carbon toupe

[hetchins68]

i'm actually using that saddle at this moment.
so far so good..
the only concern i have or any of you guys ever measure your saddle?

it says 143mm, it is actually 130mm when i measured it

[Wookieopolis]

It all looks like carbon too me. No newspaper between layers or anything. Mine measures 143mm. The epoxy holding the rails to the saddle has come loose on mine as well. I might pop them out and put them on something else.

Perhaps there are multiple places producing these and I got one from the crap maker? I'm not typically hard on equipment, this is the only thing I've broken other than a cheap carbon rim that cracked as well.

[TrekUk]

I take it nobody gives a stuff about the bike industry then do they and counterfit goods.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/f ... ear-37212/

[bura]

It seems that the "globalization" about which western companies always talked about shall be one sided. Produce very cheap in Far East and then sell it overpriced in country.
If you produce bottle cages for 3USD!! and sell them for 70 or 80 bucks or some jersey for 14 selling for 170 then somebody from somewhere will step in.
BTW I do not support fake manufacturing .Means identical item with "original" branding.
But seat posts,saddles, bottle cages and other components have not been invented by Specialized or Trek or similar.
I do know that life in western countries is expensive and Marbella , Las Vegas and St.Moritz are calling but others are ok with some less profit.
These "lost millions(revenues)" mentioned in the BR article have to come from somewhere and western consumers are less ready to hand their hard earned money over to established companies because they are more often experiencing excellent products and more often customer care when buying direct in China.

[jpack]

For what it's worth, I was looking on youtube for Toupe and Romin reviews and found 2 vids labeled "specialized toupe (romin clone)" about this saddle.

I wouldn't buy a counterfeit "branded" anything but I buy Chinese made stuff all the time as it is some of the best quality available. I assume a counterfeit "branded" item is some of the worst.

by the way: "the epoxy holding the rails to the saddle has come loose" appears in the video to be silicone...

[Wookieopolis]

It very well could be silicone. I pulled the rails out of the broken saddle today and what was holding them in place is flexible, peels off and is definitely not epoxy.

[bura]

Here is a big China fan with a Specialized Toupe clone review.
Beside saddle and bike he seems to be addicted to Chinese life style.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdRh_SBg4x0