Are AliEx/open mold carbon bikes common in your area?

[jadenchinertown192]

i live in the bay area and honestly see a good amount of unbranded open mould, defo a handful everytime I go for a quick 20-50 mile ride. Then again the cycling community here is huge. I see lots and lots of high end bikeporn worthy s-works and boutique brands, I have also seen yoeleo, velobuild, etc etc

[jonathanf2]

i live in the bay area and honestly see a good amount of unbranded open mould, defo a handful everytime I go for a quick 20-50 mile ride. Then again the cycling community here is huge. I see lots and lots of high end bikeporn worthy s-works and boutique brands, I have also seen yoeleo, velobuild, etc etc

LA is the complete opposite. I'm in the heart of the city and go on a fair amount of group rides including road, gravel and social meets. I've also worked at a few bike events. In the past few years, I've only seen two non-western frames (a Seaboard gravel frame and Seka road bike) out of hundreds of bikes I've seen. It could also be the LA mentality of just trying to show-off!

[ZacItaly15]

I'm italian living in the craddle of bespoke and craftman of bikes
Close to Pinarello, Wilier, Basso and many craftman like Bonetti, Barco, Sarto. I live in the same city of Campagnolo.

With my chinese bike, I'm treated by other cyclist as a criminal...

[cyruscycles]

i live in the bay area and honestly see a good amount of unbranded open mould, defo a handful everytime I go for a quick 20-50 mile ride. Then again the cycling community here is huge. I see lots and lots of high end bikeporn worthy s-works and boutique brands, I have also seen yoeleo, velobuild, etc etc

I noticed that the tech bro crowd lend themselves to buying top spec S-works/Trek stuff, but also building up their own bikes from DTC western brands and chiner builds. I think their jobs select for people that like tinkering, but they also have enough money to blow on a dentist bike

[s3si1u]

Spotted a Trifox X16 out in the wild here in California this past weekend. Also had a QED power meter crank set. Wonder if it was one of y'all, maybe? 

[Blueberry]

I see them in California/bay area sometimes. Definitely not tons of them but there's a guy I see on group rides who has a carbonda gravel bike. There's definitely Winspaces, those aren't exactly AliX or open mold. The average cyclist is definitely not that knowledgeable about the good stuff coming out of east asia. One of my teammates was saying they wanted new race wheels and when I offered to sell them my FarSports EVO S 5/6 wheelset they said they wanted to go with "a more reputable brand."

[dtoddh]

I frequently see unbranded carbon bikes around where I live in central North Carolina. Mostly hardtail 29ers and gravel/cross bikes.

[Dark17]

What's your opinion of the Ave Maldea steel frames from the Philippines?

Forgive me for reviving this thread but I just want to answer jonathanf2's question from a year ago.

Ave Maldea steel frames are really good. Ave himself is a custom frame maker and he is famous for building a lot of custom steel frames from fixies, road bikes to MTBs and quality are really good. You can even send him geometry chart so he can build one. I want to order a custom commuter frame from him someday!

[kwantani]

I live in San Jose. Don't ride as much as some of you do. I managed to spot a Elves Falath this summer at the Mt Hamilton so far. I ride chinese Ti gravel and a LongTeng RD301d with a chinese paint job that got some attention from time to time...

I see them in California/bay area sometimes. Definitely not tons of them but there's a guy I see on group rides who has a carbonda gravel bike. There's definitely Winspaces, those aren't exactly AliX or open mold. The average cyclist is definitely not that knowledgeable about the good stuff coming out of east asia. One of my teammates was saying they wanted new race wheels and when I offered to sell them my FarSports EVO S 5/6 wheelset they said they wanted to go with "a more reputable brand."

[kwantani]

I make sure I bring my friend's fake Pinarello to ride on my next trip to Italy. 

I'm italian living in the craddle of bespoke and craftman of bikes
Close to Pinarello, Wilier, Basso and many craftman like Bonetti, Barco, Sarto. I live in the same city of Campagnolo.

With my chinese bike, I'm treated by other cyclist as a criminal...

[Dareios]

I'm italian living in the craddle of bespoke and craftman of bikes
Close to Pinarello, Wilier, Basso and many craftman like Bonetti, Barco, Sarto. I live in the same city of Campagnolo.

With my chinese bike, I'm treated by other cyclist as a criminal...

I do feel like the casual Italian rider has way more negative stereotypes about Chinese bikes than usual.
At the same time, the local bikefitter around here in Bressanone/Brixen also sells/orders OEM bikes (but through a guy who does the importing for him) and even some Magene bike computers.

[Da11as]

I make sure I bring my friend's fake Pinarello to ride on my next trip to Italy. 

It absolutely must have "Chinarello" logo on the downtube.

[Stubbie Blue]

Just saw a guy with 2 Tavelos in South Florida heading to A1A. I have a BXT SL-115 and a TanTan TT-X68.

[dolph]

I'm italian living in the craddle of bespoke and craftman of bikes
Close to Pinarello, Wilier, Basso and many craftman like Bonetti, Barco, Sarto. I live in the same city of Campagnolo.

With my chinese bike, I'm treated by other cyclist as a criminal...

You need to travel in time some decades for an italian crafted bike.

[lidation]

I'm italian living in the craddle of bespoke and craftman of bikes
Close to Pinarello, Wilier, Basso and many craftman like Bonetti, Barco, Sarto. I live in the same city of Campagnolo.

With my chinese bike, I'm treated by other cyclist as a criminal...

LOL. Totally understand. You European folks prize a lot on tradition.