rkaplan1

Hi,

I'm Rob - based in So-Cal- Any feedback from someone knowledgeable who has bought a T1K or T7K frame from China? Sure the quality cannot be a complete replica of a name brand but I suspect most geometry tables are sold from Taiwanese engineers to Chinese fabricator's for a good profit. The A-Bbaba Sellers who have been verified with good buyer feedback must be legit to some degree because if their products were not good quality, they wouldn't be on-line - the margin of error is if their buyer feedback is fake. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thx. R

Lacumo

Welcome to BF and good luck with whatever you end up buying! FWIW---I’ve always (>5 decades) been an advocate of dealing with local bike shops. You may realize some minor savings with an initial online purchase, but you will end up dealing with a LBS for service/maintenance/repair. I prefer bringing in a product I bought at the LBS for them to work on. I’ve always felt they try a little harder and extend themselves a little further when they’re working on something they sold. In addition to that perception, there’s also the fact that they’ll fit your new bike to you, accessorize it how you want it and there’ll also be post-purchase tune-up adjustment/tuning and manufacturers warranty in the original purchase price. When your online-purchased bike is delivered, you’re on your own---starting with opening the box.

A couple closing thoughts in response to two of your points... Online purchaser feedback can be cobbed up and I wouldn’t want to bet my life on it. Regarding the thought that “...if their products were not good quality, they wouldn't be on-line...”, I have to disagree. There’s a lot of genuinely inferior stuff available online that’s nothing better than a waste of money. You won’t find stuff like that in a legitimate LBS selling name brand bikes because they have to stand behind what they sell.

Anyhow... good luck with whatever you end up buying.

Juha

Cheers Rob, welcome. I have no personal experience on AliBaba, but you might find something searching the Forums.

If our search doesn't seem to work, use google with the "site:bikeforums.net" option.

--J