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I was looking at stems on eBay as I was thinking of getting a hope one and I know people often change them just because of colour
i noticed some ok priced (circa £75) new ones from a couple of private sellers, but not in original packaging etc. which led me to have a look on AliExpress as seemed a bit dodgy (not saying the eBay ones are definitely knock offs though)
low and behold hope stems coming out of china for as little as £14
They'll also hook you up with a discount voucher for Turkey Teef! 😉
Cheers, ordered.
Tempting eh? 😀
Not really.
But as has been evidenced by other threads, some people here wouldn't mind as long as it was rebranded.
On a serious note, drop Hope an email. Doubt they can do anything about the Ali ones but they might the eBay ones.
On a serious note, drop Hope an email. Doubt they can do anything about the Ali ones but they might the eBay ones.
And then sell you a genuine one at an attractive discount for your trouble with any luck… 😉
See, what I can’t work out, if I was minded to flip Aliexpress fake Hope stems on eBay, surely you’d have some thought about the consequences if the thing failed under use. The rider could be killed in the wrong circumstances.
What happens then, can eBay trace the seller and they get prosecuted?
Where is the burden of proof - does the reseller definitely ‘know’ they are fake or have they ‘unwittingly done a bulk buy from the far east (where most bike stuff comes from*) and been sold a dud?
*everyone on here knows they are hand machined in England by loveable northerners, is that universal knowledge though?
there were those fake chains going round a year or so ago given they were likely to snap on standing pedal sprints, could well have caused an serious injury there. Did the resellers ever get their just desserts?
Just yesterday, I was looking at getting a new steel Pro 4 freehub as my old aluminium one is a bit chewed up. The first one that I saw online was less that half price on Ali Express. I got all excited about grabbing a bargain.....then I thought about it for a second. Think I'll pay the extra and make sure I get a legit one that'll hopefully last me another 9 yrs.
It's tricky... Buyer beware..
I have some LB carbon rims on hope hubs that I got factory direct from china.. And they are genuine hubs.. I guess they must import a load from the UK for the more discerning customer.. But LB are known for doing things properly.. You can spec the wheels with cheaper novatech hubs if you want to..for example
But there's so much fake stuff out there... When it comes to electronics for example you can buy from a known decent retailer with a UK presence etc.. I wouldn't buy anything like that from ebay or Ali etc.
It's proper dodge city... You might be OK or you might not... YMMV.
But there’s so much fake stuff out there… When it comes to electronics for example you can buy from a known decent retailer with a UK presence etc.. I wouldn’t buy anything like that from ebay or Ali etc.
It’s proper dodge city… You might be OK or you might not… YMMV.
It's interesting because we're probably just starting to see the emergence of a wave of cycling brands from China. LB and Nextie for wheels, Empire, Wheeltop and L-Twoo for shifters/mechs, ZRace for the rest of the groupset, Magene and IGPSport for GPS units, Xcadey, MAgene and Sigeyi making power meters.
The first releases might have had bugs or the odd issue, but most of them are now 2-3 product generations into their market and at a point where the products stack up against the established brands.
this happens on amazon too