The unbranded

What is an “unbranded”?

While I think that an unbranded and a genuine product are two different things, there is a thin and fragile line that differentiates one from the other. I also think that an unbranded and a fake are not the same. An unbranded is a product that has no name, while a fake or a counterfeit is a product that is a cheap imitation of the real thing.

What both have in common though are that these products have no warranties, therefore if the product breaks down, becomes useless or you get into an accident after using the product, then you have no one to go to complain.

Most of these products come from China and almost all successful products now have a cheap imitation. From sunglasses to clothing, to jeans and electronics, they are ubiquitous as the mosquitoes that pester us.

The sport of cycling is not immune to these counterfeits. Jerseys, framesets, wheelsets and Oakleys have been copied for a long time now. In the art world, it used to be that you’d need an expert a carbon dating to determine authenticity of a painting but in the world of Chineses knock-offs, even COLNAGO is spelled wrong!

While some may not admit it, majority of cyclist i know have resorted to using counterfeits at one time or another, especially clothing. Twenty-five years ago, you can get a Santini or a Castelli cycling kit for about P6,000. Today, you can get the same kit for one-fourth of the price. And if you add a few hundred, you can get a custom-made kit. Not bad, really.

An unbranded is different from the fake, at least technically, as it does not purport to be a branded item. It could be similar to the real McCoy but it doesn’t claim to be the genuine, because of the absence of a decal or any identification marks similar to the original.

Now, the question about unbranded is that who’s fooling who, but it can come to that in some individuals. The question, when it comes to bicycle parts, is the safety issue that goes along with the product. Will an unbranded wheelset and a frameset not fail while the cyclist is going downhill at 60kph?

Comparing an unbranded to a genuine, the former obviously doesn’t have the same quality control than the branded. But surprise, I have seen very expensive wheelsets fail, just like the unbranded.

I have friends who have been using unbranded frames and they’re okay with it. However, they eventually moved to the genuine brands. In fact, I know of a team that raced in the Ronda Pilipinas a few years back that were using unbranded frames.

I have been using an unbranded wheelset the past three years and I had no issues with it until two weeks ago. The carbon fiber warped. I wasn’t put in immediate danger since I discovered it when I got home.

Don’t get me wrong here, I am not advocating that everybody should use the unbranded. What I am saying is to use your head.