Hey there!
New Triathlete here, who after doing his first OD Triathlon on a bad fitting, too big old bike decided to get a budget chinese frame and it arrived but it has one scratch on it and I can’t tell if it’s the paint or if the carbon is actually damaged.
I uploaded a few pictures here:
https://imgur.com/a/QJ9oc
The depth is quite shallow which gives me hope.
I also did the “coin test” and uploaded it here, so if that helps heres a link: https://youtu.be/ERKB6e25v4g
Thanks guys!
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“budget chinese frame” + ANY frame damage = me personally, no way I would ride it.
If it was damaged that way when you received it I would make them take it back and ship you another one - why even take the chance??
Damaged, and structurally compromised.
“budget chinese frame” + ANY frame damage = me personally, no way I would ride it.
If it was damaged that way when you received it I would make them take it back and ship you another one - why even take the chance??
Arguing with chinese sellers can sadly be quite troublesome at times and I’d like to be correct, before I go through the necessary steps.
Damaged, and structurally compromised.
Thank you, could you please elaborate what makes you sure of that? Just so I know what to tell the seller.
Damaged, and structurally compromised.
Thank you, could you please elaborate what makes you sure of that? Just so I know what to tell the seller.
When your coin ‘plink plink plink’ goes ‘thunk’. Soft spot in carbon. Send it back, get your money back.
Agreed with that being a soft spot in the carbon based on the sound.
Arguing with chinese sellers can sadly be quite troublesome at times and I’d like to be correct, before I go through the necessary steps.
Correct about what? The frame was received damaged…does it even really matter if it is structural or not? I would NOT accept that frame from ANYONE (Chinese or US based seller) if received in any damaged condition. This issue that your communication may be troublesome arguing with Chinese sellers…you’ll get no sympathy here since you get what you pay for.
Return it immediately!
I get your point, but there’s nothing I could do. It arrived at customs and they signed for it,so I couldn’t inspect it before receiving it finally after paying taxes.
Damaged, and structurally compromised.
Thank you, could you please elaborate what makes you sure of that? Just so I know what to tell the seller.
Sure: your photos. The relatively straight cracks at angles symmetric about the tube’s long axis, likely following the orientation of the fibers, are very typical of local impact. (Might be shipping damage?)
I assume shipping damage as well, the bike was packed really well and the shipping box didn’t seem to be handled well and had even had a dent which may fit exactly.
I looked inside with a flashlight and can’t see any issues from the inside but I’m not risking it.
Thanks everyone!
How did you pay for it?
Credit Card via Alipay, so I don’t think I’ll have too many issues, as the error is obvious. The only issue I can see coming up is them requesting the broken frame back and I just checked shipping costs, those would be nearly 110 USD.
Credit Card via Alipay, so I don’t think I’ll have too many issues, as the error is obvious. The only issue I can see coming up is them requesting the broken frame back and I just checked shipping costs, those would be nearly 110 USD.
Use the Aliexpress dispute option right away. Upload the video and high res photos and provide a written description that this occurred upon arrival / inspection. Use simple english as most have only a passing understanding of the language (…but still way better than our understanding of Chinese!).
Despite what some are saying about getting refunds, Aliexpress is really stepping up their dispute resolution system. It is no longer just between you and the seller and Aliexpress step in and move things along much faster now. I have had to file two disputes on Aliexpress in the last 6 months. In both instances, I uploaded evidence that the parts didn’t function as specified and Aliexpress accepted my dispute within two days and refunded me the money.
If Aliexpress doesn’t step up, your Credit Card company will (They are your back up).
It’s a pain to go through this, but ultimately it will work in your favor. If you decide to buy another frame, I’ve recently had a good experience with buying a ‘smileteam’ gravel frame and they might be worth a look.
Yeah I had already used the option to get my buyer protection extended and talked to the shop company. I’m currently just waiting for them to accept my statement that it is broken, I will open a dispute after but I like the company and the company (BXT) in general has great reviews with no negative reviews and they weren’t the cheapest so I had hope.Also I bought it during the 11.1 sale, so I’d rather have a new frame shipped than the reduced frame price back, as that will still mean I need to add 50-100$ back on top.
I’ll look into your suggestion, I’m also considering going with a Dengfu (super established) but that will be a lot more expensive.
Thanks for the insight!!
So this is probably the biggest bump slowtwitch has seen a while but here we go.
The end result was that the seller insisted it was a paint damage, aliexpress sided with them so I was stuck with the frame.
On another note, because my other carbon frame got into a tiny accident with a car, I was worried about my new bike and checked on this POS again (doubt other than the fork anything had an issue, only had to tighten the screws in the head-unit again. My wheel is even still true.
So here I was, thinking about that pos frame still sitting in the package it came in and sanded down the part which was a bit nackered and these pictures are the result.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ws2vZhJ9YQx3yaod7
Here are my thoughts. I see some very, very tiny flaking in the carbon where the scratch was, but thats it. When I take out the bottle holder screws I get a better look as well and that part looks fine (no scratch, crack or whatever).
My next idea would have been to get an endoscope camera and try and look directly at it and try if I see more.
So…what do you carbon professionals say? waste of time ?
Still cracked, still structurally compromised…
IMO, if you still want to use the frame, send it to a carbon repair place and they should be able to repair that spot and it will be at strong as before the damage. Shouldn’t cost much. You’ve already sanded the relevant spot for them. 