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Apologies for the delay in updating, currently job hunting and it's taken priority over riding for the moment. Couple of things I've learned going back and forth with a some manufacturers over the past few weeks:
- It's hard to figure out who the actual OEM is for a given frame as lots of companies claim to own the rights for the more popular moulds (e.g. the AliExpress specials). No one is transparent about where they come from, what QC looks like or shows much knowledge of mfg processes (e.g. bladder vs. sol core) even when talking about a big order.
- Frames that are unique to one seller tend to be a lot more expensive than the AliExpress specials. One quote I had was for 900USD ex-shipping, dropping to 850 for an order of 10 frames. They weren't willing to ship them as freight so no savings to be had on shipping costs either. On the plus side they seemed much more knowledgeable about what goes into making their products (e.g. using soluble core vs. bladders)
- I found it quite difficult to negotiate a discount across multiple product lines, seems we'd need to be buying 10x of every wheel and frame to get any appreciable discount so it doesn't really work when everyone wants something different.
All this in mind, seems that the group buy format probably isn't the one for these frames. If you're after a track frame your options remain either the $500 AE special of unknown provenance or the ~$1k frame from a known OEM. The bulk discount factor just isn't there and I even if it were I'd only be comfortable taking that risk on something without known provenance from an OEM, at which point it's getting quite expensive.
Happy to share findings with anyone else looking to buy and will come back with a review after I've got some income again and pulled the trigger on one. H
- It's hard to figure out who the actual OEM is for a given frame as lots of companies claim to own the rights for the more popular moulds (e.g. the AliExpress specials). No one is transparent about where they come from, what QC looks like or shows much knowledge of mfg processes (e.g. bladder vs. sol core) even when talking about a big order.
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@kal, useful insight, are you referring to the Top-fire ones?
@johnnettles2 nope, other BCC riders/the many people I've traded with over the years on here can vouch for me. Still remains to be seen whether this is in fact a better/cheaper way of buying vs. individual purchases on Aliexpress but I'm willing to put in some leg work to see if it is.@Nbenja3 thanks for your input, we'll keep it in mind 👍
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@Amcharl I'll ask but I'll put you down in principle for one of those.
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Ok, after much back-and-forth and diving down the rabbit hole I am speaking to Top Fire about their track frame and wheels. Decision has been driven by:
- They seem to be a genuine OEM. I've spoken to 4 different companies who've each claimed to be the OEM for some of the more popular track frames which is a bit concerning
- Their track frame is exactly what I'm looking for (https://www.top-fire.com/aero-carbon-track-bike-frame-for-bsa-system_p13.html, I think Viviani won a WC on it in 2021 and it's very similar to the Electron Pro geom)
- They have a good selection of wheels and other bits if people want to order some to go with.
Still remains to be seen whether there are any cost savings to be had vs. just buying on AE as mentioned above but @Rjfreeman, @eespark, @Charger, @Leshaches if you're interested have a look around the site and let me know what you'd be ordering and then I can move towards getting a quote.
- They seem to be a genuine OEM. I've spoken to 4 different companies who've each claimed to be the OEM for some of the more popular track frames which is a bit concerning
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Good q, few things behind this:
- I'd really like to get hold of one of the integrated stem frames which from what I can tell are longer sold on ae as someone (still trying to figure out who) has bought the moulds.
- I've seen the group buy work well for some other things and I'd like to see what kind of discount we can negotiate.
- Hoping that going direct to manufacturer should be better from a QC perspective.
H
- I'd really like to get hold of one of the integrated stem frames which from what I can tell are longer sold on ae as someone (still trying to figure out who) has bought the moulds.
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Nothing back from supplier yet but will bump today.
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Update from the supplier, he's just let me know that they don't actually have the rights to sell either of the two designs linked above in the UK so he's suggested the "TR011" (geom attached) but I'm now getting further away from what I was looking for. Have asked if he can let me know who owns the rights to the TR018 and that Handsling have exclusive distribution rights to the TR019 in the UK.
H
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@Leshaches @eespark noted. Geom charts are in the pdf/link above. Will ask about paint options. Going to put a post on track Facebook today to see if I can recruit a few more with the aim to make a 10 frame commitment.
H
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I will ask the supplier. What were you looking for?
H
SE London - BCC