ChainReaction versus Totalcycling...

[SoCalSteve]

Hi all,

For what I am looking to buy, the prices are about the same with both...But, I have never done business with either and am wondering which one is better-more reliable,etc...

If either are anything like ProBikeKit.com, I know I will be very happy.

As always, thank you all in advance,

Steve

[djg]

I've done business several times with Total Cycling, although not very recently. They seem like decent folks on the phone (although you have to order separately, on-line nowadays) and I've always been pleased with our dealings -- got what I ordered, pretty quickly, no problems, no issues.

[Dave]

I would check out Ribble. With the frequent 15% off sales (ending Wednesday), they maybe the cheapest, depending on what you're looking for. The listed prices include 15% VAT, so be sure to figure that in. I've had great luck with them and Shiny Bikes.

The ony Euro source I would avoid, is Bike 24. Shipping from Germany is SLOW and unreliable. Communication isn't great either.

[Kirk007]

I've had every good dealings with Total Cycling, Chain Reaction and Wiggle.

[rockdude]

I ordered some wheels from TC 28 days ago, still not here.

Several days after I ordered some new wheels, I noticed that they had not charged my Credit Card, so I emailed them. No response but my card got charged so I thought my wheels were on there way. Two weeks later, they emailed to say they lost my order and are just now sending my wheels out..

The price was right but service this time around is a little lacking..

[stackie]

I ordered some shoes from Total Cycling once. I figured it'd take a few weeks to get here from Europe. 5 days later the postman is handing me a box. I said, "What's that? I'm not expecting anything?' My shoes.

I'd order from them again in a heartbeat.

Jon

[Dave]

I ordered some wheels from TC 28 days ago, still not here.

Several days after I ordered some new wheels, I noticed that they had not charged my Credit Card, so I emailed them. No response but my card got charged so I thought my wheels were on there way. Two weeks later, they emailed to say they lost my order and are just now sending my wheels out..

The price was right but service this time around is a little lacking..

I had the same problem. Ordered Campy 11 parts. My credit card was charged, so I assumed the order was shipped. After two weeks, I sent an e-mail of inquiry, but got no answer until a sent the third message with nasty wording. That got their attention. I cancelled the order since they could not get all the parts. The refund was over $100 short due to the drop in the value of the pound, so I sent several more e-mails to straighten that out. In the end, I got all of my money back, but they still insisted they did nothing wrong. I disagreed. No charging my card until the order is ready to ship. If you can't get the parts, send an e-mail with expected delivery, so I have the option of cancelling and buying elsewhere. Standard business practice I say.

[ksroadie]

Good luck with all the UK businesses I've dealt with--Total Cycling, Chainreaction, Wiggle, Ribble, and Shinybikes.

[cw05]

I had the same problem. Ordered Campy 11 parts. My credit card was charged, so I assumed the order was shipped. After two weeks, I sent an e-mail of inquiry, but got no answer until a sent the third message with nasty wording. That got their attention. I cancelled the order since they could not get all the parts. The refund was over $100 short due to the drop in the value of the pound, so I sent several more e-mails to straighten that out. In the end, I got all of my money back, but they still insisted they did nothing wrong. I disagreed. No charging my card until the order is ready to ship. If you can't get the parts, send an e-mail with expected delivery, so I have the option of cancelling and buying elsewhere. Standard business practice I say.

Same problem here, stuff on backorder but no message several weeks after I placed my order (my credit card was charged the full amount the day after my order). It took three emails (over the course of > 1 week) and threatening to cancel my order before they finally responded and informed me about the back ordered parts. I had a great experience with them ~2002 but things seem to have changed for the worse as far as customer service there.

[fourflys]

I've ordered twice from total cycling (within last 6 months) and had good luck...it may take a bit longer due to coming airmail or whatever it called, but I know I got a Brooks B17 Champion for around $80 when it would have cost $150 here....

[mjbyl]

I recently placed 3 orders for shipping to VA and here's my timeline:

Chainreaction - ordered on 12/22 - received 1/2

ProBikekit - ordered on 12/24 - received email that order had shipped on 12/31 - arrived here on 1/4

TotalCycling - ordered on 12/24 - still haven't received it (card was charged and now the above posts have made me nervous)

Overall ordering from the UK has been hassle free and definitely a bargain.

[false_Aest]

I've only ordered from Pro Bike Kit and they're effin' rad.

Faster shipping than from places like Performance, Nashbar, Colorado Cyclist, etc. e.g. Ordered STIs on Sunday the 28th and received them on Friday the 2nd.

And no shipping fees.

[Dekonick]

I've only ordered from Pro Bike Kit and they're effin' rad.

Faster shipping than from places like Performance, Nashbar, Colorado Cyclist, etc. e.g. Ordered STIs on Sunday the 28th and received them on Friday the 2nd.

And no shipping fees.

+1
:hello:

[Nil Else]

Probikekit and Chainreaction are pretty much always very prompt on delivery in my experience.

Total's shipping can be a wee bit quirky at times... you have to call them to find out what's going on at times... they run into glitch (waiting for out of stock item etc) yet sometimes they won't communicate these things.... Having said that I've ordered all sorts of stuff from them over the years... although it's been some 4~5yrs back I trusted them enough to order a $3000 Look frame from them if that helps. They may be occasionally quirky but not snaky....

[SoCalSteve]

In the end I went with Total Cycling and the experience was LESS than stellar.

I ordered 4 items that showed were all in stock (per their website) on a Monday. That same week, on Friday (4 days later), I recieved an email stating that one of the items wasnt in stock and would I care to wait or cancel the order...I then wrote back and said that I would rather they send the 3 items now (since they waited 4 days to even inform me and do nothing) and that when the 4th item came in stock, for them to ship it to me. I didnt hear back for 3 days (Monday AM) and then I just decided to cancel the order completely.

Ok, lets start from the begining. Four days it took them to tell me that one of the items was not in stock and they did not ship me the other 3 items. Then, they didnt even give me an option of having the other 3 orders shipped, it was either wait or cancel the order. Then, I did not hear from them for another 3 days...

I wont be doing business again with TotalCycling.

I hope everyone else's experience with them is better.

Thanks for all of your great advive and experiences,

Steve

[djg]

Sorry you had bad luck (and service with them). I've heard that they're not very good about fielding e-mails and, although I haven't bought anything from them in a while (maybe a year), I tend to call first to see what's what, and then order electronically afterwards.

[Dave]

It's obvious the TC is fine if they happen to have what you want, but they can't keep track of their stock levels. If they don't have what you want, then the communication is slow and they don't want to ship anyone a single item at their expense.

With Ribble, if they don't have something, they will ship all items that they have and the rest will be shipped ASAP without extra shipping charges. They shipped me one chain to fufill a recent order and just shipped me some cable housing to fill another one. You can track the order status on their website.

[rockdude]

I ordered some wheels from TC 28 days ago, still not here.

Several days after I ordered some new wheels, I noticed that they had not charged my Credit Card, so I emailed them. No response but my card got charged so I thought my wheels were on there way. Two weeks later, they emailed to say they lost my order and are just now sending my wheels out..

The price was right but service this time around is a little lacking..

Now I am pissed. 36 days after I ordered and 21 days after they said they had shipped my wheels, today I get an email from the shipping company saying they just received my shipment from TC. At least now, I have a tracking Number.....

[SoCalSteve]

So, the saga continues...

2 days after I cancel my order completely and get a confirmation email stating this, I get another email saying that they have all the my items in stock and that they are processing my order...***!!!

I am so over this company it isnt even funny!

Everyone, beware of Total Cycling! Seriously, they are messed up! Nothing like PBK at all.

Steve

[bigmonter]

TC experience:

Ordered a Fulcrum wheelset from TC. Their webpage showed it only available with campy freewheel which was fine cuz that's what I wanted.

Shipped as quick as can be expecyed. I think I got it about two weeks after I placed the order.

Only problem was that the freewheel was for a Shimano cassette.

The wheelset came from TC in a box that was in a bigger box.

What happened was that TC ordered my wheelset form the dist. who shipped it to TC. TC opened my wheelset box to put a saddle I ordered in there, then dropped the original box in a bit of a bigger box to mail to me.

The funny thing is is that the box the wheelset came in that was used to ship from dist. to TC actually had the word Shimano hand printed in black marker on it. LOL.

So TC actually should have caught the mistake twice, either by actually looking at the box it got from its dist. that said "Shimano" on it or by actually checking the freehub body when it opened that box to put my saddle in it before shipping. The difference between a Shimano and Campy freehub on a Fulcrum set is pretty easy to tell apart since one is dark grey and the other is light silver.

Well I emailed them and they asked me too take picutrs too verify (I think because they figured we don't even stock that product) and within a couple of they offered to have me return it, but I just figured hey just send me the Campy freehub and it is all cool I will have the LBS switch it out. Figure the return postage on something like a wheelset would be more than sending the extra freehub body.

And then silence for two weeks. I finally just asked for a return number I was fed up since I was trying to be decent about it. That got their attention and about a month or so after I got the darn thing I finally got the extra freehub.

Suffice to say I do not plan on ever using TC again. Only was I would consider it would be if they had a) something no other bikeshop in the world has or b) the price difference between TC and another shop was something like over 50% greater than the next lowest price.


Bottom line for me to have been satisified knowing mistakes happen was for them to send me the campy free hub spare (which they did) right away (which they did not) just to put me where I should have been in the first place. They then should have sweeneted the deal. I dunno maybe through in a pair of socks or a coupon code for 20% off my next order. Make me feel like my time to solve their problem was valued.

So for me its PBK, Wiggle, and CRC. Have ordered about half a dozen times form PBK and 5 of the 6 no problem in getting it within a week of my order. 1 problem time was when I ordered a 26 stem and they sent a 31.8 but they sent me a RA next day and it was charged back tot he CC within a week.

Because of PBK free shipping they are great for the smaller orders.

CRC I only have one order but that went really smooth. Ordered Tues in my hand Monday.

Wiggle one order as well. Not as fast as CRC but no problems.

Steven

[BumbleBeeDave]

Never had any reason to try any of the others.

BBD

[SoCalSteve]

Never had any reason to try any of the others.

BBD

They didnt have what I was lookin' for. I learned a valueable lesson!

[rounder]

Went with Wiggle. I wanted to buy some neutrons. Tried pbk and they were sold out. So then clicked for neutrons on IE and found Wiggle in great britain. According to their site, they are the largest online store in GB. It seemed like rhey offered a good deal so i ordered some. The cost was about 473 with no shipping or sales tax (thanks djg). If this goes through as intended, i will be impressed. If not, will let you all know.

[Marcusaurelius]

I ordered 3 times from Total Cycling less year; two arrived within a week and the third was out of stock. When the the third item didn't ship, I was sent an email saying the 36 hole hubs were out of stock. I sent a reply saying I wished to cancel the order. The order was cancelled a day later.

I've ordered several times in the last couple of years from Total Cyling and most went well except twice when the items were out of stock.

[maximus]

Ugh.

Placed an order over the weekend with Total Cycling (first time). My credit card was charged but I have received no tracking. I emailed them yesterday to get a time frame - with a response saying the package would go out today.

Still no tracking or indication that it actually did. (and my my calculations its 2am in Ireland)

Maybe its too soon to really be upset. But these posts makes me nervous. I think 4 days is quite long enough to fill an order and get it out the door. Fingers crossed.

[rockdude]

Now I am pissed. 36 days after I ordered and 21 days after they said they had shipped my wheels, today I get an email from the shipping company saying they just received my shipment from TC. At least now, I have a tracking Number.....

Got the wheels. About 40 days from order. This caused me a lot of stress and messed up some of my plans, I expected the wheels within 10 days or less. The good out of it was, I got a great deal on price and I love the wheels...

[rounder]

I ordered a set of wheels from Wiggle. Never heard of them before. Anyway, they are in GB and suppposed to be large. The wheels were less than half the regular price and i was not charged for shipping or sales tax. Maybe the wheels are being discontinued (dunno). Anyway...the wheels arrvied today. Everything was there...wheelbags, skewers, rim tape, manuals, etc. Everything was fine. Placed the order on on 1/14 and it arrived on 1/20 (less than one week). Could not believe it. Thanks wigggle.

[Velosmith]

Yep. Just sent off a email. Ship this week or refund. Purchase 12/20 no product. They seem to be quick to take my $. Let's see how they do giving it back.

[Ray]

Ordered a saddle and cassette from Total Cycling. Given the strength of the dollar, got MUCH better price than on any domestic site. Got an email with tracking information within a few days and got a notice from the Post Office yesterday, saying I had a parcel to pick up. Didn't get why they didn't just DELIVER it, but I went to the PO this morning. I had to pay an additional $45 in customs charges and related fees. Suddenly, my much better price was a slightly worse price and I'd waited a bit longer than I would have if I'd ordered domestically. Not a terrible experience, but I'd never had to pay customs before. I guess I'll stick with domestic sources from now on.

-Ray

[Dave]

Ordered a saddle and cassette from Total Cycling. Given the strength of the dollar, got MUCH better price than on any domestic site. Got an email with tracking information within a few days and got a notice from the Post Office yesterday, saying I had a parcel to pick up. Didn't get why they didn't just DELIVER it, but I went to the PO this morning. I had to pay an additional $45 in customs charges and related fees. Suddenly, my much better price was a slightly worse price and I'd waited a bit longer than I would have if I'd ordered domestically. Not a terrible experience, but I'd never had to pay customs before. I guess I'll stick with domestic sources from now on.

-Ray

I think you got overcharged, at least a bit. Saddles may be subject to tariff, but the cassette should not and the percentage charged must have been very high. Perhaps with so many people are now buying from the UK, the USPS is starting to pay more attention to package contents. If it was merely labeled bicycle accessories, I'm sure you got overcharged. Other people have complained about this and had to challenge customs. I've bought several times recently (including one saddle) and never paid any tariff.

[dnades]

I ordered some stuff from rivbike(in CA) and wiggle at the same time. I had my tires(6 tires) from wiggle in something like 3 days. They sent them in a wheel box not folded up. Rivbike took another 4 days to arrive(handlebars and some waterbottles). How is it that it takes longer to go from CA to NYC with a small box than from Portsmouth England to NYC with a box six times bigger and no shipping charges?

Also ordered from CRC's. They took longer than Wiggle. I ordered a crankset and got it in about 7 days. All three companies gave tracking numbers and were prompt on email correspondence. Never got any customs charges. I have always admired the prices at TC but am kind of leery now that people have shared their not so good experiences with them.

[merlinmurph]

Hmmmmm, just ordered wheels from TC on Friday. Judging from the comments, I'll keep an eye on it and give them a buzz. No charge on the credit card, yet.

[fixednwinter]

Have only ordered from Chain Reaction. Two orders - Campy carbon compact cranks and the high-end Crank Bros. titanium road pedals.

Price was right, shipping was free (depends upon the amount you order), timing was fast considering it was from the UK to Canada.

[fourflys]

I think you got overcharged, at least a bit. Saddles may be subject to tariff, but the cassette should not and the percentage charged must have been very high. Perhaps with so many people are now buying from the UK, the USPS is starting to pay more attention to package contents. If it was merely labeled bicycle accessories, I'm sure you got overcharged. Other people have complained about this and had to challenge customs. I've bought several times recently and never paid any tariff.

+1 I bought a Brooks Saddle last fall and didn't have any tariff's and I'd bought some tools from them prior to that with no extra fees... strange indeed... (BTW- mine came right to my house)

[Hobbscooley]

i am not total certain of the situation but what about ordering from your LBS? I mean if we all keep ordering off line who will be building our beautiful works of art and who will we go see to talk about the weight of this or that and how should i twine my bars. I mean i am all for a deal, but if i didn't have a LBS anymore i would be sad.

[Hobbscooley]

ordering online sorry about that.

[Ray]

I think you got overcharged, at least a bit. Saddles may be subject to tariff, but the cassette should not and the percentage charged must have been very high. Perhaps with so many people are now buying from the UK, the USPS is starting to pay more attention to package contents. If it was merely labeled bicycle accessories, I'm sure you got overcharged. Other people have complained about this and had to challenge customs. I've bought several times recently (including one saddle) and never paid any tariff.

I might have been overcharged, but I didn't see trying to challenge customs through the USPS, particularly since they weren't gonna give up the box without the $$ (and it also took them nearly a half hour to figure out how to even charge me for it - didn't have a menu item on their computer for that one). I'm just chalking it up to a lesson learned.

They sent them in a wheel box not folded up. Rivbike took another 4 days to arrive(handlebars and some waterbottles). How is it that it takes longer to go from CA to NYC with a small box than from Portsmouth England to NYC with a box six times bigger and no shipping charges?

The difference in delivery time is probably because from California, they can send it via UPS ground, which takes about a week. From Britain, much harder to go via ground! In terms of the shipping cost, it just sounds like you got the advantage of a nice promotion from Wiggle with no charge shipping. Anytime I order anything from Riv or Excel or anyplace else in the western US, I always assume a weeks delivery time unless I'm willing to pay an upcharge for expedited shipping. Which I'm usually not.

-Ray

[merlinmurph]

Guess I'm in luck. I just got an email from TC saying that the wheels I ordered on Friday have been shipped. I hope they're the right wheels. :rolleyes:

[JeffS]

I ordered some stuff from rivbike(in CA) and wiggle at the same time. I had my tires(6 tires) from wiggle in something like 3 days. They sent them in a wheel box not folded up. Rivbike took another 4 days to arrive(handlebars and some waterbottles). How is it that it takes longer to go from CA to NYC with a small box than from Portsmouth England to NYC with a box six times bigger and no shipping charges?


That's actually what I'd expect. Shorter distance AND coming by air. You know ground shipping from CA is at least five days.


Wiggle is my primary shop now and things generally get here in three days or so. Order before last took ten business days from the time they shipped it. I do wish they wouldn't require a signature though.

[fierte_poser]

Anytime I order anything from Riv or Excel or anyplace else in the western US, I always assume a weeks delivery time unless I'm willing to pay an upcharge for expedited shipping. Which I'm usually not.

-Ray

Its nasty out here on the Frontier. Pay extra for armored transit when possible. The James Bros still own the Missouri lines.

[bronk]

i just ordered a set of neutrons from wiggle and received a slip yesterday from usps to come pick them up. On the slip the customs box is checked and $58 charge is due when I pick them up. I've never paid customs on imported bike parts before so this may become more the norm.

Any advice on how best to dispute customs?

[Dave]

Wheels are subject to a tariff, so you're wasting your time to challenge it. Other items, like tires, chain cogs and shifters are not subject to tariffs, from my reading of the tariff schedule, but it is not easy to decipher.

Edit: Yes, many people don't get charged, but they were just lucky. Customs isn't very consistent.

[rounder]

I bought wheels (neutrons) and a few other things from Wiggle during the past few months. They were delivered to my door and there were no delivery charges or tarrifs.

[r_mutt]

The difference in delivery time is probably because from California, they can send it via UPS ground, which takes about a week. From Britain, much harder to go via ground!


That's actually what I'd expect. Shorter distance AND coming by air. You know ground shipping from CA is at least five days.


i had a friend who dropped off film at a "1 hour" photo lab (this was when people still shot film), and when he was given the claim check, he said "ok, i'll see you in an hour". the counter person replied " no it won't be ready until tomorrow". my friend, perplexed, said "i don't understand, i thought this was a 1 hour service". the clerk replied, "the name of the process is called 1 hour photo, but it takes 24 hours".

what's the point you ask? ups "ground" doesn't really get shipped via ground from west to east coast. that would take an eternity.


:beer:

[JeffS]

what's the point you ask? ups "ground" doesn't really get shipped via ground from west to east coast. that would take an eternity.


:beer:

I know they sometimes use planes, but how would you explain the following?
(coincidentally, also a coast-to-coast shipment from Rivendell). It wouldn't take four days to fly a package from San Pablo to Greensboro. It could be driven in that time though.



RALEIGH,
NC, US 03/27/2009 12:03 P.M. DELIVERY
03/27/2009 6:09 A.M. OUT FOR DELIVERY
03/27/2009 2:21 A.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
GREENSBORO,
NC, US 03/27/2009 12:51 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
GREENSBORO,
NC, US 03/25/2009 12:57 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
SAN PABLO,
CA, US 03/21/2009 4:40 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
SAN PABLO,
CA, US 03/20/2009 11:39 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
SAN RAMON,
CA, US 03/20/2009 10:30 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
03/20/2009 8:36 P.M. ORIGIN SCAN
US 03/20/2009 7:02 P.M. BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

[JeffS]

BTW, my Wiggle order, placed the same day beat the Riv package here by two days. No, I wasn't surprised.

[fourflys]

BTW, my Wiggle order, placed the same day beat the Riv package here by two days. No, I wasn't surprised.

With Grant P., it's quality not quantity (or speed)! :p :D

Chris
Riv Bleriot...

[merlinmurph]

OK, TC pulled thru for me.
Ordered wheels on 3/20, got them on 3/27.
One small issue - no skewers. ***?

[PoppaWheelie]

I've used them successfully in the past, but right now I'm a bit baffled. About three weeks ago I placed an order. After two weeks, no parts and I started to wonder, as they typically ship VERY fast. After looking, no charge on my card either, so I emailed them....no answer, even after a week. So today, a month after placing the original order (still no charge on my card) I cancelled. We'll see.

What's up over there...??!?

[tuscanyswe]

A guy on a swedish forum posted the exact same experience with totalcycling about 2 weeks ago.

They said items was not in stock and promised to ship. They awnsered phone week later or so and said they would ship when in stock but that took to long and they charged his card without shipping. He did get his money back tho.

[jasond]

I've ordered a few times from wiggle and have been quite happy with their service. I have been receiving my orders within 5 or 6 working days. Hard to beat their prices to.

J

[Nil Else]

I've used them successfully in the past, but right now I'm a bit baffled. About three weeks ago I placed an order. After two weeks, no parts and I started to wonder, as they typically ship VERY fast. After looking, no charge on my card either, so I emailed them....no answer, even after a week. So today, a month after placing the original order (still no charge on my card) I cancelled. We'll see.

What's up over there...??!?

From my recollection they were never good with emails... you have to call them... but then, who knows, with the economy perhaps things are not well with them in Ireland... and with PBK, Wiggles and Chain Reaction being as good as they are... well...

[rounder]

I have had good luck with wiggle for a few purchases, but never had ordered from Chain Reaction. I went to their website a few weeks ago and clicked on some parts that they were temporarily out of. They said that they would alert me when the parts were back in stock. I received an e-mail today saying that the parts were no longer available and they gave me a 10 lb (?) coupon toward my next purchase. More than fair to me. They did not owe me anything.

[jasond]

I received an e-mail today saying that the parts were no longer available and they gave me a 10 lb (?) coupon toward my next purchase. More than fair to me. They did not owe me anything.

Not to bad...1 pound is $1.42973 right now. Depending on when you order that could get better or worse.

J