Raleigh carbon frame quality

[Christie]

I'm sure if you looked a few other brands you'd find alot more simmilarities. You can be sure that there aren't nearly as many frame bulding companies in Tiawan as there are bicycle brands on the market

 

Hmmm... I dont completely agree. There are 2 questions: 1. Who designs & engineers the frame, and 2. Who builds it.

 

1. Colnago, Cervelo, Scott, Cannondale, Bianci, Specialized, Look, Time, Giant etc. etc. all have bikes that are designed and engineered differently. The pros and cons of these frames can be compared and debated. Even their bottom of the range bikes are designed in house. This means that a Scott is not a Giant, wont ride the same.

 

2. Not all the big brands manufacture their frames in house. Some are made in North Africa, some in Eastern Europe and some in the Far East. But regardless of where they are manufactured, they are made with different moulds, using different laminate combinations.

 

It is clear that the Raleigh/Flanders/Karbona in the pic is the exactly the same. It was designed and manufactured in the same place, a carbon copy (hehe). For me the question would be who designed & engineered that frame, and how well was it designed. 

[two2one]

 

Hmmm... I dont completely agree. There are 2 questions: 1. Who designs & engineers the frame' date=' and 2. Who builds it.

  

It is clear that the Raleigh/Flanders/Karbona in the pic is the exactly the same. It was designed and manufactured in the same place, a carbon copy (hehe). For me the question would be who designed & engineered that frame, and how well was it designed. 

[/quote']

 

I don't think we really diagree at all, I was  addressing the fact that  many of the frame designs on the road today are designd and built  in the same place regardless  which  sticker gets put on at the end of the line, not just the one in question. Many others are not.  (R&D aka. Research&Developement aka. Ripoff&Design)

 

As far as how good the design is I think it depends who you ask and what was the goal of the designer. If the design is  good it doesn't really matter who designed it.

If the design is bad then the frame won't perform the way it should, even if it looks brilliant.  Some frames are designd with a specific purpose in mind and may only last 1 season or even 1 race, and are still great frames because they have fulfilled their purpose. Such a frame is from a consumer standpoint pretty much worthless unless they are willing to shell out several tens of thousand for a new one next season.

 

Anyway I'm getting off topic here, maybe a discussion for another thread.

 

 

 

 

 

[Brandon Els]

Corrie, I hope I can supply you with the facts you require. Raleigh has to date since our 2007 launch in August 2006 sold more than 900 RC Team, RC7000C and RC6000C which all use the same Deda frame. To date there have been 26 failure's of this frame and a complete list of these are available from albert@probike.co.za There are 200 replacement 2008 Deda Tavulo Uno frames arriving at Raleigh in 3 weeks for any consumer that had a frame failure. The warranty stock is clearly in excess of the failure rate. Deda have issued a letter to all Raleigh Elite Dealers that this is a problem with a single batch of frames that were baked at an incorrect temperature causing cosmetic cracking of a surface joint. The assembly plant that manufacturers Raleigh is Kenstone. It is also the same assembly plant as Cervelo and many other high-end brands. Should you have any further questions please contact me at brandon@probike.co.za or 083 458 5552.

[Brandon Els]

Christie, the frame you refer to as Raleigh/Flanders/Karbona was designed by Deda of Italy. The manufacturing of the frame was licensed to a company called Lung I. Raleigh purchased the exclusive rights to this frame design for South Africa from Deda. Lung I in contravention of this agreement sold 18 frames to a trader in Durban under the brand Karbona. Karbona is a company that knocks of international designs as can be seen from their website. Deda has as a result of this discontinued Lung I as a supplier.

 

Deda has moved all production to a factory called ADK who manufacture for Raleigh South Africa, Felt, Merida, Fuji, Kestrel and many more.

 

Regarding the engineering and design of the frame - I believe that there is no question of Deda's capabilities and track record which are well documented on the internet.

 

Any qustions brandon@probike.co.za or 083 458 5552.

[Brandon Els]

Kobie, Karbona is a trading company and not a manufacturer. If you visit their website you will see rip-offs of Selle Italia saddles. This is their business model. I am interested to know from which quarters you heard they built bikes for us? Raleigh's are built by Kenstone who build Cervelo and many others. The frames used are designed by Deda with manufacturing outsourced to ADK now and Lung I in the past.

 

I have tried to keep my postings in a manner that do not appear defensive so please join me on a trip to Shangahi and I will take you to buy a Ping G5 driver for the equivalent of R 450.00 or could it maybe not be a Ping G5? 

 

Raleigh opposition run for cover from our value proposition and many postings mask a justification for costly bs marketing that is produced in our very factories by the same European designers.

 

Any further questions brandon@probike.co.za or 083 458 5552.

[Christie]

Hi Brandon, thanks for the reply. The situation is unfortunate, but I would guess not a big crisis for your business, except that you spend $ for the rights. I think that your brand has a much better reputation in SA and Karbona wont corner a lot of your market. The situation is not unique, either. I remember reading about a similar incident where Willier sold Scott designed frames branded as Williers which they were able to do due to using the same manufacturer.

Christie2007-04-25 13:09:49

[Guest Big H]

Brandon, Thanx for your clear an concise report(s)..... methinks this leaves em quaking in their boots. I sent an email to you but sometimes mails from Nigeria get blocked.

 

I will most likely be purchasing trainers when I visit RSA next week and bring them to Nigeria.