bandit390

I'm trying to find a online dealer who will ship a bike. ( either trek or specialized ). Most dealers I find are alot cheaper than my local dealer but are unable to ship the bike.

Any suggestions?

slowandsteady

I don't think Trek allows for online purchases.

badkarma

I've never seen Specialized either online.

If you're looking for bikes online:
bikesdirect.com
competitivecyclist.com

That's all that come to mind right now, I'll update as I think of more.

bandit390

Finding them online is the easy part. Actually finding a dealer that will sell and ship them is not. I'm usually told "trek and specialized will not let me sales out of my sales area". But there has to be some dealer out there that can.

Examples...

https://www.theskihut.com/summer06/in..._id=5&limit=10

https://mikesbikes.com/page.cfm?pageid=175

Adiankur

One problem with buying a bike online, is that your not sure how well the bike will fit you. If you have a good local bike shop, they will help you out with fitting the bike, and servicing it as well. dont forget to add in the cost of shipping, plus tune-ups at your lbs. remember, shortly after you get your bike it will need a tune-up after the initial breaking in process.

slowandsteady

You do know that they ship the bike in pieces, right?

Waldo

Actually, there doesn't have to be any dealer that can sell either Trek or Specialized (nor most big-name companies) online; it's expressly prohibited in the dealer agreements. If they are caught doing so they will lose their ability to sell that brand.

halfwheel

Dealers can't sell and ship online, if they do they get dropped by the manufacturer. The 2 examples you're (bandit390) showing aren't selling and shipping through online orders. They're like every LBS site. You can order/pay online and then pick it up or even call for that matter, but that's about it. If you're going to do that you might as well go to the LBS in the 1st place.

The only way to get around it is if you find a shop that's going out of business. At that point, it doesn't matter what the manufacturer thinks. You'll probably find stuff getting blown out on ebay too.

bandit390

God forbid competition.

Guess I'll wait a little and see if any show on ebay. If nothing shows up, i'll be forced to buy from the local store.

withak

The other thing with buying online is you are relying on your own mechanical abilities to assemble it correctly/safely.

mlts22 

I think people have a number of concerns about buying online:

First, new cyclists should not buy a bike and assemble it themselves unless they are willing to take the risks and are careful enough to doublecheck everything (cables, housings, chain length, tightness of screws). Most new cyclists arn't this experienced, because its not just checking once the bike is assembled, its retightening cables after 50-100 miles of riding as many parts break in and stretch slightly.

Second, bikes are somewhat like clothes -- they come in sizes and some parts (like cleats) needed fitted correctly so you don't get problems with knees later on. Buying a bike from mail-order (or a low department store bike) may force you to throw more money at it later on than buying a decent bike initially.

Third, bikes are delicate. If packed improperly, you might have components like wheels going out of true, bent derailleurs and forks, and other mishaps which will bite you after you accepted delivery.

If the LBS in your area isn't good, have you considered driving to another town, checking there? Usually there is some LBS in a geographical region who will take good care of you.