What if I told you that you could buy all the cycling products you love for a fraction of the regular price? The same shiny metal and sensuous carbon. The same tantalising weight figures and tasty anodising. That’s obviously nonsense, but head over to behemoth Chinese retail platform AliExpress, and you might find yourself believing it’s possible.
AliExpress, and to an extent, many other retail platforms, are awash with bike gear that looks eerily similar to familiar products but clearly isn’t the real thing. Or it’s so cheap that the chances of it being genuine are entirely far-fetched.
Welcome to the uncanny valley
“Speedplay Zero” pedals – £65 or $86
Some sellers say the quiet part loud. These intriguing pedals look a lot like the long-since discontinued Speedplay Zero Pavé.
This stripped-back version of the standard lollipop Zero was developed for Classics racing around the time Fabian Cancellara was winning everything. Standard Zeros were highly intolerant of filth, but the Pavé’s cut-away design added some real mud-shedding ability. It was a niche version of an already niche product, but the WorldTour connection gave it special kudos, and the genuine article still commands high prices on eBay.
The clone here uses a cleat design identical to the old non-walkable cleat from the era before Wahoo took over the Speedplay brand. The sole (positive) review on the AliExpress listing says the pedals are compatible with genuine cleats.
The bearing design is quite different, however – the old Speedplays used serviceable needle bearings, while these have three tiny cartridge bearings inside the pedal body, one outboard and two inboard.
“Suitable for 3T” stem – £35
While this doesn’t say 3T on…
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