Reply To: Are you comfortable buying a bike online?

#211115

A friend bought a bike-in-box online, and I was pretty impressed. The online store claimed that they unpacked every bike and had a local mechanic check it before they re-packed it for final delivery. I believe it. Came with a free cheap multi-tool and pedal wrench too!

Now on the other hand, I recently needed a commuter bike, and bought a cyclocross bike from an Australian physical bike shop chain which was down the road from me (we’ll call them “99 Problems”). I was happy with the price, which was a good discount from RRP as last year’s model.

I picked the bike out online and went in, pointed at my phone and said “This one”. I basically sized myself in the end, as the guys in the shop didn’t seem to have much idea. So I walked out with my shiny new bike, and decided to go straight for an afternoon ride to get to know it. Then the problems started.

  • The headset was loose (both the carbon steerer plug and the main bolt).
  • The cranks came loose and essentially fell off about 7km into the ride. I pushed/coasted the whole way back home standing on the seatstays.
  • When I took it back to the shop the next day, the mechanic was “away” for the next 4 days, so I had to wait almost another working week to get the cranks tightened
  • Also, my fancy receipt from the shop had a checklist indicating that apparently these things had been checked. Suuuuure they had mate.
  • I was offered no discount on any accessories (supplied my own pedals out of the parts box, paid full price for a lock)
  • Finally, they’d given me the owner’s manual for a completely different brand of bike!

I ordered my own crank and torque tools to cover all the issues so I could fix them myself next time – from an online store which has great service – and decided since the “LBS” had added absolutely no value, I may as well buy online next time!