unterhausen

I don't really pay attention to no-name Chinese carbon frames, but it seems to me that none of the brands have really gotten a lot of people to notice them. Not like Waltly in Ti, as an example.

Maelochs

DengFu, Workswell, Hongfu ..... I think the first and the last are owned by Flyxii, but I am not sure ... but there are a few dedicated factories turning out bikes and components which have been around for ten or fifteen years .... one of them sponsored a Pro Continental team for a while, I hear.

They are not on the order or Giant or Merida, but they make their own frames (reverse-engineered I am sure) under their own branding and do not try to pass them off a "Chinarello" or "Conlago" or whatever.

There are a lot of small companies making wheels (Baixiang, for instance), parts, and even frames and whole bikes, which I guess are mostly sold to the informed bargain-seeker. I found out about them here and on Weight-Weenies a long time ago---back when CF frames were not available at reasonable prices from the major manufacturers, and low-budget racers wanted an affordable edge.

himespau 

I think my next set of rims will be from Light Bicycles. Seem to here good things about them.

jaxgtr

I said that to someone today when I was going through someone's code that just quit without notice and the business wanted to know why they process was not working like they were told it would be. Then I said it will be faster to scrap everything and start over than fix the crap that I was seeing.

rsbob 

Lost count how many patched-up cluster fbombs of code I have encountered. It definitely was easier to start over than trying to unravel the messes or patch. Tough to go to management and let them know they have a golden pig that needs to be slaughtered.

Vintage Schwinn

HERE ARE JUST A FEW VERY INEXPENSIVE UPGRADES THAT WILL BE GREAT AFTER YOU REMOVE THE Gmc Denali DECALS:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/22405837985...UAAOSw4CRe9aKR

https://www.ebay.com/itm/22302747449...kAAOSwTf9ZVVz7

https://www.ebay.com/itm/26475628821...oAAOSw9Dle3OP-

https://www.ebay.com/itm/15458200659...wAAOSwJ3RhJKwK

https://www.ebay.com/itm/11302613177...EAAOSwCHBbDb1Y

https://www.ebay.com/itm/26473317868...sAAOSwiGBewF-V

https://www.ebay.com/itm/33404629793...kAAOSwWDlgzhha

https://www.ebay.com/itm/26473715034...YAAOSwnHdexReR



Those seen in the links above are Examples of how you can inexpensively "Upgrade" your former KENT Gmc Denali.
Choose the colors and design that you like the best! Mix and match if you wanna.
You are the designer. There are hundreds of other similar ones that you yourself can easily find.
Do your best with your integration of such distinctive colorful reproduction bicycle decals and some of the same boneheads that bash the Denali probably won't recognize the bicycle as being an infamous ordinary KENT Gmc Denali, the next time that they see it.
They will then love your bike, and you get to tell them that it is the exact same model that Chaussee Glissante rode to victory in the Tour de France!!!

shelbyfv

The Chinarello mindset lives!!

Maelochs

For a few dollars I can own a Colnago and Pinarello .... and it can be the same bike! I am a rich man .... or I will be after I spend some more money.

Milton Keynes

Why does "Chinarello" sound like a cigar to me?

blacknbluebikes 

Cheap bike is better than no bike at all.
I never met a bike I didn't like.
I just like some better than others.

Bagel Bob

I work as a mechanic at a non-profit bike kitchen. We get lots of Denali's donated there and I've worked on many of them. I've never run across a more cheaply made bike. They almost always have a bent axel, the bearings & cups are crap, and every other part is as flimsy as any bike I've ever seen.

GFerg66

I bought a Denali for my grown son a few years back for $20. He commuted to work around Dallas on it for 2 years with relatively minor maintenance.
It's a cheap bike but definitely usable.

Trakhak

Does a gentleman offer a Chinarello to a lady?

steine13

I bought a "Denali" 24 inch wheeled bike new for my kid when she was little. I wasn't going to shell out for a bike she'd outgrow so quickly. And it worked well enough once I added interrupter brake levers she could actually operate with her baby hands. The OEM ones were dangerous but the reviews made that clear.

There was a grad student at work who had one, and it seemed to hold up well enough.

And finally, for a couple years I rode a "Lamborghini" brand tandem that I got used from a colleague and then passed on to another, which was equipped very similarly.

One thing they all had in common: They used bottom-of-the barrel parts, but they were smart about it. Seven-speed freewheels, which must have been "free" in the mid-aughties, but solid nutted axles, so they wouldn't break. Brake levers that were the wrong size for kids but that were sturdy and unlikely to break. Same with the calipers. The tires were low-end schlock of course but they held air -- what more do you want at this price point?

I would disagree with those who say a bike like won't hold up... with light or careful use, these can last a while.
And no, not my first choice, and used is the way to go, but that's work, and time, and you have to know what you're doing.
As far as the OP's $40 bike, go for it. Don't see the downside.
cheers -mathias

livedarklions

The claim I see most often is that the frame is good enough to justify upgrades when stuff breaks. Any opinion on that?

I have no dog in this fight, btw, I don't think I've ever actually seen one. Just an honest question.

10 Wheels

Met this rider and her daughter on a 60 mile hill ride. They did good. She said her husband changed out all the moving parts.

Bagel Bob

The claim I see most often is that the frame is good enough to justify upgrades when stuff breaks. Any opinion on that?[/QUOTE]

I wouldn't consider it a wise investment to spend much, but if a person has the bike and the parts maybe. I don't think I've worked on one that didn't have a bent axel, (got that elliptical oval rotation on the free wheel).

I have no dog in this fight, btw, I don't think I've ever actually seen one. Just an honest question.[/QUOTE]

They came from Walmart, but I haven't seen one there in a couple of years. Made by Kent. They're actually pretty good looking. People who don't know about bikes could understandably think they're getting a bargain on a quality bike. The retail price was $249.

Reflector Guy

You've posted that picture before..... I always assumed that was your wife!

Maelochs

She was until he made her ride 60 miles on a Denali ........

livedarklions

Rim shot.

Mean, but funny.

livedarklions

Careful, you're about to get 100 page dissertation on the history, specs, and innate wonderfulness of the Denali from Vintage Schwinn.

Reflector Guy

I heard they were doing a century.... The bike broke and she had to walk the remaining forty miles!

Jmpierce

I never owned one but I worked on one at a bike co-op I volunteered at and the biggest problem I saw was the split handlebars and the grip shifters. I would never trust handlebars like that.

10 Wheels

Nope Not my Wife just another rider.

My Wife. We Were 19 y/o.

Bagel Bob

Split handlebars? Do you mean the handlebars were broken or is that some type of bar?