SEANSTEP Posted October 24, 2017 Posted October 24, 2017 Going to weigh in here. Been shopping in Cape Town for a road bike. Not my first rodeo but it's been a while since I've bought a bike. All amped & ready to pull the trigger. Money in account, one EFT from spent. Get the picture? Then I come across the bike shop sales people who by & large range from rude, to indifferent and unhelpful. One notable exception, Dylan Victor (The Life Cycle - Tokai). Full disclosure, I've ridden with him but don't know him that well. He took the time & put in the effort without being a "slick" salesperson. Perhaps because it's his business & he is not just some employee. It almost felt like the bike shops didn't have bikes to sell. I gave a modest budget of R30K. Having said that there are bikes in this range despite one salesperson basically telling me I'm too poor for his shop. To put it mildly I was underwhelmed by the experience.
Pure Savage Posted October 24, 2017 Posted October 24, 2017 All this talk of bikes decided to take colleague from work to look at bikes. All around 25k, she tried the trek emonda, giant tcr and cannondale supersix. She liked the feel of the giant the most, although not the cheapest. Final test we weighed all 3 bikes, for a 56 the giant was lightest at 7,98kg. So she bought that one and got a helmet as well which she needed. Love spending other people's money.
pe3nguin Posted October 24, 2017 Posted October 24, 2017 Yeah sure, she rides bikes, thats great. But what's her utilization like?
ChrisF Posted October 24, 2017 Posted October 24, 2017 Going to weigh in here. Been shopping in Cape Town for a road bike. Not my first rodeo but it's been a while since I've bought a bike. All amped & ready to pull the trigger. Money in account, one EFT from spent. Get the picture? Then I come across the bike shop sales people who by & large range from rude, to indifferent and unhelpful. One notable exception, Dylan Victor (The Life Cycle - Tokai). Full disclosure, I've ridden with him but don't know him that well. He took the time & put in the effort without being a "slick" salesperson. Perhaps because it's his business & he is not just some employee. It almost felt like the bike shops didn't have bikes to sell. I gave a modest budget of R30K. Having said that there are bikes in this range despite one salesperson basically telling me I'm too poor for his shop. To put it mildly I was underwhelmed by the experience. If you have not bought yet, do yourself a favour - speak to Danie at Cycle4Life. Give him a call, and if he has something for you he will let you know. Well worth the drive to Paarl. IRKS me that I live next to 5 or 6 bike shops, but I must do a 90km round trip to get decent service ..... (with the exception of GekoCycles and Specialized)
Cappi Posted October 24, 2017 Posted October 24, 2017 All this talk of bikes decided to take colleague from work to look at bikes. All around 25k, she tried the trek emonda, giant tcr and cannondale supersix. She liked the feel of the giant the most, although not the cheapest. Final test we weighed all 3 bikes, for a 56 the giant was lightest at 7,98kg. So she bought that one and got a helmet as well which she needed. Love spending other people's moneyGreat buy. She did like that one the most. She went with her heart. lol.The Trek was surprisingly heavy.nice meeting u. the other guy in the shop...now im waiting for my baby to come on friday...
Pure Savage Posted October 24, 2017 Posted October 24, 2017 Yeah sure, she rides bikes, thats great. But what's her utilization like?She is a Snr manager so I don't get to ask those questions. :/
Pure Savage Posted October 24, 2017 Posted October 24, 2017 Great buy. She did like that one the most. She went with her heart. lol.The Trek was surprisingly heavy.nice meeting u. the other guy in the shop...now im waiting for my baby to come on friday...Was about to say I am sure I met a hubber there!! Great meeting you! What did you pull the trigger on in the end?
BaGearA Posted October 24, 2017 Posted October 24, 2017 I've had the same issue as the Op regarding frames Didn't read the whole thread cause i kinda know what it'll look like
ALza Posted October 25, 2017 Author Posted October 25, 2017 Both awesome bikes BMC currently having some "issues" with LBS that would stock it. And my experience of trying to get hold of a Trek that fit my requirements was no great (putting things very euphemisticall) pity because both offer awesome bikes in your price range. Cycle lab had a sale not to long ago on BMC SLR02 (2016 models) going for 25k Yep, I'm well aware of those issues. Cyclelab is selling down all of their BMCs, but unfortunately nothing in my size. They actually only had one bike in my price range and size available. May still be one or two other BMCs floating around that will be available. Hmm, Not many folks ride small framed bikes. Its an unusual frame size. My ex wife was on small frames and they were as rare as rooster teeth. At the same time they are difficult to sell. So when i found a good one i could always do a deal. Got a Trek off Cyclelab on a year end sale with ridiculous wheels included. My 2 cents worth - bide your time and you will pick up a major deal especially on old stock as they arent easy to sell. Put a search in to the classifieds with your ideal criteria and then sit back and wait for the bites. Some guy whose wife doesn't ride any more will eventually sell you the bike that is two years old for a third of the price.... I was hoping for that, but whatever is left from last season is quite a bit bigger. I am still looking out for sure though and I'll take another scan through the classifieds.
Paul Ruinaard Posted October 25, 2017 Posted October 25, 2017 Agreed on the shopping story. I was busy trying to buy a road bike last year this time. And its not my first road bike purchase either by a long stretch but i had done all the research and I was sold on a Trek Emonda or a Specialized Roubaix. Then i had to find one. Granted both were brand new models. I got nothing other than rumours, stories and suggestions of alternatives. Or upgrades to more expensive models. Or good prices on a second hand version of the last years model that his mate was trying to dump as they were upgrading.Eventually a loaner from the Specialized store was what clinched the deal. But i knew what i was looking for and had my current road bike to ride in the interim. I had the money in the bank to plonk down but had to wait from November till january for the store to get the frame and size i wanted. It was one of their first in the country so for me it was worth it. eventually. Simple lesson - even if you have money in your sky - if you want it now often there is no stock and to get exactly what you want is a big challenge.
eddy Posted October 25, 2017 Posted October 25, 2017 Simple lesson - even if you have money in your sky - if you want it now often there is no stock and to get exactly what you want is a big challenge. But that is not the bike shop's doing. It is an issue with the agent/importer. I also wanted something specific and had to wait until stock arrived. But because I was dealing with ONE shop who knew that I was serious about dealing with them, they ensured that they reserved with the agent the exact frame I wanted from the incoming consignment and kept me updated on the progress. Had I "been shopping around" I doubt that that would have happened. And if my shop had only been allocated one frame from the consignment, I know that it would have been mine.
Robbie Stewart Posted October 25, 2017 Posted October 25, 2017 My 2 cents.We live in a world where the retail landscape is rapidly becoming global. It is no longer a valid view for any business to wait for the guy off the street to whip out the wallet to buy at the shelf marked price, considering that it is easy to open Google and find the best deal online in the comfort of their own home/work/wherever.To survive as a brick and mortar business in this new landscape, every person who walks in must be treated as a potential customer, 'cause you simply do not know who will end up spending and who not. As we all know, assumption is the mother of all...As for loyalty, it only goes as far as where the next best deal is going to occur. To think that it is no longer necessary to quote a client who asks, because they might forward the quote on, tells me much about a business.A) Fail to quote is a guarantee of not selling anything.B) Not quoting because of the opposition maybe knowing your prices - they know anyway, as any good business will do a survey of their opposition. And also, in the cutthroat market environment at present, finding the cost of any product, bikes especially, is not hard. Again, Google.C) Maybe the sales clerk is just lazy, in which case the LBS, or any store for that matter, should have the management informed of this lack of service, or else they may find themselves having a closing down sale much sooner that they anticipated. - A retail business ONLY makes money when they move the stock, i.e. selling it. A bike in the store room is a liability to the business, as it costs money, but has not generated any income as yet. Also, if it does not get sold before the 4th quarter, it would likely get marked down, losing even more money. If this occurs because the sales staff are lazy, fire them, or at the very least, complain.
Cappi Posted October 25, 2017 Posted October 25, 2017 Was about to say I am sure I met a hubber there!! Great meeting you! What did you pull the trigger on in the end?scott addict 20 .
Pure Savage Posted October 25, 2017 Posted October 25, 2017 scott addict 20 . I must say, it probably helped that I did not come in my KPMG cycling kit. I get the worst service in any shop when I arrive in that, except my hair dresser.
Patchelicious Posted October 25, 2017 Posted October 25, 2017 She is a Snr manager so I don't get to ask those questions. :/Well as Col. Nathan R Jessop once said......
pe3nguin Posted October 25, 2017 Posted October 25, 2017 Well as Col. Nathan R Jessop once said......Here's Johnny?
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.