akdude007

Does anyone know about the carbon bike frames in ebay that do not have any paint or logos? They are cheap and look nice. I'm really tempted to get one to start to build my own racing bike.

Here is an example:
https://cgi.ebay.com/Carbon-Road-Bike...item3a5549a67d

Kurogashi

they are usually refurbished bikes from factories.. and in some case... the ones that are smuggled/defects.
your trek, cannondale or whatever may be that bike b/c thats how frames usually start out as.

F4UX3/2

I hope ur desk chair is fire ******ant

akdude007

It there any way to tell if it is defective? Some of the sellers have really good feedback. I just can't find any postings from anyone who has actually bought one

Kurogashi

i rmber some guy on this forum built a giant from a china carbon frame. he says it works great. so it's just a matter of chance.

imo, i would rather a used carbon than a no name. if im rly short of cash, i would just save up until i can afford something better.

anyways good luck.

rpeterson

I've never heard anything like that before, the people on Roadbikereview seem to love them.

unbelievablyred

It may not necessarily be defective, but the overall quality will be lower. Carbon fiber can be made well or poorly.

akdude007

Where do you find them on roadbikereview?

roshea

There are several threads about them in the "Frames" section of the forum:

https://forums.roadbikereview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=77

Edit: look for threads with Ebay, Hasa or HongFu in the title!

KiuBWhy

+1

This. Or it could even be aluminum wrapped with Carbon tape...

akdude007

Wow, Thanks a lot. this is exactly what I was looking for!

knobster

There was someone on the For Sale forum here selling these. Everyone that bought them liked them.

jbhowat

A lot of people in this thread speaking like they know what they are talking about. They don't. If you buy one that has good reviews it is probably just as high quality as whatever your LBS sells. Lets not forget that carbon Cervelos are made in China, and nobody worries about them being aluminum wrapped in carbon or some other BS. Most of these factories are as high tech and sterile as anything you'd find in the US, probably moreso.

intence

I'd also doubt that they're rejects or refurbs. These factories churn out frames for multiple manufacturers. Probably just a generic frame design, possibly with a cheaper type of carbon fiber, but at a far lower cost than what the "brands" charge. I mean what's so great about a Cannondale or Kuota, or whatever frame that's made in a generic factory? Especially at the lower end, geometries are similar and they mainly use similar types of CF. I'd be very surprised if I these frames were significantly different than a "brand". I'd feel more comfortable buying from an outfit like BikesDirect or PedalForce of whatever though that provides some sort of backup in case you have an issue. Same deal though, they go to Martec, or Giant, or Ideal or whoever, and source a frame to their specs. Very different from say Trek's high end offerings which are made in-house, or Cannondale's aluminum made in-house etc. My personal belief is that an in-house frame could potentially allow the manufacturer to use customized processes, i'm sure there's only so much straying from the production line you can do when ordering from one of the big factories etc. Especially if it's a low-volume frame.

Take a look here: https://allanti.com/articles/where-wa...made-pg328.htm

There's some good info about manufacturers in general there.

jbhowat

That'sa good article. I ca also personally say that the story is the same (if not more-so made in Asia) for wheels, rims, hubs, and pretty much any component other than Shimano/Campy (and a lot of Shimano stuff is not made in Japan). If it is carbon fiber, it is made in Asia - with very few exceptions.

Those frames are not "rejects or refurbs" thats crazy.

oilman_15106

Most of the no name carbon frame ebay listings just happen to leave out the frame weight. Think this is where you will find a difference. As stated above there is carbon and then there is carbon. Diamondback had a carbon frame road bike a couple of years ago that weighed 20+ pounds with a 105 build!

jbhowat

...and on the other hand, I know or a fact that some of the frames/forks out there together are like 1600-1600g. Not super light, but could easily built into a damn light bike considering th cost of th frame.

VA_Esquire

https://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Full-C...item3ca7fc743d

or you get something like this that weighs: 1090-1170g for the frame.
^ 56cm frame for $355 (includes shipping....9-11 days to ship)

VA_Esquire

I just did a quick build with one these online and it came up to 14.5lb. I dont care if it is "off brand"....
14.5lb. with SRAM Rival for UNDER $2,000.....sounds good enough for me.
Though for that price, you could get a Neuvation with SRAM Red.

NickDavid

Some of those carbon frames are very affordable and highly likely that they are they use the same manufacturer as other major ones.

A Trek, Cannondale or Specialized frame can break too. The only difference is, those frames are backed by major warranties.

Look at Neuvation frames. Very similar items. He does well and cuts back on the normal huge markup.