Chinese kit brands coming into their own?

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OnTheRivet
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by OnTheRivet

mendiz wrote:
Fri Mar 24, 2023 1:23 am
Gobik is very bad quality, the reason of success is Alberto Contador and a lot of influencers in Instagram, too Juan Antonio Flecha
Except I own two sets and it is great.

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warthog101
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Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2013 10:05 am

by warthog101

OnTheRivet wrote:
Fri Mar 24, 2023 9:30 pm
mendiz wrote:
Fri Mar 24, 2023 1:23 am
Gobik is very bad quality, the reason of success is Alberto Contador and a lot of influencers in Instagram, too Juan Antonio Flecha
Except I own two sets and it is great.
Is this the brand and site?

https://gobik.com/en

If so, looks fine to me but not cheap.

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micky
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by micky

You can't pretend to compare items bought on Aliexpress, to items bought on proper companies websites.
You can get Gobik products via local shops sometimes with a discount.

And yes I've used Gobik and while it's not up to the best, it's pretty good, especially their bibs.

RimClencher
Posts: 194
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 1:00 am

by RimClencher

What is a proper company these days?

I got some bib shorts off Aliexpress made by a company (brand?) called Lameda and they have been decent. Better than DHB and Castelli stuff I've owned, not quite as good as La Passione. Material, length, straps, and general quality all good. Pad is also in the right place (not too far back). The most expensive pad option puts them at about the same price as DHB Aeron, so pretty expensive for Aliexpress.

misteryellow
Posts: 95
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2021 4:04 pm

by misteryellow

RDY wrote:
Mon Mar 13, 2023 12:57 pm
robertbb wrote:
Sat Mar 04, 2023 1:11 am
Don't buy anything from Chinese manufacturers. Clothes, parts.... anything.

The Chinese are using the money they make from selling you cheap goods (made with materials no doubt reverse-engineered and/or plagiarised from textile manufacturers who invest in R&D) to buy houses in your local area which they will never, ever sell - choosing instead to rent them out to you, in your own country.

I don't know how old you are, how you're positioned financially, but spare a thought for the flow-on effects of where your money is going and what they're doing with it.

This is not "racism" nor is it fearmongering, this is happening all around the world. USA, Canada, Australia, Western Europe.... modern warfare is being fought on the asset and ownership front. There will be no prizes for second place. Avoid Chinese goods at all possible opportunities, even if it means wearing decathlon stuff made in Europe or in India, or in Indonesia, or in Vietnam (which are also being raped by the Chinese).
Are you sure about that? There's plenty you could have said about the ethnic cleansing going on in the Far West of China, or the yoke of debt financed infrastructure in the developing world, but instead you choose 'not in my backyard' property owners purely because they're foreign. Sure seems like xenophobia at a minimum. I'm going to take a wild guess that you're probably not aboriginal, so your outrage at others 'colonizing' Australia seems funny.

And re: the guy agreeing with you, Decathlon / dhb stuff is typically made at very cheap Chinese-owned factories in Vietnam or China.
''Xenophobia''? Expressing anger because Chinese investors are en masse buying up houses in your country utilising unfair economic advantages when the housing market is so tight many will never own a house is not xenophobia. You are in fact a keen candidate to learn about Karl Popper's 'paradox of tolerance'. The influence of China on the West is very understated and I think its negative influences on the West should be highlighted. Such is not merely geopolitics, for many it is part of their purchasing decision. Trying to morally stonewall the arguments of the above poster is (at least to me) an example of bad manners.
''Just because something is possible, doesn't mean it's a good idea. It will add unnecessary complexity with little, if any, real benefit. Part of the beauty of this sport is the lack of hand holding & arse wiping.'' - ultimobici

RimClencher
Posts: 194
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 1:00 am

by RimClencher

misteryellow wrote:
Mon Mar 20, 2023 9:25 pm
You are not 'just paying for the brand'. In fact I would argue many buyers overstate the margins companies make. European companies employ people and pay them fair wages. They also adhere to much stricted safety etc guidelines. Furthermore, they invest in cycling. The industry could not exist without sponsors. Lastly, European companies are much more sustainable. Take a brand like Isadore. Lastly, European companies invest much more in R&D (like Q.36.5), which gets stolen by Chinese. Chinese companies also have an unfair economic advantage over European companies with Chinese companies getting subsidized shipping rates. Whether any of these factors interest you the short term is up to you but on the long term it can have devastating consequences which many consumers have not yet realised. But such is not the scope of your question.
Do you think that European companies wouldn't reverse engineer Chinese technology? Do you think European companies don't use economic advantages to their advantage? Who is responsible for letting Chinese investors enter the housing market in your country? Shouldn't you stop buying bib shorts made in your country because the government of the company selling those bib shorts is letting Chinese investors disrupt society in your country?

misteryellow
Posts: 95
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2021 4:04 pm

by misteryellow

RimClencher wrote:
Sat Mar 25, 2023 10:30 pm
misteryellow wrote:
Mon Mar 20, 2023 9:25 pm
You are not 'just paying for the brand'. In fact I would argue many buyers overstate the margins companies make. European companies employ people and pay them fair wages. They also adhere to much stricted safety etc guidelines. Furthermore, they invest in cycling. The industry could not exist without sponsors. Lastly, European companies are much more sustainable. Take a brand like Isadore. Lastly, European companies invest much more in R&D (like Q.36.5), which gets stolen by Chinese. Chinese companies also have an unfair economic advantage over European companies with Chinese companies getting subsidized shipping rates. Whether any of these factors interest you the short term is up to you but on the long term it can have devastating consequences which many consumers have not yet realised. But such is not the scope of your question.
Do you think that European companies wouldn't reverse engineer Chinese technology? Do you think European companies don't use economic advantages to their advantage? Who is responsible for letting Chinese investors enter the housing market in your country? Shouldn't you stop buying bib shorts made in your country because the government of the company selling those bib shorts is letting Chinese investors disrupt society in your country?
Ironically, efforts to curb foreign investment in real estate often fail because of...xenophobia accusations. Nonetheless, after I made my post I did think twice about what I said and realised this is not only about the Chinese. American companies buy property in large numbers too, as do European companies. However, what bothers me about the Chinese is how they profit from uncurbed government subsidies and the free market while simultaneously making it very hard for companies to do business in China. Do I think European don't use economic advantages to their advantage? Well not to the degree China does. European companies adhere to decisions by the WTO court and adhere to its principles why China willfully ignores court decisions by any court fails to meet numerous WTO commitments. Hell, China is still considered a development country to benefit from subsidized shipping rates on sites like Aliexpress! As far as intellectual property goes..your assertion is merely an assumption and as of now European companies are much more respectful of intellectual property than China. See https://ec.europa.eu/commission/pressco ... ip_22_1103 for a recent example of such a case. I must say you must either have a lot of faith in a totalitarian regime or a lack of faith in the economic principles of countries that were literally founded on the basis principles of liberty and democracy.

Now the real question is why European/American cycling companies are producing in China in the first place. ENVE builds it hyper expensive MOG bike in China, but to whose benefit? Sure as hell not to mine with a 5500 dollar price tag. I guess the lack of a critical attitude towards what we buy is not isolated to the bottom end of the cycling jersey market.
''Just because something is possible, doesn't mean it's a good idea. It will add unnecessary complexity with little, if any, real benefit. Part of the beauty of this sport is the lack of hand holding & arse wiping.'' - ultimobici

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xsnailx
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by xsnailx

I do agree about decathlon, their quality is decent, they do even use elastic interface pads.
but you need to buy the high level kit from thrm (900 / 500 series) and they sometimes have beter pricing than chineese product (not to mention that you can try the fit in store - wich is important advantage i think)

but what i dont agree is about resale - i mostly ride in black kit so i use it as long as it is resonable and then donate. riding 5-6 days a week (including commute) i dont see resonable to invest in anything more than top level decathlon kit - i do have a club kit for competition from dmtex and a ttsuit from hincapie.
req110 wrote:
Fri Feb 24, 2023 3:08 pm
inertianinja wrote:
Fri Feb 24, 2023 2:58 pm
I'm finding it difficult to justify spending $200 for a solid-color jersey from a major brand lately...
Good jersey costs like 60 EUR - 80 EUR from Maap or Rapha. I have couple Rapha Pro Team training jerseys, i love them, they did cost me around 70-90 EUR.
With Rapha and Maap i also get

- higher resale value (you will never resell chinese jersey)
- killer customer support, if something goes wrong with jersey, i get the credit

update: there is actually no point in purchasing chinese kit.

assos equipe rs shorts = 160 eur
jersey = 60 eur each
socks = 15 eur

If one is on budget, he can purchase van rysel from decathlon. For example this https://www.decathlon.cz/p/pansky-cykli ... MODR%C3%81 is for same price as some chinese spexcel.

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