# Chinese carbon products are good? any experience?



## emeterio (Jul 11, 2007)

Hi there, I just want to trim some grams for my yeti asr and looking at aliexpress find the next post and handelbar, both are really cheap and chinese any experience with this kind of products?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Tom...lgo_pvid=06cec970-93b9-403e-bd87-433a95402539

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Ful...id=60bebc32-99d9-4ca6-8190-b7b32c1992eb&tpp=1


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

If you like cheating death then go for it 

Chinese carbon thats dirt cheap is playing a lottery with serious injury. And alibaba is not the place to try and find budget carbon.

Seeing as you could afford an ASR, not sure why you wouldnt be looking at reputable carbon parts. Especially when the 2 parts that are insanely important to safety are what your looking at changing.

Some people have had luck with chinese parts, others have had the stuff snap and cause crashes shortly after installing. Its all about how much risk you want to take.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## eshew (Jan 30, 2004)

I'll throw my .02 is. Yes they are very light weight. So you'll lose some grams as well as stiffness & safety.

These lower end carbon parts would be fine only a gently used bike.

If you ride hard or ever sell your bike to someone who rides hard they are a liability.


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## emeterio (Jul 11, 2007)

Damn Im in the side of the hard rider, so have to pass :S


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

Did you somehow miss the many thread and thousands of posts about Chinese carbon rims?

I've been riding them for years without problems.


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## eshew (Jan 30, 2004)

Le Duke said:


> Did you somehow miss the many thread and thousands of posts about Chinese carbon rims?
> 
> I've been riding them for years without problems.


Did you somehow miss the 2 links the OP posted? Those aren't rims. Bars, stem and seat posts.


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

eshew said:


> Did you somehow miss the 2 links the OP posted? Those aren't rims. Bars, stem and seat posts.


Point being:

Buy from a reputable seller, like discussed in the many rim threads. Don't buy something from a random company. Someone with an actual reputation to uphold that won't want you trashing them on the internet in the event their product breaks.


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## D Bone (Jul 20, 2014)

................. what could go wrong?


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## Erwandy (Jan 8, 2016)

Here's my 2 cents. Some ripoff branding have debatable qualities. Especially those which are supposed to be AAA copies. Avoid those at all cost.

However, those Chinese Open Mold component makers like Toseek, Hongfu etc actually does offer very usable products. The material they use are top notch and so does the workmanship quality. I have 3 Toseek components on my bike now (Saddle, Seatpost and Handlebar) and I have to admit they did not disappoint.

Having said that, ANY carbon product have the tendency to fail regardless the pricetag. I have seen boutique components failing and I have also seen cheap ones failing too - it's how they are being used that mattered the most


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## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

I think it depends on what you buy. I have a frame with about 1k miles on it and recently built up multiple sets of wheels with hoops from China. No problems.

Handlebars and stems I won't touch though. The results can be catastrophic if they happen to fail on a ride.


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## machine4321 (Jun 3, 2011)

I had good luck with hylix before the prices went up. But the bar was only 660mm. Not sure I would want to change a super wide one. I'm not sure I would chance a bar at all any more. I have a mtzoom bar at 720mm and only 123g. It was cheaper then any of the brand names, I trust it completely and of course torqued to spec. I wish they made a seatpost


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

Erwandy said:


> ...
> 
> Having said that, ANY carbon product have the tendency to fail regardless the pricetag. ...


Really?


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## Erwandy (Jan 8, 2016)

phlegm said:


> Really?




































....these are not exactly unbranded carbon parts, and they still fail - depending on your luck


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

You're suggesting products from other materials never fail.

Hope those aren't all your personal experience.


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## Erwandy (Jan 8, 2016)

phlegm said:


> You're suggesting products from other materials never fail.
> 
> Hope those aren't all your personal experience.


I did not recall saying other material never fail - not sure where you get that. This thread is about carbon products so the scope of discussion focus on that. Oh yes I have experienced SRAM X9 RD all aluminum breaking on me, snapped steel bolt seatpost clamp etc. We all goes through that sort of experience one way or another


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

Erwandy said:


> I did not recall saying other material never fail - not sure where you get that. This thread is about carbon products so the scope of discussion focus on that. Oh yes I have experienced SRAM X9 RD all aluminum breaking on me, snapped steel bolt seatpost clamp etc. We all goes through that sort of experience one way or another


I'm not pro carbon nor anti ALU, but I disagree with the blanket statement you've made about carbon, and that's wholly relevant to the discussion. Furthermore, providing random photos of Internet carbon failures isn't helpful. (Plenty of ALU bike failure pics we could post too, right?)

A poorly-designed or constructed part from ANY material is probably doomed to fail, but again that's not restricted to carbon.

On that note, you're taking a chance when buying from a random e-Bay seller, especially a knock off. While I've dabbled with eBay carbon saddles, quite frankly I don't trust random eBay parts for much else, regardless of the material they're made from.

You make a good point though that even brand names are unable to offer 100% assurance, but at least you'll have a warranty (if you're still conscious).


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## Erwandy (Jan 8, 2016)

For the record I never buy from any random e-Bay seller. I always insist on being able to touch and access the product before buying them. It is a possibility in my area because LBS are in abundance. I am not pro or against carbon products too. What I am trying to say is basically it is unfair to simply label Chinese carbon products as junk without even having first hand experience on them. I will still avoid dubious Chinese components that lean towards AAA copies, but I am more receptive to Open Mold type because they tend to offer some really impressive products. For example the use of Toray carbon by Hongfu and Toseek are on par that one would normally see on higher end products - and thus this provide some sort of assurance that they will not simply break like tissue paper for what it's worth.

Of course, I do secretly salivate over higher end carbon products from Mcfk, AX Lightness, Darimo, Extralite etc. And I will actually buy them when I have the budget to do so. And that's because they provide warranty and assurances to back their impressive products. Until then.....I'd be happy to use anything I can get hold of. LOL


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## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

I think the key word here is *knockoff* parts. For the most part...the open mold stuff has been pretty good for the vast majority of people that buy them.

I think a big sketchy part of buying parts from China is liability...well...there is none. What happens if you snap a bar and break your face? They'll offer you 10% off your next purchase.


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## Erwandy (Jan 8, 2016)

RS VR6 said:


> What happens if you snap a bar and break your face? They'll offer you 10% off your next purchase.


LOL! the best I read today.


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## Levitoepoker (Jan 10, 2018)

RS VR6 said:


> I think the key word here is *knockoff* parts. For the most part...the open mold stuff has been pretty good for the vast majority of people that buy them.
> 
> I think a big sketchy part of buying parts from China is liability...well...there is none. What happens if you snap a bar and break your face? They'll offer you 10% off your next purchase.


When mine broke I got a full refund. 
I bought some carbon bars for 20$ off aliexpress and they broke after 100 or so miles when I forgot to un-lockout my fork and landed on a big root. Thankfully I didn't get hurt badly just some scraps and cuts from the ground. The lady off aliexpress was pretty nice and gave me a full refund. I probably won't buy aliexpress carbon bars again and will just look for deals on eBay. I have had good success with the silicone grips off the site though. Also, I should note that the aliexpress bars were great before they broke. Aesthetic, light, good amount of flex/stiffness so they were really comfortable. The crack was right by the brake lever so I could have over tightened, so I won't blame the Chinese carbon. I thought I was careful about not tightening it much but I didn't use a torque wrench so I can't know.
I'd post a photo of the crack here but I can't do it on my phone.


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## Erwandy (Jan 8, 2016)

Levitoepoker said:


> When mine broke I got a full refund.
> I bought some carbon bars for 20$ off aliexpress and they broke after 100 or so miles when I forgot to un-lockout my fork and landed on a big root. Thankfully I didn't get hurt badly just some scraps and cuts from the ground. The lady off aliexpress was pretty nice and gave me a full refund. I probably won't buy aliexpress carbon bars again and will just look for deals on eBay. I have had good success with the silicone grips off the site though. Also, I should note that the aliexpress bars were great before they broke. Aesthetic, light, good amount of flex/stiffness so they were really comfortable. The crack was right by the brake lever so I could have over tightened, so I won't blame the Chinese carbon. I thought I was careful about not tightening it much but I didn't use a torque wrench so I can't know.
> I'd post a photo of the crack here but I can't do it on my phone.


Thanks for sharing. I have to agree with you that the usual "suspect" for broken bars (including very light aluminum) were due to overly tightened brake clamps - especially if you are using the vice like SRAM matchmaker or Shimano i-Spec. Any kind of undue pressure placed closer to the end of the bars will create a strain point waiting for the right (or wrong) moment to break


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