Ribble

[jemoryl]

Originally Posted by shinomaster

Ribble is also a real bike company so like any bike company they can get crazy low OEM prices for components. I think Campy was trying to keep them from selling for below American wholesale and probably succeed. They no longer have any campy wheels on their website?

I never got a Campy component from Ribble that wasn't in the retail packaging. In fact, the only OEM looking product they ever sent was a KMC chain.

[uno-speedo]

They all make no money - including Wiggle/CRC. A splendid race to the bottom. The smart companies are dressing their wounds. Or never got involved at all.

[dbnm]

No tracking number or shipping confirmation yet.

[54ny77]

Don't buy something you need quickly. Give it a few weeks or so as a buffer.

Otherwise, buy at lbs or some other domestic online.

Prices can be great!

[fogrider]

it seems like Jensenusa also has some really good prices. as others have said, ribble takes a couple of weeks and no tracking no. while I've not had any problems with them and most of the time, I don't need it right away.

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Not exactly..Ribble is a 'distributor'..in that they buy from the manufacturer and then direct to consumers. In the US, a 'few' manufacturer's sell direct to bike shops, or have wholly owned offices/warehouses that sell to bike shops(like Mavic). But generally it's thru a distributors system in the US. It's as if Quality Bike Parts, a YUGE distributor in the US would sell direct to consumers, instead of to bike shops.

Really cheap bike stuff via MO or interweb companies compared with bike shop pricing isn't some sort of conspiracy to screw the consumer.

There ARE interweb based distributors in the US that 'own' retail places.. They sell to consumers AND to bike shops. They get the same margin regardless. I suspect Velomine and Planet Cyclery are 2 of them.

[dbnm]

yeah, I'm not in a rush for the bars and stem. No one in the States could get close to the pricing. I saved about $150 by ordering from them.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by fogrider

it seems like Jensenusa also has some really good prices. as others have said, ribble takes a couple of weeks and no tracking no. while I've not had any problems with them and most of the time, I don't need it right away.

Some MO/interweb places based in the US are legit, not distributors selling on both sides of the street. BUT they are tied directly to the high volume/low margin model. Volume goes down and they are almost instantly in trouble(Circuit City, etc), as examples.

[dbnm]

Just woke up to a shipping notification.

[Davist]

Originally Posted by uno-speedo

They all make no money - including Wiggle/CRC. A splendid race to the bottom. The smart companies are dressing their wounds. Or never got involved at all.

any info to back that up? I've been using (well my 1x a year chain or cassette or tire buy) Chain reaction, who just bought someone (?Merlin maybe?).. Can't believe they're not making money.

[shinomaster]

I've ordered a ton of stuff from Ribble over the years ( mostly DEDA and Campy) and never had a problem. I think I got my shamals for about $630 or something crazy. Some of the things were OEM but it's true, many came in proper boxes.

[ls1togo]

Originally Posted by PaMtbRider

They use to be my go to site but I have had better luck lately with MerlinCycles.

me too!..Ribble's pricing has gone up and their brand restrictions have made it almost impossible ...where they were once my number 1 go to site, I've replaced my bookmark with Merlin, in fact I'm currently awaiting an order, their shipping times are faster than Ribble's used to be and their tracking is better!

[dbnm]

Still waiting.

Last tracking info was January 5 - "exported from the UK"

[oldguy00]

Originally Posted by dbnm

Still waiting.

Last tracking info was January 5 - "exported from the UK"

I wouldn't worry about it yet.
I ordered something from Merlin in mid-december, didn't get it until about a week ago. Thats the longest I've ever waited for a pack from the UK. But, to their credit, I can see on the package that they did in fact ship it right after I placed the order. It was like yours, showed as exported, then after like 3 weeks it suddenly updated again as arriving in destination country.
Sometimes the mail is slow I guess!

[belopsky]

As already discussed, these sites (Ribble, Merlin) are great, just have to wait.

My Merlin orders seem to ship from Spain (maybe a warehouse is there?) then they go to UK and soon enough they are in the states. Not as quick as ordering from Japan (sometimes I get parts in 3 days) but quick.

[Jeff N.]

Eurobikeparts, out of Chicago, is now my go-to. For groups, they can pretty much match Ribble.