Buying Specialized bikes online

Nova_era

Hey,

I've been trying to buy the 2010 Allez online, but neither Evans or the Bike Factory will deliver any Specialized bikes outside of the UK.

Can anyone point me in the direction of somewhere who will deliver the bike to Ireland?

Thanks a lot,

Rory

Lumen

PM sent.

Acoustic

just buy a custom from your local bike shop and stay away from online

you could find its not exactly the size and then have to spend money to get it fixed ie new handle bar stem etc , we've had loads of people like that and spending like 200 euros on other things

and them lidl bikes are pure sh1te , theres 3 in the shop now with the same probs , creaking frames and creaking bb

oversized nipples on their wheels which are very hard to tighten up

plus ur lbs might give u a better deal

Quigs Snr

Dunno how Lidl bikes came into the equation here. For specialized online in Ireland with a local bikeshop touch.. (they will pricematch also)

http://www.worldwidecycles.com

Nova_era

Acoustic wrote: »

just buy a custom from your local bike shop and stay away from online

you could find its not exactly the size and then have to spend money to get it fixed ie new handle bar stem etc , we've had loads of people like that and spending like 200 euros on other things

and them lidl bikes are pure sh1te , theres 3 in the shop now with the same probs , creaking frames and creaking bb

oversized nipples on their wheels which are very hard to tighten up

plus ur lbs might give u a better deal

I'd love to support my local shops but it's just too expensive. Spending €800 on a bike is a hell of a lot for me, and for example my local shop start at €900, where as I can go online and get a Specialized Allez for around €700.

copacetic

you are perfectly safe to buy online, I got my allez expert online(on sale) a few years back and it was about half the price it was here in the shops.

quigs option above sounds like the best of both worlds..

Acoustic

if it breaks like

who do you go back to ??? ur local bike shop wont look twice at you

im only saying this as we had countless guys in with problems with wheels , frames , wrong sizes and spent fortunes to fit it properly for them

most bike shops if u get a custom build , if after a month it feels too big or short , we fix it free of charge as part of the service etc

by all means buy online but expect the downfalls

just be carefull

Nova_era

I know exactly where you're coming from.

But for example, yesterday I went into my local shop looking for a bike. The cheapest I'd get is 900, for a maker I'd never heard of. I went home and went online, and could buy a Trek or Specialized for 200 less, or course that's going to appeal to me. It's all about weighing up the advantages. If I did have a problem I'd just bring the bike to one of the many bike shops around, there are so many I doubt they'd ignore me, and at the end of the day I'd still have a great Specialized or Trek bike.

I'm new to buying racers as you can probably guess, so for me emphasis is going to be on brand, price, value for money, as opposed to the things which a rider learns with time, such as the benefits of buying local.

Sorry if I don't make sense with that, but it's the way I look at it.

dave2pvd

Acoustic wrote: »

if it breaks like

who do you go back to ??? ur local bike shop wont look twice at you

im only saying this as we had countless guys in with problems with wheels , frames , wrong sizes and spent fortunes to fit it properly for them

most bike shops if u get a custom build , if after a month it feels too big or short , we fix it free of charge as part of the service etc

by all means buy online but expect the downfalls

just be carefull

When he says Specialized, he doesn't mean custom. Hence the capital S on Specialized.

Lumen

Often it's the case that an "online" purchase is just a purchase from a real bike shop with a website, that happens to be too far away to visit in person. This is particularly the case with brands like Specialized and Trek, who need to protect their dealer network and so don't tend to make their bikes available to online-only retailers like Wiggle, but do tolerate internet sales from their own dealers (although often not across borders).

There are cases of mfrs attempting to w(r)iggle out of warranties for frames purchased in "bin end" sales from online-only shops. IANAL, but would want to avoid this sort of stuff, especially with an expensive carbon frameset. If your chainstays crack you really want your retailer behind you, and they'll be in a stronger position if they're a proper dealer.

Regarding locality, it's easier to deal with a warranty issue if the shop is local to you, but the greater advantage of a local shop is that they can size the bike for you and swap out the stem, saddle, seatpost etc at no charge (or cost difference price) to get a perfect fit.

If I was in any way unsure about bike fit, I wouldn't bother buying a complete bike from a UK Specialized dealer if I was only saving 10% or €100. I'd get a local shop to price match as much as they can, taking into account higher Irish VAT and shipping costs from the UK.

I also wouldn't bother buying Irish if the shop is too far to travel to, as you're losing the convenience of fitting, servicing and warranty returns.

You'll generally get best value from internet-brand bikes (Focus, Planet-X, Canyon) because they don't have all the local dealer baggage. You might save 40-50% off a very similar bike from Specialized.

Acoustic

ur paying for the name thats all

just because u havnt heard of the bike from the lbs doesnt mean it snot good

online stores buy in bulk and can afford bigger discounts or cheaper prices and thats fine

but of you have a warranty with the bike and theres not a dealer for this bike for 50 or 60 miles , and still because you didnt buy it from them they may not be inclined to help you , sad as it is some are strict when it comes to halford or lidl or online purchases

if you buy local you will get looked after and piece of mind

ashleey

Most bikes of around a grand either online or in a shop are unlikely to break. The biggest problem will be getting the correct size and then getting it tuned after 500k. My local shop are tuning my gears and he didn't complain that i didn't buy from him. A good man in a good shop would help you and maybe give him a chance to price match. Don't listen to stupid scare stories. It all depends how decent your lbs is. Why don't you print off the specs of a bike you like. Go into the shop and say something like ' i want a road bike without thumb shifters and not generic heavy seatpost, stem and saddle' then say your budget and see what they say. Walk away if they don't help.

Acoustic

if you buy from a lbs you get a free service after 4-6 weeks to get all tuned up

if you go in with a bike you buy online , you pay for your service , granted its a small fee but all counts

davgtrek

i reckon the sooner a lbs accepts the internet the better. i can't understand their attitude. face up to it you'll never compete on prices.

so why dont you put your hands up and say to a potential customer
this is the best deal i can do but if you get it new online bring it into me and for €100 i'll assemble/tune it up and have it ready to ride and for €150 ill do all that and throw in a serviec after 500k or whatever.

bang you have a customer who feels happy that he's getting a deal online but also the security of a lbs.
remember the guy who researches bikes and buys online will inevitably be upgrading parts and bling regularly enough and would come back to the lbs for all these items probably.

surely that a win win for the lbs.

i'd happily throw even up to €200 to a local lbs for a "platinum" bike service on my new online purchase.

intead of that all the lbs's do is moan and throw attitude at you once you mention net.

Nova_era

Very good idea Davegtrek, it'd be great if some lbs would adopt that kind of idea. Of course they'd prefer if you bought the bike from them, but the next best option is at least to be the number one choice for repairs/modifications. Is any lbs owner going to refuse service in these times anyway?

I must say, my lbs is a fantastic shop, run by a gentleman, but I feel it's a lot more suited to the experienced and dedicated rider. Not saying I'm not dedicated, but I just can't be putting thousands into my bike.

Online the choice is just so big, I feel like I'm really getting value for my money, and coming away with a top bike. The Specialized I'm after has everything I'm looking for, is in the exact colour I want, and fits perfectly into my budget idea.