genejockey 

So was mine. "Tireless", get it?

Koyote

Now you're going to start hacking away at your cheapie components, while continuing to argue that the more costly name-brand stuff is no better. But yeah, the rest of us are suckers because we pay more money for stuff that actually works.

PeteHski

😂 you think the unbranded knockoff merchants care about internet reviews or product quality and safety?

The major brands work to recognised professional standards which guarantees a safe product of reasonable quality. Occasionally things do go wrong and then you get product recalls. But none of this applies to random Chinese knockoffs. They really don’t care if your bar snaps like a carrot and puts you on your face.

Camilo

Well, that proves it once and for all. Carbon fiber is an inferior material.

tomato coupe

In my experience, most of the companies that sell cheap stuff on Alibaba are driven by altruism and a sense of social responsibility.

/s

veganbikes

If you are a no-name brand who cares. Heibei Houzun trading Co. LTD (a cheap carbon bar seller on Alibaba and his 40 thieves) is not a name anyone would remember or care about and if there thing fails not a problem for them because they can change to a different company name or different store or do nothing and nobody will care anyway. It is not a known product, it is not a known manufacturer and they have no real business beyond a massive internet market stunk full of tons of stuff so you won't notice if they are there or if they are gone.

You don't need to run things through an ultrasound machine, you need to do proper product testing and use quality materials and production methods you wouldn't be making a product to be cheap and look like something better just on the outside. You would probably first be designing these parts in CAD programs and using FEA before it is even produced then you have test products and all sorts of stuff to make sure your product is quality. Then you are going to have warranties so if something does happen they will make it right. If something happens to say Ritchey there will be a recall on the product and they will issue new products or credits or something and they will have a reputation to repair as needed.

A random no-name seller has no real reputation beyond just shipping the product in a timely fashion to get a 4-5 star review on the website that someone else runs. Even then they can say well it was shipping delays going from China to the U.S. and having to get through customs and all of that stuff so they can just deny that there was an issue and be done with it. They have no real worries and if someone does go after them it is unlikely a news story will break anywhere and nobody will really follow up on anything and those buying from Alibaba and his 40 thieves will just buy elsewhere not knowing anything or continue buying from that same seller. You didn't research the company involved because you didn't care to, it is beyond cheap and that is all you care about and that is really all anyone cares about.

Sy Reene

The videos can be a bit monotonous, but some interesting viewing from a source that supposedly has some cred

https://www.youtube.com/@LuescherTeknik/videos

adlai

That triangular piece of moulding is in the way

indyfabz

That’s called user error outside of the troll world.

Maelochs

Many have responded, but ....

No-name manufacturers have every incentive ... to make money. No one knows the name ... they have no reputation to lose.

As I understand it ... a lot of engineers get out of college in China and need cash. They decide to reverse-engineer some cheap products, form a company, and sell knock-offs ... hard to picture, I know.

After a few years, everyone is ready to move on to either bigger firms, new ventures, or to escape lawsuits. Just kidding. There are no law suits because by the time the products hi whatever internet retailers, there is no legal connection to the shell corp which has its name on the product. Also, most of the stuff is sold overseas, and foreign customers who have enough money to navigate the Chinese legal system are not buying on Temu or Ali-Express. The bribes are astronomical .....

Tech equipment is cheap enough (or available enough--companies can rent theirs or sell it when they dissolve) and since there is no reason to stay with a start-up, engineers form endless strings of start-ups, hoping to at least keep the bills paid and Maybe get lucky enough to hit on a product which the market is eager for to make some bigger cash.

It isn't that these companies Try top produce trash ... it is just that when it comes to going the extra yard for quality or cutting a few corners, the immediate payoff dictates cutting corners. If some of the workers have substance abuse problems, or are just bored and depressed factory workers who don't care so long as the check clears each week ....

A few companies Do stick around ... Toseek would be one ( ) And while there are a few failures, t5here are no lawsuits (they are still buried in communist China) and also ... "publicized on the internet"???? That is what this thread is. So far I am not seeing a big impact on Toseek's production.

And if there were to be a big internet complaint .... say, if a whole run of products, not just a few, failed catastrophically ... We would then se "Tozeek" or "Toseak" parts hit the market.

Sy Reene

I know this thread is supposedly just Carbon-related, but there has been a good amount of chatter on TPU tubes these days, and seemingly many folks willing to try the no-name stuff (e.g. RideNow and Cyclami). These 'no names' however are gettng close to the point I think where we can say they now have a name.

PeteHski

These are branded goods with a growing reputation. You can say the same about some of the Chinese carbon wheel and frame brands.

shelbyfv

As mentioned previously, a Dremel can fix this. Probably doesn't matter whether you choose to hack up the shifter or the bar shaped object.

Maelochs

Yup .... Like Toseek and its cockpit arts ( ) But if one of those companies were to have a major screw-up (a whole run gone bad for some reason) then that name would change .... not the address, staff, or methods ....

Here in the US we have seen major brands do major recalls .... forks and other essential items ... and keep right on rolling .... same in China but it costs less because, no need to recall or reimburse, no regulations and no reputation. "RideNow" becomes "NowRide" and as long as they are they are among the cheapest ... people will buy them. And probably their quality was, is, and will be on par with everyone else's ..... And after all, they got a name because they were cheap and people bought them and they worked well enough. Toseek could call itself Tossoff and so long as it had attractive pricing it would be financially sound no matter how many time that photo of assploded Toseek gets posted.

IMO.

Maelochs

Just don't risk your safety with a cheap Chinese knock-off Dremel tool.

DangerousDanR

Am I the only one who remembers when a high dollar USA brand mentioned here as a "Quality" brand of carbon fiber components had a couple of wheels fail when being tested by a certain roseate bicycle web site? Or the time some folks who CNC their frames out of forged aluminum had a swing arm fail for the same web site? I have had a carbon fiber seat post fail on my hardtail. And an aluminum handlebar on a road bike...

I once had a suspension bolt shear on a cute little two seat European car associated with quality, probably due to a previous owner's low quality workmanship. The bolt installed was not of the grade specified the shop manual.

So, absolutely do look around. There are people who review bike stuff who post it when it fails. The roseate web site was one when I was reading it. Not sure now that they have gone "corporate". Hate him all you like, but the Orange Squirrel does post some truly horrid QC fails. So do a few others: Peak Torque and DC Rainmaker both used to but I haven't read them in a while. Hopefully they still do.

And the seat post that failed under me? I have four of them. Still have them on road bikes, but none on any hardcore off road bike. And the ICAN seat post on my fat bike survived another winter of abuse.

Koyote

I learned a new word today.

Camilo

I didn't learn it until the second repetition.

shelbyfv

Yes, very cool! Never thought of using it for other than birds. You don't find BFer's breadth of knowledge on other hobby sites.

Koyote

ditto. The first time I figured it was a misspelling or a weird auto-correct… The second time I saw it, I looked it up.

Camilo

I'm only half teasing about the word. It is always good to learn new words. Now, to remember and use it appropriately!