Buying gear in the US

Dave80

A friend is travelling to the US soon and I'm after some new shoes. A quick scan of the internet shows that I might be able to save about $20-$50 (Australian) on a $220 (Australian) pair of Shimano shoes. Is it worth hunting around more or is this as much of a saving as could be expected.

geoffs

I'd be buying more than just a pair of shoes.
Chris King Hubs
Pedals
zero-gravity brakes
Dura-ace derailleurs
Anything that has a huge mark up when you buy it in Aus
.........

Cheers

Geoff

Baalzamon

Next year I'm hopefully off to europe and I'm going to be hunting for some cycling gear. At least I won't have as high postage from Probikekit

Dave80

Yeah I would love to bring a suitcase full of stuff home but I'm a student and short of $$$.

Does anyone have any good recommendations for places to shop? LA area would be super or I can get things shipped to North Dakota or MN.

Thanks heaps

roshea

I was thinking about the same thing, but for shipping to EU countries Probikekit will charge you VAT which I think is around 17% - cheaper to get it shipped to Australia if its a medium-large order!

Conan

Components and most clothing is cheaper in the UK. Zipp wheels, tri bars and some other bits and pieces are good value from the USA but for anything else I'd stick to buying over the net from a UK based outlet like Parker Int; Probikekit or total cycling.

Cheers
Chris

sorcha

Try Jax bicycles (www.jaxbicycles.com), I found the shop at Irvine to be good value, but Jax have multiple locations over LA.

Another good store chain is Performance Bikes (www.performancebike.com), (used to be Supergo) try the Laguna Hills store they generally have lots of close outs (end of season sales) on shoes. You should save a lot more than $50.

Both these stores are in Orange County south Anaheim and your friend will need a car to get around (for anything). Rent a Sat Nav, worth it's weight in gold in LA. There are a lot more in this area that are more like the LBS, but the above have a large range and are good for one stop shopping.

mikesbytes

Is there anyway to get duty free? Otherwise, might as well pay for the postage.

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Training Log

roshea

AFAIK, it is only VAT-free if it's going outside the EU, so you are up for either shipping or VAT. I think there are sometimes deals from Probikekit for free shipping to USA so that may work out for you!

Dini77

I'm with you. I'd be buying stuff that has the biggest price differential compared to Oz eg Powertap laced to a set of Zipp404's would be high on my shopping list, but just depends how much $$ you have to throw about...all grows on trees right???

Wheelbuilder.com in SoCal has great selection of wheels and the guy there knows his stuff and builds a great wheel.

Feideaux

No, they charge you a flat rate of AUD$18 no matter what you order, unless you get wheels, then it's around AUD$100

www.probikekit.com and www.chainreactioncycles.com are both cheap, reliable and quick. Many bargains to be had!!

F.

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"The Ventoux, thrusting abundantly skywards, is a god of Evil to whom sacrifice must be paid. A true Moloch, a despot of cyclists, it never pardons the weak and exacts an unjust tribute of suffering." - Roland Barthes

vazzwells

Can highly recommend Probikekit.net

Purchased a full ultegra groupset from them, total cost including direct to door delivery in Sydney and VISA conversion charges was $860, close to $400 savings. Arrived yesterday in a little over a week no dramas at all and with great savings.

Will certainly purchase again.

roshea

Slight mis-undertanding there. Shipping is a flat $18.99 for most orders to AUS. What I meant was that if it's a medium-larger order then the shipping cost is cheaper than VAT and (cheaper) delivery to the EU.

Dave80

Thanks for the tip, went to performance bikes. My gf got a pair of Shimano R151 road shoes for $70 US (=$96 AUD) as a close out special which is an awesome deal.
I got:
3 x Jerseys,
Cat Eye Astrale 8 computer,
2 x Cannondale Fastbag 78's (one for the GF), and
Ascent Bare Bones Multi-tool all for $208 US (=285 AUD).

My only question now is why the hell do we pay so much for this stuff in OZ? I also picked up a pair of Asic 2100's for 40% of the Australian price and a new set of lenses for my oakleys for about 50% of the price here.