timdow

Was thinking about picking up a Randonee, but just noticed that REI now says "•Discounts not valid on bicycles." They used to say all excluded except Novara. Bummer... I will still add it to my cart on the 15th to make sure, but it sure looks like no 20% anymore.

Steve B.

I'm looking at the mailed sale brochure in front of me.

Not only does it say on the very front "Members save 20% on one full price item", with no * so you can apply this to a bike, it also has, further in, a "15% off for Novara and Diamond Back 2015 full price bikes".

So there is a savings to be had.

timdow

Thanks I see the 15% on page 8. 20% would tip me toward buying... 15% not sure.

indyfabz

That's a difference of only $60.

gpburdell

Get the REI [strike]Visa[/strike] Mastercard and land an extra 5% dividend...

timdow

I have it I was counting on that too.

bikemig 

I've been thinking of picking one up. It is a really nicely spec'd touring bike at a pretty reasonable price.

timdow

Here is the thing... I was going to go for the Novara because it is inexpensive for what it is. Without all the discounts, other options start looking good... for instance:

They are not carrying the LHT going forward, but they still have the 2014 LHT in my size (60cm) through the mail. $1300- $130 member rebate = $1170. The Novara comes to $1020 w/15% off.

I really want to go with the bike that fits me best... but none of my local bicycle dealerships have either of these in anything near my size. I am getting quite weary of shopping for bikes that I can't physically look at. I think I may just wait a while.

indyfabz

On a sale item?

gpburdell

Supposedly so. See here: REI MasterCard
So yeah, 5% additional dividend seems to be for any REI purchases (including garage sale items)...

Though technically it's an REI Mastercard now I guess.

timdow

Yes 5% back on all REI purchases, 2% for gas and groceries, 1% for everything else - all given as REI EOY rebate. They were also offering a $100 bonus in REI store credit a while back which is what motivated me to get the card.

indyfabz

I have had their Visa card for years. Usually end up with between $150 and $220 to spend every year. I know they are switching to MC and that the grocery rebate has been put into effect already even if you have not received the new card yet. (I haven't.) But I wasn't aware that the dividend on sale items deal has also been activated already.

I was going to use my card to pay for the custom ti bike I picked up from a LBS the other day so I could get a decent chunk of change with one swipe. Then the shop owner told me he'd give me a 2% discount if I paid by check. So instead of earning $X to spend at REI I saved $2X on the price of the bike.

gpburdell

Looks to still be valid. The Visa was issued through USBank, not sure if same for the mastercard though.


I pretty much only use my REI visa for REI purchases. I get 2% cash on all purchases from a Citi card and don't have to wait until dividends are released the following spring.

DropBarFan

Randonee still seems like a fairly good deal with the 15% current discount. Bought one a few years ago w/season-end 20% discount, probably would have bought it anyway. Bought some small items during REI recent sale & got a huge discount from membership etc.

md11mx

How do you like it???
David in Alaska

DropBarFan

I liked the Randonee overall, solidly built, fairly responsive handling, descended nicely with a more confident feel than newer Surly Disc Trucker. But no disc brakes & limited room for wider tires on the Randonee. So it's OK unless riding on bumpy roads/paths or descending mountains thru fog. IMHO fog is a great reason for touring bikes to have discs. One can ride in the rain with rim brakes & they can work pretty well after a couple of seconds that it takes for pads to scrub off the water...however when it's foggy the air can be so damp that rim brake pads never get a good grip.

After all, Novara puts discs on it's semi-off road Safari bike. Plus many commuter bikes have discs. I fail to see how an off-road bike descending at 10-15 mph needs better brakes than a touring bike descending at 35 mph. & I'd guess that Alaska bikers might, err, occasionally encounter some fog.

md11mx

Thank you greatly for the reply.
Cheers,
David in Alaska

HardyWeinberg

So that's in addition to the 10% dividend???

timdow

Yes it is.

HardyWeinberg

Holy cow. So I can get a 15% rebate, plus no sales tax if I go to Oregon, on a bike. I can be a bad citizen to both my state and my LBS!! But I think I am going to do it anyway.

timdow

Well you just missed the annual sale. If you can wait for the next one (December?) you can get 15% off the bike (and that's cash off the bike, and 15% less tax too), plus the 5% dividend on the bike - so 20% total.

indyfabz

It is through US Bank. Just got mine the other day. Think I am going to carry it with me when I go to South Dakota in a few weeks but not activate since the Visa will still be good. That way, should I happen to lose the Visa I will have a backup card.

mtnroads

I really liked the Randonee and purchased a lightly used 2012 last year, however I found the mountain crankset to have a very large Q-factor (lateral distance between the pedals) which caused me knee pain after the first long ride. I adjusted the fit, and tried it a couple of times. That, combined with the really heavy weight (30 lbs), caused me to re-think the Randonee and I sold it.

I just throw this out there because Q-factor was something I didn't consider. I can ride long miles on bikes with road cranks, even road triples like the Trek 520 uses (or used to use), but the cheaper mountain cranks have ridiculously large q-factors, something some of us with aging knee joints might not be able to accommodate well.

timdow

Interesting. I recently finished building my tourer, and went with a mountain crankset. I replaced the 133mm BB with a 103. I would be curious if a narrower BB would solve the issue.

mdilthey

We had an early 90's Novara Randonee in the shop today. Tange tubing, lugged, matte purple. Gorgeous bike.

Looked kinda like this: