Windsor Bicycles
- Thread starter stevenaleach
- Start date
Indeed it is they were ever so apologetic about the size being unavailable, they provided a series of alternatives and now I wouldn't mind hearing what others think of the Motobecane Sprintour, it seems like a very good deal, considering I have at looked many store offerings and they don't come close to what bikesdirect offer, oh yes you do get all the excuses like "oh well what about servicing etc". Guess what, having seen some of the yahoo's in action that were supposedly experts, I think I can do a better job myself. BTW having read some of the snobbish comments on here about Taiwan, it is funny how most frames seem to be made there for renowned brands.
Yeah I love this town!!! Got my bike on Friday and put it together last night, it is great!!!! I needed to replace the seat binder as the one it came with striped the threads after a few turns. I am going to try and take it for a ride tomorrow. For $800 with Ultegra, carbon, killer wheels how can anyone go wrong? Perfect fit and smooth ride. What a nice first bike!Denemator said:
How was you experience at bikes direct?
Denemator said:Well I compensated by bying the 2007 Motobecane Sprintour so I will live. lol
They cut me a special deal to ease the "pain" at bikesdirect.com
Got a Motobecane VentNoir on Ebay for around $650 August 2005 and it has been amazing !!! Would recommend anyone who is looking for a great deal on a first roadbike to check out either bikesdirect.com or this Ebay seller where I got mine::
http://stores.ebay.com/SPRTYMAMA-BIKE-SHOP
http://stores.ebay.com/SPRTYMAMA-BIKE-SHOP
Well assembled my wife's 50 cm Windsor Knight bicycle, but replaced the stem with a Ritchey Pro adjustable so she feels more comfortable, for the rest the bike is great. I assembled my Motobecane Sprintour and that is an awesome bike to ride. Bought both bikes from Bikesdirect.com and these guys have great customer service, When I started assembling the bikes, I noticed the headset bolt and the little plug that protects the bolt from water was missing, no prblem I got the bolt at my local bikestore and problem solved, however they didn't have the little fairing. I e mailed bikesdirect to tell them I loved the bikes but that a bolt and fairing were missing. They sent me 3 days later a fairing and for good measure added a takealong tool set and tire lifters, now that is called customer service. The Kinesis Frames on both the Motobecane and Windsor are wonderfully finished and light.mayo63 said:
I purchased a Motobecane Le Champion last August from BD. I was somewhat hesitant and concerned with the purchase sight unseen. However, having limited funds at the time the $1095 price tag with an Ultegra set up with FSA carbon cranks was just what I was looking for. I sold the AC wheels and replaced them with Neuvation M28 Aeros for training and later the R28SL model for races.
This past July I purchased a Cervelo Soloist Team and "handed" the Moto down to my wife who wanted to start riding. Well an unforseen turn of events led to me having to sell the Soloist and my wife who wasn't getting on the Moto due to work has "lent" it back to me. I must say I am pleasantly surprised with the Moto. It is stiff, accelerates great, and is stable on descents. I raced it ealier this spring and summer mostly in crits and it handled the courses flawlessly. The Soloist has it beat on aerodynamics but the Moto is just over a 1/2 lb lighter.
I can't say for sure if I would definitely do business with BD again but I certainly had a positive expericence with this purchase.
BTW, fortunately I have a good relationship with several of the LBS mechanics in town and can typically get easy adjustments FOC.
This past July I purchased a Cervelo Soloist Team and "handed" the Moto down to my wife who wanted to start riding. Well an unforseen turn of events led to me having to sell the Soloist and my wife who wasn't getting on the Moto due to work has "lent" it back to me. I must say I am pleasantly surprised with the Moto. It is stiff, accelerates great, and is stable on descents. I raced it ealier this spring and summer mostly in crits and it handled the courses flawlessly. The Soloist has it beat on aerodynamics but the Moto is just over a 1/2 lb lighter.
I can't say for sure if I would definitely do business with BD again but I certainly had a positive expericence with this purchase.
BTW, fortunately I have a good relationship with several of the LBS mechanics in town and can typically get easy adjustments FOC.
jrstevens said:
Well I can honestly say that buying something from the web does have its drawbacks but saving a considerable amount of money is certainly positive and if with a service response i got from them i have no hesitation to deal with them again. Yes the ride on the sprintour is very smooth and not harsh at all. The carbon seat stays are very nice to have.
[
I recently purchased The Hour, by Windsor. Other than the inferior stock stem and handlebar (track drops), the bike has impressed me. Riding a fixed gear bike in San Francisco is extremely harsh on every part of the bike and the rider. After replacing the stem with a Nitto Dynamic 11 and the old drops with Soma Bonzos, the bike feels totally different. There is nothing more I would do to modify this bike.
QUOTE=stevenaleach]Other than Trek and Huffy, what bikes are made in the U.S.?
Also, while I am not sure if they are actually made in England, they very much do not claim to be made in the U.S. In fact, they seem to make it fairly clear that they are not made in the U.S. The fact that every model is named after a different city or landmark in the U.K, and each product page on the website has a paragraph on English geography does not exactly suggest that they are made in Texas. Also the fact that they have a U.S. distributor specifically called Windsor America to differentiate it from Windsor which is clearly not in the U.S.
As for the warranty, it is outlined on the website. 5 year component and lifetime frame warranty. In the event that the frame was damaged from a wreck and not manufacting defects, they will replace at a 75% discount.
I am fairly confidant. Shimano makes the components, Kinesis makes the frames and forks. Both are respected and well known companies. I am getting a 56cm for myself and a 46 cm for my wife. Under $500 for a bike with a Kinesis aluminum frame and carbon fork is pretty good. 19.4Lb total weight on a bike with exactly the same components as a Trek 1000 is also pretty good.[/QUOTE]
I recently purchased The Hour, by Windsor. Other than the inferior stock stem and handlebar (track drops), the bike has impressed me. Riding a fixed gear bike in San Francisco is extremely harsh on every part of the bike and the rider. After replacing the stem with a Nitto Dynamic 11 and the old drops with Soma Bonzos, the bike feels totally different. There is nothing more I would do to modify this bike.
QUOTE=stevenaleach]Other than Trek and Huffy, what bikes are made in the U.S.?
Also, while I am not sure if they are actually made in England, they very much do not claim to be made in the U.S. In fact, they seem to make it fairly clear that they are not made in the U.S. The fact that every model is named after a different city or landmark in the U.K, and each product page on the website has a paragraph on English geography does not exactly suggest that they are made in Texas. Also the fact that they have a U.S. distributor specifically called Windsor America to differentiate it from Windsor which is clearly not in the U.S.
As for the warranty, it is outlined on the website. 5 year component and lifetime frame warranty. In the event that the frame was damaged from a wreck and not manufacting defects, they will replace at a 75% discount.
I am fairly confidant. Shimano makes the components, Kinesis makes the frames and forks. Both are respected and well known companies. I am getting a 56cm for myself and a 46 cm for my wife. Under $500 for a bike with a Kinesis aluminum frame and carbon fork is pretty good. 19.4Lb total weight on a bike with exactly the same components as a Trek 1000 is also pretty good.[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]deagle500 said:[
I just replaced the FD on my wife's Windsor Knight with the Shimano FD 773 and the bar with a Flat bar as well as the shifters to Flat bar 10 speeds Shimano series 773, New Flat bar 440 brakes and walla, one happy wife. My wife likes that riding position way better and I was able to sell the removed components on Craig's list so was only a small out of pocket conversion. She now loves the bike.
I recently purchased The Hour, by Windsor. Other than the inferior stock stem and handlebar (track drops), the bike has impressed me. Riding a fixed gear bike in San Francisco is extremely harsh on every part of the bike and the rider. After replacing the stem with a Nitto Dynamic 11 and the old drops with Soma Bonzos, the bike feels totally different. There is nothing more I would do to modify this bike.
QUOTE=stevenaleach]Other than Trek and Huffy, what bikes are made in the U.S.?
Also, while I am not sure if they are actually made in England, they very much do not claim to be made in the U.S. In fact, they seem to make it fairly clear that they are not made in the U.S. The fact that every model is named after a different city or landmark in the U.K, and each product page on the website has a paragraph on English geography does not exactly suggest that they are made in Texas. Also the fact that they have a U.S. distributor specifically called Windsor America to differentiate it from Windsor which is clearly not in the U.S.
As for the warranty, it is outlined on the website. 5 year component and lifetime frame warranty. In the event that the frame was damaged from a wreck and not manufacting defects, they will replace at a 75% discount.
I am fairly confidant. Shimano makes the components, Kinesis makes the frames and forks. Both are respected and well known companies. I am getting a 56cm for myself and a 46 cm for my wife. Under $500 for a bike with a Kinesis aluminum frame and carbon fork is pretty good. 19.4Lb total weight on a bike with exactly the same components as a Trek 1000 is also pretty good.
I bought the Kennet which is exactly the same except it is 20 speed instead of 30. It rides great with the carbon stays and fork, seat is junk, seatpost should be a 27.2 not the 27.0 that ships with it, classic racing geometry (read longish top tube, and short head tube). Make sure you understand that these bikes are shipped in "dealer" ready condition and require some assembly and a significant amount adjustment. American Classic wheels are very nice even though they are the entry level offering from AC. I've had mine for about a month and have put about 200 miles on it. So far absolutely no problems; shifts perfect front and back, wheels are dead true. I couldn't be more pleased. Buying experience was really easy, and BD answered all of my questions promptly, shipping took about 3 working days.RCGMini said:
I have bought several bikes from LBSs and I will still consider them in the future, but my first online bike purchase experience has been positive enough for me to reccomend it with the only real negative being the amount of initial adjustment required. LBSs have a definite advantage there, just not the $600-$800 dollar advantage that is the difference in price. Good Luck with your purchase whichever way you go.
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