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Further datapoints on why not to buy fakes on Aliexpress Let's open with the conclusion: don't buy fakes.
And let's acknowledge that i don't endorse buying fakes, mostly because it's illegal in the jurisdictions i live in, and i think it borderlines on cringe.

On the back of the Ostro fake thread (Replica Factor Ostro VAM) and the white Factor that looked pristine on the inside, i did a bit of Aliexpress homework.

- Speaking with the seller (First-Class Carbon Fiber Store) that made that white frame raised red flags. His arguments were empty, baseless statements and promises. Basically saying that he's wonderful, but won't prove it, and everybody else is shit. Rule #1 of the internet: dont trust strangers on the internet. Black list for me.

- From the pictures posted by Estingo, his frame is using bladders, and the inside looks pretty awful. Store: Taiwan factory bike parts Store. I didn't engage with that shop. Black list for me.

- I came across the shop called Tourus inflatable paddle board store, claiming to have stock of fake SL8 in France. I chatted the seller, who said the stock was in germany. 2 days later, the shop disappeared, he said it's because someone flagged IP infringement: he was using pictures of SL8 frames with the sworks logo on them. He pointed me to another store of his, "shop1102901440 store", claiming to have stock in Spain, but he says it's the same German stock (this tells me sellers can re-spawn to infinity on AliX in a matter of clicks). The reviews look fraudulent, in the sense that every single review looks perfect. Everybody posted at least 1 picture, and everybody saying the stuff is amazing. The 1st shop reappeared later after he'd removed the logos from the frames (exact same photos, just without logos, everything else is 100% the same, implying an explicit & direct complicity of Aliexpress themselves. All the reviews clearly show frames with Sworks logos, so AliX is really insulting the spirit of the law here). Nobody posted pictures from the inside of the frame: after asking multiple times for such photos, it's clear the frame is bladder compressed, and poorly (major resin pooling residues). He is adamant that it is EPS moulded. I then asked if he's a factory or a broker. he said factory (common lie). I asked a photo of the foam they use in the frame, he said it's rude to ask, at which point he told me to eat a dick, metaphorically. He also refused multiple times to send a picture of a frame on a scale, and refused to give the weight of a frame standalone (only quoting a frameset weight). He claims it's 100% T1000, and the prices are about 1k eur.
So, 1. lots of lies 2. old method, and there's no way sworks SL8 frames are bladder moulded which tells me the advertised weights are also fake 3. fraudulent as hell (the reviews). I have been paid before by chinese amazon sellers to lie about a product to give 5 star reviews. They have a streamlined process it's pretty amazing. i notified amazon, they deleted my review and refused any accountability, the seller continues his scam to this day on Amazon, something that's been documented a lot already in various outlets. There's literally an industry of fake reviews, i suspect it's reached aliexpress, given the amounts involved, it makes sense. The seller refused to give info about the factory because he said he'd be sent to prison (his words) if he is found, so he knows full well what he's doing. Black list for me.

So, it's been discussed here before that one shouldn't give their money to a seller that's selling fakes, because it's based on deceit, lies, fraud, and beyond the legality, why would you trust your life on a frame rather literally made of lies.

So, even on the high end side of fakes, it's more of the same shit: don't buy fakes.

Edit Sep 27 2024.
- taiwan eisen bike store - black list (don't use EPS and compression so bad it leaves shards of carbon in the BB area (see factor thread, oralmaster post (...))

- Adding "nicole bicycle store" to the black list. It's selling SL8, S5 fakes, among others. I asked about the SL8, but also any frame that takes 32C. The response: none of their frames take 32C. Yet they market a 2024 SL8, an S5, frames that 100% take 32C. Begging the question: wtf? That one is full on worrying, i dont have an explanation, other than maybe they just ship random frames that dont even look like what you thought you ordered? I'm not going to find out.

Edit Oct 7 2024.
As per Avalius on the forum, Yohobike is added to the blacklist. Frame self destructed as BB area cracked when sprinting out of a corner (1st time i hear of spontaneous self destruction of a carbon frame in a VERY LONG time). And Yoho is ghosting him to avoid dealing with warranty.

Edit 08 Oct 24.

Black list again: allstarobm website / OEM Taiwan Store on aliexpress (same people). Final nail in the coffin for me "i dont have time to take photos for you right now... You can purchase from other places". This is after me insisting, after i got the usual "we will give you the perfect frame".
Shady AF. it started well then it went downhill fast. they have canned answers for the most basic questions, then the moment you go off script, they shut down like a clam when they realize they can't fool you. In a way it's not too dissimilar to any other scammer.

I'm done with this exercise. I really gave it a shot, but all these people are clowns, basically. Now if you want to risk your life on a clown bike, go ahead. Might be fine, but also, might not. I've dealt with bike related chinese suppliers for close to 10 years now, and honest counterparts i work with never, ever react like that.

Sad.

Edit 09 Oct 24. Good candidates for light frames:
https://www.icanbikes.com/Products-list/t1000-carbon-road-disc-brake-frame-fl1-795g/#
Ican, 800g in size 54.
https://www.flybike-asia.com/product/139.html
Fly bike (mothership behind carbonda, and OEMs for a lot of brands, ICAN included, de rosa...). They dont advertise weights here but i suspect the specs to be similar to the ican one.
And if you buy these, you get something that's 1. not illegal and 2. will not break from under you in a sprint.
this isn't meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather i just came across these so posting here for reference.

Edit 14 Oct 24.
Another good candidate for light frame: Speeder SC-R55D - 51cm Weight: 780g (frame) + 77g (Aluminum Parts) + 50g (Painting). As per their website. They used to offer different layups, now they only offer this light layup version. Great reputation as an OEM. It looks like a Rose Xlite, which i think looks amazing. I like that look better than the SL8, so my interest in fakes is officially over. if i were to pull the trigger on a frame today, i think i'd buy that 55D.
September 25, 2024, 11:08:47 AM 		1
Re: Xiamen Carbon Speed 10 years anniversary special promotion Ordered a pair of 65mm wheels for a future aero build. 26mm internal width look interesting. One of the few I've seen offered in 50 and 65mm depth. Peter offerd a "paint-less" finish which I didn't know was a thing. Anyone has any experience?
September 28, 2024, 05:46:29 AM 		1
Re: Xiamen Carbon Speed 10 years anniversary special promotion
Quote from: PoulB88 on September 30, 2024, 03:41:13 AM
Very interested in hearing more about this. How are you having the wheels built? What tires are you going to use?
I went for their own in-house hubs and pillar 1420 spokes. According to Peter they should come up at around 1520g which is not the lightest but considering the price, depth, and width of the rims, I think it's excellent.
I'm planning to use 30c tires which will probably end up much wider
October 07, 2024, 02:54:14 AM 		1
Re: Super wide aero rims like ZIPP 303 XPLRs?
Quote from: Sebastian on October 07, 2024, 03:13:51 PM
I think manufacturers need to start looking at external and internal rim width independent from each other. The super wide Rovals are the only rims that really seem to do that.

Agree completely, I try to preach this, but seem to be mostly ignored on forums. For some reason people are obsessed with internal width, as if you can't run bigger tyres on narrower internal rims.

It's a big boon in all aspects of aero performance, and gives you more freedom in tyre choice. Western companies do seem to be aware of this, though to varying degrees. Obviously roval as you said, hunt went in a very similar direction and the new newmen rims aren't quite on the same level but still a decent bit of difference. I'm really curious for any new swiss side rim designs. Their current ones are ancient.
October 07, 2024, 05:26:31 PM 		1
Re: Xiamen Carbon Speed 10 years anniversary special promotion Thank you guys for your suggestions. Why I didn't want to list pricing here when I created this thread there are quite a few some other Chinese companies posting and viewing every day here on this public forum. And people are looking for different options.

I modified my 1st post with price range just now. However we don't sell anything on Aliexpress, we don't think it is worthy of time to explain quality or price difference between our products and theirs, for example, many guys mistake our company for CSC(Carbon Speed Cycle), that causes we need to say full company name to others every time,  and some sellers on Aliexpress they are just resellers without bottom line and they don't keep their words to offer after-sale service but they would decrease their pricing again and again to sell items. I am not saying all sellers or stuff on Aliexpress are not good, just saying that we don't want to sell products there. As manufacturer we attend to the bicycle fair like Interbike or Eurobike show so we got numbers of OEM clients to cooperate with, some of them are name brands. Our pricing varies depending on many factors and is constantly evolving, but QUALITY and SERVICE are the most important as always , old members here know our company very well, and we offer wheelsets at almost price points. We can provide an indicative quote very quickly via WhatsApp or email, so please don't hesitate to get in touch. Thank you guys.
October 07, 2024, 07:59:43 PM 		1
Re: Xiamen Carbon Speed 10 years anniversary special promotion
Quote from: KaiDeus on October 08, 2024, 04:41:11 AM
I'm intereset in the 33mm wide rims.

Does anybody know how a 30mm GP5000 will sit with these 26mm inner width rims? Will it be around 33mm?

I just received my wheels, and put gp 5000 s tr 30 on them, and they sit really in line with the rim.
I can provide measurements and pic tonight(~8h)
October 09, 2024, 01:13:37 AM 		1
Re: Xiamen Carbon Speed 10 years anniversary special promotion I recently came across this post when searching for some gravel wheels and decided to email Peter. Gave him an idea of what I wanted and he emailed me back within a few days with some different options for a custom build. Went with the 40mm deep 26mm inner and 34mm outer, model no. CS-D40CU-33 built with house hubs (ratchet style), 24 Sapim cx-ray spokes and Shimano freehub. Went with no holes in the rim bed for easy tubeless setup and was looking for a sub 1400 gram wheelset. Within about 10 days I received pics of the hoops along with their weight, and within 14 days received pics of the final build along with actual weight of 1349 grams. Received the wheels about 2 weeks later so about a month from the initial order being placed. Setup went easy and I really put them through hell last week on a gravel ride in Vermont and they're still spinning true. Very happy with the purchase and communication from Peter throughout the process. Highly recommended.
October 09, 2024, 02:56:58 PM 		1
Re: Speeder Cycling SC-R55D
Quote from: Sakizashi on October 15, 2024, 11:52:41 AM
I'm curious to know if there is more feedback on how this frame rides. I'm also curious if anyone has more details on tire clearance. Where the tightest spots are, and what size tires people are fitting? Is this a 6mm of clearance with 32mm tires or a 4mm of clearance situation?

I ordered this frame recently and hopefully will receive it mid November. 
My plan is to fit 30mm tires on 26mm internal width rims so will probably end up around 33-34mm. Hopefully they'll fit. I'll report back once I give it a try
October 15, 2024, 02:04:28 PM 		1
Re: Xiamen Carbon Speed 10 years anniversary special promotion Just received pictures of my wheelset from Peter. Turned out lighter than expected. Paintless finish looks sick
October 16, 2024, 04:45:25 AM 		1
Re: Xiamen Carbon Speed 10 years anniversary special promotion
Quote from: PoulB88 on October 17, 2024, 02:00:10 AM
Did you consider carbon spokes for these wheels?

Also, does anyone know how the aerodynamics are affected by conventional steel, or carbon spokes? Bladed in either case, of course, and I realise there are a lot of different carbon spokes.

I didn't. There's no benefit for me from going with carbon spokes. Maybe a few grams here and there but steel spoke wheels are much easier to service. I can replace the spokes or hubs at any time without any problems. If I break a carbon spoke I have to order it from China. Carbon spokes require a different hub as well, which I doubt you can source easily.
October 17, 2024, 02:36:38 AM 		1