Haro Extreme X3 international pricing

[Candt]

Hi there,

I've read all the reviews, and looked at the amazing spec on the Haro Extreme X3
- and now really want one - bad... The problem is - here in the UK - it's 1200 GBP - thats about
1900 USD !!!!

Now - in the US - its 600 USD's less. So - is there an online bike retailer for Haro which will ship
from the US to the UK? What would the import duty be on this, if I found one, and got caught? Is it
a good idea? Does anyone know of any UK/EUR places that have a good price for this bike?

Sorry - I ask too many questions ;-)

And before anyone asks - no, I won't send you the money for you to get one for
me....

Cheers

CandT

 

[Bomba]

CandT wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> I've read all the reviews, and looked at the amazing spec on the Haro Extreme X3
> - and now really want one - bad... The problem is - here in the UK - it's 1200 GBP - thats about
> 1900 USD !!!!
>
> Now - in the US - its 600 USD's less. So - is there an online bike retailer for Haro which will
> ship from the US to the UK? What would the import duty be on this, if I found one, and got caught?
> Is it a good idea? Does anyone know of any UK/EUR places that have a good price for this bike?
>
> Sorry - I ask too many questions ;-)
>
> And before anyone asks - no, I won't send you the money for you to get one for
> me....

It's really not worth it. You're looking at 30%+ import duty, which all but cancels out the savings
made. Added to that, you're going to have to pay shipping and if anything goes wrong with it, well,
you get the gist.

BTW, it might be an idea to not just base your decision on buying a bike on components alone. Frame
and how it fits you are way more important,
IMO. For 1200 GBP you have a lot of options.

 

[Candt]

On Thu, 13 Mar 2003 19:42:10 +0100, bomba <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>BTW, it might be an idea to not just base your decision on buying a bike on components alone. Frame
>and how it fits you are way more important,
>IMO. For 1200 GBP you have a lot of options.

Yep - replies in a couple of other groups have put paid to that really.

Regarding your second point - I'd be open to suggestions. This particular bike came to my attention
based on an amazing review in What MTB UK. The review was of the 799 GBP X2 version which loses
hydraulic discs for Avid Mechanical Discs, and downgrades the drivertrain to, IIRC, an Alivio
Mixture, the forks go to Marzocchi's EXR's from the X3's Psylo XC losing 25 mm in the process, and
the rear shock is down from the Fox Vanilla to an X-Fusion?

The review gave a 9 for performance, and a 10 for value for the X2... Now I'm not normally wowed by
reviews of course - but it was up against some other bikes in the same price range, and came out on
top by a large margin.

It was really, the 5 inches of front and rear travel, the simple design, and the solid componentry
that made me look at the X3. I've seen and ridden worse specs on 1500-2000 GBP bikes... 1199 GBP's
just seemed like a pretty good deal in anyones book.

Anyway - like I said - I'm open to suggestions about alternatives..

Cheers

CandT

FYI in case you hadnt seen it - http://www.harobikes.com/2003/ex3.html is the X3, and the full specs
link on on the right hand side...

 

[Bomba]

CandT wrote:

>>BTW, it might be an idea to not just base your decision on buying a bike on components alone.
>>Frame and how it fits you are way more important,
>>IMO. For 1200 GBP you have a lot of options.
>
>
> Yep - replies in a couple of other groups have put paid to that really.
>
> Regarding your second point - I'd be open to suggestions. This particular bike came to my
> attention based on an amazing review in What MTB UK. The review was of the 799 GBP X2 version
> which loses hydraulic discs for Avid Mechanical Discs, and downgrades the drivertrain to, IIRC, an
> Alivio Mixture, the forks go to Marzocchi's EXR's from the X3's Psylo XC losing 25 mm in the
> process, and the rear shock is down from the Fox Vanilla to an X-Fusion?
>
> The review gave a 9 for performance, and a 10 for value for the X2... Now I'm not normally wowed
> by reviews of course - but it was up against some other bikes in the same price range, and came
> out on top by a large margin.

I'm always slightly sceptical of reviews in magazines. Added to which, at the 800 GBP price point,
the frame may be top drawer, but for another 400 quid, you're in a different ball park.

> It was really, the 5 inches of front and rear travel, the simple design, and the solid componentry
> that made me look at the X3. I've seen and ridden worse specs on 1500-2000 GBP bikes... 1199 GBP's
> just seemed like a pretty good deal in anyones book.

As I say, components aren't the be-all and end-all. For a FS, I'd be more interested in a
decent frame.

> Anyway - like I said - I'm open to suggestions about alternatives..

If you go hardtail at this price you can have a top notch frame and parts, customised to a certain
degree. With FS, everything is going to be a bit of a compromise. Have a look at the offerings from
Specialized, Marin and Kona. If you stretch a bit further, the bikes from Orange are very good, IMO.

--
a.m-b FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/ambfaq.htm

b.bmx FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/bmx_faq.htm

 

[Westie]

"CandT" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Thu, 13 Mar 2003 19:42:10 +0100, bomba <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >
> >BTW, it might be an idea to not just base your decision on buying a bike on components alone.
> >Frame and how it fits you are way more important,
> >IMO. For 1200 GBP you have a lot of options.
>
> Yep - replies in a couple of other groups have put paid to that really.
>
> Regarding your second point - I'd be open to suggestions. This particular
bike
> came to my attention based on an amazing review in What MTB UK. The review
was
> of the 799 GBP X2 version which loses hydraulic discs for Avid Mechanical
Discs,
> and downgrades the drivertrain to, IIRC, an Alivio Mixture, the forks go
to
> Marzocchi's EXR's from the X3's Psylo XC losing 25 mm in the process, and
the
> rear shock is down from the Fox Vanilla to an X-Fusion?
>
> The review gave a 9 for performance, and a 10 for value for the X2... Now
I'm
> not normally wowed by reviews of course - but it was up against some other
bikes
> in the same price range, and came out on top by a large margin.
>
> It was really, the 5 inches of front and rear travel, the simple design,
and the
> solid componentry that made me look at the X3. I've seen and ridden worse
specs
> on 1500-2000 GBP bikes... 1199 GBP's just seemed like a pretty good deal
in
> anyones book.

Haro appears to be competitively priced. You get good value for money. My first bike was a Haro and
it also was bang for buck.

Westie

 

[Candt]

On Tue, 18 Mar 2003 08:57:22 +0100, bomba <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>I'm always slightly sceptical of reviews in magazines. Added to which, at the 800 GBP price point,
>the frame may be top drawer, but for another 400 quid, you're in a different ball park.
>

Me too - but you can usually read between the lines and sense the real impression that something
leaves with the reviewers...

>
>As I say, components aren't the be-all and end-all. For a FS, I'd be more interested in a
>decent frame.

From my initial searches, Haro seems to be a well respected pro BMX manufacturer who have branched
out - I might be wrong though. But the pedigree seems sound.

>
>If you go hardtail at this price you can have a top notch frame and parts, customised to a certain
>degree. With FS, everything is going to be a bit of a compromise. Have a look at the offerings
>from Specialized, Marin and Kona. If you stretch a bit further, the bikes from Orange are very
>good, IMO.

A further bit of information - which might swing it - I've found both an online retailer, and a
relative in the trade who can get the £1199 X3 for 300 notes cheaper - £899.... Now that IS a good
deal I reckon... For a first full susser, you're getting a pretty good quality bike for that
price... Riders on mtbreview.com have given it a 5 chilli rating too - and I find those reviews far
better than magazines...

Anyway - I'll probably hold off until after the bike show in April. Haro have a stand, and hopefully
- they'll have one of the X range to try out....

CandT