Purchasing Wholesale Bikes From China: The Ultimate Guide

If you run a bike shop or a bike brand locally, you may want to buy wholesale bikes directly from China.

Why?

Cheaper, easier to customize your brand and more options than local wholesalers.

As an OEM carbon fiber bike manufacturer in China for over 8 years, we are going to show you everything you need to know about purchasing bikes from China.

With no BS, let’s dive right in.

Table of Contents

# Wholesale Bikes from China

The reason you may want to buy bikes directly from wholesale maybe differ, but below would be the main reasons

● You have a reasonable order quantity
● Your local wholesalers don’t offer too many options
● You want to make more profit
● Your clients ask for some unique design or painting
● You want to market your own brand

Everyone knows that local wholesalers are importing from China and make a big profit because of price gaps. Most of the time, they import a variety of different bikes and parts, then distribute to local shops, distributors, or brands. Their advantage is they have resources to sourcing, good relationships with various suppliers, and they know how to solve Custom clearance.

Below we analysis some normal types of wholesale bikes so you could get to know better about the wholesale market.

Chinese Wholesale bike online

Most of the Chinese bike manufacturers sell online and offline. Thanks to the internet, you can contact these suppliers easily online, like their official website, 3rd platform, or social media.

No need to say it’s the most convenient way to purchasing bikes from China. Not everyone has time to fly to China and meets suppliers one by one. As long as you know how to identify the quality of suppliers, you are good to go.

Chinese Bike Manufacturers

There are thousands of different bike manufacturers in China. If you are looking for carbon bike suppliers, at first, you need to know some basic knowledge as below

● Carbon bike frames are mostly produced in Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Huizhou (All cities are next to HongKong in Guangdong Province)
● Carbon bike rims are primarily produced in Xiamen.
● There are a few different types of carbon fiber we are using to create. These are Toray carbon fiber, and Chinese ZGL carbon fiber, these might be two of the most common options. There is no big difference between these carbon fibers, as the technologies are quite mature now.
● Toray T700/T800/T1000 represents different stiffness, strength, and weight. The higher, the better. Usually, the T700/T800 is used to build the main structure, while T1000 is used to enforce the connections between different tubes.

For amateur cyclists, you can’t even feel the difference in carbon fiber. The only difference between these carbon fibers is the final weight of frames. So no need to stick with or without T1000 in the frames, they will work just fine.
● The painting jobs are done separately from frame producing factories. If you want to customize your brand, keep in mind that you need to open the design mold for each size of the frame. You can use the same mold for a different size but ask the seller first if it doesn’t affect the painting details.

Chinese Wholesale Distributors in Your Country

Some wholesalers in your country may work as distributors from Chinese factories. If you are sure they are direct distributors, then it’s acceptable to buy from them.

However, most of the time, these companies are running by local businessman. This makes it difficult to tell if they source from China (Same as local distributors), or they are partners of Chinese factories.

As long as you could get reasonable prices and service, you can try to work with them.

Why Should I Choose China Wholesale?

As a Chinese manufacturer, we can tell that English is one of the most fundamental skills among young generations. 99% of these bike manufacturers employed sales who can speak and write English.

So if you can read and understand this article, there will no problem for you to contact with Chinese.

Even you don’t speak Chinese, you can always use Google Translator.

On the other hand, it’s the truth that the Chinese are the most hard-working nation in the world. Our daily work is to make sure to accomplish the order as fast as possible with steady quality. The moment you place your order, the whole supply chain around the factory will start to work on your order immediately.

One more thing is, always contact the seller first if you have any issue. Communication and respect are mutual, you don’t want to give them 1 star without communication. As an importer, you also need to be professional and respectful. You may be the client who pays for the order, which doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want without rules.

# How to Buy wholesale bikes from China

In this section, we will dive into all of the details during the buying procedure. This includes terms you need to know, the most popular China wholesale websites and how to find the right supplier, faster.

Terms for purchasing Choosing Chinese Wholesale Bikes

Before you start to search, make sure you understand the checklist below, and you may want to keep it beside your hand during searching for Chinese bike wholesales.

1) Supplier type

There are both trading companies and factories, the fact is both are acceptable depends on your demand.

● If you don’t need to customize the geometry, and you need the goods fast, the trading company could support your order better.
● If you need to modify the mold, or you have steady orders to place, you need to work with factories directly.

So, how to tell if a seller is a trading company or factory? Below is the checklist for you

1) Check their “About Us” page. They should show the factory pictures, test lab, and workers. If there are videos to show you the factory, that will be better
2) Check their inventory. All factories produce an extra amount of products as inventory.
3) Ask the seller directly (You may want to tell them that you have friends in China who could help you to inspect the order or factory)
4) Browse their social media (Facebook page, Instagram, Linkedin and so on)

With these checked, you can go ahead to the next step.

2) Lead time

Lead time is how long will the factory takes to produce your order. Generally, you can’t ask the supplier to ship the goods in 24 hours. Because as carbon bike manufacturers, the most common way to produce inventory is to provide raw material carbon bike components. And when the clients place the order, we will paint matte, glossy or customized painting according to the order requirements.

a. In Stock

If the models you need are in stock, we could finish your order in 3-5 days (No customized painting)

If you need to customize your own painting, it will take 5-7 days to design and open your painting mold, and another 3-5 days to paint.

b. Need to produce

If they don’t have the model in stock, then it will take 7-15 days to create the carbon frame, then you need to add painting lead time.

3) MOQ

Carbon bike components are different from other products because it’s 100% hand-made, which means even you need 1 piece, they will produce for you.

Of course the more you place in the order, the cost will be cheaper.

So the MOQ of carbon bike components are 1 piece

4) Communication Method

There are a few different ways we could communicate with clients, like Facebook, Instagram, Live chat on the website, and 3rd chat app.

You can always check if they offer live chat support, which is a fast way to communicate. But keep in mind, if you don’t want to have trouble in the after-sale procedure, you may want to back up the chat histories or Email from time to time.

5) Payment method

The most common way is to pay via Paypal. You can approve the payment when you receive the goods, and you don’t need to change your local money to USD before placing the order.

But if you buy from 3rd platform, then you need to add your credit card/ debit card/ Paypal in your account setting ( Different platforms may require differently).

6) Shipping method

When the suppliers finis the order, it’s time to think about the shipping method. The popular shipping carriers are EMS/EUB/DPD/UPS/DHL, and so on. Below is the list you need to consider before choosing the carrier.

a. Transfer time

EMS: Normally, it will take 15-20 days at least to arrive at your country Custom.

EUB: Normally it will take 20-25 days at least to arrive at your country Custom

DPD: Normally it will take 7-10 days at least to arrive at your home (Especially for European clients)

UPS: Normally it will take 10-15 days at least to arrive at your country Custom

DHL: Normally it will take 3-5 days at least to arrive at your country Custom

b. Tax

You need to pay the tax: EMS, EUB, DHL, UPS

You don’t need to pay the tax: DPD

c. Package details

Now all of the sellers will pack your goods with shock absorb materials and keep the goods fixed in the carton box. Keep in mind, always check the package first before you open the box, take pictures or videos while unboxing in case after-sale issues.

7) After-sale Service

After-sale service is the key to tell if a manufacturer is suitable for long term business or not.

a. Quality issue

When you receive your package, you should take pictures or videos during unboxing.

1) Check the items inside the box if everything is inside.
2) Check the appearance of each item if there is any broken point or scratch

This is the necessary procedure to avoid lousy communication for quality issues.

If you find some damaged items, contact the seller immediately with pictures or videos.

b. Warranty

The most common warranty is 2 years (Not includes damages caused by the buyer). So always ride safely, always check your bike before riding to avoid been hurt.

c. Refund Policy

If you need to get a refund from the seller, you need to make sure you do have evidence and always read the refund policy from the seller.

And keep excellent communication with the seller, 1-star review is not recommended without contacting the seller.

Below we will show you all the detail information you need for buying wholesale bikes from China online.

Alibaba

Alibaba is the biggest B2B trading platform all over the earth, literally. When we talk about buying from China, you can’t skip Alibaba. Now, as Chinese[2], we will show you the opinion from the manufacturer’s angle.

Alibaba wholesale

1) Supplier Type

Factories (80%) and trading companies (20%).

2) Lead Time

3-5 days (In stock), 7-15 days ( No inventory)

3) MOQ

1 piece

4) Communication Method

Aliwangwang (live chat) or Alibaba Mail( platform email) or RFQ

Alibaba RFQ

RFQ is exclusive on Alibaba, this means that when you send your inquiry on a certain product page, if you check this option, Alibaba will recommend matching suppliers. If this supplier doesn’t contact you on Message Center within 24 hours.

5) Payment Method

Visa/Master Card/ Paypal/ TT/ Bank Transfer/ Pay Later/ WestUnion/etc

Pay Later is exclusive on Alibaba( US buyer only), you need to submit your company info, personal data, and so on to active it.

6) Shipping Method

By sea/ By air (Need to negotiate with the seller )

7) After-Sale Service

You could submit a complaint in the buyer help center if the seller failed to offer you proper service.

Aliexpress

Aliexpress is a B2C version of Alibaba. No need to say how popular Aliexpress is among cyclists. If you have small orders or you want to buy just one piece, Aliexpress is a good place to search.

1) Supplier Type

Factories (20%) and trading companies (80%)

2) Lead Time

3-5 days (In stock), 7-15 days ( No inventory)

3) MOQ

1 piece

4) Communication Method

Purchasing Wholesale Bikes From China: The Ultimate Guide

Purchasing Wholesale Bikes From China: The Ultimate Guide

It’s a little hard to find the live chat, below is where you can chat with the seller.

5) Payment Method

Purchasing Wholesale Bikes From China: The Ultimate Guide

Visa/Master Card/ Paypal/ TT/ Bank Transfer/ WestUnion/etc

6) Shipping Method

Purchasing Wholesale Bikes From China: The Ultimate Guide

By express (EMS/ EUB/ DHL /etc)

7) After-Sale Service

You can open a dispute in your order center, or you can contact the seller to solve the problem.

Rinasclta Bike

As an OEM carbon bike manufacturer, for sure we offer wholesale bike. Our frame factory is located in Shenzhen, and the rim factory is located in Xiamen. With over 8 years of experience on carbon fiber bike, we now have clients in the US, UK, Canada, France, Italy, German, Australia, Brazil, Poland, and so on.

Since 2018 we moved our sales department to Warsaw, Poland, while factories still stay as before. We established good relationships with local cycling groups and cyclists. For more information, you can head over to our Facebook page or Instagram.

1) Supplier Type

Factory

2) Lead Time

3-5 days (In stock), 7-15 days ( No inventory)

3) MOQ

1 piece

4) Communication Method

Live chat, Email, phone call, meet in Poland.

5) Payment Method

Paypal/ Bank Transfer

6) Shipping Method

By air (for a small amount) / By sea (for a large amount )

7) After-Sale Service

We offer 2 years warranty. Here are our refund and return policy, also you could reach out to us to talk.

eBay

eBay is always the top 3 options for international B2C order. If you only need to buy 1 piece, or you want to buy a used bike, eBay is right for you.

1) Supplier Type

Factories (20%) and trading companies (80%)

2) Lead Time

3-5 days (In stock), 7-15 days ( No inventory)

3) MOQ

1 piece

4) Communication Method

You can contact the seller from the product page

5) Payment Method

Paypal/ Visa/MasterCard/Paypal credit

eBay Paypal credit

Paypal credit is exclusive on eBay. It’s similar to a credit card, you can split your bill in 12/24 months.

6) Shipping Method

eBay shipping method

By express ( It only shows “by standard shipping method.” For further details, you may want to contact the seller.)

7) After-Sale Service

14/30 day returns. The buyer pays for return shipping. You can also check this: “Refer to eBay Return policy for more details. You are covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee if you receive an item that is not as described in the listing.”

DHgate

DHgate used to be the biggest platform for carbon bikes, but there were too many fake brands on it, and we don’t suggest to buy from DHgate. You will find super low price carbon frames (with the lower quality you can imagine).

Unless you just want to browse different designs, you can search on DHgate, then it’s better to stay away from them.

dhgate

1) Supplier Type

Factories (30%) and trading companies (70%)

2) Lead Time

5-7 days (In stock), 10-20 days ( No inventory)

3) MOQ

1 piece

4) Communication Method

DHgate online chat

5) Payment Method

Visa/Master Card/ Paypal/ TT/ Bank Transfer/ WestUnion/etc

6) Shipping Method

EMS/ DHL/ Others

7) After-Sale Service

DHgate official return & refund guarantee: Buyers can return item(s) for a refund within a specific day which has been set up by seller: Such as 3-days, 7-days, 15-days, and/or 30-days from the day when the item(s) were received. The item(s) receive date is the date that is indicated on the official shipping carrier’s website

Google

Google is also a big platform for buyers who want to find wholesale Chinese bike suppliers. Use some google search tricks, you can search “wholesale Chinese bike -Alibaba -made-in-china -dhgate -amazon -eBay -aliexpress -globalsources -hktdc” (This is just an example, you can always search the keywords you want )

1) Supplier Type

Factories (50%) and trading companies (50%)

2) Lead Time

3-5 days (In stock), 7-15 days ( No inventory)

3) MOQ

1 piece

4) Communication Method

Depends on the suppliers’ websites

5) Payment Method

Depends on the suppliers’ websites

6) Shipping Method

By air/ By sea

7) After-Sale Service

Depends on the suppliers’ websites

# FAQ about Chinese Wholesale Bikes

● What is the wholesale price on specialized bikes?

It’s hard to tell the exact cost because, for different dealers, they will get different dealers’ price list. Here is the forum discussion from Bikeforums.

● Where are specialized bike made?

Specialized bikes are designed in the US, most of the standard models are made in Taiwan, and China Mainland, some top-level bikes are made in the USA.

● Are there any 3rd party inspection company?

We suggest using the SGS Inspection service. SGS is the most popular 3rd party inspection company in the international trade market. Typically one inspection cost is around USD500. The inspector from SGS will offer you a thorough report includes factory details, cargo in the warehouse, samples, and so on. Ask their specialist if you need their service.

● What’s the test standard for Chinese carbon fiber bike components?

Below is our carbon bike parts test standard list ( Our tests are based on UCI standard)

1.H/T Stiffness   90N-m/deg above
2.BB Stiffness   170N/mm above
3.Rear Triangle Stiffness (single side)   18N/mm above
4.Rear Triangle Stiffness (both side)   38N/mm above
5.Frame / Fork assembly- impact test (falling mass)
Racing Height: 212mm
No damage a/f testing
MTB Height: 360mm
6.Fore shock
ROAD:ST:70KG,BB:0 kg,HT:0 kg
No damage a/f testing
MTB:ST:30KG,BB:50kg,HT:10kg
7.LCF(Frame-fatique test with horizontal forces
 
ROAD:100000 no damage
MTB:500000 no damage
8.CSF(Frame-fatique tset with pulling forces)   100000 w/ no damage
9.CSF(Frame-fatique tset with pulling forces)
ROAD:Left & Right force: 230kg
100000 w/ no damage
MTB:Left & Right force: 230kg
10.Frame Fatique test with Vertical forces   50000 w/ no damage
11.Vibration fatigue
ROAD:ST:70KG,BB:0 kg,HT:0 kg
30000 w/ no damage
MTB:ST:30KG,BB:50kg,HT:10kg
12.Disc brake fatigue Force: 60kgf, Frequency: 3Hz 30000 w/ no damage
13.H/T Strength   300kgf above
14.S/T Strength   350kgf above

● What’s the main difference between famous brands vs. Chinese brands?

There are two significant differences as below

1)The Quality Control Team

Famous brands usually have high standard quality control, including all details on carbon tubes, finish, edges, and so on. While lots of Chinese factories’ quality control standards are lower than UCI or famous brands

2) Painting Jon

Famous brands always have high-level control on color differences, evenness of painting, watermark labels details, and so on. While lots of Chinese factories have color differences, not enough evenness of painting, and so on.

● How can I buy wholesale from China?

Generally, everyone can buy wholesale from China, here are a few tips for you

1) Make sure you are clear about the orders you need

2) Regist on these Chinese wholesale websites mentioned in our guide

3) Identify every point in the checklist (Type of supplier, lead time, MOQ, communication method, payment method, shipping method, and after-sale service)

4) Hire the 3rd party inspection service if you are not sure about the quality of suppliers

5) Make sure you know the Custom fees and local VAT

● How do I find wholesale vendors?

If you prefer to search on Google by yourself, then you can search “wholesale Chinese bike -Alibaba -made-in-china -dhgate -amazon -eBay -aliexpress -globalsources -hktdc” (This is just an example, you can always search the keywords you want )

If you prefer to search on a wholesale platform, you could read our guide and jump to the platform you prefer to source, then identify the checklist one by one.

● What should I buy wholesale?

Buy wholesale is different from buying from local distributors. Buying wholesale always means you buy directly from suppliers (factories and manufacturers). Whereas buying from distributors means you buy from a middleman ( you have limited options and less profit, but you can get your goods faster, and tax will be taken care).

● What are the best wholesale sites to buy from?

Alibaba, AliExpress, DHgate, eBay are all the best depends on different categories. Our suggestion is, if you don’t have any experience of buying wholesale from China, you should try to talk with suppliers first, then place a trial order to feel it. Double-check the warranty and after-sale terms before placing the order.

● How do I qualify for wholesale pricing?

1) Set 1 model/design as the cornerstone
2) Search only for this model across different platform
3) Get 5-10 quotation lists from different suppliers
4) Analysis of the specification, shipping cost, lead time, and so on.
5) Talk with suppliers and get a general idea of how big discount they could offer for you based on different quantity.
6) Ask suppliers about payment term (If they could provide you with 30 days net/payment term), and then you could have a general idea

● Is it legal to buy wholesale and resell?

As long as you have the rights to use these patents and brands, it’s 100% legal to buy wholesale and resell in a certain area.

Always ask suppliers about the rights to sell before placing your order.

● How do I become a wholesaler?

If you can fulfill certain orders ( producing, transfer goods and so on), you could become a wholesaler. The point is you need to have the ability to find your clients and earn a profit.

● How do I sell wholesale?

1) You need to have your official website with products, contact page, trade terms, factory details and so on
2) You need to have your sell channel locally to support your company.
3) Get to know your competitors ( location, price range, products, after-sale service and so on)
4) You need an accountant to figure out the tax issue.
5) You may need a warehouse to keep your inventory locally.

● Can I buy directly from manufacturers?

Yes, you can. Just check their MOQ and trade terms before talking with the suppliers.

● Why do manufacturers use wholesalers?

Because no manufacturer can sell to all the end customers. It’s better to cooperate with local wholesalers so they will produce more efficiently, cost-savingly.

Meanwhile, for the non-English market, it’s quite difficult to sell directly because of culture and language issue. The world is a network, the best way is to make a profit together wisely.

● Why manufacturers sell directly to consumers?

It would be the standard path for manufacturers; first, we sell to wholesales and offer OEM/ODM service. Then we start to build our own brand and sell directly to consumers.

The advantage of buying directly from manufacturers is you could get the same goods at a lower price.

The disadvantage of buying directly from manufacturers is you may not get as excellent after-sale service as from local wholesalers.

● Why is wholesale cheaper?

The reason why wholesale is cheaper is that you place the order in quantity, while for factories, more quantity means the diminishing marginal cost. And more supply means the lower shipping cost per item.

Now over to you

Did you ever buy Chinese Wholesale bikes from these websites?

Or you are ready to place your first order online?

Or you had some bad experiences with Chinese bike factories?

Either way, you can share your experiences below with comments.

2 comments

  1. erikpelletier

    Quite helpful guide. Now I could try to search some suppliers based on your guide, maybe one day I would build my own brand 🙂

  2. […] There are a few famous B2B/B2C wholesale platform in China which you could find plenty of Chinese suppliers/trading companies. Like Alibaba, AliExpress, DHgate and so on. If you want to buy bikes in bulk order, you can check our guide for buying Chinese wholesale bikes. […]

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