Planet Cyclery?

[Dave Wages]

I've been waiting for some of my suppliers to get the new Campy Centaur triple parts in for a build that I'm working on, but my customer is getting impatient and has "found" these parts for sale at Planet Cyclery. I checked out their website as well, and sure enough, the parts are listed, but their website just seems a bit hinkey, imo. They list their hours as MST, mountain standard time, but then there's also a note that mentions free shipping to the USA, which makes me think that the parts are coming from offshore...

Anyone have any experience with this place, good, bad or otherwise? Obviously, I'd prefer to sell the parts to my customer, but barring that, I'd hate for him to get screwed by some fly by night operation. I'd frankly be surprised if they even have these parts, I can't find anyone else who's even listing them in stock yet.

Thanks,
Dave

[nmrt]

they are in broomfield, CO. i've bought a pair of look pedals from them in the last. timely shipping, good customer service!

i spoke to the guy who runs the place. i forget his name now but he was extremely helpful with the transaction.

[thunderworks]

I've purchased several items from them off ebay. They're legit. Easy to deal with.

[SpokeValley]

I just purchased a Chorus group from them. They're legitmate and their prices were good on the stuff I needed but prices on a lot of 'consumables' (tires, etc) were average. Shipping is free as advertised; of course, I spent some sizeable dough with them.

3% discount for cash, too, so I sent them a check. I got an email from the owner (I think), Chris. Seem to be decent guys.

Before I purchased from them, I send a question via their ebay site; got a return phone call from them a couple of days later for which they apologized. I wasn't in a hurry anyway so no big deal. They were helpful.

They also told me to shop on their website rather than the bay...prices are lower.

[67-59]

I've purchased a couple of Campy cassettes from them via their eBay site, with no issues.

[Bulldozer27]

I've bought from them off ebay. Fast service. Also check out Velomine. Their customer service is better in my experience.

[Dave Wages]

Cool, thanks for all the feedback guys.

Cheers,
Dave

[Tony T]

FWIW, they're also an Amazon merchant.

[54ny77]

last year got several cassettes & chains for myself and a pair of pedals for a pal. no issues, fair price. they do a lot thru ebay, which is how i first found em.

[oldpotatoe]

I've been waiting for some of my suppliers to get the new Campy Centaur triple parts in for a build that I'm working on, but my customer is getting impatient and has "found" these parts for sale at Planet Cyclery. I checked out their website as well, and sure enough, the parts are listed, but their website just seems a bit hinkey, imo. They list their hours as MST, mountain standard time, but then there's also a note that mentions free shipping to the USA, which makes me think that the parts are coming from offshore...

Anyone have any experience with this place, good, bad or otherwise? Obviously, I'd prefer to sell the parts to my customer, but barring that, I'd hate for him to get screwed by some fly by night operation. I'd frankly be surprised if they even have these parts, I can't find anyone else who's even listing them in stock yet.

Thanks,
Dave

In Broomfield, CO. Nondescript warehouse. Owner used to be in CA, moved to CO. Owned by some distributor I am sure. NOT sure which one.

Ala most of the southern UK ones and others like Velomine. I think that one is owned by a big distributor in the same area around Chicago.

Don't expect a Campagnolo, NA or QBP warranty if something is wrong.

BTW-Many legit distributors in the US have Athena/Centaur/Veloce triple stuff. Not sure of you have an account..if you are a brick and morter, since you mentioned a 'customer'.

[rice rocket]

Not sure of you have an account..if you are a brick and morter, since you mentioned a 'customer'.

I think he's Dave Wages, of Ellis Cycles. ;)

[oldpotatoe]

I think he's Dave Wages, of Ellis Cycles. ;)

Crap..saw "Dave' and thought the 'Dave' that lives in CO..Not Wages.

BUT doesn't, don't you Dave, have an OE account with the Campag distributors?

Since you are a frame builder?

[Tony T]

Don't expect a Campagnolo, NA or QBP warranty if something is wrong.

Why would Campy not honor their warranty? Are these counterfeit?

[bargainguy]

Is this the whole gray market question? Goods designed for overseas markets but introduced into the supply chain here through a back-door operation?

I remember Costco got into a lot of trouble with (then-US) Cannondale for importing a bunch of Cannondales purchased overseas and then selling them in the US. I believe C-dale refused to honor the warranty on these since they were not purchased through the traditional dealer chain.

[oldpotatoe]

Why would Campy not honor their warranty? Are these counterfeit?

'Non traditional distribution'.

If it doesn't come from a authorized Campagnolo retailer, they will not. Same for shimano.

Probably 'self warranty', like the ones in Europe do.

[Tony T]

'Non traditional distribution'.

If it doesn't come from a authorized Campagnolo retailer, they will not. Same for shimano.

Probably 'self warranty', like the ones in Europe do.

OK, but I bought some Campy from a UK on-line distributor, and I was able to enter the serial#'s into Campy's Owner Website (http://www.11speedowner.campagnolo.com).
(I never had to file a claim, so can't say I wouldn't have a problem at that time)

[mcteague]

'Non traditional distribution'.

If it doesn't come from a authorized Campagnolo retailer, they will not. Same for shimano.

Probably 'self warranty', like the ones in Europe do.

I asked them about that and they claimed all the parts have a Campagnolo N.A. warranty. Guess I'll find out if something breaks.

Tim

[oldpotatoe]

I asked them about that and they claimed all the parts have a Campagnolo N.A. warranty. Guess I'll find out if something breaks.

Tim

Well, what do ya expect them to say, "sorry, no, no warranty but whatdoyaexpect for these prices?"

Call Jerry at Campagnolo NA and ask if PlaneyCyclery Campag stuff is under their warranty.

760-931-0106

[Dave Wages]

Well, what do ya expect them to say, "sorry, no, no warranty but whatdoyaexpect for these prices?"

Call Jerry at Campagnolo NA and ask if PlaneyCyclery Campag stuff is under their warranty.

760-931-0106

Don't bother, it is not.

The background is this. My customer wants the new Centaur triple stuff with the Power Torque cranks, but I couldn't find any of my distributors that had it in stock, but they assured me it was on the way. Independently, my customer found Planet Cyclery advertising that they had the parts in stock, so I called Campy to get the lowdown. They informed me that Planet Cyclery, (while they might be really nice guys who are very helpful), are selling gray market parts that do not carry a warranty through Campy USA, instead they would need to go back through Planet Cyclery and whatever the country of origin is where they obtained the parts.

Ironically, my customer ordered the parts yesterday and I got a stock notice today from my supplier! I had called them yesterday and they guessed that the parts were still 2-3 weeks out... Can't win sometimes!

Cheers,
Dave

[54ny77]

honestly, who has actually used factory warranty on shimano or campy? i never have in 20+ years. and theres no way i could put up with the delay of warranty repair and would just get something new or used in interim.

which is another way of saying, who cares?

[fuzzalow]

I usually buy from Ribble UK so I know going in that should there be problems that snuck past the factory I am on my own.

And I am OK with that 'cos I have never used or needed a warranty for Campy.

The crazy pricing the USA Campy dealers have to deal with is terrible. But until Campy NA reels that in, I'm sorry but I gotta go UK.

[Dave Wages]

honestly, who has actually used factory warranty on shimano or campy? i never have in 20+ years. and theres no way i could put up with the delay of warranty repair and would just get something new or used in interim.

which is another way of saying, who cares?

I really don't want to start an argument one way or another about whether to buy stuff from Planet Cyclery or any other on-line store, but I will share a quick experience of mine. I sold a brand new Campy Record track crank and bottom bracket to a customer several months after he had received his Ellis frame. He then took the frame and parts to his LBS for installation, and when they got the non-driveside crankarm on, it hit the chainstay... I got a somewhat concerned phone call from the shop and I got pretty concerned as well. I tried to process what the problem could have been, the frame would have to be severely out of alignment for this to happen, unlikely unless it also showed some huge signs of damage from shipping. The shop took the crank and bottom bracket out and installed a cheap track crank off a bike on their floor, and it worked fine, turned out the spindle hole in the Campy crank was milled incorrectly, ie. defective. I would never have expected this, and I'm certainly not saying that Campy makes crappy parts, but mistakes happen and being able to deal with that quickly and easily can't be totally discounted.

My two cents.
Dave

[oldpotatoe]

honestly, who has actually used factory warranty on shimano or campy? i never have in 20+ years. and theres no way i could put up with the delay of warranty repair and would just get something new or used in interim.

which is another way of saying, who cares?

Well, as a bike shop, you actually use warranty services from a variety of manufacturers fairly frequently. shimano, Campagnolo, sram(in spades)...

I think, when dealing with some of these suppliers, you also have to consider whether or not it's first run or a second. Sometimes it just isn't right but sold anyway.

[oldpotatoe]

I usually buy from Ribble UK so I know going in that should there be problems that snuck past the factory I am on my own.

And I am OK with that 'cos I have never used or needed a warranty for Campy.

The crazy pricing the USA Campy dealers have to deal with is terrible. But until Campy NA reels that in, I'm sorry but I gotta go UK.

Campagnolo NA is owned by Campagnolo Italy. They have little real power to do anything. The 'problem' rests in Vicenza..and only when the factory does something about US distributors owning store fronts, selling to me as a retailer and also to you, end user, it's not gonna change. They get the same margin, doing something about lost sales to UK discounters.

In the US, Campagnolo can refuse to sell to a distributor that does the above. In Europe, the laws are much different and much more difficult to control. I think the ONLY way to fix it is for the manufacturer to go direct and eliminate the distributor and online discounter. But that ain't gonna happen either. Too much $ involved.

Direct in that I, as a retailer, buys direct from Campagnolo. Like skiis, I hear(don't ski, winter bad).