I'm set on buying a steamroller, but the cheapest I can find in Toronto is $850. Whereas it's less than $650 american. The price difference is enough for a whole set of upgrades to components... Should I just buy from a LBS? or take a shopping trip across the border. Anyone have experience with this?

I've been watching eBay and they tend to end at about $550 or so, depending on the size. A complete one ended at $300 just the other day, I am kicking myself for not scooping it.

im a canadian and I don't agree to the price difference between can/usa at the moment because we are toting just about 1:1 for the dollar... go south as much as i hate to say it... but get ready to pay duties...

The discrepancy in pricing is shrinking in some areas, but in others, there really isn't much motivation to lower prices. Think about it. Sure, you can cross the border to buy a bicycle, but you sure as hell aren't going to sneak one past customs, so you pay duties and tax + the cost of the trip. Or, conversely, you can buy one online from one of the many discount bikes shops based in the US, oh wait, very few of them even ship to Canada, and for those that do, you're going to PAY PAY PAY for shipping, ESPECIALLY if they only ship UPS internationally (seriously, **** those guys).

The price difference ends up being negligible, assuming the online deal even saves you money in the end, and whereas you can pick that bike up in the LBS today, shipping internationally can take weeks, unless of course you shell out for express shipping. Again, more dollar bills out of your pocket.

Of course, your LBS knows this, and they can charge for the convenience and even gain a little extra profit on the shipping difference, as the price per bike of shipping one bike vs. shipping a dozen of them is at the very least noteworthy.

Gas cost from your local to U.S.A. + $650 frame in U.S.A. + 13% duty at border ($84.50) + gas cost back home = ??? I have no idea on your gas costs but if you factor in your time to do all this, is it really worth it all. I think you would be looking at around the same price as in Canada by the time all is said and done.

I sometimes consider buying outside the country for the sake of price but on further analysis it is [edit - almost especially of purchases below $1000.00] never actually worthwhile. Taxes, shipping, the hassle of being there to accept delivery is almost never worth the effort/time compared to buying locally if a local option is available. Also you have the added value of services offered by most shops with a full bike purchase including professional or at least experienced assembly, the standard full tune-up within 1 month/ 1 year / as needed offered by most shops along with discounts on accesories that some shops offer.

Save $200? Not likely when you tally the effort, walking in and buying is way more fun too.

I bought a Long Haul trucker at the LBS in Montreal. 1200$. That's what they cost here - actually another shop wanted 1250$ and they didn't even have a floor model. In the US, they retail for just under 1k. Everything is more expensive in Canada because "Canada is a smaller market".

If your LBS keeps the bike in stock, you can buy it there, if they order it from a catalog, you might consider a trip over the border.

I encouraged my local shop because they had Surly bikes in stock (the LHT and Steamroller if I remember correctly), and buying a bike without trying it first isn't fun.

Yup, if you want to get something shipped from the U.S, make sure it is NEVER coming by UPS or Fedex, the only safe option is USPS. vvvvv

Ask Me About Getting Charged $80 In Duties For A $90 PS2.

**** UPS.

Canadian prices are quite balls. The shipping could be OK depending on the size/carrier, so it would still b cheaper to get it from US, but it's the duties that effing KILL and really make it not worth your time. I got really lucky once and some expensive stuff (~300$) went through customs and I didn't have to pay anything. But of course that only happened once

The good thing about Ontario is the 7 percent discount on any bike under 1,000 dollars.

+1

As others have said, your time, gas prices, duties etc. will eat up a $200 difference pretty quickly. I just got drilled $35 on a $45 set of clips I bought over three months ago by FedEx for warehousing fees etc. That's a bit of a hidden cost, because I had no idea how much it would be or if it was coming at all. What looked like a great deal wasn't that amazing as it turned out. Unfortunately, I didn't have the option to go USPS. Packing a full size bike to USPS size limits can be challenging and not all vendors offer it. +1 on ebay.

Theres always DHL. When you're shopping for carriers, check them out too.

DHL are the WORST carrier I have ever used.

I had one driver who just couldnt be bothered taking the time to go to my store, so he marked two days in a row that i wasnt in, and continued with his deliveries. I then had to go during office hours to their warehouse (not easy to get to) and they charged me a holding fee.

They also have "lost" 3 packages that i've either sent, or been waiting for, only for them to turn up when i try to claim the insurance.

it will only cost you $US80 to ship a $US670 Steamroller fully built up by JensonUSA to Canada via UPS including all taxes and excise charges...You're saving about $CDN100 when all is said and done vs. buying it at the cheapest price in Toronto and, allowing them three days to assemble it, it will arrive by Friday if you order it Monday morning...

if your steamroller runs into problems or is recalled or something crazy like that, your local Toronto shop will most likely stand behind you if you bought it from them...jenson usa probably won't be as convenient...

you have to ask yourself whether or not that extra $100 you saved is worth going it alone when it comes to service...

a lot of that probably depends on how good you are with a wrench and how confident you are at sizing a bike for yourself...

With a wrench, I'm useless. But I'm living in london right now, and will be for 2 more years, so having a LBS in Toronto isn't very helpful either. I've tried 49cm and 53cm Steamroller, and having short legs for my height, 49cm seems to fit me very well.
Sizing isn't the issue, and if I run into any problems with the bike, I'll be visiting LBS in London. But if I have problems with the frame, I guess it's better to have something within 2 hours reach than jensons...
I still can't decide, it would be easier for me to choose LBS if i was living in Toronto, but since I'm 2 hours away...

Maybe I can find some other bikes sold in London LBSs that I haven't tried yet. I haven't tried the KHS flite someone mentioned (if they still have some available that is), and if it's not as fidgety as langster (I want something i can ride in the streets too so)...

How did you come up with $80?

Brokerage is $40
Tax is $80

That's ignoring duties AND the actual shipping charge although i'm not too clear on whether or not they are supposed to charge that on complete bikes like the surly. That's also assuming your time costs nothing and you've already got all the tools to assemble it properly.

i used the little shipping calculator that jenson has...that's what it came out to...$80...brokerage and taxes included...actually, I ordered a sugino messenger chainring and a sram chain off them a few months ago and the shipping and taxes only came to $27 and it arrived two days later (unfortunately, however, they shipped the wrong part.......)

I paid 82.01 (including duties) for shipping and 79.92 in taxes to have my Steamroller shipped to my door here in Winnipeg.Jenson shipped it immediately and it arrived in a couple of days. I tracked it through UPS and they must have put in on a plain as it arrived so quickly.I had a good experience with Jenson but you really don't save a lot of money when all is said and done.

little shipping calculators online cannot calculate duty as it is assessed at the border by Canada Customs. Small parts often se no duty or even GST simply because they slip through with a low declared value. As duty & GST are what is known as "your problem" they are not properly accounted for by the other end. Operator is right, via ups the brokerage alone is between $35-$50, duty would run 80ish and GST would be added using the declared value before shipping costs at the border. You got the within USA shipping quote

Jenson = complete bike to canada =
"Ups
International Express
$89.15
Rate: $89.15
Oversize: $0
Discount: ($0)
Allow 5 Business Days
For Delivery


UPS International Express includes Brokerage Fees, however you will be responsible for import duties."

See?

They get teh brokerage taken off thanks to their volume and an exclusive w/UPS, but duty (plus GST) is still your problem. So it's actually about $200.00 to ship that bike to you

It was 82.00 for the bike to arrive at my door. You pay GST whether you but it from the states or your LBS.

"They get teh brokerage taken off thanks to their volume and an exclusive w/UPS, but duty (plus GST) is still your problem. So it's actually about $200.00 to ship that bike to you"

The amount shown at checkout on JensonUSA.com for shipments to Canada is a "to-your-door price". It includes all shipping charges, brokerage, duty, GST/PST up front. The carrier will not collect anything at delivery, duty, GST, or otherwise.

If you have any questions about Jenson USA shipping to Canada, give us a call anytime!

Justin Christopher
Jenson USA
(888) 880-3811