mapleleafs-13 

So i'm on google looking for colnago c59's and i see this:

2014 Colnago C59 carbon bicycle frame with black decals full carbon fiber Road Racing bike frames black on black-in Bicycle Frame from Sports & Entertainment on Aliexpress.com

First i think, it's probably a fake, i take my time and look closer and compare it with pictures of real c59 colnagos, and i'm very surprised that there are many similarities with these frames.

We've all heard of the expression "too good to be true"

Realistically we all know what kind of money the actual frameset sells for.

Are these knock off frames getting better or is this the real deal.

rpenmanparker 

Yep, "many similarities" is the acid test for authenticity. Your whole post is discredited as soon as you mention Aliexpress.com.

I'm looking at your bike stable and am wondering. What do you care since you likely already have two Chinarellos? What's wrong with a Chinago?

mapleleafs-13 

trust me i definitely didn't want to look at the aliexpress site, but the price is pretty crazy.

why would i already own one of these carbon bikes, are you high? it was a simple question, no need to be a tool.

realistically i own mainly steel and i was thinking of building up something carbon for the hell of it.

I doubt i'd ever order off of aliexpress.com but i believe my original post was asking about the frame, not anything to do with what's in my stable or what i possibly own.

rpenmanparker 

Sh*t, I forgot damn those emoticons again. I guess that would have made the joke more obvious, right?

BTW, in case you didn't know it (and you should with your number of posts) being a "tool" is the main qualification for posting on the 41. What would be the point of not?

mapleleafs-13 

d-baggery at it's finest ladies and gentlemen, take notes.

mapleleafs-13 

oh wait, lookey here!!!

just found penmanparker's new display pic!!!!




you should use that on your tinder account as well, it may increase your success rate

rpenmanparker 

So are the folks who shop there.

I didn't say you already owned one of those carbon bikes, just that you have two Pinarellos. Now you are going to try to convince us they are real.

With all your posts don't you know that posting on the 41 opens up you whole existence to criticism?

Sh*t, I just realized I forgot to use those damn emoticons again. I'm sure if I had, you would have gotten the joke. I've got to work on that. Besides, what is the point of posting on the 41 if you can't be a "tool"?

Oh yeah, one other thing: they're fake!

mapleleafs-13 

oh yes, i own fake steel pinarello's, man that person really wanted to engrave the frame and fork and pentograph the parts to get me. Rats, better get rid of these fake rides. i mean you know how bad the fake steel bikes were back then, nothing like todays fake carbon bikes.

oh i hail to thee Mr. 5000 posts, i apologize for being inferior with my measly 1700 posts.

rpenmanparker 

You really can't tell I'm pulling your leg, can you? But seriously your comment about the engraved frame and fork is very important. You think those details (or the modern equivalent details on a carbon frame) guarantee authenticity. I am really trying to be helpful here. It just ain't so. So steel Pinarellos may be immune just due to their age or the lower demand compared to carbon today. Being pantographed has nothing to do with it. Do you not think the Chinese forgers know how to engrave steel? The carbon Chinarellos are so good they can fool anybody except perhaps a Pinarello employee who knows exactly what paint and decal combinations were used on every model in every year. And even those details may be right. That is the gist of the problem. These knock offs are NOT clumsy. The fakes are so good that you can't allow yourself to take any risk at all. Buying from a source like Aliexpress cannot possibly get you an authentic Colnago. And even if it possibly could, why put yourself that much at risk? Why go right to the place where all the fakes are sold hoping that the one you buy will be real. It just doesn't make any sense to even take a chance of getting screwed.

Sorry you misunderstood my attempts at humor. I just thought the topic demanded it.

surgeonstone

They are fake and yes, what seems to be too good to be true is too good to be true.

mapleleafs-13 

the reason i made this topic is so that i was hopeful that people can take a look at the pictures and say things like "the drop out isn't right" or the "rear triangle is off" and etc.

My knowledge of newer carbon is limited.

The post was also to show people that these knock offs are becoming really good.

Savington

You're the only tool in this thread.

rpenmanparker 

Right, but those aren't the "tells". The main tell is that companies like Pinarello and Colnago refuse to let their goods get into the hands of folks like Aliexpress.

mapleleafs-13 

easy Mr. i just hit double digit posts. let's take this one step at a time.

surgeonstone

[QUOTE=mapleleafs-13;16977690]oh yes, i own fake steel pinarello's, man that person really wanted to engrave the frame and fork and pentograph the parts to get me. Rats, better get rid of these fake rides. i mean you know how bad the fake steel bikes were back then, nothing like todays fake carbon bikes.

oh i hail to thee Mr. 5000 posts, i apologize for being inferior with my measly 1700 posts.[/QUOTE]

It's good to remember or learn that pretty much everything that seems snarky here is meant in a locker room, joshing around , kidding with you kind of humour. Most folks are just sharing and pulling a leg with a smile on their face. We all here love cycling and probably spend as much time as we do here because there are not a lot of folks around us with the same intensity of interest in this activity.
In other words, in a crowed party we would stumble upon one another and have a great time sharing our interests with another roadie.
This at least, is how I view BF and I take nothing personally. Relax, laugh, learn and have a good time here.
And hey, you can even call me a snarky ass wipe and I won't be offended.

mapleleafs-13 

understood and note taken. thank you for the civil replies.

mapleleafs-13 

[QUOTE=surgeonstone;16977737]
yea i feel ya, i tend to chirp here and there in good taste as well. But if someone starts dishing, i'll dish back.

And yes we do all love cycling here in all different ways, from new to old, bmx to road, whatever it may be on two wheels, one wheel or 3 wheels.

gsa103

Colnago sources the lugs from Asia, but for the C59 they're fairly generic. The tubes are sourced in Italy, so whatever the bike is, its definitely not the same tubing.

Beyond that, the whole point of Colnago, is that its a freaking Colnago. The basic frames aren't really competitive with a modern monocoque racing frames (at least by measurable metrics, such as weight). What you're paying for is the knowledge of a frame design and assembled by an Italian master, you're paying for an Italian paint job. Basically, if you buy a knock-off Colnago, what you're really getting is an over-priced Chinese bike.

mapleleafs-13 

this is what i wanted to know, i was doing research and some articles state that the order carbon from asia suppliers and it is assembled in Italy. I'm not sure if this is correct or not, but i'm trying to pick up info on these frames. I didn't know the lugs were sourced from asia, that's interesting, makes you wonder what else is source from there. i guess you can't say they're 100% italian.

gsa103

Here's some info on the newer C60.
First Ride Review: Colnago?s New C60 Race Bike | Bicycling Magazine

Nothing is really 100% anything these days, but its about as Italian as you can realistically get in a global economy. Keep in mind the vast majority of CF weave is sourced from Toray in Japan. And the Italian are a major manufacturer for the Dreamliner, so there are good CF manufacturers in Italy.

Pibber

Thanks for the lulz 41!

Bob Dopolina 

So getting the decals right makes them good? That's a pretty low bar.

Bob Dopolina 

That's a bit misleading. It's not like they are sourcing open mold lugs or off the shelf prepreg.

If you are working with an actual carbon supplier you can specify the resin, weave, tow and a few other things like weaving in Kevlar strands, using cone stacked nano-tubes in the resin or a bunch of other options that make the prepreg proprietary.

Once you do that some Chinese factory can copy the shape and even the decals but they don't have access to the same materials, don't invest in R&D to figure out the optimal layup and do very little QC beyond, "Does it look ok enough we can sell it on Aliexpress?"

Pibber

Online Shop Road bike frame Colnago C59 China bicycle frame C59 Colnago C59 free shippping|Aliexpress Mobile

Even CHEAPER!


Tho, in all honesty, I've considered buying one of the unbranded chinese carbon frames off ebay. I think they must be cheaper because the decal sets haven't been applied.

StephenH

One way to check on some of these "deals"- a lot of the name-brand bicycle companies have a list of authorized dealers on their website. Check if the dealer in question is on that list. If they're not an authorized dealer, but claim to be selling the product anyway, there's not much of a way to know what is going on. Maybe it's a complete scam, where they take your money and that's the end of it. Maybe it's counterfeit goods. Who knows? However, at the moment, I'm not pulling up the official Colnago site to confirm that.

Note that a lot of the bigger bike companies don't allow their bikes to be sold via the internet.

A high-profile brand may have frames produced in China or Taiwan, but that doesn't imply that knockoffs from the same country are actually the same bike- if they're dishonest enough to put a fake name on the frame, you really have no idea what you're getting.