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Old 12-01-09, 12:27 PM
  #14  
intence
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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: http://allanti.com/articles/where-wa...made-pg328.htm

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