Tavelo Aero Frame

[BikerJens]

Agreed. Also, not everybody is hard core cyclist. I have two friends, both engineers, who are thinking about buying a Chinese bike and they take into consideration the spec sheet with resale value in mind. 1. It's option value, and 2. They're unsure they will fall in love with cycling (road cycling is hard at the end of day) and so they want to know if they can resell stuff if they don't get hooked on the sport.

Funny thing. I'm a engineer and it's the same regarding spec sheet and resale value. The difference is that I do race on my bikes.

I have been riding roadbikes for 5 years now and manged to upgrade my bike 3 times now for little money, because I've made choices with good resale perspective.

(Also, it helped that I'm 200 cm tall, so people my size that want something used, have to pay extra compared to the 54-56 sized bikes. Good thing here, but shitty thing when I just want a Hygge frame and they do not make them that big!)

[James dean]

I think there is a market for all these bikes. The problem in the cycling industry is most people are sheep and believe that western brands are better then Chinese. That might be true as some Chinese brands have crap QC. I think the Chinese brands will flip the western in the next 10 years. Funny we all accept the western brands after they sponsor a world tour team. Factor was no one b4 ag2r. Van Rysel same. I own a spear and \i think its the best bike I have ridden. When people smart up and realize the Chinese are building some of the best bikes the industry will finally change. Kudos to everyone here riding a Chinese bike.

[patliean1]

With the exception of 1 to 2 road races a year, I stopped racing crits a couple of years ago. My anxiety for crashing and frail ego of getting dropped is high. Tough to make videos with a broken collarbone.

This week I took my buddy down to our flagship Specialized shop to purchase an Allez Sprint complete bike. I think he paid around $3000 before taxes. Beforehand he asked my thoughts about going with Specialized, and I did my best to consider all factors. He's new to the sport and most likely won't ride more than 50 miles a week. But then again he might just fall in love and go all in.

Could I have recommended a more affordable Chinese alternative with better wheels? Absolutely. But then I would be accountable for spec'ing all the components, building up the frameset, servicing it, and dealing with any future issues. Because we're buddies. It's a lot to take in for a new customer. He will have the peace of mind of local after sales support and warranty.

My Tavelo (Attack) is really good. $1500. Especially paired with a set CRW wheels. Both of which I paid for. It has very refined riding dynamic, and smoother than my T1500. Most likely the Arow is a blend of both the Attack and T1500 combined. But spending $2000 to find out if it can come close to my Propel would put me in the poor house.

[James dean]

With the exception of 1 to 2 road races a year, I stopped racing crits a couple of years ago. My anxiety for crashing and frail ego of getting dropped is high. Tough to make videos with a broken collarbone.

This week I took my buddy down to our flagship Specialized shop to purchase an Allez Sprint complete bike. I think he paid around $3000 before taxes. Beforehand he asked my thoughts about going with Specialized, and I did my best to consider all factors. He's new to the sport and most likely won't ride more than 50 miles a week. But then again he might just fall in love and go all in.

Could I have recommended a more affordable Chinese alternative with better wheels? Absolutely. But then I would be accountable for spec'ing all the components, building up the frameset, servicing it, and dealing with any future issues. Because we're buddies. It's a lot to take in for a new customer. He will have the peace of mind of local after sales support and warranty.

My Tavelo (Attack) is really good. $1500. Especially paired with a set CRW wheels. Both of which I paid for. It has very refined riding dynamic, and smoother than my T1500. Most likely the Arow is a blend of both the Attack and T1500 combined. But spending $2000 to find out if it can come close to my Propel would put me in the poor house.

Totally agree. At the end of the day we have one set of legs. Truth be told no new bike will make us 5km/h faster it’s just nice to get something new:)

[bremerradkurier]

Really interesting to me about how people care about resale value, as all the bikes that I have owned I ride until their life is over

So I'm really dating myself here-had a Focus made in Taiwan Tange No. 2 lugged steel frame in the mid 80s that I rode all over the Salt Lake City mountains for a few years and also in my first trip to Germany before joining the military.  Upgraded to a Basso Gap Columbus SL frame before I got orders back to Germany and gifted the frame to another soldier.  Saw in a Facebook group  two years ago that he remembered who I was and that he ending up riding that frame several more years across the US and also Korea before it finally died with a terminal downtube crack.

[jonathanf2]

Very different things. Just cause you don't want to give up resale value from the start, does not mean that you are affraid to ride it..

I live in a huge US urban sprawl with millions of cars, violent road rage, high speed car chases, daily bike thefts and a crumbling road infrastructure. No way would I feel comfortable riding something like an SL8 with SRAM RED unless I was only riding it in car parking lot. Resale value is the last thing I'm thinking about when I want to get home in one piece. Riding aggressively where I live is both a defensive and survival mechanism. I'll only ride what I can easily replace.

[BikerJens]

I live in a huge US urban sprawl with millions of cars, violent road rage, high speed car chases, daily bike thefts and a crumbling road infrastructure. No way would I feel comfortable riding something like an SL8 with SRAM RED unless I was only riding it in car parking lot. Resale value is the last thing I'm thinking about when I want to get home in one piece. Riding aggressively where I live is both a defensive and survival mechanism. I'll only ride what I can easily replace.

That is a bit different wording than your original “people don’t ride hard enough!” post.

And don’t get me wrong. I’m not against frames from China. As I said earlier, I would love a Hygge Aero frame or a Tavelo Arow. But the Hygge one is not made in my size and the Tavelo is more expensive than the Merida Reacto I ended up with.

[coffeebreak]

While the frameset prices drop like lead, the Chiner wheelsets seem to hold well in used markets.. not talking about Superteams but Winspace, Farsports, Elite Drive/Edge, Yoeleo and even ICAN. Another observation, those exaggeratedly priced FM696 rebrands also retain values if you are to sell, compared to Carbonda 696 e.g. Bombtrack HOOK C, Ridley Kanzo and also the smaller names like Boltcutter.

[jonathanf2]

That is a bit different wording than your original “people don’t ride hard enough!” post.

And don’t get me wrong. I’m not against frames from China. As I said earlier, I would love a Hygge Aero frame or a Tavelo Arow. But the Hygge one is not made in my size and the Tavelo is more expensive than the Merida Reacto I ended up with.

Point being I don't ride without regrets or hold back for fear of crashing or damaging my bike because of the environment I live in. Honestly, I could easily go with an S-Works Aethos and a Crux for my road/gravel combo. I would even be a cheap ass and throw on an LTwoo or Wheeltop groupset with some no-brand name lightweight carbon wheels!

[James dean]

I cant remember the last time I bought a bike with the thought of resale. Hell Im the guy who always sells his stuff way too cheap.

[BikerJens]

I cant remember the last time I bought a bike with the thought of resale. Hell Im the guy who always sells his stuff way too cheap.

Well. I wish I was a place in life were that was the case for me also 

I just think I get a kick of getting a good deal. A good deal for me is something with a good resale value or good value for my money (isn't that the reason why we're all here?).

[coffeebreak]

It also matters if you like to change bikes often. At least that's what I do. Take apart everything, move groupset and wheels to another frame and sell the old frameset.

[BikerJens]

It also matters if you like to change bikes often. At least that's what I do. Take apart everything, move groupset and wheels to another frame and sell the old frameset.

Know that feeling. I'm on my third bike in those 5 years.

Started out with a Stevens Izoard. Great bike, but a bit old school with rim brakes. Then I got a Giant TCR Pro Team disc. Again, great bike, but I started racing more this year (and live in pan flat Denmark..) so I wanted something more aero. Now on my Merida Reacto. Let us see how long it last..

[JonathanSiradj]

Resale value is obviously important. However, if you are racing you want to be able to change things, upgrade and even crash without going broke. For sure, buying a second hand specialized SL7/8 or Giant Propel will yield better resale and you will know what you are getting. But, I want a 36 mm wide bar, 120 mm stem. 165 crank arms with 54 chainrings. There is no "complete" bika that comes with that. Second hand frames in Sweden where I live go for pretty high still. With the Tavelo Arow you get the frame and handlebars for a fraction of the cost. Honestly, I feel that the price point is very competetive if you take all those things in to account. 

[BikerJens]

Resale value is obviously important. However, if you are racing you want to be able to change things, upgrade and even crash without going broke. For sure, buying a second hand specialized SL7/8 or Giant Propel will yield better resale and you will know what you are getting. But, I want a 36 mm wide bar, 120 mm stem. 165 crank arms with 54 chainrings. There is no "complete" bika that comes with that. Second hand frames in Sweden where I live go for pretty high still. With the Tavelo Arow you get the frame and handlebars for a fraction of the cost. Honestly, I feel that the price point is very competetive if you take all those things in to account.

What did you end up paying for the total build?