench set to the recommended 5nm; when I went to remove the stem, two of the four screws were already loose.  I could locktite them in the future, but also not inspiring confidence.

I might try taking the thing apart and putting in different elastomers, but at this point I had a bad first impression when I got the stem, and now a bad second impression when I tried to use it.  A stem failure is one of the most potentially dangerous component failures on a bike and I don't want to take chances in that area.

Paul Klampers
On a more positive note, I had the Paul Klampers installed over the weekend by a local bike shop that specializes in gravel bikes and has worked with Klampers a lot.  The head mechanic didn't notice anything off with them and so far they seem to perform well.  I'll need to put a couple dozen more miles in before the pads and rotors "bed in" and I can accurately assess how well they work, but so far, so good.

Ingrid RD-1
I'm getting occasional phantom shifts now.  It's been adjusted by two different bike shops in the past 4 weeks, each chalking it up to cable tension and saying they aren't seeing any issues.  Indexing is still generally accurate and swift on 95% of shifts, but it gives me some concern that performance is going to further degrade over time.  I'm also wondering if it would perform better with a higher-quality shifter than the current Sensah SRX, like something from SRAM or Shimano, but I don't want to spend more money to find out. 

- Edit: I adjusted the cable tension again and haven't had any issues since.  It's probably just a side effect of cable stretch as I put miles on it.

[buckfifty]

Updates:

Shockstop Stem
I mounted the repro Shockstop stem on my bike ahead of my commute to work this morning and made it less than half a mile before I pulled over and put the old stem back on.  The first bump in the road I hit caused the handlebars to flop up and down like a wet noodle.  Afterwards, I could move them up and down with just my hand; the elastomer inserts don't seem to do anything.  I was using the two yellow elastomers that came already installed in the stem.  Also, I installed the faceplate screws with a torque wrench set to the recommended 5nm; when I went to remove the stem, two of the four screws were already loose.  I could locktite them in the future, but also not inspiring confidence.

I might try taking the thing apart and putting in different elastomers, but at this point I had a bad first impression when I got the stem, and now a bad second impression when I tried to use it.  A stem failure is one of the most potentially dangerous component failures on a bike and I don't want to take chances in that area.

Paul Klampers
On a more positive note, I had the Paul Klampers installed over the weekend by a local bike shop that specializes in gravel bikes and has worked with Klampers a lot.  The head mechanic didn't notice anything off with them and so far they seem to perform well.  I'll need to put a couple dozen more miles in before the pads and rotors "bed in" and I can accurately assess how well they work, but so far, so good.

Ingrid RD-1
I'm getting occasional phantom shifts now.  It's been adjusted by two different bike shops in the past 4 weeks, each chalking it up to cable tension and saying they aren't seeing any issues.  Indexing is still generally accurate and swift on 95% of shifts, but it gives me some concern that performance is going to further degrade over time.  I'm also wondering if it would perform better with a higher-quality shifter than the current Sensah SRX, like something from SRAM or Shimano, but I don't want to spend more money to find out.

damn, glad you weren't hurt. Redshift does sell the elastometers separately. I have an authentic stem with spare elastometers. I should try to see if the real ones fit the replica. How did the elastometers look after the bump? Also did you install the stem to where the elastometers are above the support piece?

[lavistaa]

Got it. Funnily enough the thumb trigger on LTwoo is what caught my fancy. I have Shimano and SRAM.. And this looked different.

Like you, really like LTWOO/campy style shifting.  they are (as far as I can tell/tested) completely shimano compatible (10/11/12) and mix well with them.  I have tried Ultegra RX with LTWOO and worked just great as LTWOO has limited cassette range compared with Ultegra RX.

[coffeebreak]

Like you, really like LTWOO/campy style shifting.  they are (as far as I can tell/tested) completely shimano compatible (10/11/12) and mix well with them.  I have tried Ultegra RX with LTWOO and worked just great as LTWOO has limited cassette range compared with Ultegra RX.

So, an update on this now that I have been able to put around 200 miles of use on these through all the rain and cold weather here in PNW - the thumb button shifter is impossible to hit from the drops. I just can't reach it with thick winter gloves. It can only be accessed from the top of the hoods but I guess that's how it is supposed to be. These are installed on a very W I D E flared bars so they are at an extreme angle. The shifting took me some time to get used to. I am sure these will be better on regular road handlebar rather than crazy flared gravel bars.

Secondly the clamp band tightening screw is at wildly deep location on the shifter. Maddening that did they not think of having that screw more accessible. I had ball head hex key and with some jiggling I was able to get it into the screw head. Total pain to tighten, made worse by flared bars. If you are playing with the angle, trying out different positions, these are the absolute worst shifters to do so with.

Third. The downshift lever is wobbly. It is supposed to go in the brake lever's underside but it is not perfectly positioned to do so. End result, when you press the brake lever this little shift lever tries to "float" above the brake lever instead of going in the recess. Not a big issue but it shows the build/quality control is meh. I fear after some wear, that lever will pretty much refuse to stay in place.

Now for the good part - the shifts are crisp. As in I can't fault them against GRX 400 which were there earlier on the same bike. The indexing was easy peasy (Sunshine 10s 11-42) and I particularly like the cable routing. Its fiddly because you have to thread in the cable through a plastic part but once done its good to look at.
The derailleur is bit sloppy though. After installing it, there remains some play around the big mounting bolt. I almost thought I did not tighten it enough and double checked but no, that derailleur just has slop in it. Thankfully, once the cable tension kicks in the slop goes away and does not hamper shifts. In my short experience there hasn't been a missed shift.
And despite the downshift lever being loose, it works perfectly and has good resistance to it. I am going to keep an eye out for it though.

The cable routing at shifter end is fairly straight forward but I am not a big fan of rotating brake cable holder. Also I made a mistake and used regular brake cables with hydro-mechanical Onirii calipers. Now the brakes are all spongy and feel weak. I have compressionless housing coming in but too lazy to change things again because the bar tape job turned out phenomenal (for a change lol). Hopefully, the spongy feeling isn't because of the levers.

[jonathanf2]

It looks like Sensah is doing more HRD versions of their hydraulic shifters. They recently released hydraulic 10 speed Shimano compatible PHI shifters (not compatible with Tiagra 4700 or GRX 400 10 speed).

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806100335894.html

[Eskae]

damn, glad you weren't hurt. Redshift does sell the elastomers separately. I have an authentic stem with spare elastomers. I should try to see if the real ones fit the replica. How did the elastomers look after the bump? Also did you install the stem to where the elastomers are above the support piece?

I haven't taken it apart to examine the condition of the elastomers.  It's occurred to me that maybe they were just placeholder ones and I have to install some of the others that came with the stem.  I'll get around to it eventually, but in general I've kind of soured on stems from Aliexpress.  I put a nice NITTO steel hand-brazed stem on it, which looks gorgeous and is bombproof.  I don't do a lot of trail riding, so not very motivated to to move to an articulated stem at this point.

[Eskae]

Paul "Tall & Handsome" Seatpost:
URL: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805827826075.html
Review: 8/10
Details: Very happy with this item.  Would give it a 10/10 but I don't have a real Paul Comp seat post to compare it to, so I have to assume it could have small differences.  Installation was easy (no different than any other seat post) and does what it's expected to do.

Thomson Elite 27.2 Seatpost:
URL: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806133158968.html
Review: 8/10
Details: I haven't installed it yet, but I've owned genuine Thomson seat posts in the past and this one looks identical to them.  It didn't come with a Thomson bag, which is why I've knocked some points off.  Otherwise, though, this looks to be a solid replica with no issues.

Thomson Elite X4 1 1/8" 80mm 31.8 clamp stem
URL: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806133147036.html
Review: 4/10
Details: Unlike the seat post, this one is trash.  Looks nothing like a Thomson stem, and certainly not like the photo on Aliexpress. They ain't fooling anyone.  The branding is poorly done, obviously fake looking.  I haven't installed it since I wouldn't want something like that on my bike, it's embarrassing. Skip it. 

[buckfifty]

I haven't taken it apart to examine the condition of the elastomers.  It's occurred to me that maybe they were just placeholder ones and I have to install some of the others that came with the stem.  I'll get around to it eventually, but in general I've kind of soured on stems from Aliexpress.  I put a nice NITTO steel hand-brazed stem on it, which looks gorgeous and is bombproof.  I don't do a lot of trail riding, so not very motivated to to move to an articulated stem at this point.

I took out the spare authentic elastometers from Redshift to compare with the spares from the AliEx version, the sizes/dimensions are the same, just the stamping on them is a bit different. Stems from AE, I would trust the Kalloy ones. The counterfeit ones, maybe not so much

[Eskae]

agreed on Kalloy stems.  I mean, an aluminum threadless stem is a pretty simple gizmo and hard to f* up.  It's when they are trying to copy more exotic designs like Paul Comp or Redshift that problems start occurring.