Quote from: planet_sammy on February 17, 2025, 02:39:58 AM
Has anyone ever ordered directly from taiwaneisen.cc or directly from their store via Ali?

Ordered mine direct from taiwaneisen last year and have been more than pleased.

Beautiful build. Thanks for the detailed post and looking forward to your ride report but I'm pretty sure you'll be very happy. I still am since 8/2024!!

Should it be a surprise that these manufacturers are able to offer these replica frames at such a low price? We do know that the industry in Xiamen is tight knit. People move from factory to factory so intellectual property can leak, people can be bribed, etc.. If they have the cad files and layup schedule of a particular frameset, I don't think it would be that difficult to offer such as you see now. All that upcharge the big brands levy is to recoup all the sunk costs into research, design and marketing. Those that offer these framesets incur hardly much of that.

I have one of these replicas (not seraph) and I couldn't believe how good they are. I'm 190lbs and have beat the sh*t out of it with zero issues. It's currently cold as heck here but as soon as it warms up, me and my buddy with a real S-works both size 52 will do a test ride. Unfortunately, parts are not identical but I wouldn't be surprised if the ride is very similar.

Quote from: BeR on November 02, 2024, 01:08:10 PM
Have you ridden a true SL8 in order to compare to your frame ?

Just found out a buddy of mine coincidentally just got a 52CM S-works so when time permits i shall perform a test ride on his and i'll have him jump on mine for an honest review. Should be interesting since the major characteristics he raves about like light, stiff but twitchy and super comfy seems to be the same for me.

Quote from: tgarne on November 01, 2024, 03:46:31 PM
Am I beeing naive or is it possible to find a +/-60mm deep wheelset  below/around 1300gr with a modern width? Much like the Scope Artech

It's a reality and you don't have to spend a fortune like the Scope's. Just look at Wheelsfar.com for the Hypers 58 combo or farsports.com Evo series S6.

Quote from: patliean1 on October 31, 2024, 05:17:43 PM
I really like this idea. Test for a couple of months, and then have the Chinertown moderators randomly select a member to receive the frame afterwards. It's a Festivus miracle!

Do it Pat, for Chinertown science!! I'll be down to donate.

Quote from: numberzero on October 23, 2024, 04:11:11 AM
So this thread started with a very satisfied customer and ended with an horror story.

Where is the truth with these frames, are there different sellers who sells different products or are all the sl8 replicas total garbage frames?

So far so good. My 86kg fat arse has been beating the sh*t out of it every ride for Chinertown science 
It's unfortunate what happened to Avalius and could just be a matter of luck since there's no way to validate if these are all coming from the same factory but mine was NOT from YOHO.

Try lightbicycle and wheelsfar.

Quote from: Petr (CyclistsHub.com) on October 04, 2024, 01:24:40 AM
Farsports has two websites:
1. Farsports.com is where you buy their Farsports branded wheels, which are a bit more expensive but a bit more premium. If you are interested in what the new lineup includes, I wrote a short article (https://www.cyclistshub.com/farsports-introduced-2025-road-wheels/) about it and how those wheels compare. I'm gonna test the C5 soon.

Hi, do you know if the same rims and hubs are used throughout their 2025 lineup? Is the difference in price just because of the ceramic bearings or does the Evo line has other bells and whistles? Looking forward to your review of the C5!

Quote from: jonathanf2 on October 02, 2024, 03:14:09 PM
I was like how'd you get it to 6.8kg and then noticed it was 1x! Nice build, but not fond of brand logos on replica bikes. It's enough bragging rights that you built a solid bike for a good price! 

In hindsight i agree with you, should've went no logos.

Little background info: I've been an early adopter on chinese parts ~8 years, started with wheels from light bicycle then framesets. I've been cycling since childhood but started getting serious in my adult years starting with mountain bikes then transitioned to road and gravel. I've spent a ton of $$ already and have ridden a few OEM brands. Was really impressed with the light bicycle wheels so this gave me the confidence to explore framesets. In 2019 i bought a 650B carbon hardtail frameset from Ebay and built it up. It's been ridden hard over some rough trails with zero issues. In 2020 i bought a LightCarbon LCR015-D which was my current bike until getting the SL8 replica 2 months ago. It's getting to a point now where the Chinese products are so damn good that i don't buy OEM bikes anymore. Even the accessories like chainrings, handlebars, etc.. i've had zero issues. When it came to this frameset i was a little skeptical but more curious since this was a replica of a current popular frameset. Was it possible to get similar performance for a fraction of the cost? So far i have to say yes. Durability remains to be seen but i've been hammering the crap out of this bike with no ill effects (i weigh 190lbs). It's a size 52 built up not really weight weenie but with pedals, cages and computer mount about 6.8kg. My long time bike mechanic says everything looks really good, only issue was the headset cover provided is cheap and flimsy and caused it to bind up there but he fixed it with some shims. I have included some internal pics but the frameset looks really clean inside from what i can tell, no sharp edges when running my fingers inside the BB, headtube, seat tube. I'm really blown away by how this thing rides and performs, it seems to have the same qualities as all the reviews given. If you're interested just search for light road frameset on Aliexpress, you'll know what it is when you see it. Colored me impressed!!

Build 8/2024

Frameset: 52CM Replica frame (685 grams) came with fork (345 grams), seatpost, 1 piece handlebar (no mounts), der. hangers, headset accessories
Wheels&Tires: Light Bicycle AR56, GP 5000 S TR 700x28 tubeless with Muc-Off valves and sealant
Drivetrain: 1x Force AXS 10-28, Rotor Qarbon 50T, Rotor 165mm Kapic Carbon, Stone 110BCD Rotor Adapter, Token BSA BB, KMC Gold/Black X12, Speedplay Pedals
Brakes: 2024 Force, Ashima 160/140mm rotors
Shifters: 2024 Force
Bartape: Deda Carbon
Seat: S-Works Power 155 Mirror
Cages: Arundel Mandible