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Chinesium cassettes?

5118 Views 46 Replies 27 Participants Last post by Jefflinde, Jul 20, 2021

VFR800Essex

Discussion Starter · Jul 18, 2021

Trying to find SRAM or Shimano 10 speed cassettes in the ratio i require is a bit of an issue at present.

Anyone tried the Chinesium offerings?

1 - 20 of 47 Posts

Harold

· #2 · Jul 18, 2021

any specific ones you had in mind?

I've had pretty good results with Sunrace cassettes (I preferred to use the 11spd ones over Shimano's 11spd because of gear spacing differences). but I haven't goneoff the deep end on the chinesium spectrum. I don't really consider Sunrace to be "chinesium" anyway. It's a well established budget brand.

Reactions: 3

iliketexmex

· #3 · Jul 18, 2021

+1 on the Sunrace recommendation, relatively inexpensive but good quality. I did buy a "chinesium" chainring once out once... It was the first and only time as it did not outlast the chain. The thing started to mushroom like an old chisel almost immediately. Heat treatment control, material hardness and other process controls all are pretty important for drivetrain components. Stick to brands you can trust, through channels you can trust so you know you aren't getting a knock off..

Reactions: 4

TNC

· #4 · Jul 18, 2021

As far as the Chinesium reference, isn't Sunrace a Taiwan company?...not to get bogged down in geography or politics. Like it or hate it, mainland China can manufacture some decent components...and some real junk originates from there too. Taiwan on the other hand, probably has a better component record from what I see.

Reactions: 1

iliketexmex

· #5 · Jul 18, 2021

China does have some world class manufacturing but there are companies that make junk too. The company is more important than the locale for sure

Reactions: 2

RS VR6

· #6 · Jul 18, 2021

Dafuq is "Chinesium"?🤣

Halfabrain

· #7 · Jul 18, 2021

The fact is that almost all mountain bike parts/frames are manufactured in China, Taiwan, or Portugal. That includes both SRAM and Shimano. There are very few bicycle frames, parts, clothing, or other gear that is manufactured in other places (and certainly not in the US). There are niche producers however, but these are companies like Wolftooth, Industry Nine, Cane Creek, Chris King...there are few others, but not many.

And if its not manufactured in China/Taiwan, then essentially all the metals are mined there and the alloys produced. So, don't kid yourself, its ALL Chinesium! What we pay for (likely by a 200% markup or more) in the US is R&D, marketing, and primarily branding...

That being said: +1 for Sunrace 11spd cassettes... Why spend $200-400 when you can get just as good or better for $100?

ziscwg

· #8 · Jul 18, 2021

Harold said:
any specific ones you had in mind?

I've had pretty good results with Sunrace cassettes (I preferred to use the 11spd ones over Shimano's 11spd because of gear spacing differences). but I haven't goneoff the deep end on the chinesium spectrum. I don't really consider Sunrace to be "chinesium" anyway. It's a well established budget brand.

What harold said. Sunrace. I actually prefer them over shimano in 11 speed 11-46.

Reactions: 1

Harold

· #9 · Jul 18, 2021

RS VR6 said:
Dafuq is "Chinesium"?🤣

It refers to the no-name parts that show up places like aliexpress, ebay, and amazon. Also prices much lower than everybody else for similar types of products. There's have a brand name on it, but I think an important aspect of these products is that you'll find many different items using the same stock photo with different "brands" and slightly different prices. Not the first time I've heard the term.

Reactions: 1

RS VR6

· #10 · Jul 18, 2021

Oh ok...I thought its a derogatory term for Chinese made products.

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rod9301

· #11 · Jul 19, 2021

RS VR6 said:
Oh ok...I thought its a derogatory term for Chinese made products.

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It is

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Reactions: 1

Shark

· #12 · Jul 19, 2021

RS VR6 said:
Oh ok...I thought its a derogatory term for Chinese made products.

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I think it might be offensive to cassettes.

Someone should ask them. If they are offended, we need to shift gears away from this .

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Reactions: 4

Squirrel in the Spokes

· #13 · Jul 19, 2021

I thought chinesium referred to metal parts with low costs made with questionable alloy compositions like the tools you can buy at harbor freight. I still do think that actually.

RS VR6

· #14 · Jul 19, 2021

Squirrel in the Spokes said:
I thought chinesium referred to metal parts with low costs made with questionable alloy compositions like the tools you can buy at harbor freight. I still do think that actually.

Kinda like how "ricer" is referred to Japanese cars?

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Squirrel in the Spokes

· #15 · Jul 19, 2021

RS VR6 said:
Kinda like how "ricer" is referred to Japanese cars?

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A Ricer is like a suped up Honda Civic with rims, a loud pipe and a body kit

Squirrel in the Spokes

· #16 · Jul 19, 2021

I’m an encyclopedia on derogatory terms

Reactions: 1

RS VR6

· #17 · Jul 19, 2021

Squirrel in the Spokes said:
A Ricer is like a suped up Honda Civic with rims, a loud pipe and a body kit

Coined by guys that drive American cars at a time where Japanese imports were getting real popular.

Then they tried to legitimize it by giving it some acronym.

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crzyabtmtbkng

· #18 · Jul 19, 2021

This forum, to me, is a wealth of information and experience that promotes the love of mountain biking, enjoying the great outdoors, connecting all of us to something that we can all agree on. Which is incredibly difficult in this day and age. And then there is a causal reference of "chinesium" and "ricer/rice burner" in a time of increasing racial tension and violence. Particularly against Asian Americans / Asians not living in Asia. Why is this consider acceptable, in a mountain biking forum of all places? Tone-deaf....bigoted....amusing??? Context is key, and a simple reference to cheaply made products not made in the US without the racial overtones shouldn't be that hard??

Reactions: 2

OzIbis

· #19 · Jul 19, 2021

Halfabrain said:
The fact is that almost all mountain bike parts/frames are manufactured in China, Taiwan, or Portugal. That includes both SRAM and Shimano. There are very few bicycle frames, parts, clothing, or other gear that is manufactured in other places (and certainly not in the US). There are niche producers however, but these are companies like Wolftooth, Industry Nine, Cane Creek, Chris King...there are few others, but not many.

And if its not manufactured in China/Taiwan, then essentially all the metals are mined there and the alloys produced. So, don't kid yourself, its ALL Chinesium! What we pay for (likely by a 200% markup or more) in the US is R&D, marketing, and primarily branding...

That being said: +1 for Sunrace 11spd cassettes... Why spend $200-400 when you can get just as good or better for $100?

Mining in China. Hmm. Most of the bauxite, iron ore and coal comes from Australia that they use for manufacturing. They may produce the products there but the VAST majority of the raw materials come from elsewhere.

Caligata

· #20 · Jul 19, 2021

I bought a RATUXTR cassette about 10 weeks ago. Seems to be fairly well made. No complaints. As Harold noted, a lot of bottom-tier components are generic, sold with various made-up brand names stamped on them as they come off the assy line. I wouldn't balk at paying more for Sunrace or whatever, but couldn't find what I wanted in stock. I wasn't worried about performance as much as catastrophic failure, which I guess can be an issue. But reading up on it some more, I was surprised to see reports of reputable brands suffering catastrophic failure, so I took a deep breath and ordered the cheap/available cassette.

Reactions: 1

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