Online Purchases - good and bad experiences

[antigee]

Has anyone else noticed the BikeBug website is now terrible to use. The filters are hard to find (on mobile at least) and the more info button still cuts off a lot of the information.

Yes. The idiot who built the Pushys web site must have been making changes.

took me quite a while to find some 20" tyres for folder today as I failed to find anyway to filter by size...added 2 tyres to basket...basket said 2 items...clicked on the "sale item" tab (bad habit) added an item to my basket and the tyres had disappeared...went to history and found the previous basket, used search to find and add the sale item definitely a painful experience.

[Aushiker]

I used SCVImports contact form ...

[blizzard]

Purchased a Castelli Perfetto light rain jersey on sale from Open Road Cycles. I had never heard of them but the price was good $99 + $10 shipping. Seems to be a physical store with a website which can be hit and miss dispatch times but they posted it the same day and used express post so arrived next day.

Also needed a new heart rate monitor as the pod on the Garmin I had disintegrated, 99Bikes near my work only had the same Garmin unit which I wasn't happy with as it has no status LEDS and required a special screw driver to remove the battery, or a Wahoo Tickr X which was $120ish and I had an original Tickr that was unreliable. I bought a Magene H303 on Amazon, I had a $10 voucher so was $37 shipped, it's been flawless so far, and has a status LED and tool free battery cover. I would definitely recommend it.

[jasonc]

Purchased a Castelli Perfetto light rain jersey on sale from Open Road Cycles. I had never heard of them but the price was good $99 + $10 shipping. Seems to be a physical store with a website which can be hit and miss dispatch times but they posted it the same day and used express post so arrived next day.

Also needed a new heart rate monitor as the pod on the Garmin I had disintegrated, 99Bikes near my work only had the same Garmin unit which I wasn't happy with as it has no status LEDS and required a special screw driver to remove the battery, or a Wahoo Tickr X which was $120ish and I had an original Tickr that was unreliable. I bought a Magene H303 on Amazon, I had a $10 voucher so was $37 shipped, it's been flawless so far, and has a status LED and tool free battery cover. I would definitely recommend it.

all these people who buy new HRMs every year or two. I'm still on my original heart rate monitor I bought in 2012. It's a Garmin HRM-1G. I have to replace the rear elastic strap every couple of years. But the actual heart rate monitor unit still works. A few years ago I bought a couple of spares as they were around $20.

[Mr Purple]

Purchased a Castelli Perfetto light rain jersey on sale from Open Road Cycles. I had never heard of them but the price was good $99 + $10 shipping. Seems to be a physical store with a website which can be hit and miss dispatch times but they posted it the same day and used express post so arrived next day.

Also needed a new heart rate monitor as the pod on the Garmin I had disintegrated, 99Bikes near my work only had the same Garmin unit which I wasn't happy with as it has no status LEDS and required a special screw driver to remove the battery, or a Wahoo Tickr X which was $120ish and I had an original Tickr that was unreliable. I bought a Magene H303 on Amazon, I had a $10 voucher so was $37 shipped, it's been flawless so far, and has a status LED and tool free battery cover. I would definitely recommend it.

I've used Open Road Cycles quite a few times - good customer service, good prices (especially on clearance) and very reliable.

Jason, you've definitely had good luck or chosen the right HRM there! I'm on my third warranty replacement Tickr Fit in two years. The first two both broke in different ways (one just stopped working, the other had a plastic connection break).

[blizzard]

You must be the exception Jason, most people seem to run through a HRM every couple years. My first Tickr lasted 2 years but would have drop out issues and wouldn't reliably give correct heart rate readings, despite changing batteries, straps etc.

The Garmin was much more reliable but the lack of status LEDs and tool to change battery was annoying. The last battery change all the screw holes just disintegrated when going to replace the screws, despite not applying any torque to the screws.

[jasonc]

look on ebay for Garmin HRM-1G. buy one and try it

[Andy01]

I (and my wife) use an arm-band HRM - Polar Verity Sense (I started with the older OH1+) and both have been good. I use it daily and have been for a few years now - same strap, same holder, same device. It is rechargable, so just pop in the USB cradle after the ride, and it downloads the data and charges. It is 100% sealed, so no battery replacement, and is fully submersible (can be used for swimming). Fuss free, and no issues like the chest type moving or slipping (arm is more comfortable, especially for women), especially on particularly sweaty days. It has also connected flawlessly to every device I have tried - various iPhones, various Bryton computers and current Hammerhead Karoo 2. Wait for Polar's EOFYS sale.

[Tim]

all these people who buy new HRMs every year or two. I'm still on my original heart rate monitor I bought in 2012. It's a Garmin HRM-1G. I have to replace the rear elastic strap every couple of years. But the actual heart rate monitor unit still works. A few years ago I bought a couple of spares as they were around $20.

Yep. I'm still using a the same sensor supplied with my Garmin Edge 800 from around the same time.
Been through countless replacement straps but I just buy the eBay Chinese cheapos for less than $10.00 ea.
Come to think of it, the little button batteries last for an amazing amount of time too. The last changeover must have been at least 2 years ago.
The trusty and faultless 800 is still working perfectly but the battery is slowly fading out. A two hour ride sucks about 50% of it's capacity.
Still, not bad for a 12-13 year old piece of tech.

[caneye]

look on ebay for Garmin HRM-1G. buy one and try it

i see there's quite a few of them on ebay.

my only concern is the "pod" and the material that it's made of.

I had an old Polar HRM with a similar composite pod material. after a number of years, the pod just snapped (elastic strap was still good). the composite material appeared to have hardened over time.

[jasonc]

look on ebay for Garmin HRM-1G. buy one and try it

i see there's quite a few of them on ebay.

my only concern is the "pod" and the material that it's made of.

I had an old Polar HRM with a similar composite pod material. after a number of years, the pod just snapped (elastic strap was still good). the composite material appeared to have hardened over time.

it's plastic across the front



no screws. undo the battery holder with a 20c piece
https://static.garmin.com/pumac/HRM_Ins ... ns_Web.pdf

[CmdrBiggles]

I would give any HRM strap with plastic on it a miss: the chest contact area will become sweaty, causing it to slip down, and tightening it only introduces constriction which is uncomfortable.

Garmin's Dual HRM strap is a neat piece of engineering with a snap-on ANT+/BT Tx/Rx (1 x button battery) and very user-friendly contact pads on the rear side (these can be jellied if desired to block sweatiness that can affect pickup of all HRMs). Have used this since 2019, before that a Bryton HR which was a very uncomfortable affair.

[jasonc]

I would give any HRM strap with plastic on it a miss: the chest contact area will become sweaty, causing it to slip down, and tightening it only introduces constriction which is uncomfortable.

the plastic isn't to everyone's liking. But I've used it that long that I don't know any different

[g-boaf]

This is the one I use:

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/garm ... te-monitor

It works well. I have had that for a very long time. Also have the blue version which is just ANT+ only.

[ningnangnong]

I can back up jasonc - I've had the same model for 10+ years now with no issues.

[Aushiker]

I placed an order on Bike Chain for a pair of Ortlieb Fork Packs on Monday, 20 May 2024, and received them here in the West on Wednesday, 22 May 2024. Pretty impressive service given I got a $10 discount and postage was free.

[caneye]

Placed an order with 99bikes, for Click and Collect, because the website said it will be ready in 2 hours at my local branch

After submitting order and paying for said item, I received a text message - the order will be ready for pick-up in 5 DAYS' time

Guess "Click & Collect Ready in 2 hours" means nothing!
Quite annoying because I could have easily ordered from someone else.

Anyway, I have since picked up the item but still took 3 days.
Note to self - think twice before ordering anything from them.

[Aushiker]

I find with 99Bikes that it is important to check that it is showing in stock at the relevant store before going with click ad collect. That said I appreciate @caneye this may not apply to your situation.

For what it is worth a placed an order for Buzzrack e-Scorpion with them for delivery (it was free delivery even on this item) and the order was delivered in seven days (that included the weekend) ex Victoria to WA. I am happy with that.

[Aushiker]

Aliexpress appears to be lifting its game. Order placed and delivered with several tracking updates in 10 days. Not that much slower than getting stuff from the east coast.

[warthog1]

Aliexpress appears to be lifting its game. Order placed and delivered with several tracking updates in 10 days. Not that much slower than getting stuff from the east coast.

Agreed. I got some handlebars recently and it was ~10 days I think. Plenty of tracking updates.

[blizzard]

AliExpress is fairly reliably delivering items within 2 weeks. A few years ago it was more order and it will show up sometime much later,. I had items show up months after ordering that I forgot I purchased them.

[caneye]

I find with 99Bikes that it is important to check that it is showing in stock at the relevant store before going with click ad collect. That said I appreciate @caneye this may not apply to your situation.
..

yes, that's exactly what I did

I usually check which store the stock is available, and whether or not it's worth the drive (if it's located further away).

[foo on patrol]

I find with 99Bikes that it is important to check that it is showing in stock at the relevant store before going with click ad collect. That said I appreciate @caneye this may not apply to your situation.
..

yes, that's exactly what I did

I usually check which store the stock is available, and whether or not it's worth the drive (if it's located further away).

Bikebug were the same. I ordered a Dura-ace BB for my Wheeler and it had the green in stock showing but I didn't get the order ready for pick up un til five days later. I fired off an email asking Say What is going on on and they replied with we had to get it in first.

Foo

[Mr Purple]

AliExpress is fairly reliably delivering items within 2 weeks. A few years ago it was more order and it will show up sometime much later,. I had items show up months after ordering that I forgot I purchased them.

So is Shimano stuff on AliExpress actually Shimano?

Because it looks pretty affordable!

[blizzard]

AliExpress is fairly reliably delivering items within 2 weeks. A few years ago it was more order and it will show up sometime much later,. I had items show up months after ordering that I forgot I purchased them.

So is Shimano stuff on AliExpress actually Shimano?

Because it looks pretty affordable!

There are a lot fake stuff, especially chains & disc rotors. I imagine if you want to buy a brifter it would probably be ok as they aren't simple to just copy.