Cycling Thread

[bossy22]

Ship it to the Montana shipping outlet. Drive down, put the bike together...it will be built, just put on the wheels and straighten the handle bars. Go for a ride and bring the bike across the border.

[core_upt]

Originally Posted by macker

I have heard Jensons USA is hit and miss with outrageous shipping costs and getting hit with duties/customs etc. Chain Reactions may or may not be a better option in this regard. REI and Backcountry.com also have some closeouts this time of year but again the shipping/customs/duties negates much of the deal. Then if you have to return it or want local service etc.

I have gotten some great deals from CR in the past that slipped past duties and was free shipping though. Just not sure on a bike as it was for more shipable items.

Jenson collects tax and files all required duty paperwork for you as part of the shipping charges, so you will not end up paying anything past checkout:
http://www.jensonusa.com/help_desk/ship_canada

I ordered a bike from them earlier this year (I posted about it farther back in this thread, pg.17) and was really happy with the service. My bike arrived quickly, no hidden charges and took me about an hour to unpack and setup to set up.

[macker]

Even if you are just going to Babbs unless the bike is $5K carbon that you are getting for $3K etc. the savings will likely be gone by the time you get there and you have to put the bike together etc. as they ship it in pieces. Best case would be to live next to the JensonUSA outlet then you can easily return the bike if you don't like it. Has anyone on here had a bike shipped right to them from Chain Reactions. I think because they are in the UK it is an easier process for some reason and their shipping is often free vs US dealers always punish Canadians on shipping.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by macker

Even if you are just going to Babbs unless the bike is $5K carbon that you are getting for $3K etc. the savings will likely be gone by the time you get there and you have to put the bike together etc. as they ship it in pieces. Best case would be to live next to the JensonUSA outlet then you can easily return the bike if you don't like it. Has anyone on here had a bike shipped right to them from Chain Reactions. I think because they are in the UK it is an easier process for some reason and their shipping is often free vs US dealers always punish Canadians on shipping.

Nobody ships a bike completely put together. Jensen builds the bike, and ships it. All you have to do is put on the wheels, install the seat post and straighten the stem. Takes 5 minutes.

[bossy22]

Something you need to watch with chain reaction is that their prices can exceed even Canadian prices, depending on what you buy. For example, the carbon wheel set I'm looking at is $1000 more than in the US. That's the MSRP of course.
$3382.49 at Chainreaction
$2450.00 at competitive cyclist

Some wheel sets are better deals, like a custom build with hope hubs, or if you can get a good sale, which cr does have. A 2011 version of the carbon wheels is on for $1409.36, but the hubs that year where crap and had a lot of issues.

Another example is the garmin edge 500.
$462 at CR
$400 at bow cycle
$360 in the US
It's on sale now at CR for $288.

CR has good sales, but I have seen where CR's sale price is more than MSRP in the US. Just need to price check.

[Bill Bumface]

Assembled wheels and bicycles are subject to duty. Parts are not.

Jenson shipping includes GST/Brokerage and is overnight.

Chain Reaction shipping is free if you spend enough or $10. It comes via Canada Post and seems to be a lottery whether you pay anything on arrival. I had 3 shipments this year, including an assembled wheel (which is shipped separately for the aforementioned duty reasons) and I paid $0 on all of them.

[Coys1882]

Thanks for all the opinions guys - I think I'm going to give Jenson a shot.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Assembled wheels and bicycles are subject to duty. Parts are not.

Jenson shipping includes GST/Brokerage and is overnight.

Chain Reaction shipping is free if you spend enough or $10. It comes via Canada Post and seems to be a lottery whether you pay anything on arrival. I had 3 shipments this year, including an assembled wheel (which is shipped separately for the aforementioned duty reasons) and I paid $0 on all of them.

I've never shipped from CR because I always ship to my place in the US. I was never certain on what fees I'd have to pay. They do have some good deals at times and have been tempted, but went for the easy route and bought in the US.

[Redliner]

I have ordered from Jenson, Pricepoint, Cambria Bike Oufitters, and Chain Reaction Cycle, although always parts, clothing, and accessories - never a complete bike. The only time I ever got slammed with extra duty or brokerage charges was the order from CRC. CBO seemed to have the cheapest price, but often didn't have the item in stock which resulted in long wait times - and once they couldn't even get the item I wanted and had to offer me a substitution. In their defense, they did make things right and I actually ended up getting an item that was more expensive than the one I originally ordered at no extra cost, it just took a really long time (almost 2 months) to get it sorted out. I have never had any issues with Pricepoint or Jenson, and Jenson's shipping is crazy fast. I ordered a bunch of parts on a Wednesday morning and they were at my house in Calgary on Friday.

[macker]

If you are looking online a few other shops to check out would be :

http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/bikes/road-bikes UK

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/?C...=4948_e346acf5 US (think used to be Huck N Roll but they recently shut down?)

http://bicyclettesdehull.com/bikes/road-bikes.html Canadian
This would take customs/brokerage fees/duty/shipping element out of the purchase as they are Canadian and ship for free on all orders over $50. Never used them but some of the deals they have now are pretty good.

[Old Yeller]

Anybody been down in the Weaselhead since it snowed? Wondering how clear the paths are or how much snow accumulation is on them? I've got studded tires but if it's tough slogging, I'll just go the Eastern route around the reservoir.

[#22]

^^

Haven't been down there, but in the past I have run into unexpected deep snow there plenty of times. It is always the last section to melt, I'm guessing due to the shade of all the trees there, so my bet would be tough slogging. If you do go for it, let us know!

[Old Yeller]

I went, it wasn't horribly deep snow, but most of the path in the Weaselhead had snow/ice on it like this:



I love my morning commute:



Sure beats the hell out of gridlock traffic on 14th street.

[BurningYears]

^ agreed. Even if my commute is just downtown from mcknight/centre street. I always hate it when I have to take the bus to work. blah! I'd rather be on a slower freezing ride on my bike then feeling like a sardine on a bus.

[StormShadow]

I had my left crank arm blow off my month and a half old bike yesterday at 830 during my commute home. Im a happy guy.

[J pold]

Bump.

So a good beginner road bike is tops on my list for Christmas. Anyone have a good recommendation for someone buying their first road bike?

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by J pold

Bump.

So a good beginner road bike is tops on my list for Christmas. Anyone have a good recommendation for someone buying their first road bike?

It really depends on what you're looking for but I'll give you these 2 pieces of advice that I give everyone looking for their first road bike:

1) Whatever bike you find the most confortable is the one for you, you won't want to ride an uncomfortable bike, so don't dig a hole on day 1
2) Whatever your budget is, add 20-40% and that's probably what you'll wind up spending

Finally, don't rush out to buy a road bike right now, spring time will bring many sales. Bow Cycle does a really big sale every spring where you can save huge dollars on year old bikes, so if you can wait, then do.

[Old Yeller]

Originally Posted by J pold

Anyone have a good recommendation for someone buying their first road bike?

Yeah, go into Ridley Cycle and ask for Travis. I'd never even been on a road bike when I bought mine. He explained everything to me and had me out test driving 4 or 5 different bikes.. no pressure sales or up selling... hell by letting me take out a slightly more expensive bike I up sold myself.

Also buy last years bike, you'll save yourself some cash and get essentially the same bike.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

Yeah, go into Ridley Cycle and ask for Travis. I'd never even been on a road bike when I bought mine. He explained everything to me and had me out test driving 4 or 5 different bikes.. no pressure sales or up selling... hell by letting me take out a slightly more expensive bike I up sold myself.

Also buy last years bike, you'll save yourself some cash and get essentially the same bike.

A great example of my second piece of advice above.
It happens to everyone man.

[KTrain]

Tour of Alberta bike race announced

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...g.html?cmp=rss

Cycling enthusiasts are getting set for the first ever Tour of Alberta, a six-day bike race around the province.

The new race will be held in the fall of 2013, winding through much of the province, including the Rocky Mountains.

Alex Stieda, a former professional cyclist from Edmonton, said he’s been working for a long time to bring such a race to the province.

”It’s a six-day stage race, just like the Tour De France, where the guys race individual stages every day and the overall winner is the rider with the lowest cumulative time over six days,” Stieda. “We’ll have teams that race in the Tour De France.”

The Alberta event is a major undertaking with a budget of about $1 million a day and will involve many volunteers, he said.