[w98seeng]

There are some Asian sellers on eBay that have some amazing prices. I know, I know, you get what you pay for. But, sometimes there are deals to be had (I'm always hoping).

How common is it for these frames to be counterfeit? I saw a Lapierre Tecnic 700 frame for $189, an ORBEA Sport MTB frame for $149.99, and a Brand New Full Carbon MTB frame for $279.

These prices do seem to be too good to be true.

Anyone have any good experiences with frames from Asia?

Thanks,
Ian

 

[boomn]

Most of the frames I've browsed through do appear to be legit. However, just because "counterfeit" isn't necessarily the right word doesn't mean the deals are always 100% above board. For example (and these things are hard to figure out, let alone prove) there can be "grey market" sources, such as factories who build these frames on contract for Lapierre, Orbea, etc purposefully making extra so they can sell the frames themselves as a secondary source of profit. If they did the same thing with their own branding it would be legit, but that doesn't sell as well.

As for the carbon frames, there are many factories who specialize in carbon and they aren't afraid to sell direct. These usually are not counterfeit, grey, or illegitimate in any way, you are simply buying a frame directly from the factory and therefore not paying any markups to cover all the operational costs of warehousing, marketing, bike shop operating costs, etc

Regardless of any of that, you still get what you pay with either of those for because there's usually no warranty or the warranty is hard to follow up on or not even worth it because of shipping time and cost back to Asia. Just depends where you place your value

 

[bt]

Most of the frames I've browsed through do appear to be legit. However, just because "counterfeit" isn't necessarily the right word doesn't mean the deals are always 100% above board. For example (and these things are hard to figure out, let alone prove) there can be "grey market" sources, such as factories who build these frames on contract for Lapierre, Orbea, etc purposefully making extra so they can sell the frames themselves as a secondary source of profit. If they did the same thing with their own branding it would be legit, but that doesn't sell as well.

As for the carbon frames, there are many factories who specialize in carbon and they aren't afraid to sell direct. These usually are not counterfeit, grey, or illegitimate in any way, you are simply buying a frame directly from the factory and therefore not paying any markups to cover all the operational costs of warehousing, marketing, bike shop operating costs, etc

Regardless of any of that, you still get what you pay with either of those for because there's usually no warranty or the warranty is hard to follow up on or not even worth it because of shipping time and cost back to Asia. Just depends where you place your value

very good reply

 

[w98seeng]

very good reply

Yes, very good, Thank You,
Ian

 

[WickedMCMLXXIX]

I'm in the process of building one of these carbon fiber MTB frames that you mentioned. I thought it was an original idea and came to these forums for help/info. The info I found only reinforced my desire to build one of these. I did a lot of research because, like you said, it sounded too good to be true. I was reassured with this thread:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=536473

 

[Mountain Cycle Shawn]

Most of the frames I've browsed through do appear to be legit. However, just because "counterfeit" isn't necessarily the right word doesn't mean the deals are always 100% above board. For example (and these things are hard to figure out, let alone prove) there can be "grey market" sources, such as factories who build these frames on contract for Lapierre, Orbea, etc purposefully making extra so they can sell the frames themselves as a secondary source of profit. If they did the same thing with their own branding it would be legit, but that doesn't sell as well.

As for the carbon frames, there are many factories who specialize in carbon and they aren't afraid to sell direct. These usually are not counterfeit, grey, or illegitimate in any way, you are simply buying a frame directly from the factory and therefore not paying any markups to cover all the operational costs of warehousing, marketing, bike shop operating costs, etc

Regardless of any of that, you still get what you pay with either of those for because there's usually no warranty or the warranty is hard to follow up on or not even worth it because of shipping time and cost back to Asia. Just depends where you place your value

+1 on the above. I built one, paid less then $300 shipped for the frame. It's the same frame that other companies sell for a much higher price. And it's really fun to ride!

 

[boomn]

+1 on the above. I built one, paid less then $300 shipped for the frame. It's the same frame that other companies sell for a much higher price. And it's really fun to ride!

is that a real life photo with the finished stickers that highdell made?

 

[trailville]

+1 on the above. I built one, paid less then $300 shipped for the frame. It's the same frame that other companies sell for a much higher price. And it's really fun to ride!

I like it, especially your choice of putting some nice fat tires on it (don't see that on many WW bikes). I probably would have been concerned putting a short A2C rigid fork on a bike designed for probably 80/100mm suspension (I'm assuming), but your head tube angle looks fine. Bet it flies uphill.

 

[Mountain Cycle Shawn]

is that a real life photo with the finished stickers that highdell made?

That's photoshoped. Highdelll designed the graphics, but I haven't had them printed out yet.

 

[Mountain Cycle Shawn]

I like it, especially your choice of putting some nice fat tires on it (don't see that on many WW bikes). I probably would have been concerned putting a short A2C rigid fork on a bike designed for probably 80/100mm suspension (I'm assuming), but your head tube angle looks fine. Bet it flies uphill.

Thanks. Those are WTB Mutano Raptor race tires, about 595 grams each if I remember. I thought a light high air volumn tire would be a good idea, and I'm not OCD about weight. It handles and climbs great. 1X9 is all I need even for the steep climbs. But, It does require you to pay attention to what you are doing, all the time.