Beware of Bonktown?
 

I was wondering if there are any products that I should be thinking about twice before buying off of bonktown.com mainly because there seems to be amazingly great deals on expensive things, such as that one Blue time trial bike, 50% off of 4gs, but no one goes for them. Also, the reviews seem to be very cut and paste from what the manufacturer would say about their own product. Does anyone have any insight about this?

I've bought a lot of stuff from BT. And if you pay close enough attention, the reviews aren't always spectacular. The often mention things like "I got these from (store other than BT)..." So I doubt they are planted or fabricated in any way.

I've had nothing but great experiences with Bonktown and the sister websites. I had to return a pair of shoes that didn't quite fit right and was able to exchange them with no issues. They have great prices on stuff.

yeah just read the reviews and if there arent any reviews and you buy something....LEAVE A REVIEW!
you can really score off this site and subscribe to their email or like their facebook page and they update you on upcoming products.

The only thing bad about Bonktown is how much money it has sucked out of my wallet. I have it up right now and have come close to buying a couple of things already today. I need to close it...

They have a 30 day "any reason is valid" return policy, so the most you're out is shipping.

my friend was able to ask them specifically about items he was looking for and they respond on fb.
2 weeks ago i had something come in every day for 4 days straight...it was great

I keep it open just incase something sparks my interests too, although I haven't purchased anything to date. Is there anything that is generally avoided by most?

Bonktown sucks! It is a bad place to go, it will suck your bank account dry if you are not careful. :D

MOST of the products are great at prices you can't get anywhere else. I've bought a SRAM cassette that works perfect, a couple of jerseys that are great, socks, etc... but all my returns are due to sizing. I had to return some bibs and shoes b/c of funky fit. I just got some Mavic Zxellium Ultimates I'm returning, but I'm just going to exchange those to get the right size (very nice shoe). Their customer service is great, quick to respond and never leave you guessing.

there are chains, tubes, and tires...stay away from those from what I read unless you like cheap and disposable. the mavik shoes have been up a lot lately...if you need shoes...snag em! oh and the ritchie stem had bad reviews. but the socks and goos or bars are a great deal if you can get your flavor...bar or goo...not socks..

I have never had a problem with them. With the last order I placed, a helmet adjustment piece was broken when it arrived. I gave them a call, they paid for return shipping on the broken one and I had a new one within a week. I agree with others though that it is easy to spend way too much money there though. The only thing I have heard only bad things about are tubes from them. I have never tried them, but all the bad reviews make me too nervous to pull the trigger.

I think most of the complaints come from the Cutter branded items they sell, I've never purchased any of those so they may be unfounded as well.

Awesome, thanks everyone, no one is getting Christmas gifts in my family but me, from me, now!

For the life of me, I can't understand why they would choose to name their site that. Unless they're hoping to get tons of traffic from porn-seekers?

I had to get rid of the little bonktown widget as it was too tempting. Other than the money I spent there, I don't have anything bad to say about them. I think the reviews are pulled from several sites owned by the same people (including a couple that have the traditional ordering model).

Nah, that would be boinktown. OP, I've scored some Red components and Accelerade for less than I can get wholesale. A lot of their stuff is "old" styles, labels or previous generation components (such as "gray" Red instead of "black") and you can get some fantastic deals.

Maybe I'm different from the rest of BFers, but I've come back to Bonktown multiple times after hearing people raving about it and how addicting it is, and frankly, I think it sucks.

I've NEVER seen anything I even remotely wanted to buy there. I've been there on at least 10 separate occasions, thinking I'd find something, but no.

I'm definitely not an impulsive shopper, but I do appreciate nice bike stuff (I have a Cervelo). Haven't found a single thing on Bonktown that I like - it was either wrong color, wrong size, or wrong item. I don't know what you all find so appealing about this site other than the 'discounts', which in my mind are useless if the item's not right for you.

BonkTown.com. = Real cyclist but better prices.

I got some Cutter carbon handlebars from them. So far they've been great.

I have a little insight on this....

From what I can tell based on my own experience, the Cutter clothing is absolutely wonderful and nicely made, but the pieces/parts/tools are not.

I have their merino wool arm warmers with the thumb-hole, and they are possibly my favorite piece of cycling gear. They're really nice, and I went and got a second pair.

Their merino wool "hoodlum" shirts are also great. I have a short sleeve one, and I went back to get the long sleeve one once I realized how much I love it.

Their ankle-length socks are my absolute most favorite socks for bike riding. They're really nice......nicer than any other cycling sock I've tried.

I have one of their clear rain jackets being delivered today, and I expect it to be nice also.

Their little 3-piece tool kit was not that great though. It's re-branded from somewhere else, and it's just not the same quality as their clothing. The allen key set comes with 10, but the holder they're using has 12 holes in it.....they simply plugged 2 of the holes. And their sticker was peeling off when it arrived. The wrench looked neat at first, but it has this disgusting rust/oxidation stuff from where I touched it. I only used the thing once or twice, and the logo is now disfigured from the rust. Strange. The magnetic bowl is cool though.

The only thing to be "worried" about is that the products are on sale for a reason. Usually because it's last year's stock that's been replaced by a newer version, but it's basically the same thing. In some cases though, it's for sale for cheap for a good reason. Like they had Lake shoes on recently....then a few days later I saw that Lake was losing it's sole US-based distributor, so warranty support could be an issue.

But I've ordered from them a handful of times and never had an issue. Good company.

The reason they put things on sale at these prices is that it is a very successful business model to drive traffic to their Real Cyclist website.

I shop at Bonktown (and its siblings) all the time. Mostly good experiences, but a few issues:

1. shipping is not cheap, especially on small items (combining orders helps somewhat)
2. shipping is sometimes very slow (sometimes they don't ship for a couple of weeks, then shipping takes another week)
3. if you do combine orders, stuff that you ordered is more likely to be out of stock when your order ships, then they cancel a bunch of items in your order
4. product descriptions are not very detailed and the sizing charts are not always accurate
5. prices aren't always real cheap, especially for small items and off-brand stuff
6. some of the stuff that they sell was discontinued years ago or is not the latest version of a product (and they don't specify that)
7. some of the stuff that they sell is not sold anywhere else (or in few other places), so unbiased reviews are hard to find

I wouldn't say that they've ever ripped me off, but I do use caution when buying from them (and most other internet outfits).

I just got turned on to Bonktown last week and I'm addicted. I already bought myself some Capo Tempo bib shorts and Lake CX170 shoes for my girlfriend. Payed $100 for the bibs and $47 (yes, $47) for BOA laced shoes. I can sell my girlfriend's crappy Shimano shoes for more than that on eBay. The bibs are originally $220+ and the shoes $160. That is a substantial saving for some high quality gear. I got an email alert from them saying Bont A-One shoes were going on sale for 65% off, so they would have been $140. I missed them though. You have to really make an effort to check it compulsively to get the deals, but when you do they are unbeatable.