jeez caught up on the thread and it seems like some companies are slinging some pretty garbage V2's. I will still go to bat for the quality of my FC-Carbon V1.

Please do your research before buying after seeing some of these photos of the internals and listen to people like @sergeK.

I have a replica Factor Ostro VAM v1 from one of the most reputable "fakers" it's their highest tier 3 layup. Only has about 120km on it. It did not workout for me (Frame is excellent quality to the point you wouldn't tell the difference it's just way too aggressive for me) and I ride an Enve Fray now. No one wants to purchase it and I would never try to sell it as a real one even though it really does look 1:1. I've done the endoscope camera etc down the frame but nothing extensive.

I would be willing to donate it if it was guaranteed to be used/scanned for science and not just sit in your garage lol.

Quote from: Jecnerwal on May 29, 2025, 05:17:45 AM
I've been chatting briefly with RK Ultra Extreme Carbon Fiber Store Store on AliX based on trawling through this thread.

Almost ready to pull the trigger, but just have a question about the difference between 'ordinary' and 'ultralight'
all i can get from RK is that the difference is 'Lighter weight and better materials', but can anyone else provide a little more advice, what did you go for and is it worth almost double the price?

Ordinary ￡651.19
Ultralight ￡1,146.19

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008069790512.html?pdp_npi=3%40dis%21CNY%21%21CN%EF%BF%A5%205%2C000.00%21%21%21%21%21%402140c1e917485128794208717e4fea%21%21im%21%21

Thanks!

It comes down to weight and typically better QC is my guess. I ended up going with the highest tier from F-C Carbon, meaning the lightest tier 3 one and nothing about it felt noodly, if anything it felt rock solid. I think I finished it at just sub 7kg but the aggressiveness of the Ostro really didn't end up working for me and I didn't want @SergeK reporting me to the Factor police  so I ride a Enve Fray now.

As @Oralmaster said there's a few parts you need to get to complete your bike if you want it to look and feel legit. I did not put a ceramicspeed BB but I put a BBInfinite on mine and then got all the mini parts (Top cover, factor bar tape, silicone seat post cover.). I did just use Winspace Hypers on my couple rides before I decided it wasn't for me, who cares if someone wants to say something lol. I think the only major faux pas if you try and sell it off as a real one, then you're a POS.

Still got my size 54 in white with both seatposts, OEM PC mount, the anjoy parts minus the bar tape for sale Just been sitting in my office.

Quote from: bremerradkurier on April 29, 2025, 03:10:45 PM
Maybe we'll see more US produced carbon bikes move past the vaporware point.

https://bikerumor.com/lemond-8-carbon-road-bike/

Unlikely the skilled labour and tooling it takes just isn't that big of a thing in the USA and as soon as it's USA based you're looking at $5k frames typically (Enve, Parlee, etc).

Thought I'd drop one last message in here have a F-C Carbon tier 3 frame for sale size 54 snow white with black lettering, has about 100km on it with a BBInfinite Ceramitech bottom bracket installed, fork has been cut to max spacer height and other extras basically brand spanking new. The aero position even with max spacers did not work for me ended up going with an Enve Fray. Might be more people interested now with the 34% tariffs dropping. You can DM if interested for details on extras it comes with. Would ship from Canada.

If not I'll just build it up as a spare for friends who visit.

Quote from: jerozilla on March 12, 2025, 11:07:56 AM
Well boys after my long wait it looks like I may have messed up. This older body may not be made for race geometry. After putting about 200km or less on my F-C tier 3 Factor I've dealt with neck and back pain issues.

I guess going from endurance geometry to this was more than I bargained for. I thought I'd let people in this thread know I'll be posting it in classifieds and I'm super down as it rides like it just wants to go fast. Would come with a $400 BBinfinite BB already installed, the missing OEM factor silicone seatpost cover, real Black Inc computer mount, Factor bar ends and tape if I can salvage it. Both 0 and +25 seatposts were ordered with it.

Snow White with black lettering size 54 fork has been cut to maximum spacer height no slamming, shipped from Canada.

You can DM me too if someone wants to bypass the long wait times and guarantee they get a good inspected F-C top end copy.

Well boys after my long wait it looks like I may have messed up. This older body may not be made for race geometry. After putting about 200km or less on my F-C tier 3 Factor I've dealt with neck and back pain issues.

I guess going from endurance geometry to this was more than I bargained for. I thought I'd let people in this thread know I'll be posting it in classifieds and I'm super down as it rides like it just wants to go fast. Would come with a $400 BBinfinite BB already installed, the missing OEM factor silicone seatpost cover, real Black Inc computer mount, Factor bar ends and tape if I can salvage it. Both 0 and +25 seatposts were ordered with it.

Snow White with black lettering size 54 shipped from Canada.

You can DM me too if someone wants to bypass the long wait times and guarantee they get a good inspected F-C top end copy.

Quote from: user757 on February 27, 2025, 05:16:23 PM
Any opinions from those who have integrated handlebars like those on the X68 that have a fixed angle? Is it not too limiting? Obviously it comes down to how the rest of the bike fits as well and so I'm guessing opinions are mixed.

Also curious about this or if anyone knows some integrated bar/stem setups without the huge drops like -10 degrees etc. Im running black Inc ones with -6 degree which is a big change going from a +6.

But yes thats the limiting factor of the integrated bar/stem, you're set in that ecosystem with no tweaking.

I'll just paste the info:

Description
Report Item

OSTRO

1. Normal strength weight/2, superhard+lighter/3, top-level competition version

Corresponding price: 4000 5000 6500 RMB in three versions

The models (regular/high version) that are currently being made in domestic shelves are relatively good

There are three versions of OSTRO 49 size and weight comparison

Low version: 1070g (domestic 700) geometric non l: l

(Not recommended) (Poor painting level, geometric accessories are not 1:1, customer feedback is not good, not recommended to start)

Normal version: 925 grams (imported 700+imported T700 l: l

(High cost-effectiveness) Moderate painting, high cost-effectiveness, and normal delivery time

Maximum version: 825 grams (30T+imported 800) with almost the same factory strength. l: L (competition, comfort)

Ultra light (with good oil filling and weight)

(Weight after fine soil filling, frame tolerance of plus or minus 10 grams)

⬇️

(Paint coating may have different weights according to different colors)

UD dew carbon+30-40 grams

Color gas:+50-60 grams

After refinement, weight:


https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1102991493?spm=a2g0o.detail.0.0.539cufBBufBBBr


It's about $1000 vs $1330CAD for the lower tier vs top tier. Maybe cheaper, I'm only familiar with the Tier 3.

Quote from: dieNadel on February 25, 2025, 01:08:36 PM
I found four frames (red-black, heart of the ocean, DUKE, white pearl) on aliexpress, they're all around 800 Euros for the heavier version or 1000 euros for the lighter one. Dont know about the other colour options, but i would guess that they would be prised similarly.

Don't think there is an extra charge for paint jobs you just pick what colorway you want then pick if you want the high mod version or the cheap one.

Quote from: Rebel_Yell on February 25, 2025, 10:46:52 AM
Any idea on prices of their painting of the bikes?

I'm pretty confident that's the same person as F-C now after seeing the Chinarello's as well. Painting is usually included and you just pick the tier 1/2/3.

Quote from: Serge_K on February 23, 2025, 12:00:08 AM
You should complain to the seller, either of the bars, or the frame. You can use a vernier caliper (it's cheap) to figure out which of the steerer & stem is the wrong size. Or use another stem. If stem B fits, then stem A is the problem, and if neither fits, then steerer is the problem.
You should complain, but sandpaper is the answer. ideally you'd find some decent diameter rod, wrap sandpaper around it, and sand down (i assume it's the stem that's too tight). You did undo the stem bolts, yeah?
i wouldnt be afraid of sanding that, because if you were able to fit 10 or 15mm, it means you really dont have much material to remove. Do wear a (good) mask, or do it outside, and / or do wet sanding, as that dust is apparently truly, truly bad for your lungs (when i cut steerers I use a water spray bottle so the dust doesnt fly off, then i wipe the black mud off the floor).
If it's the steerer that's out of spec, i'd be less happy, because it raises more questions, given how critical that part of the bike is.

I think from past posts its the Black Inc. bars themselves not the steerer tube. I forgot to check mine with my digital calipers but again, mechanic made zero mention and I could slide my bars on no problem with a bit of force.

Quote from: patto3 on February 22, 2025, 07:21:24 PM
I had a pair of the Black Inc rep handlebars from aliexpress (not sure if they would be exact same as the ones that ship with the frameset), they looked good, shallow aero section which is comfy in the tops, very light and yes a little flexy but to be honest, I think a bit of flex in the bars/stem is ideal. I now have Enve SES bars that came on my new TCR and they are very stiff! I miss the give.

Yeah someone made them sound like they're noodles I think it might be in this thread but seem fine to me. Also endoscoped the interior to look for any issues. Took it out for a quick ride even though its freezing just a quick 45mins but compared to my 2019 Time Fluidity I now understand what people mean when they say "The bike just wants to go". Feels great, feels fast, and didn't explode on me so far so good.

Quote from: A.V.G on February 22, 2025, 01:02:58 PM
Hey jerozilla.  Regarding the bars, I did try to slip them onto the steerer tube but found that I had to use a lot of force, either because the clamp is too small or the steerer tube is slightly oversized.  I only got about 10-15mm before giving up. (I was just playing around anyway.)

I'll investigate further but has anyone else seen this?  What's the recommended fix?

And regarding rotor size: are you running a 160 or 140 on the rear?  I'm assuming 160 on the front.

Thanks

Correct 160 front 140 rear that came with my groupset. I saw someone say they had sand a tiny but of the interior of the handlebar but other than that no issues. I definitely flexed on them and I'm not a small person to see if I needed to swap them for something else.

Few things I would not skimp on are like Patlien said, wheel set, handlebars/contact points.

Quote from: Sander2177 on February 20, 2025, 05:07:11 AM

Quote from: momento on February 20, 2025, 04:13:42 AM
How many no brand frames have you owned and used? None

Which supplier did you buy from? None

How did you choose the supplier? None but what due diligence can you carry out really from reading online reviews None as they are merely opinion based with no real  facts

What are the conditions of the workers in the factories that produce for specialized? well i would like to think and an educated  guess are the conditions are what you would expect from a brand like specialized as you have to remember reputation is everything.


So answer these questions for me yourself?


Most counterfeit  goods bought are generally in tandem with organised crime its generally a given in some cases but obviously not all

Specialized literally has workers striking saying they weren't paid/worked in horrible conditions.