Be aware of Spcycle (sp-cycle.com) / TanTan

[Pkd17]

Some context first: I have dealed with several Asian suppliers before and have not had any problems so far. Some even exceeded my expectations and offered a really good customer service. Unfortunately, Sp-Cycle cannot be included to the list of trustful suppliers.

Short version of my story:
Bought the Gravel Frame G068 last year on July 29th, so roughly one year untill now. Building quality was ok. The brakemounts needed some facing, besides that, nothing serious. However, after a few weeks of normal riding I experienced a play in the fork. Turned out the "FlipChip" Insert in the dropout rattled loose and the play was getting so bad that it was unrideable. First they did not respond anything to my mails. After a "not so nice" mail they were willing to send me a new fork. This took roughly 2 months (!) untill I received my new fork.

Then, two weeks ago, during normal riding on a flat road my braking suddenly felt "strange". I had a look at the fork and realized that on of the bushing/sockets of the brake mount snapped out of the fork! I could wiggle the brake mount with my bare hands. I attached a picture for reference. I again contacted them without any response. After a serious mail, they replied that "I can do what I want, but they will not send a new fork". Full transparency: After that, I told them that I will publish my story, if they do not agree to fullfill warranty.

Normally I am the one that "defends" Asian suppliers when someone is concerned and talks about Carbon braking, serious defects and so on. But in this case I really feel that this is a serious defect that can lead to really serious injuries. If they would have even responded in a professional way, I would be willing to accept that, but the way they are dealig with customers is just plain unprofessional.

[00Garza]

Yikes. These are the chinese carbon horror stories people speak of. Several bad experiences with Spcycle documented on this site already. Seems like this is one dealer to avoid.
I almost bought one of their frames. Glad I didn't.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[00Garza]

Don't forget that horrific paint job that poor guy got a few threads down. That was criminal! Though not quite as dangerous.

[Pkd17]

good to know. I find it very hard to trust frame sellers that use aliexpress. I guess you didn't go through via aliexpress? I think you may have better protection there, because it's in aliexpress' interest to keep customers happy, to some extent, for repeat business. It's also often cheaper on aliexpress because of all the coupons games.

Either way, in recent times, it means tantan and spcycle have brought back cases of catastrophic failures that we used to be afraid of years ago when buying chinese frames. In both instances, forks, interestingly. What i find really interesting is that lots of forum users are still buying the tantan x68 despite all the shadiness and failures. Looks like because it looks like an SL8, short of shooting them in the head, they'll just buy the x68. At which point, it's not irrational for tantan to sell garbage, because people are buying it no matter what. Not unlike fast food, in a way. Maybe something similar is at play with spcycle.

No, I bought from their online Shop.

[zegal]

WOW, i have two G068 frames that i me and GF ride often, happy with them, i pushed the frame way over my comfort zone on some sketchy single tracks and survived w/o issues... now i'm gonna be scared

[jonathanf2]

Are you sure you installed the fork properly and torqued everything down properly? Gravel riding puts extra strain on equipment, so it's a good idea to make sure everything is secure. I don't see how the dropout just started randomly rattling. I'm fairly OCD making sure everything is bolted down firmly. Where I ride, normal gravel riding can be life-or-death if my bike isn't setup properly.

At least it's just the fork that's problematic. I'd just buy an aftermarket fork and not mess with the adjustable offset. The less $hit to fiddle with the better.

[SirBikealot]

did the rivet nut crack the carbon and fell out?
I had a "similar" problem with the the rivet nuts inside the handlebar where the garmin mount is screwed into. Suddenly my garmin and the mount "disapeared" while riding some mild cobbles. Problem was that the nuts were just kind of glued into the handlebar instead of beeing crushed as intended.

[Pkd17]

Are you sure you installed the fork properly and torqued everything down properly? Gravel riding puts extra strain on equipment, so it's a good idea to make sure everything is secure. I don't see how the dropout just started randomly rattling. I'm fairly OCD making sure everything is bolted down firmly. Where I ride, normal gravel riding can be life-or-death if my bike isn't setup properly.

At least it's just the fork that's problematic. I'd just buy an aftermarket fork and not mess with the adjustable offset. The less $hit to fiddle with the better.

For the dropout there is not much you can do. There is one very tiny screw that secures the insert. However, this was more like a little play. Not nice, but also not threatening. The brake thing was obviously the bigger problem. I just can say I ALWAYS use a (Wera) Torque wrench and never tigthened to more than 5nm.

[Pkd17]

did the rivet nut crack the carbon and fell out?
I had a "similar" problem with the the rivet nuts inside the handlebar where the garmin mount is screwed into. Suddenly my garmin and the mount "disapeared" while riding some mild cobbles. Problem was that the nuts were just kind of glued into the handlebar instead of beeing crushed as intended.

No, no crack visible. The rivet nut was just "pulled out" during riding.

[Pkd17]

Update on the whole situation:
Like written before I ordered a new fork and told them that I expect a compensation. They answered really unprofessional and told me that they will not cover anything. Not a single word of "sorry" or anything.

Now they have my money from the order, but the fork does not ship and they do not answer any mails anymore in which I ask them to at least cancel the order and refund the money. Nothing....    Luckily I paid with paypal and just opened a case for this.

[Takiyaki]

good to know. I find it very hard to trust frame sellers that use aliexpress. I guess you didn't go through via aliexpress? I think you may have better protection there, because it's in aliexpress' interest to keep customers happy, to some extent, for repeat business. It's also often cheaper on aliexpress because of all the coupons games.

Either way, in recent times, it means tantan and spcycle have brought back cases of catastrophic failures that we used to be afraid of years ago when buying chinese frames. In both instances, forks, interestingly. What i find really interesting is that lots of forum users are still buying the tantan x68 despite all the shadiness and failures. Looks like because it looks like an SL8, short of shooting them in the head, they'll just buy the x68. At which point, it's not irrational for tantan to sell garbage, because people are buying it no matter what. Not unlike fast food, in a way. Maybe something similar is at play with spcycle.

AE offers more buyer protection than buying direct. I have had OK times with disputes on AE.

That said it sounds like budget Chinese brands are giving up on any semblence of QC or customer service. Again I like my Tantan FM639 but after the issues with my GoZone wheels I might be done with DTC China stuff. At least big carbon components like frames/wheels.

[Tijoe]

I've ridden the crap out of my Spcycle SP-M05 that I purchased on 2021.   Best inexpensive lightweight carbon hardtail frame I've ever purchased.

Thinking about your problem, it is with the fork.  There is a high probability that Spcycle purchases the forks they are using from another supplier/manufacturer.  If this is the case, they may not want to admit this, and or their supplier wont honor a warranty to them.   I purchased a 26" X 150 fat tire carbon fork from Spcycle 3 years that has worked well without any issues.   

I wonder too if you are in the USA.  Perhaps, they are disenfranchised with the tariffs, and how much it will cost them to ship a new fork to you, and decided to say screw it and blow you off. 

[Pkd17]

I've ridden the crap out of my Spcycle SP-M05 that I purchased on 2021.   Best inexpensive lightweight carbon hardtail frame I've ever purchased.

Thinking about your problem, it is with the fork.  There is a high probability that Spcycle purchases the forks they are using from another supplier/manufacturer.  If this is the case, they may not want to admit this, and or their supplier wont honor a warranty to them.   I purchased a 26" X 150 fat tire carbon fork from Spcycle 3 years that has worked well without any issues.   

I wonder too if you are in the USA.  Perhaps, they are disenfranchised with the tariffs, and how much it will cost them to ship a new fork to you, and decided to say screw it and blow you off.

No, living in Europe.

[Tijoe]

No, living in Europe.

Based on my current perspective regarding the new regime in the USA, "Lucky you"