Jabubu
let you google that for me
And chains.
All my Aliexpress MTB purchases reviewed.
- Thread starter coarselanguagw
- Start date
teK--
Eats Squid
Is @pink poodle a reputable source for pedals? Asking for a mate.
pink poodle
気が狂っている男
Isildur
The Real Pedant
Has anyone tried something like this?
Winow updated 29ER MTB Carbon Fork 110*15MM Boost Cross Country Mountain Bike Carbon Rigid Fork With Water Cage Eyelets - AliExpress
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.comwww.aliexpress.com
Death trap?
So, a couple of month since these posts. I found the listing on a few sellers, all turning out to be the same seller under different names. Each time I asked, I was told initially "back in stock soon", then to "not being produced, buy this one at twice the price", to which I quite happily said no and bided my time. It wasn't a required purchase by any means, and was still waiting on word of the new Seido Taza fork.
Anyway, in the same week, a few things happened:
- Seido Taza fork is eternally delayed, and when it does eventually arrive, it won't be the pricepointed bargain that the previous BPC fork was.
- Heard through the grapevine that the "dream fork" Whisky #9 MTN Boost has been discontinued for the moment.
- The original fork model above came back into stock on the 3 or 4 sellers I was following.
Now I have a Winowsports (hilariously dubbed the Widowmaker by a mechanic mate) on the way from Ali. Took a week to ship, as they pre-loaded stock numbers on their pages to sell before full production finished, but this happens in Chinese manufacturing a bit.
Will this sub-$200 fork ($140 + $35 freight + GST) survive the daily commute? Of that I have no concerns at all.
Will it survive being loaded with gear? Only the next few months will determine that fate!
Stay tuned to this thread for updates... Or, perhaps COFW if it all goes terribly wrong
Update!! Did a few rides and it survived black/ double black runs. Tried to take off cranks to access chain guide and rounded off both crank arm bolts(made of cheese). Not sure if I hand tight it too hard but now gotta hacksaw/grind off the axles. Will be returning back to shimano cranks.
Isildur
The Real Pedant
Yeah, the bolts are where I've realy noticed the difference on the Senicx FM3 (Hollowtech Clone) cranks. As long as the tool is properly seated, it's all good, but on the first install I didn't pay close attention. Thankfully I felt the deforming before it got serious, but when I check the cranks at 1000km, I'll probably pull a set of bolts from one of the retired Shimano cranks in the shed.
If Shimano bloody well made an SLX Crank in 165mm, I probably wouldn't have bought Ali, but I really do like the Sram-style chainring mounting on the Ali cranks. I'm now down to only 1 bike out of 7 in the shed that doesn't use the 3-bolt pattern.
If Shimano bloody well made an SLX Crank in 165mm, I probably wouldn't have bought Ali, but I really do like the Sram-style chainring mounting on the Ali cranks. I'm now down to only 1 bike out of 7 in the shed that doesn't use the 3-bolt pattern.
Labcanary
One potato, two potato, click
The Ali SRAM chainrings are cheap too.
Haakon
has an accommodating arse
Suspension bearings on the cheap. Needed a set of 10 (!!) bearings for the Trance, spread over 4 sizes... This mob sell them in packs of 4 so ive ended up with a few spare ones, but was still about $50 for the whole rebuild set. Half the price of the usual sources.
Bearing seemed to be good - full complement as you expect and reasonably well greased, although i popped the seal on them anyway and packed in more. They ride well
fushi.aliexpress.com
Bearing seemed to be good - full complement as you expect and reasonably well greased, although i popped the seal on them anyway and packed in more. They ride well
FUSHI Official Store - Amazing products with exclusive discounts on AliExpress
Discover the wide range of from AliExpress Top Seller FUSHI Official Store.Enjoy ✓Free Shipping Worldwide! ✓Limited Time Sale ✓Easy Return.
fushi.aliexpress.com
Isildur
The Real Pedant
Yup, I wish I'd come across them sooner than the Monster-Gravel build, as last year I forked out a LOT on Absolute Black Ovals, only to find a really good Ali clone when building the aforementioned bike. Ah well, a good test to see how long the Ali vs AB rings last.
Isaakk
Likes Bikes and Dirt
I've just replaced some blown up DT240 freehub bearings with Fushi 6802RS... seem smooth/tight enough. Also bought one of these https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007317164178.html - pretty nice bit of kit, could recommend.Suspension bearings on the cheap. Needed a set of 10 (!!) bearings for the Trance, spread over 4 sizes... This mob sell them in packs of 4 so ive ended up with a few spare ones, but was still about $50 for the whole rebuild set. Half the price of the usual sources.
Bearing seemed to be good - full complement as you expect and reasonably well greased, although i popped the seal on them anyway and packed in more. They ride well
FUSHI Official Store - Amazing products with exclusive discounts on AliExpress
Discover the wide range of from AliExpress Top Seller FUSHI Official Store.Enjoy ✓Free Shipping Worldwide! ✓Limited Time Sale ✓Easy Return.
Isildur
The Real Pedant
I don't, but given the Optislick cables are relatively cheap, I'd wonder if the Ali ones would corrode pretty quickly. From what I've seen of most of the steel off-brand components, it may end up a quickly changed cable!
Isildur
The Real Pedant
If other news, the bikepacking fork landed today.
Not too bad overall.
Packing could have been a bit better, well, a million times better. It was just a bubble wrap & closed cell foam wrapped fork shaped parcel, not even a box, or polystyrene case as other Ali purchases have been. It seemed to have survived though... Time will tell!
No obvious moulding flaws, no obvious voids from the tap testing. Threads are all clean, the upper brake mount has a little bit of left over carbon swarf on the face, so might need a light file, but seems OK.
Will be interesting to see how it builds up this weekend.
Interestingly, the Curve Seek 500 dropped today. 8KG per side! Wow! But $1100 RRP is just a bit on the higher end side compared to the WinowSports FK015!
Not too bad overall.
Packing could have been a bit better, well, a million times better. It was just a bubble wrap & closed cell foam wrapped fork shaped parcel, not even a box, or polystyrene case as other Ali purchases have been. It seemed to have survived though... Time will tell!
No obvious moulding flaws, no obvious voids from the tap testing. Threads are all clean, the upper brake mount has a little bit of left over carbon swarf on the face, so might need a light file, but seems OK.
Will be interesting to see how it builds up this weekend.
Interestingly, the Curve Seek 500 dropped today. 8KG per side! Wow! But $1100 RRP is just a bit on the higher end side compared to the WinowSports FK015!
Calvin27
Eats Squid
Wow actually ticks a lot of boxes, but seriously $1200 is taking the piss.
Flow-Rider
Burner
Edit [Whoops, you need outer, I use the jagwire when I want cheap outer.]
I've been using these for years, and they work fairly well.
Bicycle Shift Cables Mountain Road Bike Shift Inner Cable Grinding Stainless Steel Derailleur Cable 2100x1.1mm Bike Accessories - AliExpress 18
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com
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Labcanary
One potato, two potato, click
I've bought a few metres of gear and brake cable housing. I use them on kids bikes, and on cheap repairs. There is no discernible difference to the more expensive name brands to my eye. I'm happy using them.
Edit: pretty sure I've used the cheap outers on my own bikes when I've misplaced my roll of Shimano gear outer cable.
Isildur
The Real Pedant
Installed the FK015 Ali Bikepacking fork last night, all went smoothly thankfully, won't have to head over to the COFW thread today. There still might be time though...
The steerer cut cleanly, and noticed it is very thick. No weight weenie carbon here! The Cane Creek crown race went on nice and snugly, no loose fit, expander plug (separate buy) easily in.
The one thing I CBF'd to do last night was run a new internal brake line, as the other fork was external. For now I've done the 3M tape & velcro arrangement, which doesn't look the best, but will serve until I can be bothered, or have the time, to get involved in a full bleed, as the line will have to be one of the new spares in the shed. Before I do that though, I'll wait for the Ali bleed kit to arrive, as I don't have a syringe & threaded nipple that will fit that hasn't been used for DOT fluid.
I'll report back once I've had a chance to load up the legs a little bit, but that might be a while with the way life is currently.
The steerer cut cleanly, and noticed it is very thick. No weight weenie carbon here! The Cane Creek crown race went on nice and snugly, no loose fit, expander plug (separate buy) easily in.
The one thing I CBF'd to do last night was run a new internal brake line, as the other fork was external. For now I've done the 3M tape & velcro arrangement, which doesn't look the best, but will serve until I can be bothered, or have the time, to get involved in a full bleed, as the line will have to be one of the new spares in the shed. Before I do that though, I'll wait for the Ali bleed kit to arrive, as I don't have a syringe & threaded nipple that will fit that hasn't been used for DOT fluid.
I'll report back once I've had a chance to load up the legs a little bit, but that might be a while with the way life is currently.
Isildur
The Real Pedant
Welll, bugger, things not as hunky dory as first expected. After my maiden commute on the fork, 25km each way, by the time I got home there was a knockin' and a rockin' in the setup.
Did the usual things, expecting that everything had just settled in, but the the quick nip up of the top cap didn't resovle the issue. The expansion plug just wasn't holding in the steerer tube, even up to 8nm tightening. Did a full disassemble of it, all looks good, then figured I'd try another I had on hand from the previous fork, a circa 2010 Neco expander.
Hmmmm, the Neco doesn't want to go in. the lip of the lower compression nut is catching on something. Stick my finger in the fork and have a feel around, hmmm, no wonder the other compression plug wasn't holding, there's 3 prominent ridges/lips of carbon left over from the moulding, running vertically all the way down the steerer length. Hard to see in the photos, but they do indeed go all the way down as far as I can see. Thankfully they're 100% not cracks, but certainly a quick finishing process was done.
Currently in messaging with the Ali seller to see what their thoughts are before I try to get a tube of some fine grint sandpaper in there. If that's what has to happen, I'll be OK with that, but I'm interested to see their thoughts first.
Did the usual things, expecting that everything had just settled in, but the the quick nip up of the top cap didn't resovle the issue. The expansion plug just wasn't holding in the steerer tube, even up to 8nm tightening. Did a full disassemble of it, all looks good, then figured I'd try another I had on hand from the previous fork, a circa 2010 Neco expander.
Hmmmm, the Neco doesn't want to go in. the lip of the lower compression nut is catching on something. Stick my finger in the fork and have a feel around, hmmm, no wonder the other compression plug wasn't holding, there's 3 prominent ridges/lips of carbon left over from the moulding, running vertically all the way down the steerer length. Hard to see in the photos, but they do indeed go all the way down as far as I can see. Thankfully they're 100% not cracks, but certainly a quick finishing process was done.
Currently in messaging with the Ali seller to see what their thoughts are before I try to get a tube of some fine grint sandpaper in there. If that's what has to happen, I'll be OK with that, but I'm interested to see their thoughts first.
