AliExpress and Specialized crackdown on $1.6 million counterfeit operation

[jonathanf2]

Don't shoot the messenger! I was sent this recent article last night and it's been AI translated from Chinese to English. Article screenshots have been attached.

[carboncal]

I read this online and came here to see if there was any other insight. My first question was whether this was directed toward the TT X68 but it looks as if this manu was literally duplicating Specialized frames, decals and all. Crazy.

[BIFO17]

The only thing that makes it counterfeit is the use of registered logos. The frame shapes themselves are not registered and there are no associated patents, so you can clone a frame shape without any legal risk. However, you cannot use a brand's logo without its permission.

However, to say that frames and handlebars are dangerous remains to be seen.
They want us to believe that a generic (unbranded) frame is reliable, and yet, strangely enough, as soon as you put the SWORKS sticker on it, it becomes dangerous. 

That's the rhetoric used by brands to protect their business and sell us overpriced frames.

[toxin]

They want us to believe that a generic (unbranded) frame is reliable

Based on what? There have certainly been plenty of problems with the Tantan sl8 clone, including safety hazards

[insanetree]

I think it might be Taiwan Eisen, who has been caught.
Their website is down.

[BIFO17]

Based on what? There have certainly been plenty of problems with the Tantan sl8 clone, including safety hazards

Je ne dis pas qu'il n'y a pas de problème, et on pourra toujours trouver des exemples. je dis qu'un cadre contrefaits n'est pas plus dangereux qu'un cadre générique, ce qui dérange (et c'est bien normal ), c'est le fait d'utiliser le nom de la marque, c'est ce qui fait qu'on parle de contrefaçon. Sauf qu'ici , Specialized mets en avant le fait que ces cadres sont dangereux alors qu'ils ne sont pas plus dangereux que d'autres cadres sans marques.
De plus mêmes les marques ne sont exemptes de défaut dangereux (casse de cintre canyon, pb de pivot de fourche sl6 ou 7, fourche Lapierre etc etc , la différence étant qu'avec une marque on a généralement un sav ... Quoique .
Pour en revenir à Tan-Tan ou autres revendeurs / fabricants de générique, oui il y aussi des pb de qualité de fabrication, et surtout d'absence de contrôle qualité.
C'est bien pour cela qu'il est important de bien choisir son fournisseur et aussi de savoir qu'on ne peut pas avoir la même exigence vis a vis d'un fabricant de cadre à 1000 et un autre à 6000.

Dans tous les cas, ici, specialized avance le fait que les cadres contrefaits sont dangereux sans en apporter la preuve scientifique, examens qui devrait être confié à un labo indépendant...
Je pense qu'il y a assez de retour positif pour dire qu'il existe dexcellent cadre (moi même j'ai plus de 100000km sur des cadres génériques ou contrefait sans aucun pb de fiabilité.

Based on what? There have certainly been plenty of problems with the Tantan SL8 clone, including safety hazards.

I'm not saying there aren't any problems, And we can always find examples.I'm saying that a counterfeit frame isn't any more dangerous than a generic one. What's troubling (and quite rightly so) is the use of the brand name. Except here, Specialized is highlighting the fact that these frames are dangerous when they're no more dangerous than other unbranded frames.

 Furthermore, even brand-name brands aren't immune to dangerous defects (Canyon handlebar breakage, SL6 or SL7 fork steerer problems, Lapierre forks, etc.), the difference being that with a brand name, you generally have after-sales service... although... Getting back to Tan-Tan or other generic resellers/manufacturers, yes, there are also manufacturing quality issues, and especially a lack of quality control. That's precisely why it's important to choose your supplier carefully and also to understand that you can't have the same expectations of a frame manufacturer costing €1000 as you would of one costing €6000.

In any case, here, Specialized claims that counterfeit frames are dangerous without providing scientific proof, tests that should be conducted by an independent lab... I think there's enough positive feedback to say that excellent frames exist (I myself have over 100,000 km on generic or counterfeit frames without any problems).  reliability.

[toxin]

The thing i,  most commonly counterfeits are produced to much lower standards by factories who don't care as much about making quality products as much as they care about making a quick buck. No serious factory that makes "generic" frames is making counterfeits because it would destroy their reputation and big brands would never choose them as an OEM supplier.

[jonathanf2]

I think the issue with counterfeits is that they make it to fake it. Everything else is secondary. I wouldn't be surprised my SPCycle R088 frameset comes from the same factory the counterfeits are being made, albeit with some changes and final QC checks by SPCycle. In my case and other buyers of the frame, they've been fairly responsive to send replacement parts and/or components. There's not much hoopla on the R088 thread, most the frames arrive with minimal problems.

[Tijoe]

Of course, we all know that the most prevalent counterfeit bike part are chains.  We have all been ripped off purchasing a fake chain at some point in our riding lives.