Fake Chinese bike parts

[Frankenorange]

My experience of dealing with chinese manufacturing(not fake stuff but original designs)is the first batches are often very much ok. Then when you sign up for the next pallet loads they will do something sneaky like change a material/process/machine shop/etc and what you get is far off the mark compared to the first batches.
They do it to increase profit and even if you do call them out, on the bad lots, and they have to re-make, they are still quids in. It is their thing to try and get away with it which is what you should expect from a whole section of industry built on faking stuff.
It isn't always the case though. Some prefer not to piss off the buyers and will maintain the initial quality and, if you are getting fakes made, some things can be better than what is being copied because they can offer so many custom processes, for so little extra money.

 

[Imlach]

Definitely a lot of chancers but also plenty of brands offering good solid, cheap stuff from China. In the last decade or so I've had very few bad experiences. But I also actively contact the various middle men and try to see how much knowledge they have of what they're selling and ask into it. Also I try to go for more established stuff. Fake things I'd usually only purchase if I wanted it for a laugh and I'd be reluctant if it was a highly stressed component.

 

[CassidyAce]

personally I’ve never understood the thinking behind buying fakes of anything.

You know it’s fake , other people likely know it’s fake. Just buy the real deal or buy another brand or unbranded stuff.

Me neither. And one thing I do agree with @Mangizmo about is that today's lower end stuff—Altus, Acera, Neco, some Sunrace, etc.—is a lot better than it used to be and functions well. I would rather buy lower end if need be and support honest producers and sellers than give my custom to the purveyors of fakes. It's the honest producers that pay for the innovations and developments; they have those costs to recoup. When people buy fakes, everyone else has to pay that little bit more to cover the costs of developing the genuine articles. In blunt terms, knowingly buying fake is being complicit in fraud.

 

[hamster]

My experience of dealing with chinese manufacturing(not fake stuff but original designs)is the first batches are often very much ok. Then when you sign up for the next pallet loads they will do something sneaky like change a material/process/machine shop/etc and what you get is far off the mark compared to the first batches.
They do it to increase profit and even if you do call them out, on the bad lots, and they have to re-make, they are still quids in. It is their thing to try and get away with it which is what you should expect from a whole section of industry built on faking stuff.
It isn't always the case though. Some prefer not to piss off the buyers and will maintain the initial quality and, if you are getting fakes made, some things can be better than what is being copied because they can offer so many custom processes, for so little extra money.

Spot on - samples are good, they change the rest with time and by the end of the process you are getting something very different. If you really want to understand the game, read the book 'Poorly Made in China.'

Some of their fakers are incredibly good. The first a well known CE brand (who I worked for at the time) knew that they were being copied was when stuff was returned for warranty - and found to be totally different inside.

The QC rejects / leakage story is largely bunk. There are proper processes for rework or scrapping and things don't get sold on the secondary market. Not least, CEMs like Foxconn have thin margins and squeeze failure rates to be well below 1000ppm.

 

[Mikey08]

Just briefly went on there and saw these Fake Hope Pro 4 hubs: Really....

And Industry Nine stem: Yeah right...

 

[d8mok]

Spot on - samples are good, they change the rest with time and by the end of the process you are getting something very different. If you really want to understand the game, ready the book 'Poorly Made in China.'

Some of their fakers are incredibly good. The first a well known CE brand (who I worked for at the time) knew that they were being copied was when stuff was returned for warranty - and found to be totally different inside.

The QC rejects / leakage story is largely bunk. There are proper processes for rework or scrapping and things don't get sold on the secondary market. Not least, CEMs like Foxconn have thin margins and squeeze failure rates to be well below 1000ppm.

A guy (top bloke) i used to work with always reckoned a shop in sharm el shiek was the place where Rolex and Breitling disposed of their non QC goods. Of course it wasn’t and they were terrible fakes.

I did buy a fake AA rated submariner in Bangkok a few years ago simply to see how it compared. It was visually close but not close enough and felt like crap. The AAA ones were scarily close.

 

[Woz]

There was a report on French TV about hunting down fake French wine from China. It's at that point now it's not even confined to material items. The wine was laboratory tested and contained all sorts of EU banned substances and of course tasted nothing like it should. The target was also common table wine, not even the luxury stuff. It doesn't necessarily make it's way in Europe, but it makes it's way to other countries eroding export trade and damaging the reputation.

 

[Mangizmo]

I have recently bought some fake (I assume) flat bar shifters which worked perfectly, but when I transferred them to some other bars, both clamps snapped as there was no steel band inside like on the originals and it was made of brittle alloy which was not up to the job, they were suspiciously cheap though so I should have known
I do have a Chinese motorcycle though which is based on an older Japanese engine design (theYamaha Virago 250 V twin) and I just cant fault it especially for the price paid, I have had it for 3 years without any issues and the overall quality seems great (its a Lexmoto Vendetta 250 made by the Chinese company Longjia)

 

[Mikey08]

Doesnt this look familiar?

 

[Philphilby]

I have bought a set of ingrid cranks chain ring and spider. Have not installed

They look very legit. All the packaging and labeling on the parts are top shelf fake. They even provide warranty information and part number certificate

I checked the part number with ingrid and they confirmed they are fake and that they are “like butter” so dont use. Ok to copy but not to brand as the genuine article. I sought money back and got blocked