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

Boardman SPDs are good and less than 10g weight difference with XTR

Is there a reason to buy anything other than Shimano? I used to have Ritchey SPD pedals which were
crap and now have a pair of Garmin power meter pedals and the clipping in part is crap too.

Not really. But the Boardman pedals are great. I also ditched Ritchey.

Has anyone risked any of the Paul brakes on AliExpress? I’m tempted by a pair of knockoff Racer Mediums but but the images look highly questionable and I can’t find any worthwhile reviews.

Boardman pedals are great. I also ditched Ritchey

Given where Boardman usually shops, aren't the Boardman pedals likely to come from exactly the same production line as the Ritchey ones? 🤔

That’s great news. It wasn’t the quality of the sealed Ritchey pedals that was the problem.

I like my look x-tracks, the additional float is nice and fully shimano compatible.

What's the go-to shop for cool shades?

Can someone be transparent about the price they paid for a wheel deal vs just buying it direct from LB?

i have done both the diff is max 15%

Can someone be transparent about the price they paid for a wheel deal vs just buying it direct from LB?

30% off rims in a big group buy, but have ordered myself when wanting no faff, can normally find a way to get 5-15% off.

Great. Nothing huge on prebuilt wheelsets then.

Obviously it makes zero sense to take a risk on braking but has anyone got any of the faux Paul Klampers?

I got Paul levers from this seller. Seem pretty well made, although I imagine levers are easier than actual brakes to make. Probably the best knock-offs I've got from ali though - even came in a Paul branded box...

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Those levers don't look bad at all.

On reflection, expecting some £25 fake callipers to be anything but risky is up there with my dumbest thoughts (and there's quite some competition), need to look at some genuine cable discs if I do go down that route

Will I die in fire and shit if I ride some gravel on these $60 AliX Special Cranks? I need something as a stand-in while I'm deciding on something proper (and expensive), and while I always can get some kind of second-hand FSA for peanuts, these do look nice.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005506345902.html

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It was nice of them to mill in so many crack initiation points that it's a true game of roulette for us to guess which one will go first. The only way they could have improved it would be to have anodised the NDS crank red for people who like to bet on a colour.

you will die

Right, coming from you I'll take it as «absolutely fucking no, don't even come close never ever ever». Thanks, FSA it is.

Why not get something second hand?

Weightweenie brakes: 142g per pair. £90. Similar to the Lekki brakes from Ted Ciamillo https://www.lekki8.com/shop

I bought some similar ones for £145 last year. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003081042664.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.20.258d1802jz9qX3 I like them. I haven't used them enough to claim that they're durable.

Local second-hand cycling market here is quite poor. And mostly was attracted to how weird they looked. Never had cranks with so many holes in them.

Never had cranks with so many holes in them.

Funny that

Are you a pioneer or not? Buy them.

Never had cranks with so many holes in them.

Stronglight Pulsion had a similar cutaway...until it didn't