I've been following this post for the past year and placed my first order with Temu in June 2024. Since then I have placed a further fourteen orders for a variety of items. Orders 14 and 15 are due to arrive during the course of this week.
So far everything had been correctly delivered although I did once change the size of one cycling jersey to a larger size as was an option after placing the original order, but they did not react and I received the former size. Too bad, but it's still wearable.
As far as bike parts are concerned I bought a bunch of stuff.
Risk titanium alloy bolts in oil-slick finish. I've read and taken note of the fact that they aren't as strong as steel but I'm not going to be bombing down mountains and jumping over boulders, just riding trails, so will keep an eye on them. I've changed virtually everything - brake disc bolts, brake caliper bolts, brake lever bolts, stem bolts, bottle cage bolts and valve caps. They weren't cheap and the total ran into four figures.
Cycling glasses/eyewear. I've been using a pair of Oakley's for decades, but that pair is now done for. I couldn't bring myself to pay the current prices. When researching Oakley's I found that at least half are made in China anyway. The others are made in the USA. All cycling eyewear lenses are made of impact-resistant polycarbonate or polyamid (nylon). Oakley's website says all their eyewear is designed and engineered in the USA and that "some eyewear components and finished products are also manufactured in facilities owned and operated by our parent company, Luxottica Group, or by select 3 supply partners around the world." I note they are hesitant to name China as a manufacturer but googling Luxottica Group well tell that they have manufacturing facilities in Italy, China and now Thailand. "Their factories in Italy and China produce Ray-Ban's entire line of eyewear and Luxottica guarantees the quality of the products from its Chinese factories is in no way compromised; the glasses are made from the same materials, with the same machines". So there you have it. Also if you think Oakleys lenses won't break in a crash - think again. 'You may find some of Temu's cycling eyewear come from those same factories too (just guessing but I wouldn't be surprised). Initially I bought a pair of cheap SCVCN cycling glasses for R116 but found them a bit uncomfortable. They aren't terrible, but you get what you pay for. Next up I bought a pair of Kapvoe polarized cycling glasses with five interchangeable lenses for R348. These are much better - pretty much like an Oakley rip-off if you ask me.
Waterproof Silicone Bicycle Seat Post Dust-Proof Cover. I bought my GT Zaskar Expert full-carbon lightly-used MTB a year ago and noticed moisture had entered the seat tube. It wasn't wet or anything worrying but opted to get this silicone seat post seal for R27 (now just R16).
Cycling Clothing This is where things start to get tricky as you can't try things on and returning stuff is a pain in the ass. I wear size 34 jeans/chinos which translates into an Asian size L or UK34 on Temu. I wanted same baggy shorts and opted for a size M based on comments and just as well because the M fits fine and an L would have been way too big. These are not padded and cost R452
As I was more comfortable knowing what size I should order I then ordered another pair of shorts but padded one's this time. These were even cheaper at R408.
These are also a size M. They fit fine, but I haven't tried them out on the bike yet - just been too busy.
My bike has flat pedals so I just wanted a pair of sneakers to go riding in. The bike has lime-green accents so I have a preference for lime-green accessories which is not a bad thing as it's one of the more visible colours out there. I wear a UK size 11 and having bought three pairs of shoes on Temu if I stick to size CN46 I'm pretty safe. Fortunately all three pairs of what I bought fit just fine. The sneakers were R540 and matching socks R56.
I've puchased several T-shirts and a long-sleeve top for cheap (compared to locally). R500 for a T-Shirt at an LBS and R79 - R89 on Temu.
Accessories I bought Syncros bottle cages from my LBS but had to get matching Syncros water bottles from a bike store in Germany. The bottles were cheap, but the shipping, using Aramex Global Shopper wasn't. If I recall the shipping was around R460 😒
Brake Pads I don't need brake pads just now, but after discovering sourcing pads locally for my Formula RX brakes wasn't as easy as I thought it was Temu to the rescue. I purchased two sets of the "Dust" semi-metallic brake pads based on several 5-star reviews for just R46 a pair. When they arrived they were in "Risk" branded packaging.
Helmet I wasn't going to admit to buying a cheap helmet but what the hell - I did. It cost R327 but is currently listed at R180. It is CE certified and yes it can be penetrated by a sharp object. It's not that I don't value my head, but this was only purchased as a temporary measure as my original Bell helmet is seriously uncomfortable. I have my eye on an Abus or Trek MIPS helmet but we all know what those cost!
Tyres I have purchased Vittoria Mezcals for my Zaskar MTB from a LBS and just purchased Vittoria Corsa Controls for my Cannondale 2.8 road bike. Also a tube.
I have to say the service I have received from local LBSs has been pretty dire over the past several years, Almost nothing has been in stock and despite taking my name and number, almost no-one has got back to me about anything. The only one I can give a shout-out to is Cycle Lab N1 City who got an item for me from a Gauteng branch in record time. It was ordered on a Friday and they phoned at lunch time on the Monday to say I could collect.
Temu General I only discovered last week that Temu is actually an American company based in Boston MA. I always assumed it was Chinese. The range of products on offer is mind-boggling. You can find stuff you didn't even know you needed and things you didn't know existed can generally be found there. The quality for the most part is pretty decent. My advice is check all the options and the cheapest option is probably not the best. Read the reviews - not the 5-star reviews - check out the lower scores if they exist. Those R136 earpods probably are crap.
I've bought quite a few other items as well - replacement wheels and air filters for my silent TradeAir compressor, shower hoses, magnetic bench vice protective strips, strong double-sided tape. several belts, golf caps, MTB tyre sealant injector kit, MTB chain stay protector, kneeling pads which I use for work, underwear, several pairs of shorts, Other items of clothing haven't been top priority as I prefer to try things on. Most of their shirts are polyester and I am no fan of polyester. I prefer 100% cotton.
Couriers While you cannot choose your courier, Buffalo is by far the quickest. Depending on what day you order, things can be delivered to Cape Town within a week. FastNet comes a close second. Skynet perhaps a bit slow by comparison but yes, Easter was thrown into the mix. Now there's a new one Asendia. I can't comment on them yet.
Duty and VAT. Temu and Shein have been accused of using a loophole to bypass customs and VAT on consignments under R500 and splitting consignments to take advantage of this. Thank the clothing Industries Federation for this. I'm not sure what industry they are hoping to protect? There basically is no local clothing industry. Go to Woolworths and look where their stuff comes from - jeans made in Mauritius, shirts in Madagascar, dressing gowns, belts and sneakers all made in China. None of my consignments have been split including one of over R1,800. Only the latest one has been split but that was due to size considerations where two items have been sent separately. While delivery is free there is a nominal courier fee for pushing things through customs as far as I can tell - it's under R50 and VAT makes up the rest apparently. That is about to change. Duty on clothing is 45% which in my opinion is ridiculously high. What nobody mentions is that there is a 10% surcharge on top of this. I could have a long rant about this but that's a topic for another day.
