Servicing New Bike - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

02-01-2005, 08:00 PM

With the 05's model road bikes out there are some very good deals on
previous years.
I am looking at a cannondale R400 sport form 03' marked down from around
$800 to $499. Trouble is, the bike is in Seattle and I live in Vancouver
BC...so any servicing for 1st year or 2 I will be on my own. I must decide
if this 'smoken deal' is worth the hassle of paying for adjustments etc...

Any suggestion/input is appreciated!

02-01-2005, 09:06 PM

In article <4fYLd.91586$Qb.11170@edtnps89>,
"Sammy" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:
> With the 05's model road bikes out there are some very good deals on
> previous years.
> I am looking at a cannondale R400 sport form 03' marked down from around
> $800 to $499. Trouble is, the bike is in Seattle and I live in Vancouver
> BC...so any servicing for 1st year or 2 I will be on my own. I must decide
> if this 'smoken deal' is worth the hassle of paying for adjustments etc...
>
> Any suggestion/input is appreciated!

The usual 'tune-up/check-up' fees are fairly cheap anyway.
Another thing to consider is that in another month or so
the bike shops will be offering cut-rate Spring tune-ups.

At first blush it sounds like a deal to me -- especially if
the price includes duty and all that 'other expenses' stuff.

cheers from a fellow Vancouverite,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

02-01-2005, 09:06 PM

In article <4fYLd.91586$Qb.11170@edtnps89>,
"Sammy" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:
> With the 05's model road bikes out there are some very good deals on
> previous years.
> I am looking at a cannondale R400 sport form 03' marked down from around
> $800 to $499. Trouble is, the bike is in Seattle and I live in Vancouver
> BC...so any servicing for 1st year or 2 I will be on my own. I must decide
> if this 'smoken deal' is worth the hassle of paying for adjustments etc...
>
> Any suggestion/input is appreciated!

The usual 'tune-up/check-up' fees are fairly cheap anyway.
Another thing to consider is that in another month or so
the bike shops will be offering cut-rate Spring tune-ups.

At first blush it sounds like a deal to me -- especially if
the price includes duty and all that 'other expenses' stuff.

cheers from a fellow Vancouverite,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

02-02-2005, 08:15 AM

Thats the good thing about American made bikes...there is no Duty. All you
pay is the 7% GST at the border, and with the stronger canadian dollar, it
works out well.

"Tom Keats" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:c4nptc.uma.ln@bud.garden.local...
> In article <4fYLd.91586$Qb.11170@edtnps89>,
> "Sammy" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:
>> With the 05's model road bikes out there are some very good deals on
>> previous years.
>> I am looking at a cannondale R400 sport form 03' marked down from around
>> $800 to $499. Trouble is, the bike is in Seattle and I live in Vancouver
>> BC...so any servicing for 1st year or 2 I will be on my own. I must
>> decide
>> if this 'smoken deal' is worth the hassle of paying for adjustments
>> etc...
>>
>> Any suggestion/input is appreciated!
>
> The usual 'tune-up/check-up' fees are fairly cheap anyway.
> Another thing to consider is that in another month or so
> the bike shops will be offering cut-rate Spring tune-ups.
>
> At first blush it sounds like a deal to me -- especially if
> the price includes duty and all that 'other expenses' stuff.
>
>
> cheers from a fellow Vancouverite,
> Tom
>
> --
> -- Nothing is safe from me.
> Above address is just a spam midden.
> I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

02-02-2005, 08:15 AM

Thats the good thing about American made bikes...there is no Duty. All you
pay is the 7% GST at the border, and with the stronger canadian dollar, it
works out well.

"Tom Keats" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:c4nptc.uma.ln@bud.garden.local...
> In article <4fYLd.91586$Qb.11170@edtnps89>,
> "Sammy" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:
>> With the 05's model road bikes out there are some very good deals on
>> previous years.
>> I am looking at a cannondale R400 sport form 03' marked down from around
>> $800 to $499. Trouble is, the bike is in Seattle and I live in Vancouver
>> BC...so any servicing for 1st year or 2 I will be on my own. I must
>> decide
>> if this 'smoken deal' is worth the hassle of paying for adjustments
>> etc...
>>
>> Any suggestion/input is appreciated!
>
> The usual 'tune-up/check-up' fees are fairly cheap anyway.
> Another thing to consider is that in another month or so
> the bike shops will be offering cut-rate Spring tune-ups.
>
> At first blush it sounds like a deal to me -- especially if
> the price includes duty and all that 'other expenses' stuff.
>
>
> cheers from a fellow Vancouverite,
> Tom
>
> --
> -- Nothing is safe from me.
> Above address is just a spam midden.
> I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

02-03-2005, 09:41 PM

In article <b07Md.96660$Ob.76565@edtnps84>,
"Sammy" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:
> Thats the good thing about American made bikes...there is no Duty. All you
> pay is the 7% GST at the border, and with the stronger canadian dollar, it
> works out well.

Excellent. Maybe that's a (NA)FTA thing? Anyhow the
deal sounds better & better all the time. Have you
made a decision?

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

02-03-2005, 09:41 PM

In article <b07Md.96660$Ob.76565@edtnps84>,
"Sammy" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:
> Thats the good thing about American made bikes...there is no Duty. All you
> pay is the 7% GST at the border, and with the stronger canadian dollar, it
> works out well.

Excellent. Maybe that's a (NA)FTA thing? Anyhow the
deal sounds better & better all the time. Have you
made a decision?

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

02-03-2005, 10:05 PM

> With the 05's model road bikes out there are some very good deals on
> previous years.
> I am looking at a cannondale R400 sport form 03' marked down from around
> $800 to $499. Trouble is, the bike is in Seattle and I live in Vancouver
> BC...so any servicing for 1st year or 2 I will be on my own. I must
> decide if this 'smoken deal' is worth the hassle of paying for
> adjustments etc...
>
> Any suggestion/input is appreciated!

Sammy: A couple things to consider.

First, there are definitely cases where older bikes, even at big mark-downs,
aren't as competitive as newer offerings. I can't speak to this particular
case, but you might be looking at a bike that was initially relatively
over-priced for what it offered. Then again, that might not be the case at
all; the bike might compare very favorably to current models! But it is
important to realize that a "marked down" price isn't always indicative of a
killer deal.

Second, the importance of being properly fit to the bike cannot be
underestimated. Especially if this is your first road bike, you should be
looking for the quality of the shop as much as you are the particular bike.
Could be that the Seattle shop is the best place around for fitting
people... if so, great! But remember also that "fit" isn't always a static
thing. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to get everything right, which means
customer feedback and a staff that will make adjustments and note the
results.

And finally, warranties are often good only in the country purchased, so
that could be an issue if you were to have a frame failure down the road.
However, traveling from Vancouver to Seattle for such an unlikely event
doesn't seem like a deal breaker to me.

Hope this helps-

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

02-03-2005, 10:05 PM

> With the 05's model road bikes out there are some very good deals on
> previous years.
> I am looking at a cannondale R400 sport form 03' marked down from around
> $800 to $499. Trouble is, the bike is in Seattle and I live in Vancouver
> BC...so any servicing for 1st year or 2 I will be on my own. I must
> decide if this 'smoken deal' is worth the hassle of paying for
> adjustments etc...
>
> Any suggestion/input is appreciated!

Sammy: A couple things to consider.

First, there are definitely cases where older bikes, even at big mark-downs,
aren't as competitive as newer offerings. I can't speak to this particular
case, but you might be looking at a bike that was initially relatively
over-priced for what it offered. Then again, that might not be the case at
all; the bike might compare very favorably to current models! But it is
important to realize that a "marked down" price isn't always indicative of a
killer deal.

Second, the importance of being properly fit to the bike cannot be
underestimated. Especially if this is your first road bike, you should be
looking for the quality of the shop as much as you are the particular bike.
Could be that the Seattle shop is the best place around for fitting
people... if so, great! But remember also that "fit" isn't always a static
thing. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to get everything right, which means
customer feedback and a staff that will make adjustments and note the
results.

And finally, warranties are often good only in the country purchased, so
that could be an issue if you were to have a frame failure down the road.
However, traveling from Vancouver to Seattle for such an unlikely event
doesn't seem like a deal breaker to me.

Hope this helps-

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]