Hey guys, new to the forum. Question regarding buying a decent tri bike online or using your local bike shop. Obviously we all like to use the LBS for service and to support them etc. However, I started looking at some bikes and there are significant differences in the prices online and the prices in the local bike stores. Particularly was looking at Felt B16, Look 576, and Cervelo P2. All sound entry level tri bikes from what I have read. You can get a 2011 Look 576 RSP new online for 1276.00 while the 2012 model at LBS is 3000.00. Similar level of discount for the 2012 Felt B16 down to about 1099.00, 2011 Cerevelo P2 for 1320.00. These prices are all close to 1/2 of what it cost at the LBS. Is it reasonable to ask the LBS to match these prices? If not it seems it makes the most sense to get a fit, buy bike online and use savings to upgrade wheels etc. Just wanted to get thoughts on how much additional personalized value you get with buying from LBS in regard to fit, etc. and is this worth and additional $1000-1500. This will be my first bike purchase and don’t want to make a mistake.
what sort of Nigerian scam website are you seeing over 50% discounts online? There is some savings to be found online, but you don’t get the build service, usually a free fit and establishing a relationship.
That said… I generally buy online. last bike was used off CL, previous was new online… But certainly not that heavily discounted.
Hey guys, new to the forum. Question regarding buying a decent tri bike online or using your local bike shop. Obviously we all like to use the LBS for service and to support them etc. However, I started looking at some bikes and there are significant differences in the prices online and the prices in the local bike stores. Particularly was looking at Felt B16, Look 576, and Cervelo P2. All sound entry level tri bikes from what I have read. You can get a 2011 Look 576 RSP new online for 1276.00 while the 2012 model at LBS is 3000.00. Similar level of discount for the 2012 Felt B16 down to about 1099.00, 2011 Cerevelo P2 for 1320.00. These prices are all close to 1/2 of what it cost at the LBS. Is it reasonable to ask the LBS to match these prices? If not it seems it makes the most sense to get a fit, buy bike online and use savings to upgrade wheels etc. Just wanted to get thoughts on how much additional personalized value you get with buying from LBS in regard to fit, etc. and is this worth and additional $1000-1500. This will be my first bike purchase and don’t want to make a mistake.
Thanks for any input.
Could you post links to these sites? I would especially like to see the Cervelo link. You are more than likely looking at scam sites. Just use your noggin and ask yourself how likely it is that someone is going to sell these same bikes for less than half retail.
If your lbs is even slightly decent, buy there. If you get a good working relationship with a shop, the discounts will come without asking. But more importantly you will be making good friends and supporting your local bike scene. I’ve bought bikes online before and the experience was good, but I would only do so if it was a model I can’t find locally. To me the true benefit of the online shop is for getting an obscure component piece quickly. Otherwise lbs all the way
If you are planning to be in triathlon\cycling for many years, buy from the LBS. You’ll develop a rapport and that relationship will pay many dividends in the future
If you can build the bike completely by yourself with no involvement from your LBS then I say go online and have fun. If you can’t do this completely by yourself then spend some time finding a good LBS and buy there.
Cervelo authorized dealers are not allowed to sell their bikes online. They can list them online, but you must go into store to buy them…So eventhough trisports and all3 list cervelos, you need to go in and get fitted…they will ship you the bike, but you need to show up at the store.
So, if they are selling cervelos online, it is a scam
If you can build the bike completely by yourself with no involvement from your LBS then I say go online and have fun. If you can’t do this completely by yourself then spend some time finding a good LBS and buy there.
Yea that is a great point as well. Once you have wrench skills there is no reason for an LBS especially given they stock very little to anything these days. One can get it faster for less and have it on your doorstep in the same time frame or sooner. Wrenching isn’t roCkeT syUnce so if you have a teacher there is no time like the present to get self sufficient!
It sounds as if you are looking at what may be your first Tri specific bike.
The best advice I can give would first be you need to find a bike that fits right. Sure, the extreme aero positioning may look cool, but can you maintain it and what can be adjusted to fit you?
The best fitting bike will be far better than any other bike regardless of material or gadgetry.
However, I wouldn’t even necessarily recommend your LBS. Why? It depends on what your LBS is and who works there. Are they focused on Tri specific builds? Do they
have access to several Tri specific frames? How many builds have they done and what type of experience do they have (according to other customers)?
Just because a shop may have access to a bike line doesn’t mean that they are expert in Triathlon fit. Tri fit is tricky. it can be easy to fall into the trap of buying what they
have available because it is cool or they are suggesting it.
If your LBS is good with this then of course buy locally, most will give you lifetime adjustments and will know your bike and have a vested interest in keeping you a returning
customer as well as be able to settle any warranty problems.
I am lucky because I have a LBS that has a former IM owner/wrench as well as an excellent fit kit and worked with me and still maintains my build.
The only reason I ever step foot in a bike shop these days is to get the kids a bike but even then Walmart is cheaper and I can build the bike up or to get wheels built. I can true them but building them is not for met YET!
Although I am really thinking about buying some rims, hubs and spokes from BHS and building them myself to learn.
The only reason I ever step foot in a bike shop these days is to get the kids a bike but even then Walmart is cheaper and I can build the bike up or to get wheels built. I can true them but building them is not for met YET!
Heck for what BicycleWheelWarehouse sells training hoops for I’m not sure you could save any $ building them yourself. I cleaned them out when they had Ultegra Open Pros for $260 shipped for 3 sets! I went to my closest LBS with a friend a few weeks ago to help her dig through the ‘bargain bin’ on some new tires. Digest this: $300 for bike build not including materials. That’s if you walk in with a new frame and new parts. THREE HUNDRED + materials. I saw their DA cable/housing kit for $99 so call it $400 + tax. Good grief.
Well the point of buying that from BHS would be to learn to build them for not much money and of course build them as light as possible for as cheap as possible and they can get me wide clinchers for cheap and about 1350g with bladed spokes. So it would be great to learn. I did not have the patience to learn wheel building before I had kids but after kids I have all the patience in the world to learn.
Thanks for all the replies. The Bedi-Sports website was one of them I had seen. Some of them are definitely suspicious and are in all likelihood scams. However there are still decent discounts at what appear to be legit websites see below:
Have no idea if these are really legit or not. My real question is if you do not have the skills to build your own bike, then how much in savings to you need to see online to justify not using your LBS, and is it reasonable to ask a LBS to match an online price from a legitimate website or am I just going to piss them off? It sounds like LBS is the way to go since buying a bike is a decent $$ investment and its best to know what you are getting and you get the technical support. Thanks for all the responses.
An aside has anyone ridden the Look 576 or know people who have? I have read good things about them and that they are well suited to taller riders ( which I am). Anyone have thoughts on how they compare with the Felt B16/12?
the Sunrise Tri and Realcylist are, of course, legit.
If you know what you’re looking for and know the market value, you can sometimes find a good deal on-line, on ebay, or right here in the ST Classifieds. But the bike shops know the market value of what they’re selling as well. you can try and negotiate with them.
I saw some screaming deals go out the door at Trisports last year at one of their end of the season sales.
and since you’re out there looking- BikesDirect is legit. and the prices seem better than they really are for what you’re getting. still decent deals tho’.
Digest this: $300 for bike build not including materials. That’s if you walk in with a new frame and new parts. THREE HUNDRED + materials. I saw their DA cable/housing kit for $99 so call it $400 + tax. Good grief.
And how much would a bike build cost on a frame and parts you bought from them? $0, most likely.
Seriously dude, think about it, of course they’re going to charge you heavily for building a bike you’ve bought elsewhere at a knockdown price. If they charged you $50 for it they’d essentially be enabling you to buy from people who aren’t them, which is business suicide. The LBS is not there to be a customer service centre for online retailers, they are there to sell you bikes.
It’s not uncommon for last year’s bikes to be 20 to 30% off. This time of year anything left from 2011 is a real hassle for online and LBS - so they are deeply discounted. The 2013 models will start arriving in high-end within about 2 months so the shops all want to clear space for them.
Depending on where you live there are probably some good deals to be had at your local LBS too and that way you can get tune-up, fitting and even sometimes accessories included. Buying last year’s model something is as simple as a different paint job and sometimes it’s a whole step down in components.
This is a great time of year to be buying bikes - 2011 are deeply discounted. 2012s will go one sale soon and the newest greatest stuff is arriving soon if you want to pay full price for the newest stuff.
If this is your first tri bike, would go with local shop. One that has experience in tri fit would be great. Buying on line can get you some great deals, but you really should have a good handle on what you want or need. Yes, getting a bike at local store may cost more because it is likely a newer model. If you get standard bike shipped to you from a deal on line…have you considered the cost of having to end up changing things from the stock bike you get. Like stem is too short, or too long. Maybe should be different angle? Is the fork pre-cut to the correct level, if not…who is going to cut it for you? Are the cranks the correct length for you? Is the cassette the appropriate gearing you want for the type of riding you are going to do? None of these I could answer when buying my first bike and no way I could have gone with “whatever is common/stock.”
Most on line shops tell you what types of components come with the bike, but they do not always tell you all the dimensions up front. Sure you are gettng Rival…but would you consider Std or Compact if an option? Is it 12-26 or 11-28 or what did you need? Sure you are getting 3T stem, but 80mm?90mm?100mm? Is that saddle good enough for you? Maybe you are comfortable in something different? Getting a bike from local place, they can do the fit of course. And most places if they are any good, will be willing to swap out similarly priced items for you to make sure you get the bike sized the way you need. Or if you happen to want to upgrade to something else, will just charge you the difference in cost or at a big discount. Otherwise, you could end up with a bunch of spare parts that you don’t want or can’t use, and buying parts that you do need. If you are able and enjoy doing it all of this yourself, then it will not be a big deal. But if you are not able to, then its going to cost you every time you figure out something needs to be changed/adjusted/tuned/ or replaced. And it takes some time to figure this out on tri set up. Might as well start a relationship with them now with a purchase, and everything else can be worked out as you go.
I haven’t read all the responses, but if you forge a relationship with your LBS you can most likely get a discount at some point on bikes. Don’t, whatever you do, use them to shop and waste their time and go buy from some online shop. That is a crappy thing to do.
I haven’t read all the responses, but if you forge a relationship with your LBS you can most likely get a discount at some point on bikes. Don’t, whatever you do, use them to shop and waste their time and go buy from some online shop. That is a crappy thing to do.
Totally agree.
Having bought bikes online before, and ended up reselling them because the fit was not right, I buy bikes only from an LBS from now on. At least there, I can try different models and sizes before spending any money. If the bike I buy from them still doesn’t fit right, my LBS will make it right. Like they said, “If you’re not comfortable on the bike, then we’re not done yet.” They even offered to take back my current size bike in exchange for a different size once we’ve exhausted other possibilities, like different stem, seat, etc.
I buy clothes, helmets, cleaning supplies and some bike parts online, but, when it comes to the bike, I’ll only buy from my LBS.