Ordering a bike online

Gorteen

I've seen an entry-level MTB I'm interested in buying. It's a fairly good price online from Wiggle.co.uk.

VAT/Tax is referenced in the price. Are there any other charges I may incur by ordering this because of Brexit?

Does the bike arrive fully assembled or do I need to assemble the bike?

Squidgy Black

Shouldn’t have any tax or duty to pay with Wiggle, prices should include all of that

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/h/option/brexit

In terms of how the bike is delivered, there’ll be some assembly required. Typically you might have to put the handlebars and the stem on the bike, the seatpost and pedals and the front wheel. Can vary depending on how the bike is shipped etc, but plenty of YouTube guides and you can always bring it to a local place if anything goes wrong (although it’s one of the main benefits of buying local so you don’t have to worry about the assembly)

at1withmyself

Might be useful:

https://youtu.be/FQIDnfeEgBM

brownian

FWIW, if you order from somewhere you are not sure if you trust or not (Say, a bike shop in Italy you've never heard of, but Google knows), you can use Paypal to pay for it, and have access to pretty strong buyer protection. Wiggle/CRC/Bike24 are of course well-known, so not an issue. But I've found that Italian shops are consistently cheapter and seem to have more stock than most...

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058258604/ordering-a-bike-online

As above, tax afaik is sorted by CRC/Wiggle and assembly (which will have notes in the box) is no more than putting on pedals, front wheel and straightening the stem/fork. Any concern, go to your LBS and throw them a few quid to look over it.

kirving

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119478002#Comment_119478002

I've heard of some shops getting cranky over that, but if they don't actually sell that brand you're likely to have better luck.

Recently got a Cube Touring delivered, fully assembled, wheels and all, just had to straighten the bars, but the box was hilariously big at 1.8x1.3x0.3m.

@Gorteen What MTB are you considering?

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119479966#Comment_119479966

Find a better bike shop is my only advice there, if they get annoyed about that, they are too busy for your business.

The Ging and I

Buy it in a local shop. They can give you good advice and immediate back up if you have a problem.

kirving

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119480273#Comment_119480273

Oh agreed, there have been a few shops I refuse to darken the door of, but most are grand to be fair.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119480340#Comment_119480340

That Cube above - was getting estimated delivery times of 16-20 weeks from large shops here, but delivery within a week online.

It's not always easy to support the LBC. I did my level best to support a small rural bike shop recently, for another bike, that they didn't stock, but who did deal with the BTW "service" my employer uses.

Since I'd be saving €600 or so, I was happy to pay upfront, wait for the BTW to pay them, and also cover any fees they would incur sourcing it for me online or from a large Irish distributer. Zero interest in even discussing it.

Alkers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119480340#Comment_119480340

But at 20% extra price over buying online, you'd be better off just paying for any minor issues to be sorted yourself and anything major is covered under warranty

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119480340#Comment_119480340

Not quite that simple, some LBSs are great and always my preference but many are not. I am lucky mine are decent but I wouldn't darken the door of some who have only been held afloat by sheer volume of bike to work purchases rather than deserving it.