Chinese bike brands have arrived, and Winspace is leading the charge

Over the past few years, more and more Chinese bike brands have entered the Western market and gained both popularity and exposure. The notion that Chinese brands are on the way is now outdated; they have been here for quite some time already.

Winspace was launched back in 2008; the brand has grown consistently since then and now manufactures numerous frames, components and wheelsets, all of which have been embraced, ridden and raced on by cyclists worldwide for years already.

This year, Winspace bikes were raced in the Paris Roubaix Femmes by the Mayenne Monbana My Pie team. Three riders from the squad also raced Unbound Gravel this year; these are the harshest testing grounds in professional cycling. Outside the pro ranks, many amateur cyclists and racers are using Winspace’s quality, well-engineered bikes and equipment.

Over a decade ago, cyclists didn’t know much about Chinese bike brands; the status quo at times was that Chinese frames were simply copies, or of low quality. However, the majority of the world's carbon fibre bicycle manufacturing and expertise is located in the Far East. Winspace’s bikes carry UCI certification, are wind tunnel tested, and the brand owns its own manufacturing facility, which is fully equipped to carry out in-house ISO testing.

Winspace offers several complete bikes and a range of framesets. The brand uses Japanese Toray carbon fibre exclusively in frame construction, a name that’s often regarded as a quality benchmark and is the same as some of the biggest bike brands in the world. Winspace owns its own facility, which is a part of the reason the brand can offer competitive pricing that’s more attractive than some huge Western brands; everything made there is a Winspace product.

Each Winspace product starts with a product brief; in short, the plan of what that product is going to be. From there, Winspace’s in-house R&D team begins work producing 3D drawings, which are then developed and ultimately turned into a 3d printed prototype. Carbon frame manufacturing means moulds, and new stainless steel moulds are then commissioned for production to begin, which can cost up to $80,000.

The brand's composite engineers create a layup schedule, which determines where all the various carbon fibre pieces and grades will be laid and at what thicknesses, etc. There are over 300 pieces of pre-preg (pre-impregnated) carbon fibre in each frame. The engineers work to a desired stiffness and weight goal which ultimately produces the desired kind of frame.

Bringing a frame to life is one part of creating a new product; Winspace places a strong emphasis on quality engineering and stringent in-house testing to ensure that products meet the brand's standards.

Voids are something that can be talked about when it comes to gauging the quality of a carbon fibre frame. Air bubbles can occur during construction, and these bubbles can lead to voids within the structure of a finished frame that can result in weak spots and ultimately cause failures.

Winspace takes a great deal of care to try to minimise the amount of air bubbles during the manufacturing process but also to check frames once they are finished. The brand has invested in a medical-grade X-ray machine that allows them to scan frames for air bubbles and guarantee rider safety. Every fork and handlebar, which are safety-critical components, are tested to meet Winspace’s standards.

Winspace has invested in and is also able to carry out in-house ISO, stiffness and impact testing on framesets, handlebars and wheelsets to ensure they meet industry standards. The ISO 4210 standard covers the safety requirements for bicycle manufacturing, and frames are tested across various KPIs at 100,000 cycles to ensure they meet this globally recognised certification.

Winspace has nearly twenty years of carbon fibre manufacturing experience to draw on. It is one of the Chinese brands that is firmly in the conversation now when it comes to performance road bikes; competitive pricing may have been one of the initial draws in years gone by, but riders have experienced the brand's quality and performance for themselves, and word has spread.

Winspace’s brand philosophy prioritises rider safety, engineering and quality control. The brand is producing quality frames and bikes to the same standards and that perform as well as long-established big-name brands.