# What does it take to get BikesDirect to answer a simple question?!?!?!?!



## stimpsonjc (Aug 20, 2009)

.
Seriously... What does it take to get BikesDirect to answer a simple question?!?! 

Is there a secret knock I need to use on the door? 
They have no phone number, which is fine, but I would expect them
to be at least _marginally timely_ with emails then.

Perhaps I have to flame them here to get a reaction? 

I emailed them twice with a very simple question. 
Have not received any response at all. 
And no, their reply did not get trapped by a spam filter.

*I'm literally sitting here with my credit card ready to order a $600 bike,
and for 24 hours can not get a response out of this company*

  ut: :10: :mad2:

It is really a disgrace what has happened to "customer service". I own a business
and if I treated my customers the way many businesses do these days, I'd be
ashamed of myself.
.


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## skice (Aug 6, 2009)

*Answer*

I sent in a question and received not one but two answers within 24 hours. I have found their service to be just fine. Perhaps you should look closer to see if your e-mail actually made it to them.


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## stimpsonjc (Aug 20, 2009)

Since you are apparently good at getting in contact with them, perhaps you can shoot them an email asking: 

1) What is the weight of the 21inch Motobecane Cafe Latte ?
2) What is the weight of the men's 22 inch Motobecane Elite FS ?
3) What is the weight of the 54cm Motobecane Cafe Noir?

I don't have any way of knowing if they got my email, because they did not reply to it. 

I run an online business and know the routine. Meaning - I know how to make sure my email gets through, don't have any problems with that, and I made sure to follow my usual email practices to ensure delivery. I email plenty of AOL email users without issues. Why are they using AOL email anyway.

*BIKESDIRECT:* If you know you don't reply to emails quickly, then the common practice is to set up an auto-responder. That would take 5 minutes, and would let potential customers know that their email got through!!

There's no place to even leave them a voice message. *BIKESDIRECT:* Get a magic Jack and let every call go to voicemail. $20 investment for the year. They suggest Fax? Please - I have no intention to use that dinosaur.

That is my free advice for the day.  Sorry for the rant, but I can't believe it is this hard to "throw your money at something"


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

*Weight...*

Taking a deep breath from your multi-format customer service rant, I can't help but wonder about your weight inquiry re: a $500 flat-bar commuter bike.

I work for another bike company, and I can tell you that for bikes of that kind, we don't have specific lists weights for every size of every model.

Look, we're talking an aluminum framed, steel fork, basic-component package bike. It weighs something like 25 pounds.

Don't fret about it.


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## stimpsonjc (Aug 20, 2009)

Ok, taking deep breaths...... 

I'd just like to know, within a pound... Doesn't have to be exactl. Before I buy it. The weight is important to me, and it is a very easily measured, recorded and presented value. If all it took to secure a sale was to reply with a number, _wouldn't you do that_?

I know nothing about the company. All I know is that some people say their product and service are great, and some people say the exact opposite.

Also, if they don't know the answer, or can only be approximate, then they should tell me that. I would hate to think that they just stay silent when they don't have the answer.

I keep an open mind and go by my OWN experience, directly with the vendor. By not replying, they are not even giving themselves a chance.


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## SimianSpeedster (Mar 13, 2008)

*just PM mike*

just PM mike on here, username strangely enough is BikesDirect  He owns bikes direct and often visits and posts on the forums alot and has answered all my queries within a day or 2 when you PM him.


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## hgaskins (Aug 3, 2009)

Aluminum bikes come in at about 22-23 pounds, add steel a bit more. I purchased the Motobecane Grand Record that has an aluminum frame with a carbon fiber fork and it weighs in at about 22 lbs. At $600 weight to me was at best a moderate concern. The parts are of more value. At $400 you really can't be all that picky but the Motobecane Cafe Noir should be about 22lbs within a pound, and it will be definitely lighter than the other two choices you mentioned.


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## stimpsonjc (Aug 20, 2009)

Sounds good. I also just got a reply from Chris at BikesDirect.

I have a question about tires next. I should start a new thread for that I guess.

This is just VERY hard shoping for a bike and not being able to touch it. I know what shifters I like, I know how I want the bike to feel, I just can't get near the damn thing.


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## hgaskins (Aug 3, 2009)

> This is just VERY hard shoping for a bike and not being able to touch it. I know what shifters I like, I know how I want the bike to feel, I just can't get near the damn thing.


I went through the same thing but after browsing countless local bike shops I simply couldn't find anything that came close to what BikesDirect offered for the price and I mean not even close. So I broke the parts down into individual pieces and researched it over the net and concluded that it was worth the risk and things worked out for me. Now that I have it I still can't beat it by shopping locally. I live in Tampa Florida where biking is a year round sport and we have the bike shops to prove it.


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## dismal (Jul 28, 2009)

Bah, unless you're spending a couple of $1000's, weight really shouldn't be factoring into your purchase decision. I have contacted BK a few times about whether they have certain items in stock and have usually received an answer by the next day. If you ask them about specific components or weight, they probably won't be able to answer, mostly because the bike might be in some warehouse or even on the boat from Taiwan. That's what you get for saving a couple bucks though.


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## bikesdirect (Sep 9, 2006)

stimpsonjc said:


> Sounds good. I also just got a reply from Chris at BikesDirect.
> 
> I have a question about tires next. I should start a new thread for that I guess.
> 
> This is just VERY hard shoping for a bike and not being able to touch it. I know what shifters I like, I know how I want the bike to feel, I just can't get near the damn thing.



I am glad you got an answer from Chris
If you want; I love love to hear how long that took
Normally, we answer all weekday e-mails within 24 hours
Weekends sometimes take a bit long

BTW - we do weight bikes for the reason that Trek, Canondale, and others post on their sites - weights are really hard to pin down and if your quote them someone else will quote lower even if theirs is higher [I have seen printed weights in a catalog as much as 10 lbs under actual]

That said - I would prefer there was an industry standard or even regulation; where all were quoted - man would that help us as for the price ours run lighter than most.

Please PM me anytime if you have any issues with getting responses or anything else


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## alfalfa (Aug 21, 2009)

I sent an email on 8/12 and haven't heard back yet. Went to purchase Fantom Cross Team Ti but checkout says sold out. Just wondered if any more are expected.


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## andresmuro (Dec 11, 2007)

I doubt that they have assembled bikes that they can weigh. They are a distributor and probably don't take bikes out of the boxes. The bikes that they sell will weight comparably to a bike with the same components and same tubing that you get at a local bike shop. Except that you will save a couple of hundred bucks or more. If you want to buy a bike and have technical support and get questions answered, etc, go to an LBS. Bikes direct get you a comparable product for less by having less staff and no shop floor. So they have little time to answer questions about things that they don't know about. 

They probably decided not to answer your question because they don't know the bike weight and have no way of figuring it out. 

The idea of entities like bikes Direct is to sell products w little customer support to people that know about the product and want to skip a bike shop. I don't own anything from bikes direct, but I've seen their stuff and sell good stuff at very reasonable prices. But, you need to know something about bikes, how to put them together, etc. I wouldn't recommend a person who is not mechanically proficient and familiar with mid level priced bikes to get one. On the other hand, if a friend wanted a bike and I had time to assemble it I'd recommend them. 

From the types of questions that you are asking, you'll be better served by an LBS. 

Just my thoughts



stimpsonjc said:


> Ok, taking deep breaths......
> 
> I'd just like to know, within a pound... Doesn't have to be exactl. Before I buy it. The weight is important to me, and it is a very easily measured, recorded and presented value. If all it took to secure a sale was to reply with a number, _wouldn't you do that_?
> 
> ...


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