Apparently, putting the wheels, handlebar and seat on a bike are just a little too much for some Competitive Cyclist customers. So CC has decided to make it easy on the poor dears, and has come up with a new program to ship the entire bike, fully assembled, to the buyer.
What's so tough about the normal assembly process? Well...
Our standard shipping box provides you a bike that requires minimal re-assembly — install the wheels, attach the handlebar to the stem, insert the seatpost, then affix the pedals and you're done.Hmmm... let's see. I guess that does sound tough. What does that require? A 4 or 5 mm allen wrench ($1.00 per) and a pedal wrench ($11) or appropriately sized adjustable wrench ($7 - but be careful doing it with an adjustable). Oh yeah, and about two minutes and minimal mechanical acumen. Apparently, that's too tough for people.
After all, no one ever forgets their first attempt to equally torque the 4 bolts of a Deda Newton stem with one hand while maintaining a perfectly centered, leveled handlebar with the other. And if you're trying to do it sans workstand, and armed only with a multi-tool, things become that much more treacherous.Oh dear God... the target audience can't tighten four allen bolts and can't figure out that you eyeball the stem to ensure it's roughly fit, snug up the bolts a little, *then* adjust the handlebar, then cinch it down? They can't figure that out? Surely, this is an early April Fool's Day joke. Surely, you are kidding me. You are kidding, right? I can understand a beginner like I was not that terribly long ago not knowing how to do it, but somebody buying the typical $7k luxury wagon from Competitive Cyclist not knowing how to do that?
Okay, fine, even if you're a complete noodlebrain, and even if you got the bike with the integrated seatpost/mast, you can just take it to the shop, right? Your LBS guy understands that he isn't a BMC dealer, and you just droped 18 large for the new BMC, and he'd be happy to charge you $50 for a once-over and a quick fit, right? I guess not.
But just as attempts at assembly in the garage can be frustrating, that long walk through the bike shop with a new bike purchased elsewhere is daunting in a different way.Well, so much for the stoic, flinty road cyclists. Check it out though. If you get the "Just ran into Father O'Flaherty as I was coming out of the whorehouse" guilt complex by walking into your LBS with a piece of huge bling purchased elsewhere, why don't you just go to another bike shop? Cripes, take it to Performance - I'd trust them (more or less) to tighten 5 bolts and they couldn't care less where you got it... Evidently, even that is a bit too much.
It's for this reason that Competitive Cyclist offers our Ready to Ride Delivery Service option for our road bikes. Ready to Ride bikes are shipped in a custom box that allows us to send them 100% built and ready to ride. The box is sized 67" x 20" x 41", so every component will be in place, and nary a bolt will need to be turned before your first ride. Your handlebars will be centered and leveled. Your wheels, seatpost, and pedals will all be installed. You simply need to remove the bike from the box and off you go. Except for fine-tuning your seat position, there is no re-assembly or mechanical work required whatsoever.Gee, I wonder why Competitive Cyclist doesn't fly a technician out to the customer to get that seat dialed in, the way Rolls Royce flies a mechanic out to you if your Roller breaks down. Hey, wait a minute... I thought the whole point was you felt guilty about screwing your LBS out of a bike purchase. Now you're going to screw them out of the bike build work too? Some guilty thoughtful mechanically inept rich person you are...
So what's the cost of this great service?
The cost of our Ready to Ride service is $250. By comparison, regular UPS Ground shipping for a complete bike is $90.Wow. So, you mean to tell me that they will level and center the handlebar, tighten two to four bolts on the stem, screw in the pedals and put the wheels on (even including closing the quick release skewers and putting the chain on the rear cassette) for only $160? That's frickin' amazing. With prices like that, they should open up a chain and mass market this.
I'm sure there's untold riches to be had.
"Looky here, Lurlene! Mah new Cervelo Just Came in
From Competitive Cyclist... an' it's Ready to Ride!"
From Competitive Cyclist... an' it's Ready to Ride!"
6 comments:
I think you'll find that the extortionists in question are only juicing you for around $50. Most shipping (you're being preached to by a postal worker) prices are based partly on weight and partly on volume.
Your fully assembled machine takes up at least twice the volume, maybe more, so standard postage of $90 would jump to around $160.
Then there is the actual box which is also twice the size. Extra cost of that bigger box plus the extra weight of the bigger box and added padding would move the price about $20.
The jump from $90 to $250 is almost all accounted for. The final $70 is just the standard jackass surcharge that applies to the purchase of any high end item by an ignorant, lazy, rich prick.
Personally, if I can fit it myself I'll mailorder something and wait a week to save nearly half the cost but if it's something that needs skills or special tools to fit then the LBS gets my cash.
the idiots are not the folks at CC, but the tards that buy them. if it's a service they can provide and charge for, and there's a customer base willing to pay for this ridiculous service, good for them!
I will totally come to your house and put the pedals and bars on your bike for $120. What a deal!
Mike's right though, most shipping is by volume. For UPS a few inches can mean $$$.
But, that said, I can't imagine how much the bikes are going to get banged up. Do you really want your shifters to be the contact point when your box gets dropped on end? Same goes for the crank when the box is on it's side?
Hey, I'm not mocking CC. Frankly, I'm in awe of them. I am mocking the people who are, apparently, advanced cyclists, but can't be bothered to learn how to tighten five bolts and screw in two pedals. Admittedly, the counter-threaded pedal and crank on one side is a bit confusing for maybe 4 seconds until you look at the threads, but still.
Jim
It's not the tightening that's the problem, it's that sticker that says 5Nm. You and I know it's just a metric foot pound but Nigel the triathlete-at-law is scared to death of physics. Or more to the point, if he puts it together himself who's he gonna sue when it falls apart and hurts him?
i would be so having that shit drop-shipped at my lbs and giving them the extra bucks to do the work.
Post a Comment