Manufacturer, Retailer, Survey and Consumer Feedback - chain reaction cycles

Anyone deal with them before? I plan on making a $700 purchase from them. Are they good? Thanks

well i just placed an order. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

well i just placed an order. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

In my opinion their just as good as PBK, I've bought groupsets and wheelset from them no problem at all with shipping to Australia.

Any feedback Jynx? Just ordered a wheelset yesterday.

I purchased a Shimano Ultegra group from them on 3/4/08. (It was a better price then PBK, you are able to configure everything which sometimes you cant do with PBK, and they had everything in stock which PBK didnt.)

They billed me, shipped it out and emailed me the tracking information today 3/7/08.

Not sure how long it will take to get to the east coast of the US from the UK but I will keep everyone updated. They do claim 2 - 4 days for shipping so well see.

They have a really lousy return policy.

I bought a pair of rain pants from them. The first time I used them (the day after I received them) I noticed that the stitching was coming loose from the waistband and an ankle zipper was getting caught in poorly stitched loose lining. I was told that as the item was used (I rode for about 8km in the pants) it would have to be taken up with the manufacturer of the item. How could I know it was a bad item if I didn't actually try it out? So off to CR it went to be sent on the the manufacturer. It's been several weeks and I still have no idea what is going on. I wrote to them last week asking for an update (I still don't know if they even recieved the pants from me yet) and didn't get a reply. Pretty lousy customer service if you ask me.

Their shipping rates are rather high too. Anytime I put more than three items in my cart the shipping automatically jumps from 10 to 20 pounds, regardless of the size of the item. (Two Park Glueless Patch Kits - 10 pounds shipping, three Park Glueless Patch Kits 20 pounds shipping. WTF?) The exception for this is tires (including folding tires), one tire costs 10 pounds to ship, two tires 20 pounds! What a rip off!

They have a really lousy return policy.

I bought a pair of rain pants from them. The first time I used them (the day after I received them) I noticed that the stitching was coming loose from the waistband and an ankle zipper was getting caught in poorly stitched loose lining. I was told that as the item was used (I rode for about 8km in the pants) it would have to be taken up with the manufacturer of the item. How could I know it was a bad item if I didn't actually try it out? So off to CR it went to be sent on the the manufacturer. It's been several weeks and I still have no idea what is going on. I wrote to them last week asking for an update (I still don't know if they even recieved the pants from me yet) and didn't get a reply. Pretty lousy customer service if you ask me.

Their shipping rates are rather high too. Anytime I put more than three items in my cart the shipping automatically jumps from 10 to 20 pounds, regardless of the size of the item. (Two Park Glueless Patch Kits - 10 pounds shipping, three Park Glueless Patch Kits 0 20 pounds shipping. WTF?) The exception for this is tires (including folding tires), one tire costs 10 pounds to ship, two tires 20 pounds! What a rip off!


I have to agree with some of this. I got free shipping because it was over $300USD but yes it is very expensive for smaller items.

Also I did email them a couple of times before I ordered and I never recieved a response.

As long as everything is the correct part and there ill be happy.

Also I did email them a couple of times before I ordered and I never recieved a response.



I have recieved two emails back from them. One when I asked a question about cassette/chain/wheel combination b4 I ordered and then another when I asked if the wheels came with a spacer after I ordered. I have been following the tracking and my wheels say they are received in New York right now, so I'm hoping to see them in the next day or two.

Well I just got the order today. 6 days total. 3 for them to ship it and 3 to get to me.

Here are some pics...

Box was a little beat up so I was a little concerned at first.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii141/Jynx0406/ultegra003.jpg?t=1205176771

Pulled everything out of the box. It was packaged pretty good. Minimal stuff moving inside the box when I shook it.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii141/Jynx0406/ultegra001.jpg?t=1205176801

Almost everything came in an original shimano box. The cassette, bottom bracket, brakes and front deraileur were in bags not that I really care.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii141/Jynx0406/ultegra002.jpg?t=1205176903

Checked over all the sizes and made sure everything was correct. I checked cassette size, short cage rear derailleur, english thread bb, crank gearing and arm length. The bottom bracket seems awfully dark. Like Ultegra SL "ICE" color. Hard to tell from the pic but I could take a pic if you need. It is marked SM-FC6601. Is this the regular Ultegra one or the SL version? It is much darker then the other ultegra parts but I dont recall what color a regular bb is. Other then that all of it was correct which is what I was worrying about. Also everything is new and unscratched. Sometimes I have heard from other places some of the stuff is new but still slightly scuffed. Overall I am very happy and would do business with them anytime.

Got my wheels this morning. Ordered on 3/6 received 3/11, which includes the weekend. No pics but everything looks great. Just imagine a pristine set of Mavic Aksiums and a :) on my face.

Wow, the CS at Chain Reaction has gotten even worse for me. They finally received my defective pants and refunded the cost of them, although they didn't refund the full shipping cost as promised. I called and was told they would now refund only half of the shipping cost, which still hasn't happened.

To make matters worse the SECOND pair of rain pants I ordered from them had the zipper fall apart at week three. (I paid shipping on both the original AND the replacement pair, 16.50 GBP or $33 not including the cost of me sending them the defective pair back) So I called up Chain Reaction again and was told to send the new defective pair back. When I explained that I need a pair of rain pants for the daily commute, and this is the second pair in less than a month I bought from them which have fallen apart I was told too bad, the only thing I could do was to send them back at my cost and wait the three weeks or so for another replacement pair. They refused to accept photos of the defective zipper as temporary proof of a faulty product and to send me a replacement pair so I could use the defective pair until the replacement arrives, at which point I would have returned the faulty pair. It was also mentioned by the fellow at Chain Reaction that all this must be karma. WTF?

So at the moment I have no rain pants with a working zipper and am out of pocket over $40 on shipping defective pants back and forth to Chain Reaction. I also have no option from Chain Reaction if I would like to have rain pants to use in the meantime short of me buying (and paying $20 to ship) another pair of rain pants and sending the broken ones back when I receive the new ones. This is exactly what I had to do with the first defective pair, and as it's very costly I wouldn't like to do it again.


As this is the second defective pair they sent me in less than a month, and I covered all the shipping costs, I expect a bit better customer service, but they really don't seem to care.

Over two weeks later and they still haven't refunded the shipping charges as promised.

I finally got my money back for the second pair of defective trousers they sent me, but they never refunded any shipping as they promised to do several times.

All in all I'm out of pocket over $50 in shipping and have nothing but a chain to show for it. Needless to say I'll never buy from Chain Reaction again!

Chain Reaction Cycles appear to have a huge range of cycling products. Many of them at very competitive prices! That's why I ordered a (supposedly) highly regarded floor pump from them last month.

My order was processed and received promptly! Excellent! :)

However, the pump I received had a different type of head/nozzle compared to the picture shown at CRC website!? The pump seemed to pump very little air through the nozzle!? Also, the nozzle for Presta valves (a metal adapter which is attached to the Shrader nozzle) was nearly impossible to remove from Presta valve stems!!? :mad:

I then shipped the pump back for a refund, which I have yet to receive. By the way, when and how do you know that refunds have been received? Are you emailed? Does your account at CRC show refunds?

I don't know why this pump is/was highly regarded, it was the worst pump I've ever come across!!

Anyway, shipping charges are not (usually) refundable I believe, so I have made a loss of around $95 (heavy pump) for this order! :mad::mad:

Undecided whether I'll order again from CRC, especially with their high(ish) shipping charges and policy of not refunding shipping costs.

Chain Reaction Cycles appear to have a huge range of cycling products. Many of them at very competitive prices! That's why I ordered a (supposedly) highly regarded floor pump from them last month.

My order was processed and received promptly! Excellent! :)

However, the pump I received had a different type of head/nozzle compared to the picture shown at CRC website!? The pump seemed to pump very little air through the nozzle!? Also, the nozzle for Presta valves (a metal adapter which is attached to the Shrader nozzle) was nearly impossible to remove from Presta valve stems!!? :mad:

I then shipped the pump back for a refund, which I have yet to receive. By the way, when and how do you know that refunds have been received? Are you emailed? Does your account at CRC show refunds?

I don't know why this pump is/was highly regarded, it was the worst pump I've ever come across!!

Anyway, shipping charges are not (usually) refundable I believe, so I have made a loss of around $95 (heavy pump) for this order! :mad::mad:

Undecided whether I'll order again from CRC, especially with their high(ish) shipping charges and policy of not refunding shipping costs.

They explicitly told me they would refund the shipping charges for the defective rain pants they sent me, and I have a letter from them stating such. Still, they never did refund the money, even after a phone call about it.

As for knowing when they refund your money I checked my internet bank to see. I also received a letter in the mail about it around a week later.

If they sent you a wrong or defective part they should cover the cost of shipping as you are not at fault.

Anyway, I've found that this place, while not having the selection of CR, has very low prices on both items AND shipping, and top notch customer service. http://bike-components.de They ship worldwide, but you might have to email them for a quote to NZ.

Ziemas, let me see if I have a contact for anyone there.

On a slightly related note, I keep a pair of rain pants in one of the saddlebags on my motorcycle, just in case. The weather said we had a 30% chance of rain today, and I was feeling lucky. That's the 2nd time within less than a week that I got caught in the snow. I feel your pain. All we want is to be warm and dry.

CRC are a bit hit and miss. Some of the things they sent out don't seem to be in their original packaging (for example a brakeset and 2 pairs of chains), but their prices are really competitive. I think my postie must be sick of seeing that CRC logo by now :)

I have had to deal with CS twice though, firstly because the brakeset I ordered only contained a rear brake (with no nut...) and secondly to return a chain. They were very helpful with the brakes and I ended up having an email conversation with the guy on the other end for a few hours while at work :D
Again, they were very good with the chain as well, it was past the 30 days, but they still accepted it back.

The only thing I don't like is the website, I find it very hard to navigate, what with everything listed down the left hand side...

No response from them. :(

No response from them. :(

Thanks for trying.

Sell it is Sunday and TBH I think it's quite a small operation. I think they're probably sitting at home watching the TV if I'm being honest.

But in a way, I like that, they're like an online LBS to me :)

Sell it is Sunday and TBH I think it's quite a small operation. I think they're probably sitting at home watching the TV if I'm being honest.

But in a way, I like that, they're like an online LBS to me :)

What does that have to do with their lousy customer service, broken promises, and lack of a response to emails?

I just got off the phone with Chain Reaction. Again. They have now said that they will refund me 15 GBP. I wonder if it will happen.......

...
Again, they were very good with the chain as well, it was past the 30 days, but they still accepted it back
...

Got the replacement chain on Wednesday and they did a refund on the other chain as requested. Can't ask for much else :)

After many broken promises, a lot of phone calls, and several months I finally got GBP 15 back from them. It certainly wasn't worth all the hassle and horrible customer service.

Glad you finally received your refund as promised!

I just received a letter today from CRC which showed a refund for the pump (which I returned a month ago) ONLY. Shipping charges were apparently not refunded! I double checked refund details with my credit card bank to be sure. Shipping charges were definitely not refunded :mad:

I've made a loss of about $95 for shipping!! :mad::mad:

Glad you finally received your refund as promised!

I just received a letter today from CRC which showed a refund for the pump (which I returned a month ago) ONLY. Shipping charges were apparently not refunded! I double checked refund details with my credit card bank to be sure. Shipping charges were definitely not refunded :mad:

I've made a loss of about $95 for shipping!! :mad::mad:

Did you only order the pump? If you ordered anything else with the pump they'll try and tell you that the order was completed successfully and it's your tough luck, even if they sent you a faulty product. This is a way they try to weasel out of paying shipping charges on faulty goods they send out. Be persistent and you may get some money back from them.

Try calling them on the telephone using Skype. I had to do this several times before I saw my partial refund.

Update: Example of communication which didn't go smoothly. They gave me refund 31. oct, but never said thay did, and I didn't notice it on my bank account. In the following story, they never said anything about having given me a refund.

The story:
- 8. oct: I placed an order.
- Some mailing back and forth: I cancelled 2 out of stock items. Now the rest should be in stock.
- 20. oct: GBP 631,94 was withdrawn from my visa. This ammount corresponds to the remaining items in my order.
- 28. oct: I got an email saying that the frame I ordered was not in stock after all.
We then agreed that CRC would send me another frame for about the same price, with no additional cost.
While sorting this out, two items became out of stock:
- Shimano Alfine Shifter S500 RH � Black
- Brand-X S/Steel Teflon Gear Cable Inners
The latter was changed to Goodridge Gear Cable Inner Kit. At the same time I asked if CRC could credit the Alfine Shifter, since I already had paid for it. They never responded to that, but shipped the order correctly, leaving the remaining as processing. I though that was their way of saying: We will send the remaining when in stock. Then Alfine Shifter came in stock, ahead of the announced date, but nothing happened for several days.
- 23. dec: I sent an email asking CRC for it, then they canceled the rest of the order, and said that they were sorry for the trouble, and that I was welcome to place a new order.
-28. dec: I sent this explanation to them, and I have repeatedly been nagging them to respond, but with no luck.
-10. dec: Today, as the current status is CRC have stolen ~23 GBP.

(I just found out about bike-components.de (http://www.bike-components.de/). I should have visited them before CRC, as I found out they had much cooler frames. Next time I will try them. Right now I trust the Germans more than I trust the Brits.)

Chain Reaction Cycles (CRC) stole my money!

The story:
- 8. oct: I placed an order.
- Some mailing back and forth: I cancelled 2 out of stock items. Now the rest should be in stock.
- 20. oct: GBP 631,94 was withdrawn from my visa. This ammount corresponds to the remaining items in my order.
- 28. oct: I got an email saying that the frame I ordered was not in stock after all.
We then agreed that CRC would send me another frame for about the same price, with no additional cost.
While sorting this out, two items became out of stock:
- Shimano Alfine Shifter S500 RH � Black
- Brand-X S/Steel Teflon Gear Cable Inners
The latter was changed to Goodridge Gear Cable Inner Kit. At the same time I asked if CRC could credit the Alfine Shifter, since I already had paid for it. They never responded to that, but shipped the order correctly, leaving the remaining as processing. I though that was their way of saying: We will send the remaining when in stock. Then Alfine Shifter came in stock, ahead of the announced date, but nothing happened for several days.
- 23. dec: I sent an email asking CRC for it, then they canceled the rest of the order, and said that they were sorry for the trouble, and that I was welcome to place a new order.
-28. dec: I sent this explanation to them, and I have repeatedly been nagging them to respond, but with no luck.
-10. dec: Today, as the current status is CRC have stolen ~23 GBP.

(I just found out about bike-components.de (http://www.bike-components.de/). I should have visited them before CRC, as I found out they had much cooler frames. Next time I will try them. Right now I trust the Germans more than I trust the Brits.)

I've had great service from www.bike-components.de, and they actually respond to emails and answer the phone.

Everything I've ordered has been at my door within a week, exactly as advertised, and at around 1/2 the best price I can get in town. Placed three major orders in the last 6 months.

I haven't attempted to send anything back. But the prices are more than worth that risk on the stuff I have ordered.

I checked through my bank account details to find that CRC actually did give me a refund. Actually before I started asking for it. But there are so many post on my account, I didn't find it until now when I needed to find the total value of my bike. I am very happy they did give me refund, thanks for that and I am very sorry for posting claiming that CRC stole my money when they didn't. But they never said anything about giving me a refund. They just left the item as processing, so I figured they would send it to me. It was only then I asked for it they just cancelled without saying that a refund was done long ago.

Nothing.
Haven't heard anything whatsoever.

I had to call them repeatedly to get any response from them. I used skype as it's cheap.

I placed an order on 2/20 for $1600.00 plus worth of stuff, including two wheel sets. At the time of ordering all items were in stock. They charged my credit card in full on 2/20. After a week plus of checking their website for my order status it continues to indicate "processing" I've sent two emails several days apart and have not received a response. I tried calling them several times but I can't get through. A recording answers indicating all customer service personel are assisting others and to try again later. If I don't hear back from them within the next day or two I'm going to file a complaint with my credit card company. All I can say is "beware".

I guess it's the luck of the draw--what you order and when you order it. I've been extremely fortunate--placed 2 orders with them in the last month--1st order got to Hawaii from Ireland in 8 days. Second order got here in 7 days. Free shipping on both orders. Both orders seem perfect so far.

Except for extreme sale items on Jenson, etc, they are lower than everybody else. I placed an order with niagara the same day I placed my second chainreaction order. Niagara finally shipped it, incomplete, this morning, after prodding. Meanwhile, I have my crc stuff in hand.

I had a question if maybe I was going to be harassed by customs because the parcel was from foreign country--but no, delivered by mailman like any domestic parcel. I couldn't be more pleased!

I placed an order on 2/20 for $1600.00 plus worth of stuff, including two wheel sets. At the time of ordering all items were in stock. They charged my credit card in full on 2/20. After a week plus of checking their website for my order status it continues to indicate "processing" I've sent two emails several days apart and have not received a response. I tried calling them several times but I can't get through. A recording answers indicating all customer service personel are assisting others and to try again later. If I don't hear back from them within the next day or two I'm going to file a complaint with my credit card company. All I can say is "beware".


It seems that what has happened to you, is similar to what happened to me. I placed an order which was left as processing for a long time. They charged my visa and a week after that they eventually found out that something was not in stock after all. You can read my story. As it turned out I didn't loose any of my money, but sorting everything out took lots of time, and communication was poor.

What CRC state about their customer service on their web page does not correspond to actual experience it seems. Problems are sorted out, but it takes a very long time. However, I must say, if it is not a problem you are addressing, but you want advice before you buy or just change the order, they are very helpful and relatively quick to respond (1-2 days).

I placed an order on 2/20 for $1600.00 plus worth of stuff, including two wheel sets. At the time of ordering all items were in stock. They charged my credit card in full on 2/20. After a week plus of checking their website for my order status it continues to indicate "processing" I've sent two emails several days apart and have not received a response. I tried calling them several times but I can't get through. A recording answers indicating all customer service personel are assisting others and to try again later. If I don't hear back from them within the next day or two I'm going to file a complaint with my credit card company. All I can say is "beware".

UPDATE- it turmed out OK! But there are still open issues..

I finally broke down and called them on 3/2 using Skype. I had to wait about 10-15 minutes on hold before I got a customer service rep. He indicated that they sent me an email the day after my order telling me that one of the items that indicated in stock was not actually in stock and asking me how they should proceed. Maybe they had my address wrong or something since I did not receive their message, I checked spam filters etc. When I asked him why they didn't reply to my repeated emails he said they get lots of email. He checked their email messages and said he did find one of mine and he read it then. He couldn't answer me why they didn't respond earlier. I asked them to ship what they had in stock and backorder the rest. I also asked that they refund my credit card for the items that didn't ship. He agreed to do that.

On 3/5 I checked the status online and the stock items indicated "shipped" but the backordered items indicated "cancelled" so I called them again. I asked if the backordered items were in fact cancelled or was the order still open? He said that the website doesn't show the correct status that yes the not stock items were not cancelled but backordered. When I asked why my credit card still wasn't credited for the unshipped items he said that could take 5-7 days to process. I'm not sure why it should take that long? As of today 3/8 6-days after my initial call my credit card still has not been credited for the items not shipped. We'll have to see if that is done in the next day or two.

today 3/8 I received the items that were shipped. The box was in great shape and everything packaged well.

All I can say is their prices are awesome about 1/2 of regular MSRP, but their customer service and communication needs much improvement.

I am dealing with an order to CRC that never showed up.
I ordered a Handle bar on April 6 2010. My credit card was processed for $68.36.
on April 9 I got an email that my Item had shipped.

On the 20th of april I emailed them to tell them it has not arrived (I got an email from them asking me to review my item which has arrived safetly and should be in use.)
They said I had to wait until 15 days and could not report it missing until April 27th.

I reported it missing April 27th - They said they would send out a replacement Item.

It is now May 13th and nothing.

Its been 37 days and no handlebars! ugh.

I placed another order with them this morning. Lucky so far, although i had a package "checked by customs"--$20 fee on a $250 order--$5 import duty and $5 to pay for the "checking" and $10 to the USPS for handling the "collection". Doncha just love it!?!

This will be my last order with them for awhile as I am finishing my new build. Sure hope my luck holds!

I am a repeatedly satisfied customer of Chain Reaction Cycles.

I place three or four large orders from CRC per year, each of which is normally above 200 UK pounds, sometimes over 500 UK pounds. If the items are all in stock, even the largest orders are normally shipped within one week, and it then takes about 5 days for it to arrive with me here in Switzerland. Since Switzerland is not part of the EU, I pay the post office an import & customs handling fee of about 15 UK pounds (30 Swiss francs) plus the local sales tax (which is only 7.6%, so the total cost is about the same as I would pay for 17.5% sales tax in the UK). My orders are so large and frequent because all of my friends ask me to get stuff for them because they know it will be much cheaper than getting it locally, so I normally have at least 3 people's stuff in the order, sometimes stuff for up to 7 different people, so we split the fees between us. I also occasionally build up custom bikes for friends, with at least half the parts coming from CRC, and the other half being take-offs and other random bits I have. I nearly always use CRC because in addition to their prices being very good, they have a bigger range than anyone else, so I can get everything from the same place in one order and therefore only have to pay one lot of import fees.

Out of all the orders I've made, there has only been a problem with one or two items. CRC have responded to my emails about these quickly (usually within 24 hours, never more than 48 hours) and have always resolved the situation to my satisfaction (although this has occasionally taken two or three emails back and forth).

I am a 3 time satisfied customer of CRC.

Each time, the order was placed before their cutoff, shipped via UPS, and arrived in 2 business days as per UPS to Canada.

Got an interesting situation here.

Got a killer deal on Mavic 10-speed chains--3 for $40. "Compatible with all 10-speed systems"

Well, it turns out that they are not compatible with Shimano 10-speed, because the chains are too wide for the narrower cog spacing on Shimano cassettes.

Since chains are heavy and i figured it would cost a bundle to send them all the way back to N. Ireland, I contacted chainreaction customer service and explained the situation and asked for guidance.

The guy says send them back and we will refund your money and the postage cost.

I trudge down to the post office and the absolute cheapest way I can send them insured costs $34. Every vendor I've ever dealt with says be sure to insure package, so I went ahead and paid the $34.

Then I come home and reread the return instructions, and it seems to indicate they are not going to fully reimburse me.

So I just sent this email to xxxxxxxx at chainreaction:

"Hi, xxxx--

On your say-so I bundled up the 3 Mavic chains and trudged down to the post office.

To my shock, the absolute cheapest way I could send them and have them insured is priority mail--you can't insure first class to a foreign country from the US.

So even though it seemed ridiculous, I spent US$34.10 to return the chains.

Just now I reviewed the "how to return stuff" and no mention is made of insurance--and it seems to indicate that you are not going to refund my postage. This makes no sense since no vendor i have ever dealt with wants you to send stuff uninsured.

Also--I submitted a product review warning people that these chains will not work on Shimano 10-speed (even though your site says they will). My review was not posted to the site and you are still advertising that these chains are "compatible with all 10-speed systems).

So I am looking for a clarification about whether I was supposed to send the chains uninsured (at my risk) or insured (at my expense if not reimbursed). Remember, this problem was caused by your incorrect advertising.

Please pass this on to a supervisor--whatever you do, please do NOT just tell me to reread your return instructions.

There is a current thread on bikeforums.com dealing with chainreactioncycles and I have been singing your praises. Naturally I will be posting the outcome of this problem.

Thanks for your help, Regards, Clark xxxxxxx (Hawaii, USA_)"

..........................................................................................
I will post their response

I am a satisfied customer of Chain Reaction Cycles.



I ordered a Cube Litening HPT Ultegra SL Road Bike 2009 from Chain reaction. I placed the order on the Saturday the 5th or May. I received a mail from them on Monday the 7th of May Asking for proof that the credit card was mine.(which is good when you are spending so much money), A little time consuming although It`s better than the credit card company calling saying someone has been using your credit card without you knowing which has happened to me before.

My order was processed on Tuesday May 8th, I received the bike today the 13th May which i thought was very quick as i am I living in Japan. The bike was packed well and came to me in perfect condition, I would not hesitate in using chain reaction again and would recommend to my friends.
Riceman

I am a satisfied customer of Chain Reaction Cycles.



I ordered a Cube Litening HPT Ultegra SL Road Bike 2009 from Chain reaction. I placed the order on the Saturday the 5th or May. I received a mail from them on Monday the 7th of May Asking for proof that the credit card was mine.(which is good when you are spending so much money), A little time consuming although It`s better than the credit card company calling saying someone has been using your credit card without you knowing which has happened to me before.

My order was processed on Tuesday May 8th, I received the bike today the 13th May which i thought was very quick as i am I living in Japan. The bike was packed well and came to me in perfect condition, I would not hesitate in using chain reaction again and would recommend to my friends.
Riceman

Yes, I also have had several problem-free orders and have been delighted up to now.

Let's say, in your case, that there was some kind of problem with your new Cube bike (a clear manufacturing defect) and you had to ship it back. Would you ship it insured? Would you expect to be fully reimbursed for the shipping cost (since the problem is no way your fault)?

I think when we order stuff from overseas whole sellers there is always going to be an element of risk, If any problems should arise. In your case the cost of the chains was small. So i would of sent them back uninsured. In my case the cost of my order was very high. Did you tell the Guy at chain reaction you were sending them back insured if so they should refund you fully, If not they are not obliged to refund you. I guess at the end of the day they will tell you to read the return policy.



Good Luck:thumb::thumb:




Yes, I also have had several problem-free orders and have been delighted up to now.

Let's say, in your case, that there was some kind of problem with your new Cube bike (a clear manufacturing defect) and you had to ship it back. Would you ship it insured? Would you expect to be fully reimbursed for the shipping cost (since the problem is no way your fault)?

I think when we order stuff from overseas whole sellers there is always going to be an element of risk, If any problems should arise. In your case the cost of the chains was small. So i would of sent them back uninsured. In my case the cost of my order was very high. Did you tell the Guy at chain reaction you were sending them back insured if so they should refund you fully, If not they are not obliged to refund you. I guess at the end of the day they will tell you to read the return policy.



Good Luck:thumb::thumb:

Their return policy is terrible.

I had a pair of rain pants from them that started to fall apart on the first ride. I wore them for less then 5km, but they told me the goods were used, not defective because I wore them once. How the hell could I know they were defective if I never used them? Anyway it was like pulling teeth to get my money and shipping costs back from them.

No other vendor has been so much trouble for me, and due to the small market where I live I frequently order items from out of the country. In fact I can't think of another vendor who has given me trouble for a clearly defective item.

to continue with my story about the chains that didn't fit:

I get back a very defensive email from the customer service rep which states very clearly that-- In relation to the returned chains, in our previous email it was clearly stated that the chains should be sent back via standard post. This is the only postage cost that we will be refunding in this case. As you have already mentioned this is quite clearly stated in our terms and conditions.

So I figure that I'm screwed and out some amount of money--I'll just wait and see what the damage is.

Don't hear anything else from them on this subject.

This morning I check my credit card activity and see that chainreactioncycles gave me a credit of $77 on 16 June. Apparently it takes awhile to show up.\

So now I am thoroughly confused, but I'm not out any money, so I'm happy.

I really think that if i had just rolled over, they would not have refunded the full amount. Posting on here and making them aware that "the world is watching" probably influenced them to "do the right thing".

Also i should mention that 5 hubs in my last order were shipped without skewers. After a couple of emails from me, they agreed to ship the skewers, so I expect I'll receive them anytime now.

All in all I have saved a big pile of money shopping with crc. They rarely make mistakes, but when they do there is some confusion about whether they will pay the full postage for returning the defective stuff by insured postl. If you put their feet to the fire, they will do the right thing. Conversely, if you don't complain and generally become a thorn under their saddle, you may not fare so well.

I have had no problems with CRC... First order was for Shimano 7850 CL wheelset which was delivered in a little more than a week. 2nd order was for Ultegra Cassette, Conti GP4000 tire, Garmin accessories... I chose the cheapest shipping option (no tracking) for this and got the order delivered after about 2 weeks. I will now alternate between CRC and Wiggle for bike related purchases.

I have had no problems with CRC... First order was for Shimano 7850 CL wheelset which was delivered in a little more than a week. 2nd order was for Ultegra Cassette, Conti GP4000 tire, Garmin accessories... I chose the cheapest shipping option (no tracking) for this and got the order delivered after about 2 weeks. I will now alternate between CRC and Wiggle for bike related purchases.

What kind of stuff is Wiggle good for? I've never seen any really good deals . . .

EDIT: I take it back--this is just what every old man (over 65) needs, and for only $45!http://s.wiggle.co.uk/images/dhb-tm-wiggle-bs-ss10-ind.jpg

It's taken a bit of digging and a flurry of back-and-forth emails, but here is the bottom line on crc's returns policy, approved by management up the line.

Because of the prohibitively high cost of insured shipping, they want you to return defective/their mistake stuff uninsured, by the least expensive method.

You must keep your receipt for mailing the parcel, even though it is uninsured.

When the parcel is received you will be reimbursed for both the merchandise and the postage charges.

If the parcel goes missing, they will accept your postage receipt as proof that you sent the stuff (they will trust you, in other words) and they will reimburse you for the merchandise and the postage.

This is a liberal policy which i think is really great, since they would doubtless have to raise their (fantastic low) prices if they took a beating on a bunch of insured postage charges that cost as much or more than the merchandise.

Because it is a liberal policy which could lend itself to abuse by the dishonest, it seems to be kept shrouded in secrecy; and you really have to dig to find this information out.

The bottom line is that shopping with CRC is as risk-free as shopping with any other legitimate company. And their prices are a LOT lower.:)

Please note that my comments above apply only to my experience, which was "they send the wrong item". I have no experience with how they handle issues like defective stuff as experienced by Ziemas and others. Because of the distance and shipping charges, I limit my purchases from CRC to known brands and quality reputations (Shimano, Thompson, etc). In other words, no experimenting with stuff I'm not sure about . . . Jenson, with their easy return policy and guaranteed price match is my choice for other stuff.

I just bought a set of wheels, cassette and other parts from chain reaction and I'll buy again. Shipping was fast to Canada, I ordered on June 30th and received all items today July 5th. Not too shabby for shipping international! items arrived as described and I am pleased.