Fake Pinarello Frames
Discussion
hunt through the threads in bike radar about "chinarellos". a good few people now have bought carbon frames off ebay and are really happy with them. there are references to reputable ebay suppliers from china so if you are interested i would search those threads and see who is being recommended. they are cheap carbon frames but they have been selling them on ebay for well over two years now so the good sellers are easy to find if you hunt through the threads.
although the basic shape is the same as the pinarello, i would assume the layering process will be markedly different, at a guess these unbranded frames will be a uniiform thickness and direction throughout whereas i would assume pinarello layer the carbon accordingly and in different directions as and where required on the frame.
at first, there was a lot of scepticism, and probably understandably so, i think the general consensus now is that they are a good bike for the money if you remember its just a unbadged generic carbon frame. the horrors stories of things breaking have unsurprisingly stopped. the chinese know that there is money to be made if they do this properly and are happy to feed the western cycling markets demand for cheap carbon stuff.
you will probably pay double for the same frame badged as something else, as an example the ribble steath, de rosa r838 and the pedalforce rs3 are believed to be one and the same and are all priced differently dependant upon which badge you want on the front.
The ebay carbon frames have one thing in common, they are not unbranded pinarellos as some people thought they were, that the guys in the factory were using the same moulds etc and doing a few extra at night?!!
from memory, the dengu carbon frames on ebay are the popular ones and had good feedback. customer service and returns isnt great so use the geometry charts wisely!....
as ever, research, research, research, sure there are propably still sharks out there selling dross but you should be able to avoid them with a bit of searching.
although the basic shape is the same as the pinarello, i would assume the layering process will be markedly different, at a guess these unbranded frames will be a uniiform thickness and direction throughout whereas i would assume pinarello layer the carbon accordingly and in different directions as and where required on the frame.
at first, there was a lot of scepticism, and probably understandably so, i think the general consensus now is that they are a good bike for the money if you remember its just a unbadged generic carbon frame. the horrors stories of things breaking have unsurprisingly stopped. the chinese know that there is money to be made if they do this properly and are happy to feed the western cycling markets demand for cheap carbon stuff.
you will probably pay double for the same frame badged as something else, as an example the ribble steath, de rosa r838 and the pedalforce rs3 are believed to be one and the same and are all priced differently dependant upon which badge you want on the front.
The ebay carbon frames have one thing in common, they are not unbranded pinarellos as some people thought they were, that the guys in the factory were using the same moulds etc and doing a few extra at night?!!
from memory, the dengu carbon frames on ebay are the popular ones and had good feedback. customer service and returns isnt great so use the geometry charts wisely!....as ever, research, research, research, sure there are propably still sharks out there selling dross but you should be able to avoid them with a bit of searching.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 11th January 15:48
okgo said:
Speak to Rocksteadyeddie, his chinarello seems to have seen him well for the last year or so.
You're here all week right? Pablo gives a pretty good summary. Official Pinarello Prince and Dogma use 50/60k carbon weave respectively. The Chinarello's typically use 3k so are considerably less strong, although I suspect the catsatrophic failures on the internet are either rare and/or planted by the Pina factory. The amateur eye can clearly see the difference in the width of the carbon threads. HAving said that, I don't see why a Chinarello should be any better or worse than an equivalent price generic Chinese built carbon frame. The bit I don't get is why you would want one? Anyone with any knowledge of these things will see it's a fake from a mile away. Anyone who has no knowledge won't know what it is purporting to be in the first place. So I'm not entirely sure who is supposed to be impressed by them?
For the people thinking I am considering buying one, I don't ride road at all. I was arguing with a mate that has been on a course about carbon frames and it all sounded like sales talk rather than anything based on actual science. That's the reason the thread was born; I certainly wouldn't buy one of these fakes to appear 'cool'.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff