Nashbar : Mostly Junk For Sale ??

[Donald Gillies]

I just got the latest Bike Nashbar catalogue. Not only are
the prices uniformly _worse_ than performance bicycle shop,
but if you look at the catalogue, its basically filled with
lots of ****.

Do we really need a selection of 47 different types of
bicycle pumps, all of them junk?

Do we really need to choose among 27 different types of seat
bags, all all of them junk?

I am wondering when this company decided to stock too many
generic items, rather than the old way of doing things,
which was to stock 5 or 7 choices of high quality products,
and call it a day. Are Momo Velo and Harris Cyclery the only
mail order houses willing to stock quality parts any more ??
How do I get off of the bike Nashbar mailing list ??

The mountain bike craze isn't helping, because everything
on a mountain bike has to be a little bit different than on
a road bike, because, well, because, well, because it just
has to be !!!

- Don Gillies San Diego, CA

 

[Alex Rodriguez]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
>I just got the latest Bike Nashbar catalogue. Not only are
>the prices uniformly _worse_ than performance bicycle shop,
>but if you look at the catalogue, its basically filled with
>lots of ****.

Surprising since Performance owns Nashbar.

>Do we really need a selection of 47 different types of
>bicycle pumps, all of them junk? Do we really need to
>choose among 27 different types of seat bags, all all of
>them junk?

I think you just found which parts have the highest
mark ups.

>I am wondering when this company decided to stock too many
>generic items, rather than the old way of doing things,
>which was to stock 5 or 7 choices of high quality
>products, and call it a day. Are Momo Velo and Harris
>Cyclery the only mail order houses willing to stock
>quality parts any more ??

I'm sure there are others, you just have to look for them.

>How do I get off of the bike Nashbar mailing list ??

Ask Nashbar.

-----------
Alex

 

[Sdmike]

"Donald Gillies" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I just got the latest Bike Nashbar catalogue. Not only are
> the prices uniformly _worse_ than performance bicycle
> shop, but if you look at the catalogue, its basically
> filled with lots of ****.
>
> Do we really need a selection of 47 different types of
> bicycle pumps, all of them junk?
>
> Do we really need to choose among 27 different types of
> seat bags, all all of them junk?
>
> I am wondering when this company decided to stock too many
> generic items, rather than the old way of doing things,
> which was to stock 5 or 7 choices of high quality
> products, and call it a day. Are Momo Velo and Harris
> Cyclery the only mail order houses willing to stock
> quality parts any more ?? How do I get off of the bike
> Nashbar mailing list ??
>
> The mountain bike craze isn't helping, because everything
> on a mountain bike has to be a little bit different than
> on a road bike, because, well, because, well, because it
> just has to be !!!
>
> - Don Gillies San Diego, CA

Welcome to the world of superperfermabar! The same ****'s
been happening across the street at Supergo too.

PBS is the 600# gorilla, but they're just not cyclists
any more...

Mike

 

[Paul Nevai]

Alex Rodriguez <[email protected]> aszonygya:
:Surprising since Performance owns Nashbar.

Wow!!! Really? That explains why Performance ships from Ohio
[and I have to pay sales tax].

BTW, I like Nashbar [except for the sales tax]. My order
just came in and has plenty of goodies. E.g., the cheapest
Sora STI shifters I found on the internet.

/Paul

 

[Q.]

"Donald Gillies" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I just got the latest Bike Nashbar catalogue. Not only are
> the prices uniformly _worse_ than performance bicycle
> shop, but if you look at the catalogue, its basically
> filled with lots of ****.

I like them, some of their stuff is really cheep especially
around Christmas. Yeah, they got a lot of "****" but who
doesn't? I do wish they had a better selection, I like
ordering from just one place. I don't think their stuff is
**** but that's a relative term ... we have a store around
New England called Benny's that has real **** for bikes,
stuff that don't last 30 seconds *literally*. I don't ride a
$5000 boutique bike either so I like it when I can spruce up
a yard sale bike with new tires, cables, saddle, grip tape
etc for $80.

C.Q.C.

 

[David Kerber]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> Alex Rodriguez <[email protected]> aszonygya: :Surprising
> since Performance owns Nashbar.
>
> Wow!!! Really? That explains why Performance ships from
> Ohio [and I have to pay sales tax].

Yes, it's true, but I believe they are operated
independently.

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in
the newsgroups if possible).

 

[Hardwarelust]

David Kerber wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
>> Alex Rodriguez <[email protected]> aszonygya:
>>> Surprising since Performance owns Nashbar.
>>
>> Wow!!! Really? That explains why Performance ships from
>> Ohio [and I have to pay sales tax].
>
> Yes, it's true, but I believe they are operated
> independently.

They bought Supergo, too, according to the mechanic I talked
to a couple weeks ago.

 

[Werehatrack]

On 4 May 2004 11:17:28 -0700, [email protected] (Donald Gillies) may
have said:

>I just got the latest Bike Nashbar catalogue. Not only are
>the prices uniformly _worse_ than performance bicycle shop,
>but if you look at the catalogue, its basically filled with
>lots of ****.
>
>Do we really need a selection of 47 different types of
>bicycle pumps, all of them junk?

"We" may not, but apparently Nashbar has found that there is
a lot of partisanship and feature-shopping amongst pump
buyers. Personally, I wouldn't buy a pump that I hadn't had
in my hands first, but that's
me.

>Do we really need to choose among 27 different types of
>seat bags, all all of them junk?

One bag buyer's junk is another's treasure, I'd say.

>I am wondering when this company decided to stock too many
>generic items, rather than the old way of doing things,
>which was to stock 5 or 7 choices of high quality products,
>and call it a day.

From my experience in the retail world: Inexpensive items
outsell expensive ones by an average factor of 10 to 1. If
you want the customer's money, you must offer what the
customer is willing to buy. When the customers stop buying
the junk, the merchants will stop carrying it. Meanwhile,
Wal-Mart's future seems assured.

>Are Momo Velo and Harris Cyclery the only mail order houses
>willing to stock quality parts any more ??

No.

>How do I get off of the bike Nashbar mailing list ??

Have you tried asking them?

>The mountain bike craze isn't helping, because everything
>on a mountain bike has to be a little bit different than on
>a road bike, because, well, because, well, because it just
>has to be !!!

MTB stuff is different from road in many places because the
roadies demand light weight more than bulletproof strength,
while the mtb riders are more concerned with making sure the
bike doesn't fold up when landing a jump. In other places,
the differences derive from the unshared ancestry; the road
bikes descend from the road bikes of old, while the mtb has
old 40-pound Schwinns in the family tree. It might be
possible to achieve a greater commonality of components for
a few minutes, but shortly the differing demands would cause
the products to be customized to the market again. One size
does not fit all.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Werehatrack]

On Tue, 04 May 2004 20:21:36 GMT, "HardwareLust" <[email protected]>
may have said:

>David Kerber wrote:
>> In article <[email protected]
>> state.edu>, [email protected] says...
>>> Alex Rodriguez <[email protected]> aszonygya:
>>>> Surprising since Performance owns Nashbar.
>>>
>>> Wow!!! Really? That explains why Performance ships from
>>> Ohio [and I have to pay sales tax].
>>
>> Yes, it's true, but I believe they are operated
>> independently.
>
>They bought Supergo, too, according to the mechanic I
>talked to a couple weeks ago.

That explains why I get catalogs from places I've never
ordered from, then. It's not like I have subscriptions to
magazines that they could be trolling, or like I ever fill
out those deceptively-labelled information-mining "warranty
registration cards" that go straight to the marketing firms
and never get recorded for warranty records.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Cipher]

In addition to their 'quality products' (or lack their of) the customer service (for a return) didn't exactly impress the heck out of me. (That last point should be saved for another thread though).

 

[Joseph Kubera]

>>How do I get off of the bike Nashbar mailing list ??
>
>Have you tried asking them?
>

Try this one on: Years ago I somehow got dropped from their
list, and I can't get back on! I WANT to buy stuff from them
now & then. I call and give them my customer # and ask for a
catalog -- no catalog. I actually ORDERED tires over the
phone and asked for a catalog. Received the tires, no
catalogue.

Go figure.

Joe

 

[Jeff Starr]

[email protected] (Donald Gillies) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I just got the latest Bike Nashbar catalogue. Not only are
> the prices uniformly _worse_ than performance bicycle
> shop, but if you look at the catalogue, its basically
> filled with lots of ****.
>
> Do we really need a selection of 47 different types of
> bicycle pumps, all of them junk?
>
> Do we really need to choose among 27 different types of
> seat bags, all all of them junk?
>
> I am wondering when this company decided to stock too many
> generic items, rather than the old way of doing things,
> which was to stock 5 or 7 choices of high quality
> products, and call it a day. Are Momo Velo and Harris
> Cyclery the only mail order houses willing to stock
> quality parts any more ?? How do I get off of the bike
> Nashbar mailing list ??
>
> The mountain bike craze isn't helping, because everything
> on a mountain bike has to be a little bit different than
> on a road bike, because, well, because, well, because it
> just has to be !!!
>
> - Don Gillies San Diego, CA

Hi, I think for the most part, Nashbar caters to the lower
end of the market and to people just getting started. You
could say that Performance covers the middle of the market,
with Excel and Colorado Cyclist the upper end. They all
have their place and they all cross over. Nashbar has some
good deals, on their website. I just ordered a Dura-Ace
front hub for $49.95. They were one of the few to offer the
28 hole. Performance will price match, but they don't carry
the 28 hole.

To me, one of the best deals is Team Performance and price
matching. Recently they were giving 20% in points and I got
them to match Nashbars $99.95 price for a DA freehub. By
the way, Nashbar still has the DA freehub in 28,32,36 hole
for $99.95.

So, I don't agrre that they have mostly junk, or that their
prices are all higher.

Life is Good! Jeff

 

[Jp]

[email protected] (Donald Gillies) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I just got the latest Bike Nashbar catalogue. Not only are
> the prices uniformly _worse_ than performance bicycle
> shop, but if you look at the catalogue, its basically
> filled with lots of ****.

Strange, it seemed to me that Nashbar had better prices than
Performance and a wider selection of components within a
particular category. Not a scientific study, just an
impression.

> Do we really need a selection of 47 different types of
> bicycle pumps, all of them junk?

There is a limited amount of variety at both Nashbar and
Performance.

> Do we really need to choose among 27 different types of
> seat bags, all all of them junk?

No.

> I am wondering when this company decided to stock too many
> generic items, rather than the old way of doing things,
> which was to stock 5 or 7 choices of high quality
> products, and call it a day.

My impression is that Performance does the latter, Nashbar
the former. I like the former for some things, cheap Shimano
clone mtb pedals, for instance, cheaper at Nashbar.

> Are Momo Velo and Harris Cyclery the only mail order
> houses willing to stock quality parts any more ??

I like GiroPoste myself.

> How do I get off of the bike Nashbar mailing list ??
>
> The mountain bike craze isn't helping, because everything
> on a mountain bike has to be a little bit different than
> on a road bike, because, well, because, well, because it
> just has to be !!!

My experience just happens to be the opposite- I discovered
that mtb pedals are much more practical for my daily rides
on my roadbike.

JP

 

[John Everett]

On 4 May 2004 11:17:28 -0700, [email protected] (Donald Gillies)
wrote:

> Are Momo Velo and Harris Cyclery the only mail order
> houses willing to stock quality parts any more ??

I thought I had a pretty extensive list of mail order
sources in my bookmarks, but have never heard of Momo Velo.
A google search turns up four references, but no web site.
Who are these guys?

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net
http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

 

[Russell Seaton]

> Hi, I think for the most part, Nashbar caters to the lower
> end of the market and to people just getting started. You
> could say that Performance covers the middle of the
> market, with Excel and Colorado Cyclist the upper end.
> They all have their place and they all cross over. Nashbar
> has some good deals, on their website. I just ordered a
> Dura-Ace front hub for $49.95.

Yes. Someone else who considers Dura Ace low end. I picked
up some low end Centaur, Chorus parts from Nashbar recently.
During one of their 20% off sales. Nashbar carries Centaur,
Veloce, Chorus in the Campagnolo line. Performance carries
Record only. Colorado Cyclist carries Record and Chorus.
Excel carries Record, Chorus, Centaur, and Veloce. I suppose
they all carry some Shimano stuff too.

> To me, one of the best deals is Team Performance and price
> matching. Recently they were giving 20% in points and I
> got them to match Nashbars $99.95 price for a DA freehub.
> By the way, Nashbar still has the DA freehub in 28,32,36
> hole for $99.95.

I also used a Performance 20% off coupon, and Team
Performance, and sales prices to get some low end Dura Ace
shifters and cassette. Shifters were $195 before the 20% and
10% reductions. Net about $140. Not bad for low end. And of
course the 20% and 10% sales prices forced me to buy lots of
extra things I have no need for.

I think Performance and Nashbar are two of the best mail
order places for the cyclist who cares about money. Each has
20% off sales about once a year or so. Each has very good
stuff on sale fairly often. If you catch things right, you
will save at least 25%-50% off other mail order places. Some
people might not think much of saving money. But I prefer
saving a few hundred dollars a year on bike components or
clothing. Its better in my pocket than in a retailer's
pocket. Of course all of these sales do force me to buy
things I don't need. Whereas the local bike shop prices and
other mail order places don't induce me to part with
anything but what is absolutely required.

 

[David Damerell]

Donald Gillies <[email protected]> wrote:
>I am wondering when this company decided to stock too many
>generic items, rather than the old way of doing things,
>which was to stock 5 or 7 choices of high quality
>products, and call it a day. Are Momo Velo and Harris
>Cyclery the only mail order houses willing to stock
>quality parts any more ??

You might try Rivendell - http://www.rivbike.com/ -
certainly some of their obsessions are a little odd, but
there's plenty of good stuff in their catalogue even if you
are not so retrogrouchy as some...
--
David Damerell <[email protected]>
Distortion Field!

 

[David Reuteler]

John Everett <[email protected]> wrote:
> I thought I had a pretty extensive list of mail order
> sources in my bookmarks, but have never heard of Momo
> Velo. A google search turns up four references, but no web
> site. Who are these guys?

have you not learned the fine art of top-level domain
searching? it's better than google.

http://www.momovelo.com
--
david reuteler [email protected]

 

[J Saulinskas]

From my experience in the retail world: Inexpensive items outsell
> expensive ones by an average factor of 10 to 1. If you
> want the customer's money, you must offer what the
> customer is willing to buy. When the customers stop buying
> the junk, the merchants will stop carrying it. Meanwhile,
> Wal-Mart's future seems assured.

I order from both Performance and Nasbar because I'm tired
of going to 2 or three shops to find what I need. I don't
save money with the shipping charges but I save on
aggravation. Recently I needed a set of 7 speed shifters
and special ordered them IN a performance shop. I was told
2-3 days till they arrive, it took 6 weeks and got the
wrong part.

Last weekend I went to LBS for a shock pump, NONE in stock,
special order only. Went straight to Performance shop (I'm a
glutton for punishment)and they just ran out of stock! They
offered to let me "red phone order it". I went home and
ordered it online.

Seem that shops tend to "specialize" in what they sell. Some
shops I go to for clothes, others for parts, others for
accessories and still others to actually purchase a bike
brand I prefer. Royal pain in the rear if you ask me.

 

[John Everett]

On 05 May 2004 17:55:52 GMT, David Reuteler <[email protected]> wrote:

>John Everett
><[email protected]> wrote:
>> I thought I had a pretty extensive list of mail order
>> sources in my bookmarks, but have never heard of Momo
>> Velo. A google search turns up four references, but no
>> web site. Who are these guys?
>
>have you not learned the fine art of top-level domain
>searching? it's better than google.
>
>http://www.momovelo.com

The fine art of Google searching works when you know that
it's "momovelo", not "momo velo". :-|

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net
http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

 

[Paul Nevai]

My Nashbar order came. Includes a used saddle [sold as new]
and some missing parts. Nashbar says: send it back and will
replace it + they will pay for postage. It is still a pain
in the butt but I am willing to live with it in return for
the cheap prices. Best regards, Paul