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

[jonathanf2]

Oh man tough luck. I hope you get the money back. This does look like a serious issue I mean come on, brand new crank and it cracked. Imagine going a heavy load on it while climbing. To be honest when you said there is a minor chain rub even with 2 spacers that kinda turned me off - I am not as diligent as you to watch which chainring/rear cog I am on every time and frequently do cross chaining. Are you back to 105 crankset?

Yep I put back my 105 crankset for now. My bike feels heavier! Lol

I just received my return shipping label. Thankfully I don't have to ship it directly back to China. It's a return address to a warehouse in Chicago of all places.

The design for the drive side crank arm actually seems solid. Though the clamping setup for the non-drive side is way too fragile. They would have been better off just including a lightweight alloy left crank arm with faux carbon fiber that matches the aesthetics of the drive side. It would probably increase weight by less than 50g, but it would be far more durable. Also I think the chain rub is due more to the chainring ramping pins. Perhaps a direct mount chainring from either Senicx or Goldix (WTF gold dicks) would be a better option.

[coffeebreak]

I just received my return shipping label. Thankfully I don't have to ship it directly back to China. It's a return address to a warehouse in Chicago of all places.

That's good to know. Returns on Aliex is a known problem. This gives some hope.

[coffeebreak]

I have been looking at internal cable routing handlebar/stem combo and came across this bar -

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804668521773.html

The weight is scaring me off. Even with a regular alloy stem you are looking at 250gm total.

[jonathanf2]

I have been looking at internal cable routing handlebar/stem combo and came across this bar -

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804668521773.html

The weight is scaring me off. Even with a regular alloy stem you are looking at 250gm total.

The one thing I'm starting to realize with being a weight weenie is the more weight you cut, the more durability issues you'll face. Something has to give at 150g, unless they're using some of that top tier carbon fiber that Specialized uses with their S-Works bikes.

[jonathanf2]

I know RXL has made a few drop bar duds, but I have these bars mounted on two bikes and they've been rock solid. Not the lightest, but not the heaviest though. Coming in around 220-230g depending on the size you get. They're also quite stiff and the top flat section is quite comfortable to hold.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803093583495.html

[00Garza]

Well I'm going to have to reverse my decision on this crankset.

The drive side crank works fine, but the big problem is the 2 bolt clamping setup on the non-drive side crank arm. The design is way too fragile. Even with a low torque setting, I ended up cracking the non-drive side crank arm. This type of design is fine with alloy cranks like Shimano, but I think it would have been better to use some sort of center bolt locking setup that doesn't apply force to the carbon left crank arm.

Bummer. That was a great price point for a light carbon crank. Glad you got shipping taken care of. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[s3si1u]

Time to share my latest haul 
I have this fork on the way: https://www.ebay.com/itm/303880803441
I've been having some issues with my gravel bike (Poseidon frame with Trek fork) and finding a lower headset bearing that fits juuuust right. I'm guessing it's a replica of the Whisky No. 9 fork? I really like the look of fully external routing on the fork for a gravel bike and this was about the only affordable option I came across.

Also received this AXS carbon cage and pulley set a couple days ago: https://www.ebay.com/itm/124967134234?var=426038846323
It looked interesting so I ordered it for some cheap weight savings. I'm not sure how much (if any) of this I'll install, we'll see.

IGPSPORT IGS520 cycling computer on the way as well: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256801395069607.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.7a4e1802tIK8rR&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa&_randl_shipto=US
I've been eyeing the Magene C406 for a while now as it's a popular choice, but the IGS520 has navigation capability and is currently about half off so that sealed the deal.

Carbon inner cage plate is now installed on the AXS bike, looks fine so far, will ride it tomorrow. I'm skipping the oversized pulleys. A quick spin comparison in the hand against the stock pulleys asserts that they just don't spin as freely or quietly. Also, they're advertised as being 80% lighter than the stock pulleys, but they're actually heavier (stock 16g vs. these at 21g).

I've also just ordered one of these 12 speed cassettes to use on the trainer: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255800049110907.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.21ef1802Nk4d8n&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa&_randl_shipto=US
Anyone have any experience with these? They're very light, hoping it's good...

[RDY]

Carbon inner cage plate is now installed on the AXS bike, looks fine so far, will ride it tomorrow. I'm skipping the oversized pulleys. A quick spin comparison in the hand against the stock pulleys asserts that they just don't spin as freely or quietly. Also, they're advertised as being 80% lighter than the stock pulleys, but they're actually heavier (stock 16g vs. these at 21g).

I've also just ordered one of these 12 speed cassettes to use on the trainer: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255800049110907.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.21ef1802Nk4d8n&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa&_randl_shipto=US
Anyone have any experience with these? They're very light, hoping it's good...

Curious what you think of the carbon cage ... usually they're avoided because of later flex which causes problems.

[Crash217]

I love riding at night but I dislike spending money.  So what to do?   Been seeing a handful of internal battery light bars pop up on AliEx and Amazon (they come and go real quick from there)  over the past few months so...

Ordered this light today from the S-Wing Biking Store on AliExpress;  5200 Lumen, 8000mah internal battery w/ USB charging port.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804558555808.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.21ef1802D8xRpl&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa&_randl_shipto=US


Will report back when I receive it and get a chance to use it. 

I've got a cheap $15 USB powered light from amazon for the bars and a small helmet light that are adequate for most MTB speeds, but dealing with the wires on an external battery for the bike was annoying and I wanted a little more light.  I wasn't interested in spending $200-$500 on a light set up for my MTB so figured I'd try this out.

I'm curious to see it fired up next to my high end/expensive 6200Lumen 12 LED, 12" wide, 2 row light bar that I use for night time desert racing on my dirtbike.

[00Garza]

I need to stop visiting this thread lol! My Ali wishlist is getting out of hand!

[jonathanf2]

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803606384539.html

I picked up these bar and brake end protectors from Muqzi for a bit of extra protection.

[coffeebreak]

Anyone has experience with A-Ex gloves? Need pointers. I need to rethink my glove buying strategy. Second pair of the set (Specialized) I bought on 4th July 2022 has given up today. That's $50 every 3-4 months. Not sure if that is the expected life from road gloves but to me that sounds terrible.
The first pair developed holes on index and middle finger and on the cushion of the thumb and I retired them around October. The second pair now has hole on index finger tip of left hand and is disintegrating around the rubber pads. My thought process was to not skimp on products like this (gloves, bibs, shorts etc) and always get a good name brand stuff. Now I am thinking how bad those $5-10 gloves will be off of Amazon?

[carbonazza]

Anyone has experience with A-Ex gloves?...

I tried quite a few, each time the size was kind of odd even when following their size charts.
And the finish and quality were not good.

[Crash217]

Anyone has experience with A-Ex gloves? Need pointers. I need to rethink my glove buying

I have gotten a couple pairs of cheap Amazon/aliex gloves over the years.   One was really comfy but all were sized a bit weird and very cheap.

I just use motocross gloves for road and mtb.   I can get them cheap on year end close outs and they’re generally heavier duty than most anything marketed towards bicycles.

[00Garza]

Anyone has experience with A-Ex gloves? Need pointers.

How’s your bike fit? When I was tearing through gloves I realized my fit was a bit off on my new bike causing me to grip the bars abnormally.
I’ve tried cheap gloves in the past and found it not worth the savings. Maybe quality has changed since then? It was a few years ago.