Bluechip

I just recently bought a complete bike for my wife from Competitive Cyclist. It arrived quickly and packed like the above pic. Much better packing than I had ever seen before. If I had ordered just the frame and parts I would not expect it to be assembled in any way. Too bad about the wrong size stem and wrong cassette. I would have been upset about that too. The bike looks great and I hope you get a ton of miles on it.

I ordered a rain jacket and pants set from them and was called to let me know that the jacket was out of stock and that they didn't expect any more in. It was a really good deal so I was a bit upset. They offered several options but I chose to just take the pants and keep looking elsewhere for the jacket. They called back a couple of weeks later and said they had one jacket coming in soon and gave me the original discount plus a little more for the inconvenience. I thought their customer service was outstanding.

deacon mark

They charge a lot for a bike and I can do better anywhere from what I see. Terrible sight to maneuver on the internet .

merlinextraligh

I've always had good success with Competitive Cyclist. Never bought a complete bike from them though. They are great on returns. I bought a set of Look/Polar power pedals that were complete garbage, and they took them back with no issue.

Some people have indicated that CC might be slipping, after being acquired by Backcountry, which could possibly explain Creatre's experience. Don't know if that's true.

Jed19

I have been dealing with Competitive Cyclist for many years (since they were in Arkansas) now, never had a single bad experience with them.

globecanvas

I've had this problem periodically. I assume you have the high limit screw out far enough since that's the obvious fix. Is the RD all the way against the limit screw? If so, with the bike in the stand, grab the RD cable with your hand and pull it over to shift to an easier gear, then let go and see if the RD snaps right back to the limit screw. If it doesn't, the usual cause is a sticky shifter cable. I know you just built the bike, but maybe there's friction in the cable somewhere.

If the RD just can't reach the limit screw even with the cable totally slack, see if there is a shim behind the cassette you can remove (or replace with a thinner shim), making sure the lockring doesn't bottom out after removing the shim. If there's no shim behind the cassette, you may need to add a shim to the RD, but that's a last resort.

jdip

It sucks that you had all of those issues. I personally haven't dealt with CC before. But the bike looks great.

Could you give me some info on the wheels please; what are they, rim depth, price?

Cheers.

Creatre

Yoeleo 50mm 25mm wide u shape super light. Sub 1500g clinchers.

Carbon Bicycle Wheel - Buy Light Clincher Carbon Bike Wheels Yoeleo

bt

finished it up...

Brougham

[QUOTE=Campagnono;17057556]Agreed it IS a fantastic bike. I bought my Hakkalugi Disc (frame only) from CC in February and it was a good experience. I've also purchased shoes and some components from them without issues, however I never needed to follow up with customer service or do a return with these purchases.

Creatre

OP here.

It's now been a week since UPS delivered the RMA'd items I shipped back to them. I confirmed via tracking number online. No communication they have recieved and no replies to my email asking if they have received or how long the process would take.

Niloc

I can understand the attraction of internet shopping and do it myself from time to time, but I'm hoping that for the most part bicycles continue to be sold from real bicycle shops not online discounters. A bicycle should be sized and fitted for you and all those little tweaks can be done by the bike shop, usually at no or little additional cost as part of the sale. I thought that most manufacturers were sticking with the dealer model so as to maintain prices and ensure support for their product at and after the sale. That way a positive experience is maintained. I think a smart manufacturer knows this.

Constantly seeking the bottom line in price is not always the best decision or even the cheapest in the long run.

coldehammer

Try applying that theory to your local Campagnolo dealer.

Niloc

Meaning? Excuse my ignorance - seriously, I'm pretty ignorant of the goings on in the bicycle industry. Are Campy dealers notoriously crappy at customer service?

BTW my comment was mainly about bicycle companies selling full, ready to ride bicycles sticking to a dealer model not so much component companies.

bt

I build my bikes because I know what size I need and what I want on it, not necessarily for the "bottom line price"

GuitarBob

First, beautiful bike! In a few weeks, hopefully all of the crap will be forgotten.

I hate the telephone, but I suggest that you call them. Yes, they are an internet retailer so they should pay close attention to email, but I've always had better luck resolving issues by talking directly to an actual human. Even at CC.

My experience with CC has been predominantly positive. Same is true with LBSs, some have been good, some less so.

jdip

Cheers and good luck with the RMA stuff...

NumbersGuy

I ordered my new bike (first road bike) after having a so-so experience buying my hybrid at one LBS and not really getting the kind of treatment I was looking for at multiple LBS when looking for the road bike, most not even offering test rides, or just trying push me on a special sale only good today on a bike that wasn't the right size. It kinda put me off. I did find a couple shops that I liked, but they are Trek and Specialized dealers and although my hybrid is a Specialized, I wanted something a little less ubiquitous for my road bike. I was able to glean from those shops though what my preferences are and what geometry would suit my needs. After doing much research and review reading online, I browsed several of the major online retailers, including some in the U.K. looking at bikes that met my criteria and evaluating spec vs price as several levels. I decided to hit the Chat Now button on the CC website to ask some additional questions and get more info. I ended up chatting with Trevor Jackson, who first listened to everything I told him, answered my questions, gave some insights on the bikes and components, and then gave me a few other bikes to consider in my price range. I had gleaned over the Boardman brand anytime I browsed the site, not being familiar with their bikes at all. Once Trevor pointed the SLS 9.2 out and I started to check it out, it seemed like a contender. I spent the next couple days reviewing specs and measurements and felt pretty confident that this bike was exactly what I had been looking for. I called up Trevor and we had a bit of a discussion, including the value of Di2 vs manual Ultegra.

I ultimately ordered the mechanical Ultegra bike, which was delivered last Friday. It was packaged in the same manner of the pictures earlier in the thread, which pretty well guaranteed it would arrive in the same condition it was assembled. All I had to do was secure the bars, seat and wheels. It came with a completed assembly checklist including the torque specs on everything (which I verified a few of). The only thing I adjusted was about a half turn of the barrel adjuster for the front derailleur to get it perfect. Not bad for a bike that traveled a couple thousand miles to me via UPS. Trevor has been in contact since I got my bike, and I feel truly enjoys helping people find the right bike. So for me, it was a great experience with CC and I plan to purchase other items from them in the future. I also did develop a relationship with one of the LBS owners, who fully supported me buying online if I was confident the bike would be a good fit. Based on that experience I've bought several apparel items, a saddle bag and some nutritional items from him. I'll probably also pay him for a fitting once I get myself fully acclimated to riding a road bike. So all in all, I think that both online and brick and mortar bike retailers have their place and I'll continue to support both. As others have mentioned, you'll find good and bad in every form of every business type out there. Find the good ones and support them.

bt

tl;dr

NumbersGuy

dc;gfy

RollCNY

rofl

coldehammer

Well, there's two routes a consumer can take. Purchasing a full kitted bike off the shelf or piecing one together. Most cyclists who've accumulated one or more bikes may have the wisdom of just buying a frame and building/swapping parts that are ideal to them. Components are fairly difficult to get, especially when you are looking for variety. Most LBS will order them direct for the consumer while also making a buck. So either way, buying off the internet will find you the best deal for a component in the same amount of time.

MikeyBoyAz

BPotY

StanSeven

If you are buying a new frame or complete bike and want new components, it's hard to beat the delta price difference between a new bike and a frame. Manufacturers get such a deal, individuals can't match.

02Giant 

I bought my Orbea from CC last December, it arrived just like the prior pictured bike, it was assembled in minutes, a little longer to verify adjustments, and it was ready to ride.

I purchased the bike on sale, the next day I checked the website again, the bike was $100 less, a quick email to them had the Benjamin back in my bank account.

My experience was positive as were many other purchases from CC/BC.

jkcrowell

I got a fantastic deal on a Tallboy C from Competitive Cyclist, and I've been quite happy with the bike. Packaging was good, shipping was quick, putting the bike together was easy. I do try to spend money locally when I can, but 54% off the exact bike you want is a pretty stellar deal. I haven't had any warranty concerns with the bike, so I can't rate that side of the experience.

Unfortunately for me, being 6'4" means I often can't find a bike locally to try or purchase off the floor anyway. In that case, it's the difference between having a local dealer order a frame or doing it myself.