Approx £645 delivered.
The price breaks down like this. All prices in USD.
495 for the frame.
50 for the brushed finish.
95 for the sandblasted logo on DT
55 for the sandblasted logo on HT
80 to bend DT
150 for shipping
40 for Chinese bank changes.
10 days to discuss specs and get a drawing through several iterations.
7 days for the money transfer with HSBC
5 days to build frame.
7 days to ship via EMS.
Less than a calendar month from initial contact to doorstep.
XACD quote three weeks for delivery upon receipt of payment.
I’ve done it myself in the past by the way, with books from the USA; not taking a high moral ground, just wondering out loud if it’s the right thing to be doing.
This is a standard 29er frame. This is 495 USD plus shipping and bank fees.
The warranty is a lifetime warranty for the original user. The wording is below,
The Changda titanium frames carry a life time warranty.
We will replace or repair any frame that fails due to manufacturer defects in materials or workmanship for the original owner.
The warranty does not cover cosmetic or structural damage arising form abuse including but not limited to damage caused by crashes or collisions, owner neglect, improper installation and /or assembly, improper maintenance, modifications, additions, changes to the original product, or other excessive, improper or abnormal conditions. Wear from normal use or environmental exposure is not covered by this warranty.
I have heard it can be difficult to get them to agree it’s a warranty issue. We’ll see…
I didn’t ask for the undervaluation on the packaging. I was kinda hoping it would slip through unnoticed. I was prepared to pay the 15% import plus VAT.
Standard frame is as pictured. I think you could change the dimensions of the frame, say make longer, shorter etc and not incur any additional cost. Likewise removing the brake bosses and making it disc only wouldn’t incur any cost. Finishing, logos and changing things like dropouts would. I originally wanted sliding dropouts but they wanted 150usd for that. You could reuse my drawing if you wanted, you’d be better off emailing for a drawing of a standard frame and adjusting to fit. Please don’t use my logo as it makes my bike MY BIKE! 🙂
On their web page they have the choice of sliding dropouts. I really like the idea of a sliding dropout Ti frame but the dropouts look a bit funny to me. Is the only way of finding price to e-mail and ask?
Communication can be a bit difficult at times. They were always quick to answer, but can come across as a bit rude. I chose to ignore the attitude and put it down culture/translation. I checked and confirmed everything at every stage. You can specify everything, I didn’t, I just used their standard frame and tweaked bits here and there for my own purposes. In hindsight I wish I’d move the bottle bosses on the seat tube up a fraction as my current bottom swing mech sits just above lower bolt.
Just thinking out loud I suppose but did you ask/think about an EBB? Those sliding dropouts look a little shady to me, would be more appealing if you could have an oversized BB shell and stick a Phil Wood EBB or similar in there from my point of view. Presumably this wouldn’t cost too much more either….