Significantly Cheaper Bicycles

taung

Most bicycles sales, at the moment, are coming through the goverment's 'bike to work' scheme, but for those who don't qualify for this scheme you can buy bicycle's at significantly cheaper prices, including delivery costs, from an internet bike shop based in Austria here.

Examples of the savings you can make compared to the normal retail prices of GIANT bicycles in Ireland;



GIANT Seek 4 €74
GIANT Seek 3 €90
GIANT Seek 0 €95
GIANT Tourer RS1 €115
GIANT Seek 1 €126
GIANT XTC 1 €144
GIANT Advanced 2 €396


Irish bike stores have a fairly greedy margin on bikes, at the moment.

Of course, you'll have to assemble the bike yourself, but an hour or two should do this, for most people.

A couple of things to watch out for with these imported bikes;

1. The bikes will have the rear/front brakes levers the wrong way 'round compared to other 'Irish/UK' bikes. They can be switched back to 'normal' positioning, if needs be, fairly quickly.

2. The frame sizes may be differently marked (S/M/L/XL) compared to 'Irish/UK' bikes. So, double check with bikestore before specifying size.

I've bought a bike from them recently and had no problems with the purchase, delivery or the bike.

yop

Will you have to pay customs or is it since it's in the EU that it will be sound?

taung

yop wrote: »

Will you have to pay customs or is it since it's in the EU that it will be sound?

EU-EU, no customs tax due at all.....

wer*

Doh

Kenny_D

I'm guessing those arent the prices but the savings compared to the Irish prices

Berty

I took a look because I was recently looking at a Giant bike in my local shop. My local shop is cheaper than this that website and the lead time is 24 hours from his wholesaler to his shop to my hands.

Im sure if I looked harder that there might be a saving in there against LIST PRICES but not to the price you get from haggling.

adamski8

taung wrote: »

1. The bikes will have the rear/front brakes levers the wrong way 'round compared to other 'Irish/UK' bikes. They can be switched back to 'normal' positioning, if needs be, fairly quickly.

off topic but i never knew that bikes had a particular left=front brake etc thing before! whats the point in this? (that one side must always be the brake to a particular wheel) And why would Ireland be different to a contiental bike in this regard?

taung

Berty wrote: »

I took a look because I was recently looking at a Giant bike in my local shop. My local shop is cheaper than this that website and the lead time is 24 hours from his wholesaler to his shop to my hands.

Im sure if I looked harder that there might be a saving in there against LIST PRICES but not to the price you get from haggling.

The trouble is a lot of the shops won't entertain 'haggling' or 'cash' discounts at the moment since they are getting so much business from the 'bike to work' scheme.......

kona

adamski8 wrote: »

off topic but i never knew that bikes had a particular left=front brake etc thing before! whats the point in this? (that one side must always be the brake to a particular wheel) And why would Ireland be different to a contiental bike in this regard?

Because we drive on different sides of the road, The idea being that to indicate across traffic, you aint left pulling the front brake and the inevitable faceplant.


I think the OP is "slightly" misleading.

kona

taung wrote: »

Irish bike stores have a fairly greedy margin on bikes, at the moment.

They also have a much smaller allocation of production so dont shift as many bikes , hence dont get discounts for bulk buys.... simples.

If we were a cycling nation we would be just as cheap as Europe, were far from it so we are far from cheap.

Also Labour etc etc is higher here too. Also in a Bike shop you pay for a bike to be professionally assembled.

You get neither and are left to your own devices.....most people couldnt assemble a bike to a safe standard.

Berty

taung wrote: »

The trouble is a lot of the shops won't entertain 'haggling' or 'cash' discounts at the moment since they are getting so much business from the 'bike to work' scheme.......

I've been told by a lot of bike shops, when looking for the bike, that people are ordering bikes and then not turning up and they are left with excess stock.

kona

Berty wrote: »

I've been told by a lot of bike shops, when looking for the bike, that people are ordering bikes and then not turning up and they are left with excess stock.

All too true unfortunatley..

Also, Haggling...Like something from monty python ha ha.:D

Would you haggle or ask for a cash discount for your loaf of bread? Why should a shop discount the bike if you offer cash? I mean isnt that what they want? cash?

The mind boggles over some consumers.

rh5555

Sorry, just a question about the 'bike to work scheme'. Does this scheme only apply if you buy a bike from Ireland or can you buy it anywhere in the EU if your company supports the cycle to work scheme?

Ireland doesn't have that many great offers that I could find while the UK and other EU countries do, but if the bike has to be bought in Ireland then you actually may come cheaper buying it somewhere else even without the scheme.

Thirdfox

kona wrote: »

All too true unfortunatley..

Also, Haggling...Like something from monty python ha ha.:D

Would you haggle or ask for a cash discount for your loaf of bread? Why should a shop discount the bike if you offer cash? I mean isnt that what they want? cash?

The mind boggles over some consumers.

And would you negotiate better deals when purchasing a car or a tv/cinema system? No? Too bad for you then, you could have gotten a better price.

A costly bike isn't the same as a loaf of bread or a box of matches.

Of course, for those who live near the centre of Dublin - you could avail of the 10 euro Dublin Bike scheme - 10 euro to use the bikes for a year (30 minutes free riding and must have a 5 minute time gap between returning one bike and taking out another).

IrishTonyO

kona wrote: »

All too true unfortunatley..

Also, Haggling...Like something from monty python ha ha.:D

Would you haggle or ask for a cash discount for your loaf of bread? Why should a shop discount the bike if you offer cash? I mean isnt that what they want? cash?

The mind boggles over some consumers.

Actually my mind boggles more over people who are afraid to ask for a discount. The worst than can happen is they say no, but 95% of the time you will get a better deal.

chillywilly

kona wrote: »

All too true unfortunatley..

Also, Haggling...Like something from monty python ha ha.:D

Would you haggle or ask for a cash discount for your loaf of bread? Why should a shop discount the bike if you offer cash? I mean isnt that what they want? cash?

The mind boggles over some consumers.

No I wouldn't haggle over the price of bread because it is a convenience product. Something you buy every other day for less than a euro. A bike is a speciality product which you would expect to last you a few years so you would expect to pay more for it. That doesn't stop you from trying to get the best price and good value. As another poster said, would you haggle for a car, T.V, furniture? If the answer is no you are losing out on potential savings.

The mind boggles why some consumers wouldn't want to save money.

cianof

I would have guessed that <=€300 would be a reasonable price to pay for a decent hybrid.

The Giant hybrids on that site seem to be starting at €400.

kona

Thirdfox wrote: »

And would you negotiate better deals when purchasing a car or a tv/cinema system? No? Too bad for you then, you could have gotten a better price.

A costly bike isn't the same as a loaf of bread or a box of matches.

Of course, for those who live near the centre of Dublin - you could avail of the 10 euro Dublin Bike scheme - 10 euro to use the bikes for a year (30 minutes free riding and must have a 5 minute time gap between returning one bike and taking out another).

Most bikes people buy in this coutry are cheap ****e. If your spending 1k on a bike then Im sure youd "haggle"

The fact is....as highlighted above :rolleyes: that people find e300 alot for bike.

I rather do my research and find out how much a product is worth, Then go find it for the cheapest price. Have a look on adverts advertise a bike for e300 and youl get some spa "testing the water " with e150. Muppets.

You do realise that retailers include "haggling" into their margins? such a waste of time. Id rather just get their cheapest price and be done, no bull****.

kona

chillywilly wrote: »

No I wouldn't haggle over the price of bread because it is a convenience product. Something you buy every other day for less than a euro. A bike is a speciality product which you would expect to last you a few years so you would expect to pay more for it. That doesn't stop you from trying to get the best price and good value. As another poster said, would you haggle for a car, T.V, furniture? If the answer is no you are losing out on potential savings.

The mind boggles why some consumers wouldn't want to save money.

You can save money but "Customers" feel that Bike shops should make a loss when they sell them their bikes....and act as if they are doing them a favor. How can you haggle on something that you have no idea of the cost?

As Ive said, If your buying a "specialty" bike, then you can get things upgraded cheap maybe even a bit knocked off. If your buying a generic bike for e100 why would you haggle, isnt e100 cheap enough for a bike(which wont last a few years?)

kona

rh5555 wrote: »

Sorry, just a question about the 'bike to work scheme'. Does this scheme only apply if you buy a bike from Ireland or can you buy it anywhere in the EU if your company supports the cycle to work scheme?

Ireland doesn't have that many great offers that I could find while the UK and other EU countries do, but if the bike has to be bought in Ireland then you actually may come cheaper buying it somewhere else even without the scheme.

You can buy where ever you want. But I dont see why the government should subsidise you if your not supporting a Irish Jobs.

21% or 42% off is as good a offer as you will get.

Raiser

Had a look at the Site but (I know its translated) its a mess.

- Anyone save me 30 mins and recommend any decent deals with full pricing in Euro?i

Jonny7

kona wrote: »

All too true unfortunatley..

Also, Haggling...Like something from monty python ha ha.:D

Would you haggle or ask for a cash discount for your loaf of bread? Why should a shop discount the bike if you offer cash? I mean isnt that what they want? cash?

The mind boggles over some consumers.

We all used to buy our bikes up North because of the bad prices and attitude of most southern bikes shops. We generally learnt to service the bikes and build bikes ourselves.

If you want a good mountain bike, get from abroad if you can. If you want an overpriced cheap thing and bad service from a jaded bike shop owner with a chip on shoulder about something buy Irish!

Murta

Taung, that Austrian website of yours does not seem to be much cheaper. For exmaple: Lapierre Shaper 300 Womens Bike is 699 euro. Cyclesuperstore.ie (store based in Tallagh) sells same bike for 745 euro. A mere 50 euro saving isn't worth buying from a foreign (non-english) website. When you also consider that you're losing the benefits of buying from an irish store (adjustments made to suit customer, accessories added, free service plus haggling - price reduction or freebie thrown in). That is easily worth the extra 50 euro. And that's assuming there's no p&p charge by your Austrian website to Ireland. All in all not a bargain at all.

kona

Jonny7 wrote: »

We all used to buy our bikes up North because of the bad prices and attitude of most southern bikes shops. We generally learnt to service the bikes and build bikes ourselves.

If you want a good mountain bike, get from abroad if you can. If you want an overpriced cheap thing and bad service from a jaded bike shop owner with a chip on shoulder about something buy Irish!

Would you like some Charmin Ultra with that statement?

Ive seen sub e100 bikes in ireland...Cheap definatley.....Overpirced.....Definatley not.

You get what you pay for mate. Maybe you should do some research and find out why some bikes are 10 times the price of others....

I love the word generally, ive seen amateurs attempts at fixing and assembling bikes, generally you dont have a clue. I suppose the saving up north is significant enough to invest in some of the specialist tools needed to professionally assemble a bike?

Thought not.

If you want a good mountainbike you buy the frame and buy all the various parts to the spec you want and assemble it yourself. You go up North your getting the same bike down south less

-Free Service
-Fitting
-Advice
- Convienience if a issue arises to bring it back for a repair as apposed to driving for a day. Finding out the shop cant fix it that day so your left with four journeys and the fuel costs.

kona

IrishTonyO wrote: »

Actually my mind boggles more over people who are afraid to ask for a discount. The worst than can happen is they say no, but 95% of the time you will get a better deal.

REALLY??? you have only been refused a discount 5 times out of every hundred times you ask? Thats amazing, where do you shop? Id love to know.

rh5555

if anyone needs any help to get something particular translated into somewhat better English (I hope I can beat the Google translation:)) let me know.

Also if you find a particular bike you like I usually use froogle uk and froogle.de to find the best deals on that bike. Of course you have to take shipping costs into consideration too. VAT or Duty does not matter within the EU as far as I know.

Jonny7

kona wrote: »

Would you like some Charmin Ultra with that statement?

Ive seen sub e100 bikes in ireland...Cheap definatley.....Overpirced.....Definatley not.

You get what you pay for mate. Maybe you should do some research and find out why some bikes are 10 times the price of others....

I love the word generally, ive seen amateurs attempts at fixing and assembling bikes, generally you dont have a clue. I suppose the saving up north is significant enough to invest in some of the specialist tools needed to professionally assemble a bike?

Thought not.

If you want a good mountainbike you buy the frame and buy all the various parts to the spec you want and assemble it yourself. You go up North your getting the same bike down south less

-Free Service
-Fitting
-Advice
- Convienience if a issue arises to bring it back for a repair as apposed to driving for a day. Finding out the shop cant fix it that day so your left with four journeys and the fuel costs.

I've been biking for two decades, I buy and sell quite a few bikes online, mainly specialist trials bikes like monty's, onza's etc.

The post above is arrogant, reminds me of bike shop owner/mechanic, guessing you have worked in a bike shop.

Anyway, if anyone plans to buy an expensive bike, definitely go online, the shipping is far offset by the big savings.

rh5555

Also, try to go for the 2009 model if its still available somewhere. The differences to the 2010 models are usually minor but you can get some major savings.

taung

kona wrote: »

I love the word generally, ive seen amateurs attempts at fixing and assembling bikes, generally you dont have a clue. I suppose the saving up north is significant enough to invest in some of the specialist tools needed to professionally assemble a bike?

Thought not.

The 'specialist' tools I needed to assemble the bike I recently imported are as follows;

- 5mm Allen Key
- 3mm Allen Key
- 10mm Spanner
- Philips Screwdriver
- Pliers

I'd say there is a slim chance of finding any of the above items in a handyman's toolbox. :P

It was a straight-forward job to assemble the bike and it consisted of;

- Bolt on the handlebars.
- Fix on the front wheel.
- Fix on the front wheel disc brakes.
- Swap the front/rear brake cables (optional).
- Adjust the saddle height.
- Fix on the pedals.
- Fine tune the gearing/braking system.
- Fully inflate the tyres!

The bike came with a full set of clearly written manuals for all of the components. These were a big help for the disc brakes installation and fine tuning of the gears. I don't think too many Irish bike shops give out these manuals when you buy a new bike either. The manuals will help me cut down on servicing costs as well.

kona

taung wrote: »

The 'specialist' tools I needed to assemble the bike I recently imported are as follows;

- 5mm Allen Key
- 3mm Allen Key
- 10mm Spanner
- Philips Screwdriver
- Pliers

I'd say there is a slim chance of finding any of the above items in a handyman's toolbox. :P

It was a straight-forward job to assemble the bike and it consisted of;

- Bolt on the handlebars.
- Fix on the front wheel.
- Fix on the front wheel disc brakes.
- Swap the front/rear brake cables (optional).
- Adjust the saddle height.
- Fix on the pedals.
- Fine tune the gearing/braking system.
- Fully inflate the tyres!

The bike came with a full set of clearly written manuals for all of the components. These were a big help for the disc brakes installation and fine tuning of the gears. I don't think too many Irish bike shops give out these manuals when you buy a new bike either. The manuals will help me cut down on servicing costs as well.

You forgot a headset spanner (tightens the bearing in your headset).

You forgot the torque wrench 40n/M for each of the crank bolts.

You forgot the BB lockring tool.

You forgot spoke key.

Also alot of the cheaper bikes dont have QR axles like you have so you will need a 15mm spanner too.

If you want pegs on a BMX a 19mm socket and a ratchet and extender will be needed.

The manuals come with all bikes, I give them out, doesnt make a difference you seem to be one of the few that actually read instructions before attempting assembly.:)

You see You havnt tightend your cranks onto the taper of the BB axle(even though they come attached they are never tightened up enough) so its possible your cranks will come off and will need to be replaced(not warranty, it was incorrect assembly).

The BB bearing will come loose because you have not tightend the lock ring(you may have a sealed BB so this could be irrelevant to you)

Your headset may come loose and wear into the cups causing damage.

Worst case scenario, you could end up with a bill of e100+ to replace those parts.

You wont do it yourself as you will need a headset press, you will need a tool to remove the BB (if its a cheap bike they can be seized in even new)


Also, You do realise that many bikes come from the factory without grease in the hubs and bearings? They have a coating to prevent corrosion, thats all. SO you will need cone spanners too if you want to grease your hubs.



****** I should know better, the customer is ALWAYS right LOL *********

keithclancy

kona wrote: »

They also have a much smaller allocation of production so dont shift as many bikes , hence dont get discounts for bulk buys.... simples.

If we were a cycling nation we would be just as cheap as Europe, were far from it so we are far from cheap.

Also Labour etc etc is higher here too. Also in a Bike shop you pay for a bike to be professionally assembled.

You get neither and are left to your own devices.....most people couldnt assemble a bike to a safe standard.

Ireland is cheaper than the Netherlands for bikes.