Carbon Bike Frames from China

Does anyone have any experiance good or bad of importing a carbon frame from the far east.

The cost differance seems to be significant. Not that i'm in the market for a new bike yet but its nice to look at options.

I would prefer to spend more money but know that I could send/take it back if it was damaged/the wrong size/not what I ordered....

They dont have kite mark standards in China so could be very risky. I have a focus German frame, in its fifth year mountain bike built from it super no issues. Be careful I would say.

Its worth remembering that a lot of frames are made in China including some of the big manufacturers.  I guess the concern would be the legitimacy of the source and the lack of redress should there be a problem.

Also consider import duty and VAT (is this included in / have to be added to the price?).

China isnt the only place that sells frames, it might be worth checking out R&A Cycles, Brooklyn, New York to see how their frame prices compare.  I can vouch for them as bought a bike there a couple of years ago (albeit in person).  Had excellent service and no problems with the bike or any of the components.

Just had a look at R&A prices arent as good as I thought now, though when I bough my bike in 2007 it was like $1.90 to £1.00

I dont think theres a huge amount of difference in cost. 

Check out say, the PX bikes or Ribble, and compare them to the Chinese versions. 

Sure they are more expensive, but at least you have a guarantee if it goes wrong. 

I'd be very wary of getting one that says its a Pinarello (or similar) from China. It almost certainly isnt. 

cougie wrote (see)

I dont think theres a huge amount of difference in cost. 

I'd be very wary of getting one that says its a Pinarello (or similar) from China. It almost certainly isnt. 

if you're prepared to take a punt on ordering one, there's a lot of good success stories.  check out this blog - http://chinarello.wordpress.com/  and follow the link to the Roadbike reviews where there are many tales of experiences.

Cougs - if you remember we were looking at some Chinese Xiang Ti frames a couple of years ago - you could get them for £300 LANDED UK price.

don't write off buying but do your homework before you do 

Thanks all for responses, I have no plans to purchase a new bike yet but its nice to look at options and hear peoples opinions.

I guess its a bit like buying second hand in regards to guarentees. The PX and ribble bikes look nice I was thinking that I'd be able to afford higher spec parts if the frame was cheap. I hadn't considred VAT and import fees.

Thanks FB, cross post. I'll check that link and review.

A lad at my club bought one and looked great but the lugs on the rear dropout were not aligned and meant there was no way the rear wheel could run true...he must have sent it back three time before he got one that worked ok....he has no complaints now i'll add.

I know at least three people who have bought Chinese carbon frames and they have all been happy with them - if anyone is interested I can ask them where they got them from.    

I'm not sure if I'd do it or not - it's hard to know just how good they are - you are unlikely to find a road test on a generic carbon frame so unless you can get a personal recommendation I suppose it's a bit of a punt in the dark and bikes do go wrong often enough to make a warranty worthwhile - my Look had to go back to France after 3 years of owning it and the full cost including stripping and building the frame was covered  - but then it would have cost me more than something from China in the first place.