Has anyone heard of ROI cycles?

[Danger101]

Aloha! I am in Hawaii and I saw an ROI bike for sale on a website. It boasted an overall weight of 16.1 punds, sported all carbon frame and had Ultegra (I know, whadya gonna do) gruppo and nice wheels. The price was only $1300.00. My problem is I know nothing about ROI. The photo looked great, but it could handle terribly. Has anyone heard of these guys?? Help! (and aloha!)

Kevin

 

[Powerful Pete]

Hello there and welcome. ROI bikes are an Italian brand that (I believe) has their frames made in Asia (that is not a bad things, as Kuota, Wilier and Scott seem to be able to make nice frames in Asia and sell truckloads of them). I have not heard much about their bikes, so I cannot comment on their handling as such. They are not known, however, for having the best customer service here (so I would assume that it would not be better in Hawaii)...

 

[Danger101]

Thanks for the info. On their website, they make it sound as if they make their bikes in Italy in a small town outside Florence. Hmmm. I'll try to dig a little deeper. Their frames do look awful nice.

 

[carbonguru]

Powerful Pete I met these guys at Eurobike this year. Super nice looking bikes. American Classic was in their booth and Bill Shook, the Owner of American Classic, was talking these bikes up like they were something out of this world. All their wheelsets were being photographed on the ROI Bike Frames. So it gave me confidence to see an American promoting this Italian Frame. You say that they make the frames in Asia, but I spoke to the sales reps there at the boothe and they said all the frames are made in Florence Italy. They may make other things in Asia like their components, but I think the actual frames are made in Italy. I could be wrong, but that is what I was told.

I too was asking about their frame ride quality. I wanted to take one off the stand and take it outside for a quick sprint. They seemed nice to deal with and I know that they were taking lots of orders. I got a catalog from them and have been trying to research every bit about them before I make the leap to purchase the new Magma Carbon Magnesium Frame. Have you had a bad experience with their customer service? Do they stand behind their warranty? Any insight would be totally helpful. Sorry for so many questions. I just want to make an educated purchasing decision. Thanks much.

Hello there and welcome. ROI bikes are an Italian brand that (I believe) has their frames made in Asia (that is not a bad things, as Kuota, Wilier and Scott seem to be able to make nice frames in Asia and sell truckloads of them). I have not heard much about their bikes, so I cannot comment on their handling as such. They are not known, however, for having the best customer service here (so I would assume that it would not be better in Hawaii)...

 

[Powerful Pete]

Well, I could very well be mistaken about where the frames are made. In all fairness, I do not know much, except that they are (maybe) the importer for American Classic in Italy, and that they are BIG into CF.

I sem to remember someone complaining about their customer service but I could be wrong... let me check some of the other newsgroups I hang out on...

 

[carbonguru]

Thanks Powerful Pete. I appreciate any insight.

Well, I could very well be mistaken about where the frames are made. In all fairness, I do not know much, except that they are (maybe) the importer for American Classic in Italy, and that they are BIG into CF.

I sem to remember someone complaining about their customer service but I could be wrong... let me check some of the other newsgroups I hang out on...

 

[Powerful Pete]

Carbonguru, it was my bad. The reference I had in mind was with a return on an American Classics wheelset, and had nothing to do with their frames.

Sorry to not be able to help you more, but they are a relatively small builder and I have never seen one of their bikes in the Rome area (that, of course, means nothing, I assume you will find a lot more of their frames being ridden in Tuscany).

 

[carbonguru]

Powerful Pete thanks so much. Grazie! I believe is how you say it.

I do know that the American Classic Wheels had a bad stretch due to something going wrong with the rear hub in 2004-2005. I think that has all been remedied to this date. Have a great weekend!

Carbonguru, it was my bad. The reference I had in mind was with a return on an American Classics wheelset, and had nothing to do with their frames.

Sorry to not be able to help you more, but they are a relatively small builder and I have never seen one of their bikes in the Rome area (that, of course, means nothing, I assume you will find a lot more of their frames being ridden in Tuscany).

 

[cycle freak]

I own a ROI ANTARES.......I ordered my frame extra stiff and did the build myself. I will never ride any other frame.....so aerodynamic.......perfect for climbing sprinting and any GC purpose. In my humble opinion you simply can't find a better frame set. Was going to run all Campy but went with SRAM instead. Good luck and good riding!