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

Quick everyone! A real world review!

Oh sweet Jeezus. More details, more weights, more pictures needed!

Here are some weights incoming: I used a kitchen scale to measure the brakes - so this might not be very accurate. I measured them without my brake pads (10g/ pair), but I included the new stainless steel nuts. The alloy ones that came with the brakes are so light, that my kitchen scale did not display anything for them.

Front EE brake: 100g (5g of which are the stainless steel nut)
Rear EE brake: 96g (4g of which are the stainless steel nut)

All in all that is 100g less then my DA brakes. Like @greeno said my bike is indeed a caad9. It’s not a proper weight weenie (yet), but I’d like to get there part by part.
I am running 28mm Continental 4-Season Tyres which on my rims turn out to be 29mm. The brakes comfortably accommodate their width and height.

The problem mentioned in the road.cc review is not given with my bike. My handlebars stop the fork from turning so far that the adjusting screw touches my frame. I think the review was quite odd to be honest.

@jameo I added some more pictures :)

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Let us know once you've had a nice ride on them to see how good they are or are not for braking, would be interesting to know how they feel on a ride.

a few needy customers here

Not all copies/replicas are made equal

You wouldn't steal a car

You wouldn't steal a car

https://youtu.be/ALZZx1xmAzg

But they're metal! Weight weenies have to have carbon calipers, it's the rule. I've had my Lekkis for 4 months, very pleased with them. https://www.lfgss.com/comments/16209190/ There are other owners at weight weenies and they haven't had any complaints. £124, 141 grams the pair https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003605109992.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.370e2e0eCBNBAF P.S. That's not the listing I bought from - if anyone wants to buy these, more research would be needed.

Yeah but the ee brakes have sick #perpleano

Hmmm. An acquired taste. (They also come in black. Which is £2 cheaper.) https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003678216205.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.2dff38c2N4WdAN&algo_pvid=b464e3a7-d51f-4b26-bb3b-b04044bd31e7&algo_exp_id=b464e3a7-d51f-4b26-bb3b-b04044bd31e7-0&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2212000027230915676%22%7D&pdp_pi=-1%3B57.8%3B-1%3B-1%40salePrice%3BGBP%3Bsearch-mainSearch

I fancy some of these just cos. Shit or not shit? Anyone got any experience with these particular ones or other cheapish fouriers, kcnc etc? Any recommendations need to be ultegra 6700 10sp compatible
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292190039814

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I have one. Worked just fine although the cage doesn't feel anywhere near as stiff as the one it replaced.

Cheers I thought these might twist a bit as the cage body is slimmer than some of the others I've seen. Does it feel any smoother/ faster to you? mine is for my TT bike

Ordered one which should turn up some time in April 😴

Bearings spin a lot faster, but under load I can't tell any difference.

If it's not too late to cancel you can buy mine! I'm getting a fancy pants Kogel one on Cyclescheme

Shame i just checked and its too late to cancel. Would have had yours otherwise. The Kogels do look fancy and meant to be the absolute stiffest.

Ah bugger

I'm sure I've read somewhere that the bearings on all of these don't have seals which might explain the spinniness but I guess you have to be prepared to replace them with some that do at some point.

I've read somewhere that the bearings on all of these don't have seals

That's where 99% of the gain comes from, particularly in dérailleur pulleys where seal drag is the dominant factor. Ceramic bearings don't need need liquid lubricant kept in by seals, and they don't need water and solid contaminants kept out. Almost everything which can get in is softer than the bearings and is either ejected whole or crushed to powder.

That's for full ceramics, especially ZrO₂. Of course, a lot of cheap "ceramic" bearings sold to cyclists are hybrid units with Silicon Nitride balls running in ordinary steel races.

These are the ones I've ordered. The description says sealed and ceramic but no more info then that. So as they're Chinese and £80 would that suggest hybrid bearings in regular steel races? Any tips on optimising these like lubing the bearings on these if not full ceramic or removing the seals altogether? I've got some Ludicrous lube for special occasions and i should be able to get hold of some W&S HS grease prep which is meant to be fast in hub bearings and probably more suitable than the ludicrous lube which is designed for chains

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Any tips

If they have seals, leave them alone. Unless you want that last tenth of a Watt for racing, in which case remove them. In practice, especially in the mostly clean environment of a TT bike, hybrid ceramics in dérailleur pulleys seem to be fine with or without seals as long as they have some sort of shielding as part of the overall design. The first ball-bearing pulleys were much worse protected and also fine, and before that we had bushings which were also fine.

If you want to go full #tartmode at some point in the future, you can probably get full ZrO₂ cartridges in the same dimensions for less than £20 each. Won't make any material difference, but the placebo effect is probably worth it 🙂

Thanks I'll just keep it nice and clean and leave it alone then check out some ZrO2 cartridges if they're only £20. I'm combining these with a new 55t chainring and my first ever waxed chain so as long as the whole system feels quicker I'll be happy plus it looks pimp

Be sure to post a clip of your frictionless drivetrain spinning backward!