Orient Express - Cheap Chinese Rims / Wheels / Forks / Frames / Cranks / Etc

Apparently one of the commenters on that Bicycling article did, thinking a bottle cage would be a relatively low risk item. The bottle fell out and went under his back wheel at 30mph and 2 years later he's getting back into cycling.

+1 for avoiding Hylix components. Like @spotter (not sure if I remember correctly, but Ithink the same happened to his) I bought an alu stem of Ebay. One of the bolt threads stripped on installation, black paint (?) came of in a few rainy days- stem is actually gold-ish now.

You remember incorrectly

@umop3pisdn bought a hylix that was poorly drilled and low quality

I thought Hylix made computer memory.

Correct. Stick to Kalloy for stems, I have one on my winter bike and it's good quality. Weirdly I'm sure Hylix used to be a popular brand for Chinese MTB carbon forks, maybe their quality has slipped.

If we're Hylix bashing, I've also got an inline carbon post that is a really sloppy fit in my Scott frame.

christ thats unlucky. im sure that could have also happened with a brand name bottle holder too though

Sample size of 1, can't make any useful judgements :-/

I've got some eBay carbon cages and they're good. Can't remember who makes them though.

Sample size now 2.

Chinese bottle cages have 50% chance of killing you.

/statistics

I've got some ebay carbon cages are they're bloody impossible to get the bottle out of

I have some Aliexpress carbon cages which grip well and have been trouble-free for 2 years. I also have a stem which was so poorly finished and suspiciously light that, forget the parts bin, it went straight into the dustbin. From about 20 purchases, from wheels (2 pairs) to smaller clothing items, this is the only problem I've had. About the only things I would recommend to others are track mitts and socks, where failures are unlikely to be life-threatening!

got my vcls seatpost today. The finish appears to be quite good. A little bit nervous though as there is quite meny moving parts to brake and places that might produce noises while riding. Next week i'll know more when I have my orlowski back from repair and the post installed.

So at the grand total of £8,60 I chose the Open mould design that looked the most conservative.
So either the bottle will shoot out when I least expect it and I'll crash into a ball of flames, or it will be so hard to remove that I'll perish of thirst.

Goodbye, it was nice knowing you all.

4eva in r harts

really like mine to be honest :-)

fake seat post with moving parts - what could possibly go wrong?

I'm quite happy with my fake VCLS.

Sample size now 2.

Chinese bottle cages have 50% chance of killing you.

/statistics

Riding with two cages = certain death?

trollface.jpg

They'll probably just be a bit shit for years - hardly ever dropping a bottle or working loose from the frame.

Enjoy your purchase!

has anyone used the chinese garmin out front mounts?

Had a ebay J & L for a while, miles better than the raceware 3d printed bollox but brittle

are these fake?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fizik-Arione-CX-K-ium-Wing-Flex-Road-Bike-Bicycle-Saddle-Seat-/181853506083?var=&hash=item2a57504a23

I've had three friends who've delaminated carbon rims on mountain descents. Cheap Chinese shi... oh wait, these were big brand wheels. I think carbon rims are susceptible to failure no matter what.

Tubs or clinchers?