I am new to the hub and have been reading all of the furor over pricing. I have only been cycling for 1 year now, so am very new to the sport. I just wanted to relate what happened to me when I decided to treat myself to a new bike in December. First, I did all of my research for the bike and and accessories that I wanted to buy. I visited 5 shops in Cape Town and the CWC site. I wrote down all of the prices I was given and started to compare. In the first instance, 3 of the shops tried to sell me a large bike (I am a medium 100%). When I asked about mediums on the particular model I had chosen, I was told that there were none in stock, but a large would not make any difference! On pricing, the shop where I bought saved me a minimum of R2600 and a maximum of R3900, when compared to what I would pay online and the other shops. The shop where I went is not in a shopping complex, doesn't have fancy fittings and all of the rest. It is more a type of warehouse for want of a better term. The service was great (being a dumb blonde, I even lost the key to my bicycle lock when I took the bike home. They sent a mechanic to my house on that Saturday night, cut the lock and didn't charge for the service or a new lock). The point of all this is that, some things may be a little cheaper at the CWC online store, but if you find the right local bike shop, the prices are very similar and in some cases even cheaper. When you add the service component on, then in my mind a good local bike shop wins hands down. By the way, I just looked at the CWC site for the Sweep R and it is not R1100, but R1300 maybe he has raised HIS prices?
