Mountainking7

Hi guys. What do you think of these for a really budget buy?

WIEL Carbon Fibre Road Bicycle & 20 speed & all carbon & Complete Bike B075-in Fishhooks from Sports & Entertainment on Aliexpress.com

road bicycle carbon complete bike chinese bike for sale-in Fishhooks from Sports & Entertainment on Aliexpress.com

2014 Complete road bike carbon bicycle Ultegra Groupset 11speed for sale-in Fishhooks from Sports & Entertainment on Aliexpress.com

I'm thinking of moving into road bikes and I pedal once a week averaging 50-60km only per ride.

zymphad

I don't trust Aliexpress too much. For one, I find you can find cheaper bikes on Ebay for the same model. You may just have to wait a bit until that great deal shows up. There will always be a seller that will discount something massively because he/she bought a large stock of them and want to sell quickly. And I also find Aliexpress has more fraudulent/counterfeits.

I trust Ebay more just because they seem to have better buyer protection policies. They also have better counterfeit/fraudulent policies and you can easily contact Ebay to investigate if said item is fake.

Also for me easier to find reputable sellers from user experience on forums and the like.

J_Boogie

Seems legit.

WhyFi

Soooo, we have:

• Complete carbon road bike for <$300
• Complete carbon road bike with Ultegra and deep profile DuraAce wheels for <$350
• Dogma with Ultegra and Bora deep profile wheels for <$500

What could possibly go wrong?

SpeshulEd 

I enjoy the fact that the "other color" photos for the dogma show an s-works (labeled, I'm sure its not) frame and another one with zipp wheels.

The carbon frame is probably no better the <$300 frame, but at least they sprung for the expensive stickers.

badger1

Those look like really good deals ... you should go for one.
However, you might want to check terms of coverage with your HMO first.

merlinextraligh

Whenever AliExpress comes up for me in a search result, I skip on by. Just doesn't pass the smell test.

hueyhoolihan

looks like a good deal. maybe too good, but if you think it's legit, buy one and let us know how it goes.

velonista

Don't believe anything any of the earlier posts tell you. Why? Because they have ZERO experience whatsover of buying anything from aliexpress. The only thing they do have is an obvious nationalistic paranoia about anything that's outside of their parochial comfort zone. That, or they have a vested interest in discouraging you because they'd rather you give them your business instead of aliexpress. Both, most likely

I - on the other hand - have within the past 18 months, 100% successfully (and uneventfully) purchased roughly $3500 worth of stuff through aliexpress ((and its parent site: alibaba.com). That's including 3 custom-painted carbon fiber frames (the 3rd one's on order as I type), 4 sets of carbon fiber handlebars and stems, 2 sets of microSHIFT groupsets and various other bike parts.

As long as you...

1. Make sure you read up on aliexpress'/alibaba's "Escrow/Buyer's Protection" policy ...
2. Make sure you're comfortable with your supplier's "Seller Guarantees" delivery deadline commitment (for example, your WIEL supplier commits to "Seller Guarantees: On-time Delivery 8 days")...
3. Make sure you do enough due diligence (meaning: ask as many questions upfront as you can think of) BEFORE you pay a dime...
4. Make sure all of your written exchanges to your supplier's salesperson is respectful and professional...
5. Make sure you keep in mind you're dealing with someone whose language and business culture is likely to be different from what you encounter everday in Paducah...

...then you'll - like I always do - eventually end up asking yourself, "Aliexpress! Where have you been all my life?".

If you ask your supplier only one question, make that question, "Do you have this item in stock right now?".

WhyFi

Uh, okay. My post (I haven't vetted any others) has nothing to do with any of your objections, but instead looks at the specific products linked. If you'd like to explain to me how they can offer complete bikes for less than the wholesale cost of the groupsets alone, I'm all ears. While I'm aware that Ali is a marketplace and that there are legit sellers, none of these specific examples even comes close to passing the smell test.

kc0bbq

Everything in those ads is totally real. Especially the part where the less than $300 bikes totally have wheelsets that cost multiple thousands of dollars.

copswithguns

I'll just say it. Not a chance in hell I'd climb on those bikes. Why? 1) China lacks the safety standards adopted by the EU/USA and other countries. 2) 6800 group will cost you about $500 or so, depending on where you look. The entire bike is priced lower than that. Probably knock off components. 3) You get what you pay for. Yes, bikes cost money. But when I ride, I don't worry that something with catastrophically fail while I'm going downhill at 40 mph.

WhyFi

When it comes to these specific examples, I think that you're being generous with your assumption that you'd actually get a bike that you could climb on to.

Mountainking7

Hum. So you think even the 'carbon' frame is bogus? Or get the frame only and equip locally?

copswithguns

Are you just trying to get by on as low a as budget possible? If so, I'd recommend getting a used bike from Ebay or Craigslist in the ~$500 range. At least you will know you won't be getting a cheap Chinese knock off that will break.

Mountainking7

Yeah trying to get a light bike on a low budget! Ebay and craiglist won't work as I live in Mauritius Shipping will kill any kind of deal.

achoo

The shipping cost with these deals is all too likely to be zero.

Hey, it's free shipping.

You wound up with nothing, but the shipping was free.

If it looks too good to be true, it is.

EnsitMike

I'd really like to see pictures. With 11 posts you just don't quite have credibility yet.

velonista

OP. If you do choose to go down the reproduction-Pinarello route (and the choice should be yours alone) then be prepared to deal with a lot of resentment from people who paid 10 times more for their store-bought originals than you did for your Chinese reproduction.

Lurk through any bike forum out here, and you will find that buyers of reverse-engineered reproduction Chinese bike stuff can talk about name-brand products dispassionately and objectively. The reverse can't be said for buyers of name-brand products that talk about Chinese reproductions. You will notice that they always respond with utter hate, rage and resentment. I get the biggest belly laugh every time I read how the mere mention of "Chinarello" makes original Pinarello (or Specialized, or Trek, or Time, Cannondale, or...) owners burst a blood vessel from rage.

What they're exhibiting is a classic case of Deal Envy! Meaning: It's human nature to resent others who pay a fraction for a competing reproduction that is - for all practical purposes - functionally equivalent to the outrageously marked-up original for which you paid 10 times more than the reproduction.

Human nature is a wonder to behold

demoncyclist

Chinese reproduction? Reverse engineered reproductions? Are you effing serious? Here in the real world it is called intellectual property theft and trademark infringement. Anyone who thinks they are getting THE SAME bike at that kind of discount is either stupid or dishonest.

badger1

It most certainly is.

WhyFi

Human naivety is a wonder to behold.

I take it that you're going to avoid those that have specifically called you out on the carpet?

SpeshulEd 

You're funny...and give absolutely horrible advice. Merry Christmas!

EnsitMike

Also, I think you keep misspelling. It would be counterfeit-Pinarello.

hueyhoolihan

although my original post was sincere, i still have a hard time believing the prices even if the frame is reverse engineered. even if it were one that couldn't pass the requisite inspection...

like i say, if somebody is a believer, buy one, i'd like to hear about it.