If it possible to tell if an impec is fake just by looking at it? And if so, what are some of the thing i should look for?

If I'm not mistaken, the knockoff Chinese frames don't have actual lugs, but are just molded in one piece.

Right. Though, if it's a well-made clone, it may not be obvious that it does not have lugs. Also look for joints in the lugs (real BMCs have two-part lugs with visible hair-thin joints between them.)

Real:


Fake:



Bad fake:

Haha or you cold just check of it is sold on alibaba....

Used is used but "new and old model" is a risk.

Ebay with PayPal guarantees you are protected and will get your money back, but doesn't guarantee authenticity.

I've been scammed once on an eBay frame.... Turns out the same photo was used 6 months earlier for a sale, And I was the chump.

Therr are good deals and too good to be true deals.

ahh thank you.

If it costs $500 when the real frame costs well over $5000..... I would think that's a dead give-away.

and what if i'm buying it off craigslist and it cost $3k for a used frame? not so much a dead give-away is it now.

Well in that case the smart thing to do would be asking the guy to meet you at a high end bike shop that carries BMC's, so the frame can be checked out by the bike shop to verify that A) its authenticity and B) have professionals inspect it for damage.

it's also a smart thing to ask around, like asking people on a bike specific forum. the interweb don't need more jack ass. so if u can't contribute to helping someone on a forum, without acting like a dumb smart ass, then i suggest u to **** off.

He gave you pretty solid advice. How you took offense to the way he worded that is beyond my understanding. Oh, internet. Why risk a bad purchase? Take the thing to a real BMC dealer so they can verify that it is legit and undamaged.

WOW.......

I have absolutely NO idea why you're so pissed off.

Go home, before you further embarrass yourself.

Both u and him gave the same advice. The difference was in the wording. I cant stand smart ass wanna be. If he had worded his reply as u have, i would have been totally cool with it. If u scroll up and read his first reply, u can immediately tell he's the smart ass wanna be type.

Relax asian bro

Im already home, and there's no embarrassment in telling an interweb dumb smart ass to **** off. Scroll up and see his all his replies before u post.

This seems to be getting out of hand for no apparent reason. I see the advice as solid and to the point. I wouldn't have taken it as offensive because he's right. Yeah you can come here and ask around or do some online research but nothing will be as accurate as a hands on inspection by a true BMC retailer especially if you are paying $3,000 on Craigslist. Maybe you already bought it, found out it's a fake, and are lashing out?

I agree. I thought all the respondents were quite helpful.

FIFY. Saying the "the smart thing to do" implies that was is being done isn't smart, or perhaps suggests that the OP isn't smart and you are, because you know the smart thing to do. e.g. The smart thing for you to do would be to phrase your suggestions as such rather than spouting them as dogma.

This is seriously over the top. You need to chill.

When political correctness gets in the way of the simple transfer of information it becomes an oxymoron. Telling someone what the "smart thing to do" is, doesn't suggest anything about what has already been done or is being done, only about what would be good to do in future. You changed the words but not the implicit or explicit meanings. OP has a burr under his saddle that needs to be taken care of.

Well, this thread took a turn. I don't see it getting back on-topic, so I'm going to close it.