Rose Bikes - Baited
 

Gents - Need some advice. I recently purchased the new model of Rose Bikes the The XLITE Four. It was within days of the new release as I was ready to purchase another when I got the FB notification. Seemed all well as on the website they had posted 13 Euros (see attached image) for shipping to US which I assumed was a promotion and now cost was built in to cost of bike. Order placed credit card charged. $1,900+ us. Total delivery was to be 6 weeks. After two weeks I notice my order now says back order so I sent them a note. They came back and said the frames were delayed. Also they could not ship the bike for $13 euros and that "due to a technical problem the shipping cost were not presented correctly" instead I would now be paing an additional $250 euros and unilaterally charged my credit card

I get that something may have happened, but the costs were up for several days before I ordered and was advertised as such. I bought based on their representation.. I contacted the online dispute Resolution platform but they only mediate for customer/retailers who are both in EU countires. I want the bike and dont want to simple cancel - just for them to honor what they advertised... any thoughts?

Tough call, but I would tell them either honor the previous offer or you cancel.

Buying bikes from overseas is a challenge anyway, so this could be a blessing in disguise.

It does happen sometimes. I remember Amazon had an HDTV with a "too good to be true" pricing. I bought 1 but it was cancelled the next day. Same thing happened with one item in BestBuy. They do have some sort of a disclaimer somewhere.

It would be great if they would sell at the shipping price posted but I for one would think it was a mistake. If they did change the shipping back (as they did for you) and depending on how much I like the bike, I would either cancel my order or bite the corrected shipping price. I don't think they are scamming people considering the fact that [1] the bike is a new release, [2] all other complete bikes were shipping 289 euros to the USA.

The only thing you can do is decide how much you're willing to pay to have the bike in your hands and go from there. Sounds like you want the bike, regardless, but the higher charges would sour the deal a bit. Personally, I would start by letting them know that my decision was based upon the total price, that it's not as compelling of a value with the higher shipping charges and that I'm considering cancelling (possibly in favor of purchasing a bike from another vendor). If, at that point, they weren't willing to honor the original price, I'd shoot for a split on the shipping charges (125 euros). If that doesn't work, consider how the experience will make you feel about the bike - for some people, it's less about the money and more about feeling cheated; if there's going to be a tinge of resentment every time you swing you leg over it, then walk away from the deal, it's not worth it. If, however, you can put it behind you it in the time it takes you to crack open and down a beer, then go for it.

Cancel and buy a Canyon instead. There you can at least deal with people in the US. I have two German designed bikes: Bombtrack and Canyon. I can tell you it is a whole lot easier getting technical information and advice out of the Canyon guys in the US.

why was 1900 USD charged?

price is listed with VAT, which if you assume is 20% then without VAT (since its shipping to US) is 1840EUR = 2300USD.

then US authorities will collect customs on top of that.

anyway, they should not be able to charge any alternate amount without your authorization.

You took a screenshot of the order before any of the pricing mixup happened? Why?

That's pretty clear thinking ahead. Impressive.

Or a cached page - not a big deal either way.

I've taken screenshots before ordering stuff when I think there might possibly be a mistake. For example, I ordered a combo mini-pump/CO2 inflator for 365 Cycles that was 50% off, well below what other sites had it priced. Having never ordered from them before, I didn't want to end up with a totally different item so made sure to save the item description and price.

Thanks everyone .. yours are some of the conclusions I had reached, unless I could find a EU organization to serve as arbitrage for the matter which I have not. I had researched bikes based on weight/$$ ratios and this seemed decent vs. what I could find here in the US. I just hate to start over and given it being a new bike they already stated I could cancel. It is more about the principle that you own up to your mistakes as done at many retail establishments when pricing is labeled in error. I took the screenshot, because it was different than shipping costs had been since I had started looking at their bikes, but then I thought new bike new pricing ... VAT was removed and the $1900 was an approximation. I had looked at Canyon but did not find one of similar weight/$$.

At this juncture I will just need to decide if I just bite the bullet... and live with it. I appreciate your time and comments.

St. Louis, MO

Agree with this and you are already having problems.I would pull out.
But if you really want A Rose,just stick it out.
I change my mind so much about which bike I really like the most.

And I looked at one time maybe buying A Rose,Cube and few others bikes from out of country.I wanted something different.The prices seem way better A few years ago.

But so many good bike brands and choices in the USA.I would try to buy local.
And dealing with any warranty issues if needed should be easier.

And if you are interested in weight/$$ ratios.Check out the weight weenies forum.
They have lots of info on low weight bikes and items.Roadbikereview(Euro) forum might have some Rose owners. good luck

You're totally entitled to cancel, but that's your only legal option. So, see what you can beg, or negotiate out of them with the threat to cancel, but if they want the sale less than you do, you'll be left to accept the higher shipping or go without the bike.

To ask a silly question, if you go to their website now, can you still find a Rose XLITE Four with a colour scheme of "Scary Red/Grey"?


I can't see it and even though I am not logged into my account that I have with them, perhaps they have picked up that I am browsing from Australia, and that colour scheme isn't being offered to Australians? :foo:

Great - .. maybe the color is what is causing for my bike to be assembled in late April now ... I would not be surprised if they simply cancel my order as they have now suggested 3 times. I'll ask about the color now as well.

Walk away.

^^^This.

If they had an error on their website (and clearly did) they are under no obligation to honor that price. They need to make you aware of the error and offer you the option of a complete and immediate refund if you so choose.

Charging your card without your authorization is a complete crock, however. An honest mistake is an honest mistake but that would completely kill the deal for me.

Last time I say anything here.

Walk away. This bike is nothing special. The deal is nothing special. You are ignoring all the red flags. You may even end up with surprise duty/customs hassles since it's an "expensive" bike coming in from overseas. There are plenty of more reliable options, including bikesdirect.com, as much as they are bashed their prices are good and they are shipped free domestically.

The frame looks generic to me. I had to google Rose Bikes, cause I initially thought this was a direct frame from China. I thought this was similar to what Ribbles does, goes to China, finds a frame they like and rebrand it under their own brand, but you can easily track down and figure out which frame it is and get it direct for less.

So I would agree with this statement, I don't see anything special with this frame and if you are having issues getting it overseas, maybe cut ties and look elsewhere. you can easily find other frames with similar design and features.

To me this Rose frame looks like a copy of Canyon Aero.

For example Hong-Fu FM069 SL ($800 shipped) - 780 grams
http://www.hongfu-bikes.com/uploads/...1_083058_1.jpg

Its hard to tell exactly because I can't find the bike you are looking at for certain. Is it a X-lite Ultegra? Rose is claiming a weight of 6.8 kilo while I see the Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 8.0 also with Ultegra is coming in at 7.2 kilo. The Canyon's frame is lighter buy 80 grams (780 versus 860) and the wheels on the Canyon weigh 1450 grams where the DT swiss on the Rose weight 1585 grams.

My Aeroad weighed exactly at the claimed 7.1 kilos when I weighed it at home. So if the Ultimate in Ultegra is truely 7.2 and you add the extra 205 grams in for the added frame and wheel weight, the rose would have to shave over 600 grams on the rest of the bike and seeing how they both have Ultegra groups, I don't see that being true. Without going over piece by piece on everything and comparing the rest, I call BS on the claimed weight of the Rose. The bars, stem, seatpost and saddle for instance didn't look all that light to help make up the 600 gram difference.

Any final ,final guidance before I cancel?
 

Yeah .. I get it - I think I became infatuated by the weight/cost ratio. 6.8 kg for a 57 cm frame and me being a 53 it would likely be less. I just looked at the Canyon and at 7.2 kg for a medium is is 3,899 vs. 2,750. You are right in that the frames may be sourced in China as many others do. They have informed me that my assembly date is April 30th ! So even if I thought it was special, its losing its place for me - just hate to start all over with my research, but may be the prudent thing to do as this may be a blessing for what's to come. Aside from the Canyon cited and Bikesdirect, any other brands you think I could find that would come close to the weight? At 57, every hill seems like a mountain and the mental thought of a lighter bike may give me what I need to keep up with my buddies. Thanks all.

This is what I bought .. better yet put on layaway rosebikes.com/bike/rose-x-lite-four-ultegra/aid:2686182

Jittering... have you built up a bike with this frame? With Rose, I was looking for something different since I had a Bianchi and now a Trek. Probably my last bike...

You already have a Trek? I was going to mention that the Emonda is one of the lighter production bikes out there, but if you already have a Trek, that might not be too appealing.

TCR? Those are pretty light for the price.

I have a Dura ace mechanical rim brake Aeroad. The wheels are pretty heavy at 1650 grams but are 62mm deep. I could get pretty close to the UCI weight limit with a set of climbing wheels if I wanted but don’t really feel I need to spend more money. If you go Canyon, you are going to want to be looking at the Ultimate line as they are the lightweight ones from them.

And as Whyfi mentioned, the Emondas are even more lightweight for the $. The $2200 price range a 2017 SL 6 will come in around 16.5#. You are looking at $2750 for a Canyon Ultimate CF SL 8.0 at the same weight, but it does do it with disk brakes.