Who are go-to retailers these days?
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Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby adaml » Mon Oct 23, 2023 11:34 am
I'm getting back into cycling after about 10 years away. Back then, the best source for reasonably priced components and accessories was the UK, and Chain Reaction Cycles and Wiggle were my mainstays.
Fast forward to now and it's obvious things have changed. c r c and Wiggle are shadows of what they once were, and facing bankruptcy.
Can anyone give me a quick catch up of the terrain scene today? Who the major players are, who your first port of call should be for that brake rotor or chainring tool and so on.
Thanks!
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby AndrewCowley » Mon Oct 23, 2023 11:41 am
Overseas: Merlin
Worth checking 99 Bikes too. If you have a store nearby that has stock then it's convenient sometimes to go and buy it from there.
For Shimano parts, the big issue is supply. You'll need to search around and potentially buy from places you've never bought from before.
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby Mr Purple » Mon Oct 23, 2023 12:01 pm
Bikebug definitely have reasonable stock of most Shimano now. Though Merlin above is also a good backup option, as is Alex Cycles in Japan.
I spent so long out of the scene that Cell bikes was the default option when I left it. Hard to imagine that so many online companies manage to completely disappear constantly; how hard is it?
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby blizzard » Mon Oct 23, 2023 12:18 pm
I have used CCache on occassion, they have a pretty good range high end and also far east brands.
Very occasionally Merlin and ProBikeKit, and even rarer the German online stores but shipping is a killer from them.
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby P!N20 » Mon Oct 23, 2023 3:21 pm
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby jasonc » Mon Oct 23, 2023 4:05 pm
I would be cautious with pro bike kit as their financial position isn't much better
have used ccache and george's bike shop
i used merlin for an order last week
i'm thankful i stocked up on spare parts when in europe earlier this year
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby uart » Mon Oct 23, 2023 4:13 pm
So is Wiggle yet another retailer that eventually succumb to covid supply chain issues?
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby find_bruce » Mon Oct 23, 2023 4:33 pm
I would suggest Wiggle / c r c / Bike24 are succumbing to venture capital issues & have lost touch with what made them successful in the first place.
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby caneye » Mon Oct 23, 2023 5:16 pm
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby biker jk » Mon Oct 23, 2023 5:21 pm
I believe Wiggle/c r c/Probikekit are owned by Signa Sports United which is an E-Commerce company. Their funding was from Sigma Holding GmbH which is a real estate company.find_bruce wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 4:33 pmI would suggest Wiggle / c r c / Bike24 are succumbing to venture capital issues & have lost touch with what made them successful in the first place.
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby Duck! » Mon Oct 23, 2023 5:57 pm
ProBikeKit is not part of the Signa group, however is on its own shaky ground.biker jk wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 5:21 pmI believe Wiggle/c r c/Probikekit are owned by Signa Sports United which is an E-Commerce company. Their funding was from Sigma Holding GmbH which is a real estate company.find_bruce wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 4:33 pmI would suggest Wiggle / c r c / Bike24 are succumbing to venture capital issues & have lost touch with what made them successful in the first place.
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby biker jk » Mon Oct 23, 2023 6:00 pm
Yes, my mistake. Meant to write Probikeshop.Duck! wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 5:57 pmProBikeKit is not part of the Signa group, however is on its own shaky ground.biker jk wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 5:21 pmI believe Wiggle/c r c/Probikekit are owned by Signa Sports United which is an E-Commerce company. Their funding was from Sigma Holding GmbH which is a real estate company.find_bruce wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 4:33 pm
I would suggest Wiggle / c r c / Bike24 are succumbing to venture capital issues & have lost touch with what made them successful in the first place.
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby robbo mcs » Mon Oct 23, 2023 7:33 pm
I use 99bikes for some things, but they have an annoying practice of shipping from multiple sites. So if you order 4x of something, it can come in 4 packages from different places.
For touring and bikepacking type products, there are range of good smaller shops and providers that provide good service, Omafiets in Sydney and Commuter Cycles in Melbourne for example
For hard to find products, or unusual stuff BikeInn seems to have an enormous range of products. However, it can take a long time to arrive.
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby lone rider » Mon Oct 23, 2023 10:03 pm
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby g-boaf » Mon Oct 23, 2023 10:04 pm
Cycling kit, I went to 99 Bikes, they had Assos bibs I wanted at a reasonable price - and in stock, bonus. Othewise jerseys are all Le Col Custom from the overseas cycling club I'm a part of, when the order goes in for the next years design, I grab two.
I used to deal with Bikebug back in the days of Rocky and the Tempe location, but when that closed and it went online only I ceased dealing with them - haven't gone to their site, haven't purchased a single thing from them.
Otherwise I had a trusted local bike shop (sadly closed in unfortunate circumstances), then I have another two bike shops, neither of them exactly local but they have people working for them that I trust.
Wiggle (link intentionally broken) I haven't used in god knows how long, seemingly the right choice given the recent news.
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby Duck! » Mon Oct 23, 2023 11:12 pm
As noted here and in other threads, the likes of Wiggle, c r c and other previously go-to British online sellers are for various reasons in a world of turmoil now. The more reliable players now are from mainland Europe, some better-known than others. Bike24 and Starbike, both from Germany, have a wide range of stock, generally at very good prices, however freight is expensive so that counters much of the saving on the price of the product, and can be very slow to get out of the country (a fault of the freight provider, not the retailer). Lordgun, based in Italy is also very well priced on the products, but similarly expensive for freight, but use a different carrier so ships very quickly. By some techonogical trickery they're one of the few OS retailers who can/will ship stuff from major brands who otherwise have regional/intercontinental shipping restrictions imposed by the manufacturer.
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby MichaelB » Tue Oct 24, 2023 8:10 am
I'm pretty much the same.lone rider wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 10:03 pmBikebug/Pushys and Ccache. Havent bought from the o/s retailers in years, mostly because they stopped shipping a lot of brands to Oz. Then after Covid, shipping prices got ridiculous so didnt bother even checking what they had last couple of years.
Are ccache a drop-shipper ?
Have used Bike24/r2 bike/Bike-Discount before, but they tended to be for some wheelbuilding gear, mudguards & tyres but tend to make the purchase worthwhile.
The recent increase in shipping costs post covid have made them less attractive. Lordgun I've looked at, but they haven't been competitive in terms of shipped price/stock at the time.
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby warthog1 » Tue Oct 24, 2023 9:19 am
Probikekit years ago but now only if they have exactly what I want at a good price.
Have used Lordgun once for a wheelset. Great price and good result but yep postage ain't cheap.
Ccache a couple of times. Bike24 only if I can't get it elsewhere due to slow, and expensive shipping.
US sites not at all basically, crap postage.
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby Mr Purple » Tue Oct 24, 2023 10:18 am
I've ordered them for quite a few things and their delivery times seem on par with Pushys and Bikebug so I'd suggest not.MichaelB wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2023 8:10 amAre ccache a drop-shipper ?lone rider wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 10:03 pmBikebug/Pushys and Ccache. Havent bought from the o/s retailers in years, mostly because they stopped shipping a lot of brands to Oz. Then after Covid, shipping prices got ridiculous so didnt bother even checking what they had last couple of years.
Of course that may not apply to big dollar or boutique items. Prices are actually pretty reasonable for most things as well.
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby antigee » Tue Oct 24, 2023 6:27 pm
https://www.facebook.com/mtbdirectonlin ... HvrnqMDJ1l
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby redsonic » Tue Oct 24, 2023 7:27 pm
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby LateStarter » Tue Oct 24, 2023 7:53 pm
Wiggle did own Bike24 from 2017 till 2019 when it was sold back to its original owner (fortunately), the "shipping" cost is mostly saved via the always cheaper Bike24 prices even on just a few items. The shipping duration can be lengthy though, but they have an enormous range of everything (excluding stuff they are not permitted by suppliers to ship to Oz , Shimano, garmin, ortlieb etc(find_bruce wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 4:33 pmI would suggest Wiggle / c r c / Bike24 are succumbing to venture capital issues & have lost touch with what made them successful in the first place.
2008 Cannondale Touring 2, 2013 Vivente World Randonneur, 2015 Lynskey Sportive Disc
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby find_bruce » Wed Oct 25, 2023 7:34 am
Cheers, I'd missed that news. Haven't bought from Bike24 since 2017LateStarter wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2023 7:53 pmWiggle did own Bike24 from 2017 till 2019 when it was sold back to its original owner (fortunately), the "shipping" cost is mostly saved via the always cheaper Bike24 prices even on just a few items. The shipping duration can be lengthy though, but they have an enormous range of everything (excluding stuff they are not permitted by suppliers to ship to Oz , Shimano, garmin, ortlieb etc(
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Re: Who are go-to retailers these days?
Postby lone rider » Wed Oct 25, 2023 7:00 pm
Not sure. Pricing they are bit different to Pushys/Bikebug and they have a few bricks and mortar shops. Stock wise with the brands they have they seem to independent, and orders must be coming from local stock given the freight times.MichaelB wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2023 8:10 amI'm pretty much the same.lone rider wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 10:03 pmBikebug/Pushys and Ccache. Havent bought from the o/s retailers in years, mostly because they stopped shipping a lot of brands to Oz. Then after Covid, shipping prices got ridiculous so didnt bother even checking what they had last couple of years.
Are ccache a drop-shipper ?
Have used Bike24/r2 bike/Bike-Discount before, but they tended to be for some wheelbuilding gear, mudguards & tyres but tend to make the purchase worthwhile.
The recent increase in shipping costs post covid have made them less attractive. Lordgun I've looked at, but they haven't been competitive in terms of shipped price/stock at the time.
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