mazdaspeed

They're inexpensive and pretty light, but the price for failure is high. The real question is how durable are they, and would it be worth paying more for a heavier fork that may or may not be stronger?

adclark

How much do you value your life? I don't know how strong they are, but my thoughts are why take the chance.

mazdaspeed

About $50 and 100 grams




but seriously have there been instances of these forks failing more than others?

topflightpro

I have a teammate racing on a Chinese frame - from Hong Fu I believe. He has had no issues so far. He also went ahead and bought some of the Chinese carbon tubular wheels - 60 up front, 80 in the back.

Truthfully, I haven't seen any actual failures of these frames, just speculation that they would explode because they are not subject to the same QC measures we assume major manufacturers are implementing. And many brands - like Pedal Force, Neuvation and Planet-X are buying these frames, putting stickers on them and selling them for a small markup.

Jed19

A generic chinese fork is not smart. Sure, I'll ride a chinese fork, just not a generic one. Forks are critical, they are not waterbottle cages.

mazdaspeed

Yeah that seems to be the case. I haven't actually heard of anyone breaking their ebay CF frame or fork (not that it can't or hasn't happened).

mpath

Geez OP....that's like saying how bad an idea is it to buy an American made car. Without proper context, sounds absurd doesn't?

The answer is, it depends. Duh.

You get what you pay for. If you're going to go cheapo, then don't b*itch when that thing fails prematurely or subpar to your expectations. Just sayin'.

mmmdonuts

I believe many of those cheapo forks are overbuilt to account for the lower QC and lack of R&D. Breakage is not likely to be a problem. That's why they are cheap. A properly designed and built fork can be lighter, stronger, and will also ride better. That's why they are expensive.

There is more to forks than weight and durability.

I've tried both crappy and good forks and was lucky to find a good one for a very cheap price on eBay during the Alpha-Q blowouts last year. I don't think I'll ride a cheapo fork again.

My Alpha-Q was made in China

halfspeed

Pedal Force, Neuvation and Planet-X are ongoing concerns with livelihoods and businesses at stake if they sell questionable products. Anonymous ebay sellers with frames of questionable provenance have no skin in the game. Who do you trust more to ensure that what you're getting is reliable and safe?

BrainInAJar

They're fine. I know several people that race on ebay carbon (including myself) and none have had a problem with it. Graphite-reinforced polymer doesn't just explode, if it's going to fail it'll fail in a crash and in that case who knows if your expensive Pinarello frame would've taken the crash load better

mazdaspeed

Man I'm on the fence here. I mean I could splurge on an ec90sl but is it worth paying double to triple the cost?

amillhench

I used an ebay ADK/Pedalforce/Litespeed Pavia frame for a couple years. It was light and durable. Great frameset. I wouldn't be scared to buy and ride one, but what is your peace of mind worth?

oilman_15106

So the ones with an Easton sticker on them that come from the same factory are inherently safer?

intence

You have no idea if it's the same factory or not. The factory can tell you they manufacture for a big brand etc. but you have no easy way of verifying this. In the case of the huge factories making frames for the largest builders, do you really think they're going to sell single frames on eBay?

My guess is there are smaller factories who purchase the CF and use generic molds.

mpath

Having been there for business, there are seconds or rejects that um, "intrepid" locals by and resell.....

mazdaspeed

New easton ec70c for $90 shipped from price point. Just bought one

fishymamba

These frames look really tempting https://cgi.ebay.com/3k-Full-Carbon-F...ht_5705wt_1139
Does anyone have pictures of one you have bought?

mazdaspeed

Road bike review has like 500 pages worth of threads (literally) about these

fishymamba

thanks. I will check it out.

Jed19

The big manufacturers design their items and spec it to those factories. And, most of the time, they have their own agents to monitor quality control. I once saw a chinese no-name carbon frame that broke, and old newspapers had been used as stuffers in that frame.

No siree, I would not ride a no-name chinese carbon fork. YMMV.

Ohmannuel

I rode a carbon for with a carbon steerer tube and it broke on my while climbing. I was lucky to not get too hurt the "company" who used to sponsor my team replaced the fork and took "care" of me well. they did not go the route of no name Chinese forks but it happened none the less. Carbon is a risk no matter what you are riding. Not sure if this helps your decision but I just think you should know nothing is 100% in carbon.

catonec 

I ride w/ unbranded chineese carbon handlebars, they work just fine. I havent crashed lately but if I do Ill inspect them, and the rest of my carbon bits, and probably keep on using them unless I find some damage.

halfspeed

Or, if you're lucky, they are illegal "overruns" sold off by employees.

jrobe

This is a no-brainer.

Always buy the cheapest crap you can find on Ebay. We all know they are exactly the same as what the legitimate companies sell (probably better). The main goal in life is to save money especially on things that you ride downhill at about 45 mph. Ebay is where all the rocket-scientists shop.

mpath

Conversely, making money also works.