flyboyfish

Hey guys, I've been looking for a good online store to do business with. I live in Canada. A lot of people have said good things about wiggle, but they seem to specify wiggle.co.uk. Is there a reason I should go there over wiggle.com?

FBinNY 

It doesn't matter either. Both names go to the same actual site.

HillRider

I've used Wiggle (yes, it's only a UK based dealer) several times with great satisfaction. For some items their prices are staggeringly lower than US internet dealers. They will quote in $US and shipping to the US is free with a minimum (!$80 or so) order size but I don't know if either applies to Canada.

alcjphil

Here's the thing: Most of the UK sites offer cheap or no charge shipping to Canada, and the more you spend the less it costs to ship. The contrary seems to be the rule of thumb with US sites. Shipping to Canada is MUCH more expensive than shipping to an American address, and the more you spend the more it costs to ship. For Canadians, US websites are the pits

flyboyfish

Interesting how that works eh? Thanks guys!

hybridbkrdr

Shipping to Canada depends on size of order at niagaracycle. If it's a large order of small parts, I find the cost reasonable. If they're large parts like rims and tires, then it's too much. eBikestop has better shipping for larger items. Some of them that have OK cost for shipping to Canada include smartbikeparts, chainreactioncycles, cambriabike and xxcycle. Some places I've only made small orders but I've ordered at other places like amazon.com, velo orange, bikeman, nashbar and whoolyhatshop.

Anyway, here's a list of other places I've found interesting...
bikeparts, wheelworld,
harriscyclery, jensonusa, universal cycles, eBay, saint john cycles,
bike24, bikexperts, cyclepath.ca, cheapbikeparts360, bikepartsplace, price point,
blueskycycling, performance bike, bikeisland, benscycle, starbike, aebike, airbomb
probikekit.ca

asmac

I've made several purchases from Northern Ireland based Chainreaction -- https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ca/en -- all with complete satisfaction. As others have mentioned, free shipping for orders over $100. In one case I ordered on a Saturday night and the package arrived on Thursday. Quite amazing. Their email tech support is accurate and quick.

I understand that these online outfits buy job lots of merchandise -- perhaps Giant has an extra 100 XT shifters to unload -- so their stock is quite variable but there is generally a good selection and very low prices and components may or may not come in retail packaging. My LBS tells me that I pay less through Chainreaction than they pay wholesale through normal distribution channels. There is something messed up with that.

joejack951

Ribble Cycles, Total Cycling, and Evans Cycles are other great UK-based cycling websites. Aside from great deals on components and tires (all my Continental GP 4 Seasons come from the UK) they also carry a lot of clothing not available in the US. I have a number of items from Endura and Gill that I ordered from the UK mainly because I couldn't get them in the US.

On a side note (while I'm handing out free plugs) XXCycle out of France carries Stronglight products that seem to be unavailable almost anywhere else. I have a strange affinity for the styling of their cranksets and they are one of the few manufacturers still offering 52/42/30 triples.

HillRider

One more comment on Wiggle in particular. I very recently placed an order with them on a Wednesday and got the package the following Monday. Also, all if the items came in retail display boxes so they aren't "gray market" bike manufacturer's left-overs. As noted, there are several other UK and European dealers offering excellent prices and reliable service.

Looigi

I found postal service en-route times from the UK to Northeast US to be very variable. It seems things get hung up at the US port of entry for indeterminate amounts of time. Usually it's a ~week, but on occasion it's closer to 3. For this reason, I generally don't order stuff from the UK that I'm in a hurry to get.

Metaluna

I've had great luck with Ribble myself, and recently they seem to have reduced their shipping costs to the US, but I can't comment on what they're like if you live in Canada.

I have, however, occasionally had to ship things from the US to Canada (e.g. eBay sales) and can confirm that some carriers are ridiculous, especially UPS. IIRC, USPS wasn't too bad if you used the cheapest method, but still more expensive than it should be considering the geographic proximity.

stevoo

I live in the USA. I try to buy from USA companies 1st but sometimes for parts availability and unusual stuff you end up going to whoever has what you need. Often times that ends up being one of the bigger UK companies. Wiggle and Chain Reaction have a very diverse selection of items.

I have had excellent luck with both Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles.
In fact I just receivd a packakge from Chain Reaction yesterday. No tax or shipping charges and it only took a week.

HillRider

Good point and I've had the same thing happen. Some times delivery is only a couple of days but the customs delay at the POE can be lengthy. I've has at least one order where the tracking info said it reached New York in two days and my house three weeks later. I'll repeat your warning, don't order anything from overseas if you have to have it fast.