Twitter Bikes is a Chinese direct-to-consumer carbon bike brand (Guangzhou area), sold via AliExpress and regional resellers like twitterbikeusa.com. The pitch: a full-carbon gravel bike with Shimano 105 for roughly $900–1,200 — about half of what EU brands charge for the same spec on paper.
105 is real, mid-range Shimano — shifts great and any bike shop in Prague will service it and stock spares. It removes the groupset worry entirely. It does not fix the frame QC, the proprietary seatpost, or anything below.
Why no VAT shows in the AliExpress app: for orders under €150, AliExpress collects Czech 21% VAT at checkout via the EU IOSS system — baked into the price. A carbon bike is far over €150, so it goes through full customs on delivery instead (CZ customs guide, 2026; CZ lawyer explainer; AliExpress's own tariff guide).
Stacked charges on a complete Chinese bike:
| Charge | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| EU anti-dumping duty (complete bikes from China) | 48.5% | r/ChineseCarbon, Jul 2026; measures confirmed in force by EU regulation 2025/2146 |
| Standard import duty | ~14% | EU customs tariff (approx.) |
| Czech VAT (DPH), charged on value + shipping + duties | 21% | customs guide |
| Courier / Česká pošta handling | few hundred Kč | customs guide |
Worked example (estimate): a $950 Twitter 105 gravel (~21,000 Kč) lands at roughly 40,000+ Kč at a Prague door. That's Cube Nuroad / Canyon money — with a local warranty, a test ride, and a shop that services it. (And don't "fix" this with an underdeclared value on the customs form — that's customs fraud, with fines and seizure as the prize.)