We issued this alert back in January. Pinarello has now issued a new warning on imitation Pinarello bikes entering the markets. According to Pinarello they originate from online stores, mostly from Asia.
A Pinarello Dogma for half the regular retail price or even less? Lots of road race enthusiasts are attracted by such prices and there are number of cases in Europe and North America with buyers actually purchasing such fake Pinarello’s. Most of them originate from Asian internet sites but as the company is warning – these are not the same bikes as the originals. They are made from inferior materials and then painted and labeled with fake Pinarello transfers. Next to quality issues the buyers of such bikes are also faced with warranty problems as Pinarello is of course not offering its regular after sales service on the imitation Pinarello’s.
Fausto Pinarello says: “It’s not just a sticker that makes a Pinarello but unfortunately some people think so. They are found mainly online and are fake bikes, copies of our frames, made with inferior materials compared to the Toray carbon which we use on our top models. Structurally they are not only less efficient, but they are also more fragile and hence at risk of failure which can cause injury to the rider. We ask all road race enthusiasts to pay greater attention and today, begin to campaign in order to raise the awareness across all cycling media productions worldwide. Pinarello does not sell online; we prefer that the client has direct contact with us or with our resellers; this ensures and guarantees a high quality bike at the time of their purchase.”
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"Pinarello does not sell online; we prefer that the client has direct contact with us or with our resellers"
ReplyDeleteBut they do have online resellers, no?
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/frame-brand/pinarello-2.html
Thanks for the info and alert
ReplyDeleteJust a thought -- when bikes like this were still 100% Made in Italy...were there problems with Asian-made fakes? Larry recalls a story about some Ritchey forks awhile back -- someone (not the normal Asian constructor Ritchey chose, but someone who was asked to make a prototype/sample for evaluation during the sourcing process)decided to make fake Ritchey carbon forks...only after some of them failed and were returned to Ritchey did the scheme come to light. Has pretty much the same thing has happened here? Where exactly ARE the Pinarello bikes made these days?
ReplyDeleteAnswer to Larry and Heather: I purchased My Pinarello FP3 frm R&A in Brooklyn. Lovely bike. However a bit disappointed to find a "made in china (or taiwan)" sticker underneath BB. So the frame at least is made there.
ReplyDeleteMy Wilier Mortirolo, though is, all Italian.
Dave
Dave, I have been considering buying a Chinarello, how do you feel the quality of the bike has been?
DeleteSteve
I own 2 williers, GT and 101 cross disc (101 made in Taiwan).
Deleteprobably these are bikes that come from the exact production line in the Asian factory that makes the original Pinarellos, just without Pinarello's permission and authorisation. Thus, they are the same products, maybe with "loose" quality control standards.
ReplyDeleteTheir have been rumors of an infamous "third shift" at Asian plants producing athletic shoes for the big-name makers. Makes one wonder about the fantastic profits made with labor much cheaper than in Italy or most of the EU vs the losses when those same (or other) Asian producers make counterfeit versions of the stuff. We feel sorry for anyone getting a fake Pinarello but it's tough not to think 100% Made-in-Italy would likely have prevented this problem.
ReplyDeleteIts marketing gimmick, Pinarello frame in Asia, They buy to reduce cost production... look at http://allanti.com/articles/where-was-my-bike-made-pg328.htm
ReplyDeleteAll of the brands are from Asia, why? asia has low cost production.
How about other company? Apple, Intel, Sony and many more is from Asia, assembly them, then you can see the production country.
They are all made in other places than where the company was founded.not only are they cheaper they are way better builders.they've been doing it for a long ling time!!!
ReplyDelete