Chinertown

Chinese Carbon Road Bikes => Road Bike Frames, Wheels & Components => Topic started by: Takiyaki on February 11, 2025, 08:01:22 PM

Title: How to spot AE scams
Post by: Takiyaki on February 11, 2025, 08:01:22 PM
https://www.aliexpress.us/w/wholesale-carbon-bike.html?g=y&SearchText=carbon+bike&pr=-350
Title: Re: Ummmm..... whole carbon bikes are going for $250-300 shipped
Post by: Takiyaki on February 12, 2025, 06:53:29 AM
Naw the Twitter gravel bike has a carbon frame

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808274922933.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.7aa6441d3206gW&algo_pvid=72f1ae7c-9851-4e60-8e30-033e2c5b597b&algo_exp_id=72f1ae7c-9851-4e60-8e30-033e2c5b597b-0&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%224%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%7D&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21USD%21825.98%21247.80%21%21%21778.93%21233.68%21%402101c67a17393647545646037e14d8%2112000045233506851%21sea%21US%212031565588%21X&curPageLogUid=mGAWcAWFt0RW&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A
Title: Re: Ummmm..... whole carbon bikes are going for $250-300 shipped
Post by: maza on February 12, 2025, 07:29:08 AM
If something is too good to be true - it is.
Title: Re: Ummmm..... whole carbon bikes are going for $250-300 shipped
Post by: FullCarbonAlchemist on February 12, 2025, 08:29:26 AM
Naw the Twitter gravel bike has a carbon frame

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808274922933.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.7aa6441d3206gW&algo_pvid=72f1ae7c-9851-4e60-8e30-033e2c5b597b&algo_exp_id=72f1ae7c-9851-4e60-8e30-033e2c5b597b-0&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%224%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%7D&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21USD%21825.98%21247.80%21%21%21778.93%21233.68%21%402101c67a17393647545646037e14d8%2112000045233506851%21sea%21US%212031565588%21X&curPageLogUid=mGAWcAWFt0RW&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A

For some reason, the first time I clicked your first link it only showed two bikes, both of which were “carbon steel” not carbon fiber.

Now a long list of bikes show up, not all steel or suspicious, though a lot of them in that price category are in fact actually steel.
Title: Re: Ummmm..... whole carbon bikes are going for $250-300 shipped
Post by: jonathanf2 on February 12, 2025, 09:42:04 AM
Naw the Twitter gravel bike has a carbon frame

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808274922933.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.7aa6441d3206gW&algo_pvid=72f1ae7c-9851-4e60-8e30-033e2c5b597b&algo_exp_id=72f1ae7c-9851-4e60-8e30-033e2c5b597b-0&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%224%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%7D&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21USD%21825.98%21247.80%21%21%21778.93%21233.68%21%402101c67a17393647545646037e14d8%2112000045233506851%21sea%21US%212031565588%21X&curPageLogUid=mGAWcAWFt0RW&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A

That Twitter frame isn't bad. For that price, it's better than anything from Walmart. It's basically running a re-branded Sensah SRX HRD groupset with ZRace XG hydraulic calipers.
Title: Re: Ummmm..... whole carbon bikes are going for $250-300 shipped
Post by: Takiyaki on February 12, 2025, 01:48:21 PM
The groupset alone is prob worth like $200. I like it on my Twitter C6
Title: Re: Ummmm..... whole carbon bikes are going for $250-300 shipped
Post by: kwantani on February 12, 2025, 08:13:40 PM
Looking at the seller page, the seller is based in Spain! that's almost guaranteed it's a scam. Someone from Spain selling Chinese brand bikes on a Chinese online platform with a dirt cheap prices?

please report the seller to the AE.


Naw the Twitter gravel bike has a carbon frame

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808274922933.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.7aa6441d3206gW&algo_pvid=72f1ae7c-9851-4e60-8e30-033e2c5b597b&algo_exp_id=72f1ae7c-9851-4e60-8e30-033e2c5b597b-0&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%224%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%7D&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21USD%21825.98%21247.80%21%21%21778.93%21233.68%21%402101c67a17393647545646037e14d8%2112000045233506851%21sea%21US%212031565588%21X&curPageLogUid=mGAWcAWFt0RW&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A
Title: Re: Ummmm..... whole carbon bikes are going for $250-300 shipped
Post by: Serge_K on February 13, 2025, 03:53:54 AM
There's something wrong with the store. I can't access store info, or business info. On other stores, you can get info about their registration and so on. So, i would 100% NOT buy from that store before clarifying that.
Realistically, it's likely to be a scam of some sort.
Title: Re: Ummmm..... whole carbon bikes are going for $250-300 shipped
Post by: dolph on February 14, 2025, 01:53:26 AM
Looking at the seller page, the seller is based in Spain! that's almost guaranteed it's a scam. Someone from Spain selling Chinese brand bikes on a Chinese online platform with a dirt cheap prices?

please report the seller to the AE.

It s not uncommon for aliexpress brands to have european sellers
Title: Re: How to spot AE scams
Post by: ZacItaly15 on February 14, 2025, 02:32:04 AM
The Aliexpress refund system is bombproof.

I'm not afraid of scam shop, I always check reputation
Title: Re: How to spot AE scams
Post by: Chamomile on February 14, 2025, 04:27:59 AM
...
You gotta be kidding. I have a few orders already with clearly stated "zero problems return and refund alix service," where I was left with shitty quality useless items and less than half of a refund or not at all. Returns were not accepted at all, no chance. And deleting the whole product page with bad reviews and then republishing it again fresh is a common practice. So there's not much in reputation as I naively believed as well. This platform becomes a scam and trash more and more in recent years.
PS: the funniest part is when people believe in super-duper discounts during sales on special dates.
Title: Re: Ummmm..... whole carbon bikes are going for $250-300 shipped
Post by: BalticSea on February 14, 2025, 09:06:42 AM
Looking at the seller page, the seller is based in Spain! that's almost guaranteed it's a scam. Someone from Spain selling Chinese brand bikes on a Chinese online platform with a dirt cheap prices?

please report the seller to the AE.

Quote a few legit Chinese sellers/brands have their warehouses in Europe. Vector optics (not cycling related), iCan, Elitewheels, Light Bicycle come to mind
Title: Re: Ummmm..... whole carbon bikes are going for $250-300 shipped
Post by: Dareios on February 14, 2025, 01:28:37 PM
Quote a few legit Chinese sellers/brands have their warehouses in Europe. Vector optics (not cycling related), iCan, Elitewheels, Light Bicycle come to mind
Yes, but that specific Spanish shop is also selling tons of fake frames. Had a Elilee Blize XXE frame for the price of a regular Bigrock Sothea in his sortiment and when I pressed him on the subject he admitted that it was a "replica" and tried to sell me an SL8 copy instead. I'd avoid that one. The guy is shady, avoid buying from him.
Title: Re: How to spot AE scams
Post by: H143 on February 20, 2025, 04:38:41 PM
I took the gamble and ordered one. Really curious to see what will arrive. In the end, it wasn’t shipped from Spain but from China. According to the tracking, it’s currently at customs.
Title: Re: How to spot AE scams
Post by: Serge_K on February 21, 2025, 01:06:27 AM
I took the gamble and ordered one. Really curious to see what will arrive. In the end, it wasn’t shipped from Spain but from China. According to the tracking, it’s currently at customs.

LOL! do let us know, i'm curious.
If you receive an actual bike, you'll probably want to look inside the frame, because if you get a factory QC rejected frame, you may legitimately risk your life. The whole "if it's a chinese frame you will die" is overblown, but in this instance, if it's got all the indications of a scam, be careful. I like experiments, but this isn't one i'd run.

Btw, on this topic, there's a recent GCN video about chinese carbon fakes, and it's funny, some of the snippets sound really dated like "ooooh it's chinese carbon so you risk your life riding that", coming from Specialized, Silca and the usual suspects. Not a very nuanced video.
Title: Re: How to spot AE scams
Post by: neobiker on February 21, 2025, 02:28:55 AM
I might seem suspicious, but the snippet on Pinarello seemed suspicious. They show the test on a counterfeit frame, but then show the result on another frame
Title: Re: How to spot AE scams
Post by: maza on February 21, 2025, 03:13:54 AM
That Twitter listing is now deleted.

If you receive an actual bike, you'll probably want to look inside the frame, because if you get a factory QC rejected frame, you may legitimately risk your life.
Wonder if it makes financial sense to assemble and ship out fully built bikes for that low price even if most or all components were QC rejections and subject to be binned.
Title: Re: How to spot AE scams
Post by: acino on February 21, 2025, 03:58:23 AM
I might seem suspicious, but the snippet on Pinarello seemed suspicious. They show the test on a counterfeit frame, but then show the result on another frame

It was quite a weird video for me. Obviously, there is a massive conflict of interest. It would be unreasonable to expect Pinarello to say "sure, buy fakes/Chinese frames, they are (mostly) safe," they must protect their business.

Some other questions that were popping up in my head during the video were - did they really buy a fake for 3-5 second appearance in the video? Or do they regularly buy fakes? Did they really show a fake or just a result of a random QC fail in their department?

I find these videos of little value, not because I believe that all Chinese frames/fakes are inherently safe, but because of a very clear conflicts of interest which must determine the narrative.
Title: Re: How to spot AE scams
Post by: Serge_K on February 23, 2025, 12:26:05 AM
I find these videos of little value, not because I believe that all Chinese frames/fakes are inherently safe, but because of a very clear conflicts of interest which must determine the narrative.

If i were GCN management, i'd do this sort of video to pander to my sponsors, ie western brands, which they need to survive. Taking Elite as wheel sponsor is a huge kick in the nuts of the western brand hegemony, so it's not in GCN's interest to start saying that chinese carbon is for the most part safe, or that you have to buy from really shady sellers to receive unsafe stuff. If they start saying that 95% of the viewers would be perfectly served riding a velobuild frame, they would break the industry, and die themselves.
Unless you're mad, you don't bite the hand that feeds you.