Great Shopping Experiences

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MarkG
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Location: Perth, Australia

Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby MarkG » Fri Sep 23, 2011 2:57 pm

Ordered from Primera Sports on the 8th, and the item arrived today.
A little bit slower than the usual UK suspects, but still, a great price for the product.
Proudly "a hater of academics with helmet cams"

jgon286
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Location: Sutherland Shire, NSW

Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby jgon286 » Sun Sep 25, 2011 1:38 pm

Hello Everyone,

I've just put in an order for my second 'serious' bike. After eBaying my Giant CRX4, I visited the same shop I purchased it from, in Cronulla, NSW. The sales guy there was great. He introduced himself and asked for my name and started from the beginning with all the time in the world. He took the time to explain all the more intricate things to do with cycling on the road, comparing models and brands and was very patient. There's nothing worse than a condescending and patronising salesperson to put you off buying from a LBS. There was no pressure, and he seemed to realise that even though my purchase wasn't going to set any records, the cost that I wanted to outlay was quite significant in my eyes (and wallet!). So he was happy to see me walk away to think about it and mull it over.,

He was even good enough to match a price that I found on bikeexchange, to sweeten the deal. I would definitely recommend the shop. Not sure if I should post his name. The shop itself is easy enough to figure out! It's a good way to be if you have to compete with at least half a dozen other bike shops in Sutherland Shire.

Looking forward to picking up the bike!
Ridley Fenix
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dclnmurray
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby dclnmurray » Thu Sep 29, 2011 2:05 pm

Positive call ou to Jenson USA

Purchased on Monday some Dura Ace chains and a pack of KMC Missing Links using Paypal. Just received now. Awesome and so quick.

cheers

Dave
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Kururunfa
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby Kururunfa » Thu Oct 20, 2011 2:46 pm

I have only good experience so far, usually ordering from the UK, Wiggle, Ribble etc, amazing how much cheaper it is there, virtually half the price compared to AU. using Frugal Rouleur ti fnd best deals.

snowmaan
Posts: 118
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Location: Brighton Le Sands Sydney

Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby snowmaan » Fri Oct 28, 2011 3:35 pm

jgon286
What bike did you get?

I went to Taren Point a few weeks ago, excellent service, refitted my existing bike for me when I bought a part, spent 25 mins with me for a small low $ sale

Looking for a new bike, and will trade in my Cell S2200 roadbike and my Scot Hybrid, both near new, to try and offset the cost of a new bile, which I hope to get a $3,300 or so bike for $2,600 or so in a sale somewhere, if I can...
They were keen on being supportive and not pushy which is good
CellSS200 hybrid, had a Trek Madone 4.5 but had an altercation with a courier van. Looking for a nice ride soon

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filpee
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby filpee » Fri Oct 28, 2011 5:13 pm

big thumbs up to Cycling Express who sorted me out with a new bike computer :mrgreen:

jgon286
Posts: 114
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Location: Sutherland Shire, NSW

Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby jgon286 » Sat Oct 29, 2011 8:43 pm

snowmaan wrote:jgon286
What bike did you get?

I went to Taren Point a few weeks ago, excellent service, refitted my existing bike for me when I bought a part, spent 25 mins with me for a small low $ sale

Looking for a new bike, and will trade in my Cell S2200 roadbike and my Scot Hybrid, both near new, to try and offset the cost of a new bile, which I hope to get a $3,300 or so bike for $2,600 or so in a sale somewhere, if I can...
They were keen on being supportive and not pushy which is good
Hi snowman,

My budget was strictly $1k, so after some great advice on this forum, I was encouraged to go for frame, not components.

I went with the 2011 Giant Defy 2 with the 9-speed Tiagra. I was looking at the Azzurri Uno Comp and a Jamis I saw online, but was a bit put off with ordering online. As it turned out, I ended up going back to Chain Reaction at Cronulla, where I first ot the CRX. The young guy there (forgot his name now) was quite patient and willing to give some time and advice.

I went to Fraser's too, to try and match some prices, but moved away from the Treks early on anyway. They couldn't match Wollongong Bike Hub's pricepoint. A neighbour who went to Fraser's for his Cannondale did say that he got great service from them. They fitted him out and spent a good hour after the store closed mid-week. He's now upgraded from his flat bar to a CAAD8 (?) with the 10-speed Tiagra.

Good luck shopping around. With your budget you should get to try out some great bikes. You might even get a good bargain with leftover 2011 stock.
Ridley Fenix
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snowmaan
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby snowmaan » Wed Nov 02, 2011 3:42 pm

Well done jgon286
How are you finding the bike?

I bought a near new Cell S2200 road bike (entry level bike) on ebay for a few hundred bucks 2 months ago for the gong ride, as an upgrade from my 2yo, $800 Scott Hybrid bike, so I have two now.

Now I am getting a taste for cycling (commuting 3 days a week, Brighton le Sands to city) I am looking lovingly at the $2,500 Giants etc I am seeing in the shops.
If I sell my 2 bikes on ebay for around $1,000 I can either get a good lower end Giant like you, or spend $1,000 and get a $2k bike
So, am interested in your experience with the Giant Defy as it might be good for me

I just don't want to sell one good entry level bike for another slightly better entry level bike, so keen to find out
The Cell I have is just a Cell perhaps, but i'm about 30% more efficient on it than my Scott, but the gears are needing a service and I want to step it up a notch now
CellSS200 hybrid, had a Trek Madone 4.5 but had an altercation with a courier van. Looking for a nice ride soon

jgon286
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Location: Sutherland Shire, NSW

Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby jgon286 » Wed Nov 02, 2011 8:58 pm

Apologies for the missing 'a' snowmaan,

The Defy's been going really well. There was a big difference in weight between the flat-bar and the roadie. Before selling it and with all the accoutrements, it weighed 13.8kgs. The Defy weighed in at 9.1 kgs without saddlebag and computer. I'm not sure how you measured your improved efficiency, but maybe it is the difference in weight between the hybrid and your roadie. I think hybrids generally and heavier than flat bars, let alone roadies anyway.

The Defy seems to want to accelerate up the rises and goes well downhill. The standard ride I do from Waterfall to Sutherland and back takes me along some nice downhills and the 'puter's got me at 62km/h max? I'm happy with the Tiagra groupset. When I started looking at upgrading from the flat-bar to the roadie I started looking at 2300s, then looked beyond to the Sora, but really wanted the better ergonomics and option of shifting gears on the hoods and using the drops, so the Tiagra was the next option. I really couldn't wait any longer to save up for the next model up witht he 105s.

Because it was ordered in, I didn't test the bike or any other, so I only have the comparison with the flat bar, but I'm very happy. When I upgrade it will most probably be on a better set of wheels. The write-ups on this Defy panned the weight of the stock wheels, although they are thought to be much more durable, especially on a day-to-day ride, something it's not (for my use anyways).

I assume you're doing this weekend's 'Gong ride? Good luck if so. After work on a saturday morning and wanting to spend time with family, it's always just been a 'to-do' thing for me. Maybe next year. The neighbour's mentioned his interest. That might help put it higher on the list.

Have fun when you get to look at the new bikes. Looks like I might be a little behind you as far as updating the stable of bikes etc. I would look at the carbon bikes too in future, probably at around the $1.5k mark as far as budget goes anyway. I might even go online to Wiggle or cyclingexpress in future. I'm more confident with measurements and such. I'm not sure I can justify $2.5k to me or the family. For now, I'm glad I went with a reliable brand-name bike with as good a groupset as I could afford.

Cheers.
Ridley Fenix
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snowmaan
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby snowmaan » Thu Nov 03, 2011 6:36 pm

jgon286
Thanks for your reply

Sounds good and enjoy the bike, it sounds great. And by the way, I never meant to suggest yours was an entry level bike in my comment before: "I just don't want to sell one good entry level bike for another slightly better entry level bike, so keen to find out "
Reading back on my post I worded it wrong, am sure it wasnt taken that way, but just in case!!

I meant just in case really there wasn't any performance benefits really, over the one I had.
The reviews are all very good and hence, why I was considering it as well

Yes I am team captain of the BT team in the Gong Ride, so have been working hard at training and raising sponsorships, my sister has MS so it's something I like to do

To be honest, I am still getting my head around the various levels of groupsets and what is available in the different tiers and their benefits.
More enjoying the riding, and the 8kg's I've lost in about 9 weeks :D
(96kg's to 89kg's)

Did a 70km practice ride last weekend so looking forward to it a lot to be honest, and to the beers after
CellSS200 hybrid, had a Trek Madone 4.5 but had an altercation with a courier van. Looking for a nice ride soon

jgon286
Posts: 114
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 10:44 am
Location: Sutherland Shire, NSW

Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby jgon286 » Thu Nov 03, 2011 10:58 pm

Congrats on the weight loss. Surely that's the best way of improving your efficiency better and cheaper than any bike upgrade :D .

Hope you posted your progress on the other discussion thread on Milestones.

Good luck on Sunday.

Hey, BT as in Bankers Trust? My wife worked for them in a previous life.
Ridley Fenix
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snowmaan
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby snowmaan » Thu Nov 03, 2011 11:28 pm

Milestones, um no, not sure what that is
yes cheaper, but shortcuts are good...

I track all my rides with my iphone app Cyclemeter, which is just amazing, emails me a ride report after and posts it on FB
Here's a recent one (my daily commute)- check out the google map especially:

Finished Cycle: 28/10/2011 7:34:34 PM
Route: Work To Home
Google Maps URL: http://maps.google.com/?q=http://share. ... 8-1852.kml
Shortened Google Maps URL: http://j.mp/s6c23C
Import URL: http://share.abvio.com/f66d/6d84/4ea8/e ... 8-1852.kml
Ride Time: 41:57
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 14.03 km
Average: 20.07 km/h
Fastest Speed: 31.77 km/h
Ascent: 190 meters
Descent: 287 meters
Calories: 517

http://www.cyclemeter.com

And no, the British BT, not the bank / fund manager
CellSS200 hybrid, had a Trek Madone 4.5 but had an altercation with a courier van. Looking for a nice ride soon

jheeno
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby jheeno » Fri Nov 04, 2011 12:12 am

snowmaan wrote:Milestones, um no, not sure what that is
yes cheaper, but shortcuts are good...

I track all my rides with my iphone app Cyclemeter, which is just amazing, emails me a ride report after and posts it on FB
Here's a recent one (my daily commute)- check out the google map especially:

Finished Cycle: 28/10/2011 7:34:34 PM
Route: Work To Home
Google Maps URL: http://maps.google.com/?q=http://share. ... 8-1852.kml
Shortened Google Maps URL: http://j.mp/s6c23C
Import URL: http://share.abvio.com/f66d/6d84/4ea8/e ... 8-1852.kml
Ride Time: 41:57
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 14.03 km
Average: 20.07 km/h
Fastest Speed: 31.77 km/h
Ascent: 190 meters
Descent: 287 meters
Calories: 517

http://www.cyclemeter.com

And no, the British BT, not the bank / fund manager
Planning my commute

Question : on kent road / gardeners does it get really congested during peak ? if so do you still battle with the cars or end up on the footpath ?
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snowmaan
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Location: Brighton Le Sands Sydney

Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby snowmaan » Fri Nov 04, 2011 6:52 am

Good question
I turn onto Kent on the main road and go to the lights, in traffic and turn right onto gardeners

you fight the traffic but it's ok, it's not a busy spot
turning left into Bourke rd is a dream when you get there

worst place for me is probably going down to central along regent st

except got a tire stuck in the divide in pavings on a section of shared footpath the other day, doing about 30km's and nearly thrown off, not sure what saved me but i was headed sideways and off and something stopped me and pulled me back

but i regularly rid eon main roads now and mingle with traffic, but got to stay aware i guess
CellSS200 hybrid, had a Trek Madone 4.5 but had an altercation with a courier van. Looking for a nice ride soon

jasonc
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby jasonc » Tue Nov 08, 2011 10:54 am

ordered wheels and bits last monday from probikekit. the wheels arrived yesterday. :D now I just have to wait for the other bits... :(

jasonc
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby jasonc » Thu Nov 17, 2011 11:56 am

jasonc wrote:ordered wheels and bits last monday from probikekit. the wheels arrived yesterday. :D now I just have to wait for the other bits... :(
am still waiting for the other bits - it's now been 2.5 weeks. time to worry?

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koen
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby koen » Tue Nov 22, 2011 2:46 pm

Anyone had orders from PBK lately?
How long are they taking to Australian capital cities?

93360
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby 93360 » Wed Nov 23, 2011 1:50 pm

I've recently purchased a number of orders from c r c and have had great customer service so far. Once when I used the Royal Mail service for the shipping it was taking a very long time to arrive but a quick email to them resulted with a helpful reply. Lesson learned was to choose DHL or Parcel Force from the delivery options as my parcels arrived within 4 and 7 days respectively for each courier. Also c r c often have sales, specials and even coupon codes you can google that apparently never expire! worked for me atleast lol :D

BTW although they can accept payments in AUD it's best to always checkout in GBP currency because with the conversion rates it always ends up being about $10 cheaper or more :)

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Christina Brinkmann
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby Christina Brinkmann » Tue Nov 29, 2011 7:10 pm

Part 1. After doing some private research and selecting my first roadbike from online advertising (bikeexchange) I walked into the shop with cash in my pocket eager to get my selection. But the staff continually tried to upsell me to a bike $600 more. They ignored my repeated statements that the bike they were promoting was outside of my budget. Eventually I left with my cash still in my pocket.

Part 2. On a recommendation I went to SPINCITY CYCLES at Mooloolaba. A bloke called Ian spent about 90 minutes with me making sure the bikes he offered were going to be right for me. A few days later I made a choice and returned to make the purchase. Ian spent another hour with me giving advice and tips. He fitted my new bike, helmet and shoes perfectly. I ended up spending the amount the first shop was pushing me into. I have now gone from not riding at all to about 300km/week in the space of a few months and hope to increase that. So refreshing to get good service these days. :) (The price was also competitive) ((and IAN is HOT!)).

scirocco
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby scirocco » Thu Dec 01, 2011 3:25 pm

koen wrote:Anyone had orders from PBK lately?
How long are they taking to Australian capital cities?
PBK usually get very slow this time of year. Whatever deal they've got with the postal service in the UK seems to go out the window coming up to the holiday season. Last year it took 5 weeks for some stuff to get here.

On the other hand I got an order from c r c in six working days last week and I didn't even request priority service. Which is odd, as they are usually the slowest of the big three UK stores, PBK and Wiggle normally being faster.

zakka101
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby zakka101 » Thu Dec 01, 2011 3:32 pm

Christina Brinkmann wrote:Part 1. After doing some private research and selecting my first roadbike from online advertising (bikeexchange) I walked into the shop with cash in my pocket eager to get my selection. But the staff continually tried to upsell me to a bike $600 more. They ignored my repeated statements that the bike they were promoting was outside of my budget. Eventually I left with my cash still in my pocket.

Part 2. On a recommendation I went to SPINCITY CYCLES at Mooloolaba. A bloke called Ian spent about 90 minutes with me making sure the bikes he offered were going to be right for me. A few days later I made a choice and returned to make the purchase. Ian spent another hour with me giving advice and tips. He fitted my new bike, helmet and shoes perfectly. I ended up spending the amount the first shop was pushing me into. I have now gone from not riding at all to about 300km/week in the space of a few months and hope to increase that. So refreshing to get good service these days. :) (The price was also competitive) ((and IAN is HOT!)).
Good to hear! out of curiosity what was the other store you visited?

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Christina Brinkmann
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby Christina Brinkmann » Thu Dec 01, 2011 7:58 pm

zakka, I was trying to stay positive and I won't name the shop. I will say that the chain advertises heavily on the bike exchange website. Never again. I admit I am a newbie, but I am not an idiot. I am entitled to respect and I got that at the second store, and I continue to get good follow up service from them.

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silentbutdeadly
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby silentbutdeadly » Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:25 pm

Just been working with the LBS on tooling up a cyclocross frame I scored from c r c with the intention of making a flat bar cross commuter (a bit like the Cube Tonopah - which isn't available here :cry: ).

Anyway, Monza Imports and the LBS worked up a driveline using a SRAM Apex crankset with 46/38 rings, SRAM Rival front and rear derailleurs, SRAM X7 2x10 shifters and a pair of Shorty Ultimates cantilever brakes with compatible levers. All for $548. I could have stepped up to a Rival crank for just $22 extra but Monza didn't have it in the cross rings...and rings on their own are diabolically expensive everywhere!!

Try as I might I have not been able to match these prices anywhere online especially for the Rival setup so that's one up for the locals.
Ours is not to reason why...merely to point and giggle

Stuey
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby Stuey » Fri Dec 16, 2011 6:58 pm

SilentBD, which frame did you choose, may I ask? I'm thinking of buying a Surly Cross Check soon, so am interested in this style of frame.

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Ross
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Re: Great Shopping Experiences

Postby Ross » Tue Dec 20, 2011 9:56 am

The lid on my drink bottle is split and leaks a bit so I thought I would try and get a new one (lid). Went to National Promotions in Fyshwick (Canberra) to try and buy one and the guy there said "no, sorry, don't sell lids seperately" and then he pulled a lid off a new bottle he had sitting on the display shelf and gave it to me - free of charge! That is fantastic customer service, above and beyond the call of duty. So if you need any merchandise made up I would recommend you give National Promotions a call (02) 6239 3339

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