BIGROCK Sohtea. The "Chinese Aethos"? Half a year later...

China Cycling

October 03, 2024

Description

https://www.pandapodium.cc/brand/bigrock/ - Check out my bigrock ;)

The BIGROCK Sohtea is a frameset that impressed me when I bought one to check out last winter. SInce then, I've now actually built three of these things up as complete bikes. My favourite (the lightest, ofc) is a 5.9kg hill-mashing beast. This is a great bike for climbers, or traditionalists who prefer round tubes and simple seatposts.

00:00 Intro
00:31 Montage
00:45 What is the BIGROCK Sohtea?
03:19 Build one: Superlight Climbing Build
08:03 Build two: Budget Build
09:03 Build three: E-Bike Build
10:08 How does it ride?
11:38 Build Quality
12:04 Buyer Beware
13:30 Q&A Session
17:00 Summary

Keywords: bigrock,big rock,chinese,china,aethos,frame,sohtea,sohteah,soteah,t800,t1100,china cycling,review,deep dive,install,l-twoo,erx,superlight

Parts Mentioned

Bigrock Sohtea

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Frame, Fork, Clamp, Seatpost

Frame

Bigrock Sohtea

Created: March 24, 2026

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The reviewer has extensive experience with the Bigrock Sohtea Superlight Carbon Road Bike Frameset, having built three bikes and ridden thousands of kilometers. He describes it as a traditional climbing bike with excellent stiffness, lightweight construction, and versatile build options. He particularly praises the team edition's 680g weight and overall build quality.

AI-Summary

Pros

Very lightweight (team edition: 680g with paint and accessories, regular edition: ~780g)
Excellent stiffness, especially when out of the saddle
Traditional design with round tube profiles and 27.2mm seatpost allows versatile builds

Cons

Not aerodynamic (noticeable lack of aero at speeds above 30-40km/h)
Descending performance is average (not the best, not the worst)
Smaller sizes have toe overlap (common with 700c wheels on small frames)