General Cycling Discussion - REI Anniversary Sale

If anyone is considering a REI brand (Novara) bicycle, if you are a member, you can get 20% off any regular priced item. I once considered a Novara Randonee which now can be purchased at approx $600 ($749 regularly).

I'm not affiliated with REI. Just a new member who considered the Randonee at one time.

Interesting item: the Novara Forza road bike; it's a real road bike but uses long (47-57mm) reach brakes, has fender eyelets and clearance for a 700 x 32 tire. It's an "entry level" bike with Shimano Sora at about $600. This would be a more versatile, intelligent first road machine than some play-racer POS with no tire clearance. I don't work for REI--just shop there and am always looking for smart road machines.

Same here, I don't work for REI. However, I have always been interested in ther Buzz and Big Buzz bikes.

If it were up to me, and I had a garage to store bikes in, I'd have about 20 different bikes. The Big Buzz would be one of them. However, I live in an apartment and the wife allots me 2 bikes only :(

Thanks for the sale news. I'll have to check it out.

This Novara on sale- do you consider this a decent road bike, or is it a pile of crap? I'm thinking of picking one up.

Koff

The Forza? On sale it'll be $480, and that's a pretty competitive price. Yes, it's an entry-level bike, but like other Novaras it uses all name-brand parts (Ritchey, Alex, etc.) and no OEM parts.

Novara bikes tend to be fairly generic, conservative traditional geometries and materials. This is an aluminum frame with a cro-mo steerer with fairly relaxed geometry and wide-range (for a road bike) gearing.

The real issue, IMO, is that there appears (from what I've heard) to be a lot of variation in the quality of REI bike departments. The one I deal with (Conshohocken PA) is very good, and many people consider it their LBS. They have a master wheelbuilder there who's the best I've ever encountered.

I've heard different opinions about othr REI's, so you might want to ask around. If the REI isn't prepared to offer the same fitting, parts-swapping, and wheel preparation that a good bike shop would offer, the bike isn't a bargain no matter how cheap it is.

That said, I really like my Randonee and it still gets more daily miles than my other bikes.

RichC

Thanks for the info. I thought about it some and I may pass on it. I think I'd rather go with my LBS and get a nice one through them. They'll help me out a lot more than some mail order company, I think.

I'd still buy a Forza at that price even if you have to have some corrections made and pay for them--it's an unusually well designed, versatile road bike IMHO. REI's bikes in general have some sharp thinking behind them; the Buzz town bikes and Randonee touring bike are two other good examples. An REI board member is Angel Rodriguez who founded one of the best LBS's in Seattle. It still is what Angel started it as--a store that emphasizes custom fitting, user-friendliness of machines, and stocks touring bikes and gear. I don't know how much Angel has to do with bike spec, but can't help but think good bikes aren't an accident with his connection to the company.

The REI 20% off coupon isn't as good a deal as it first looks. It's only good for regular priced items and it's non-dividendable. That means that anything you buy with it does not count toward your 10% dividend at the end of the year. This means the coupon is really only a 10% off coupon. Of course, you do get your other 10% now instead of next year. There is something to be said for that. But since you would normally get the 10% off anyway, the coupon isn't really 20% off.

Although REI has a lot of very nice merchandise and I do shop there, I don't like their policy that you don't get a divend for any sale merchandise you buy.

This kind of fine print does little more than drive me to shop mail order even if I only save a few bucks. For some reason, I feel cheated. I know it's not really underhanded, but at an emotional level, it fells like it.

For non bike outdoor stuff, I use a local supplier, Outdoor Provision Company. Try and support your local guys or they may not be there when you need them.

Originally posted by supcom
The REI 20% off coupon isn't as good a deal as it first looks. It's only good for regular priced items and it's non-dividendable.

Yeah, but Novara bikes tend to be priced lower than their competition to begin with. 20% off on a Randonee, for example, turns it into the lowest priced new steel touring bike available anywhere, by a fairly wide margin.

The value of a coupon like this is that it applies to big-ticket, low-margin items that don't normally go on sale.

RichC

:( Dang it. I just got the membership hoping that anything I buy will be applied towards my dividend check. Looks like that's not the deal, as I tend to buy things that are mostly on sale. :(

I was there today, got a nice pearl izumi zephyer 2 jacket
on closeout. the wife got some jerseys (shebeast).
the real deal was at RBM tho, saw Sidi Genius 2's (or 3's not
sure) in Ice Blue for $50. (of course size 38 only) and
Trek USPS bibs for 1/2 price.

Marty

Good bike buys--www.bicyclebuys.com www.bikesdirect.com www.bicycleblowouts.com www.bikeswholesale.com