Chinese Carbon Frame

[bobfish]

My well travelled Giant Defy eventually succumbed to the the baggage monkeys.  Somehow, and in spite of the years of protection afforded by my Evoc bag, they managed to terminally damage the [carbon] top tube. A ride with a temporary splint and duct tape hack did little to boost my confidence, nor prevent ominous creaking sounds..... Time for a new frame then.

 

My initial reaction was to consider an alloy frame; the Cannondale CAAD12 made the shortlist. Then, a friend had just built up a Chinese 'Cervelo', and it didn't appear to be the horror story I had anticipated. Not wanting to go down a fake copy path, and still concerned about safety/quality, I did a bit of research. Eventually I settled on a Velobuild R-077, US$469 + shipping. The whole ordering, delivery went smoothly with Chris from Velobuild very promptly answering emails and making suggestions. I opted for a BB68 rather than BB30 as I wasn't 100% confident of the ability to manufacture to the closer  tolerances required. And I hate creaking BB30's!!

 

The buildup was a straightforward swap of the Ultegra and Giant components, with the addition of the mentioned BB68. The frame came with a little bit of overspray in some areas -  head tube etc - which required a cleanup, but nothing too daunting for my first attempt at a full build. 

 

So, early days yet, and I've on done two rides, around 70km and 2000m of climbing. Initial impressions: Much better than I had anticipated. Smoother than the Giant and nearly as smooth as my Cannondale SuperSix Evo.  And seems nearly as stiff during out of the seat efforts. Climbs on par with the S/Six as well. Downhill; well still not confident enough to give it full gas, but I gave the bars a shake at 50km/h with no wobble dramas, and I've taken it up to 75km/h on downhill sweepers with a nice ability to carve a line. How long this honeymoon will last I'm not sure, but I'm hoping there's no sudden surprises in store.

 

Stay tuned!

[moonoi]

Did you get stung for any import duty? I've been considering a frame set from one of the more reputable Chinese manufacturers (Workswell), but not been brave enough to pull the trigger yet.


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[bobfish]

Moonoi: Sorry, I should have been more transparent; I've also got a Hong Kong address, so 'next door' to the factory and no tax.!!!  I'll keep the bike there as that's my work base where I commute to Thailand from. The good bike will stay right here in Phuket!

 

But, as you've said elsewhere, the Thai tax on a frame-only is much cheaper, so may be an option. 

 

[bobfish]

Apologies for the font 

 

[moonoi]

I need a "business" trip to HK then ;-)


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[bobfish]

That's the spirit! :-) 

[ttakata]

I had an old 1998 GT frame mailed here through a freight company in LA, and it caught up in Thai customs at BKK airport.  I showed them photos and explained a classic bike frame has no value. 4 people and 2 hours later; I still ended up paying 5000 baht.

 

I suspect you might be better off building a new bike overseas, dirtying it up, and checking it as airline luggage. You can just tell Customs you are here on a bicycle tour as the bike looks used.

 

I have never brought a bike as checked luggage. Has anyone done this? Any hassles?Do they stamp your passport with a bike entered the country.

[bobfish]

I tend to bring bikes in, and out, regularly. Normally quite above board: Checked luggage, 'used', inspected and no questions. No guarantees though. My 'friend' suggests bringing a bike in when there are a lot of riders and bikes arriving for races/triathlons etc. This may be more applicable to Phuket and Chiang Mai, when it is quite common to see more than 10 bikes/ flight arriving for a competition.

[bobfish]

Okay, an update. So far so good. I've taken the bike [according to Strava - because I wasn't looking!] up to 91km/h. Very stable. On the minus side I do feel some flex and chain rub during out of the saddle efforts. I'm nearly 60, so someone with real power may be disappointed. The fact i didn't/omitted to fit a barrel adjuster for the front derailleur could be a factor, and in retrospect has been a bit of self-inflicted pain.

I'll try to post some photos of the delivery packaging and build up. As I said earlier, it all arrived intact and on schedule.

 

[JHolmesJr]

Planning to travel with bike soon. Dont know how to disassemble...will i need the services of a bike shop to dismantle and flat pack it?

[moonoi]

Planning to travel with bike soon. Dont know how to disassemble...will i need the services of a bike shop to dismantle and flat pack it?

Suggest you invest in a Scicon Aerocomfort bike bag. It's a little expensive, but you don't have to take your bike apart to pack it, other than removing the wheels and lowering the seat post.


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[JHolmesJr]

22 hours ago, moonoi said:

 

Suggest you invest in a Scicon Aerocomfort bike bag. It's a little expensive, but you don't have to take your bike apart to pack it, other than removing the wheels and lowering the seat post.


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Cheers….always learn some great stuff on here….they are frightfully expensive….which one would you recommend for someone who only travels with bike once in a while…I also want to learn how to dismantle the bike myself. Any sources to recommend where i can watch a tutorial…I have a road bike with flat handlebars and mountain bike geometry.

[moonoi]

That's a tough one, Sport Bicycle were having a sale on their EVOC bike bags, which made them less than 20k THB, but no idea of that offer is still running or not.

Going cheaper the bike bags don't really offer adequate protection and you're probably better taking your bike to a local bike shop and asking them to pack it up in a cardboard shipping box for you. Costs 600-1000 baht depending on the shop, you can ask them to watch as well, so you know how to put it together again.

If you're going to do it yourself it's a good idea to invest in a torque wrench so you don't over tighten the stem/handlebars/seatpost when putting it back together. You'll also need a pedal wrench to remove/replace the pedals for packing as well


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[moonoi]

 
 
Cheers….always learn some great stuff on here….they are frightfully expensive….which one would you recommend for someone who only travels with bike once in a while…I also want to learn how to dismantle the bike myself. Any sources to recommend where i can watch a tutorial…I have a road bike with flat handlebars and mountain bike geometry.

Going quite cheap today




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[JHolmesJr]

Great ... I bought my bike from evans cycles and parts from chain reaction cycles so i'll chk them out as well. 

[bobfish]

Quote

On 20 November 2016 at 9:54 PM, moonoi said:

 

Cheers….always learn some great stuff on here….they are frightfully expensive….which one would you recommend for someone who only travels with bike once in a while…I also want to learn how to dismantle the bike myself. Any sources to recommend where i can watch a tutorial…I have a road bike with flat handlebars and mountain bike geometry.

 

GCN on YouTube have a bunch of How To videos. Here's one on packing a bike hard case, you might have to do a search for putting it back together!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLUdAMlZtaV11U9AtszkMh0bpRqM4dtlDC&params=OAFIAVjeAQ%3D%3D&v=m5kldjYzGUA&mode=NORMAL

apologies for not getting the quote correctly appropriated. NOT an I.T. Wizz.

 

[moonoi]

I didn't make a business trip to HK, but I couldn't resist buying something so ended up with this :) I've now been officially barred from buying anymore bikes, lol

[el jefe]

12 hours ago, moonoi said:

I didn't make a business trip to HK, but I couldn't resist buying something so ended up with this :) I've now been officially barred from buying anymore bikes, lol



 

Did you buy that as a complete bike (Roval wheels?!) or just the frame and built it yourself?

 

 

[moonoi]

Did you buy that as a complete bike (Roval wheels?!) or just the frame and built it yourself?
 
 

I built it myself, the Rovals are borrowed from my Allez Sprint SE as I didn't have any budget left for a nice new set of deep section rims

[bobfish]

And the Trek dealer just 'happened' to have one in your size, and in matt black? 

 

Fate!

[moonoi]

And the Trek dealer just 'happened' to have one in your size, and in matt black? 
 
Fate!

It's true! It must have been fate [emoji6]