Fake / Counterfeit Bikes & Components: News and how to spot them

[forkie]

If your sunglasses dealer is at the robot...its a fake.

@##$! Seriously?

[Wayne Potgieter]

@##$! Seriously?

Sorry bra....you should have done your research.

[Hennie VR]

If your sunglasses dealer is at the robot...its a fake.

 

Well if it was stolen they might not be fake. BUT the seller wont honour the warranty claim should there be one.

[Vetseun]

If your sunglasses dealer is at the robot...its a fake.

Tell my wife that. She was very shocked the other day when I informed her that the Ray Bans she bought from some Zimbabwean at the robot and that had fallen off a Ray Ban truck next to the N1 were not the real deal.

[Wayne Potgieter]

Tell my wife that. She was very shocked the other day when I informed her that the Ray Bans she bought from some Zimbabwean at the robot and that had fallen off a Ray Ban truck next to the N1 were not the real deal.

Bubble burster.

[Vetseun]

Bubble burster.

One Time!

[carbon29er]

Just on a sidenote...will the foo-man-choo imports be a threat to the big brands....I don't think so to be totally honest. They fullfill different needs. Also as explained in other threads, guys wanting to make a profit from this won't, and the other guys putting a sticker kit on them and selling them at the same pricepoint as the bigger brands are just as disgusting as the people trying to sell the counterfeits.

 

Sorry for hijack

Don't beat about the bush with insinuations. Name the guys you find disgusting.

 

I, for one, buy frames and finishing that I have tested and used, put my name on them together with a whole heap of components bought from CoolHeat or Cape Cycle Systems or Omnico or STAGE N9NE or Two Wheels Trading or N Squared, in a usable package at a reduction in price of somewhere around 30% for a similar spec named brand from a retail outlet. I then support the customer with a service plan and a lifetime warranty.

 

Have I paid my share of R&D or sponsorship money to the pro racers? No, I have not. Do I get paid trips to Europe or the US every year to go ride the big brand bikes like bike shop owners do? No I don't. Do I then promote the product in my store that gives me the best margin or overseas trip? No I don't.

 

But I have enabled a few young riders to go to, and become, SA Champs by providing a decent all round package using an open frame that does not infringe any trademarks or patents, is not a copy and is most definitely not an attempt to defraud any cyclist by passing off.

 

If you find this disgusting I better reflect on my value system and take guidance from you.

[rouxtjie]

 

Don't beat about the bush with insinuations. Name the guys you find disgusting.

 

I, for one, buy frames and finishing that I have tested and used, put my name on them together with a whole heap of components bought from CoolHeat or Cape Cycle Systems or Omnico or STAGE N9NE or Two Wheels Trading or N Squared, in a usable package at a reduction in price of somewhere around 30% for a similar spec named brand from a retail outlet. I then support the customer with a service plan and a lifetime warranty.

 

Have I paid my share of R&D or sponsorship money to the pro racers? No, I have not. Do I get paid trips to Europe or the US every year to go ride the big brand bikes like bike shop owners do? No I don't. Do I then promote the product in my store that gives me the best margin or overseas trip? No I don't.

 

But I have enabled a few young riders to go to, and become, SA Champs by providing a decent all round package using an open frame that does not infringe any trademarks or patents, is not a copy and is most definitely not an attempt to defraud any cyclist by passing off.

 

If you find this disgusting I better reflect on my value system and take guidance from you.

Mmmmmm actually not referring to you at all carbon29er....if you read my post again, wait let me help you...." the other guys putting a sticker kit on them and selling them at the same pricepoint as the bigger brands are just as disgusting as the people trying to sell the counterfeits." ......you will notice the keyword same pricepoint, to be honest I didn't find yours even close to the bigger brands, you were the cheapest. Your markup seemed to be about 1500-2000 rand more at the time than if I had to do it myself...and the value you added was local backup if I remember correctly(I think that is a fair markup considering the local backup). You also didn't make any bones about the fact that they are hongfu frames, which I liked. Unless this has changed and you are now selling your hongfu carbon frames at the same price point as the highball as an example for which I got a 18,000 rand quote for at the time, then yes, I will find that practice disgusting.

 

Is this the case?

[Andymann]

Grey imports are not fake, they are the real deal. Warrenty and backup support is now the question.

 

It is then up to the LBS and or agent wether they will honour the warranty or not.

 

i would not honour the warrenty as i did not make profit on the sale and i would loose money with the warrenty. Personal preference.

Shall I complicate matters even further and introduce parallel imports....

Grey imports are (in the motorcycle industry) a model not specific to SA - I doubt it there are any Bicycles which don't specifically some to SA, but I know at Yamaha we used to help the Grey imports, because we didn't really loose on the sale, and also stood to make profit on the servicing and parts.

Parallel on the other hand were models from other countries which were also offered in SA, and we initially had a more hard-line approach. However, we soon realised that even though we had lost the initial sale, if we were hard-arsed and turned them away, we lost out on the servicing and parts (which inevitably came in through the same channels as the bikes did) - rather some profit than none at all!

 

When it came to warranties they were on there own though......

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Shall I complicate matters even further and introduce parallel imports....

Grey imports are (in the motorcycle industry) a model not specific to SA - I doubt it there are any Bicycles which don't specifically some to SA, but I know at Yamaha we used to help the Grey imports, because we didn't really loose on the sale, and also stood to make profit on the servicing and parts.

Parallel on the other hand were models from other countries which were also offered in SA, and we initially had a more hard-line approach. However, we soon realised that even though we had lost the initial sale, if we were hard-arsed and turned them away, we lost out on the servicing and parts (which inevitably came in through the same channels as the bikes did) - rather some profit than none at all!

 

When it came to warranties they were on there own though......

 

Indeed, and that is the sign of a mature industry .

 

.........however, I think this could be an excellent thread but after reading through all 10 pages I am still no more the wiser as to how to identify a fake product.

[spyster]

So then c'mon Omnico, Shimano, Sram, Spez, etc. - explain to us what to look for when buying so that we know how to avoid the counterfeits. I appreciate that you cannot spill all the beans, but one or two pointers would be very helpful!

[rouxtjie]

So then c'mon Omnico, Shimano, Sram, Spez, etc. - explain to us what to look for when buying so that we know how to avoid the counterfeits. I appreciate that you cannot spill all the beans, but one or two pointers would be very helpful!

From what I have heard is that the fakes have almost always a sub-par paintjob(talking about frames here). So if your looking at a frame the colour scheme or paintjob doesn't look quite right or cheap...walk away immediately

[Matt]

Here's a video interview with Andrew Love from Specialized regarding counterfeit products. Andrew has been in touch with us in the past to remove fake listings and they're one example of a brand proactively shutting these sales down - particularly online.

 

Unfortunately he does not go into detail about the distinguishing features (presumably because this would tip the counterfeiters off).

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARCT7Sxayn4

 

I have come across threads on The Hub and elsewhere on the web outlining what to look out for on various brands.

 

I'll hunt around to find these links which we can consolidate in the first post of this thread to create a more useful and accessible resource.

[fanievb]

okay, so something like this is fake? I only looked at the price and the alarm bells went off

 

http://www.gumtree.c...-zipp-508293869

 

[Wil6]

Tell my wife that. She was very shocked the other day when I informed her that the Ray Bans she bought from some Zimbabwean at the robot and that had fallen off a Ray Ban truck next to the N1 were not the real deal.

One of my friends is a optomistrist and he actually told me one time that the lenses in some/most of those fakeleys is not bad at all. Their UV protection is up there with most glasses.

[Leonard]

Here is another example of a Pina with fake Bora wheels.

 

http://www.nhcycling.co.za/classifieds.asp