# 2012 Windsor Wellington 3.0 reviewed



## martywoodman (Jan 10, 2010)

Hey, All. Just returned from my second ride On my son's new Windsor. I bought one 3 years ago which now has 7,500 miles on it, and my 15 yr. old son was desiring a "real" road bike. He is 6 feet 192 lbs, I am 5'11'' and 165 lbs. We both have the 59cm. The box looked great and all the parts looked good, well packed. My bike was made in Taiwan, this new one is made in China. My bike came with toe clips, this one has flat pedals, which I know it might. The stem and handlebar on this new bike are HUGE, and I will be replacing them. I assembled it and dialed it in pretty well, though the wheels needed to be trued quite a bit. I was experiencing some noise from the rear derailleur and had some trouble in the front going from the middle chain ring up to the large and back. After our first 10 mile ride we stopped by our LBS to have them look at the derailleurs. They managed to remove the noise from the rear but determined the space between the middle and large chain rings was too great, causing shifting problems. I was reminded that when I set things up, the chain actually fell between the two rings and got stuck! Fortunately the fix was simple- remove some of the spacers between the rings and reduce the distance. 
All in all, it has some problems that can be worked out, but for $400 it will be a great bike! Crappy saddle, terrible brake pads, cheap tires, fix a few issues and you still will have a good bike for not too much money! Hope you enjoyed the review.


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## martywoodman (Jan 10, 2010)

*A few more thoughts*

Two more comparisons between the 2009 and 2012 models. There are now indicator arrows at the top front of the hoods that'l let you know which chainring and approximate cog you're in which is pretty cool. On the downside, the barrel adjusters for the brakes are no longer knurled but are now conical chromed cylinders which are difficult to turn.


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## stephen9666 (Apr 7, 2010)

My girlfriend's Motobecane that we bought in early 2011 was made in Taiwan. My Gravity Liberty 2 is made in China. 

The Gravity had bent rims and a couple other issues. The Moto was perfect right out of the box, aside from the normal setup needed.

The box for the gravity was sort of beat up, so I assumed it was damaged in transit. But, I wonder if it's because it's from China, not Taiwan? I wonder if the Taiwan bikes are put through stricter quality control?

I generally find Taiwanese products to be better than Chinese products.


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## martywoodman (Jan 10, 2010)

*Agreed!*

Stephen, I couldn't agree with you more. I bought a Motobecane ti Heat in Sept. of 2010 which was Taiwanese and the quality is fantastic. I am a little disappointed with the Chinese Windsor, but whaddya gonna do? I look at it like this- you buy a bike for $400, put another $100-150 in upgrades and fixes, and you've got a bike comparable to a $900 Trek or Cannondale. Still a good deal.:thumbsup:


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## justhal (Jul 6, 2012)

I just bought a Windsor Wellington 3.0 from Bikes Direct.Fuji Kinesis Fame, Fuji Kinesis Carbon Forks. The rims and tires that came with, along with the seat and chain where krappy. New Vuelta XRP Aero rims, Kenda Kaliente Iron Tyres, Sella Max Gel saddle. HOLY ****!!! What a Rocket Ship......Cheap ....Kicks Major Ass. Buy a spare tube and a pump, 'cause you will be riding.


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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

got mine in June.... definitely didnt have vuelta rims....(it's not advertised to have it) the paint on the braking surface doesn't help you to stop

it did come with kenda tires, but not the kaliente iron cloak. just some generic kenda 700x25c tires

the seat sucked. the first thing I did was put a new seat on.


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## preslove (Aug 15, 2012)

Looks good. What made you get the wellington over the liberty 1?


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## X-Nemesis (Aug 5, 2012)

good looking bike


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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

preslove said:


> Looks good. What made you get the wellington over the liberty 1?


I didn't like the look of it.... the way the seat stays don't really meet up with the top tube


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## ryan63d (Aug 28, 2012)

*Just bought Wellington 3.0*

Just bought my first road bike and took of on two 5 and 10 mile rides. Wow what @##@ing workout. alot of fun.

I have nothing to compare to the Wellington 3.0. I pedel and it goes, seams to shift gears easly and is not that heavy of a bike. For 300 of craigslist so far i say it was worth it.


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## VinceB (Jan 30, 2014)

I just put in the first 100 miles on my Wellington 3.0 this month, and it's going great so far. I took it to the local co-op for assembly, where they helped me spend a bit of time re-greasing and truing the wheels. Otherwise, it was pretty quick to throw together.

I swapped out the brake pads after the first week with the low-end pads off Amazon. That's made quite a big difference, but I'm still a little skittish on steep downhills. I also put in a larger stem for a better fit (I have a long torso). Otherwise, I plan on keeping the rest stock for a while.

The biggest downside so far is the front shifting (rear works great after a quick adjustment). The middle gear rubs too much when used with the larger gears in the back, and I can't figure out how to adjust that. Also, downshifting the front gear gets _very_ difficult at the end of my ride. Sometimes my left thumb just can't push the tab hard enough to engage a shift, and I have had to resort to using my right hand.

Overall, it was the best way I could find to dip my toes in the road biking waters without breaking the bank. I've learned a lot in just this month, and I'll see where I'm at in a few months to see if it's worth going all in on a nicer bike.


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## martywoodman (Jan 10, 2010)

Vince,
It sounds like your front derailleur cable has stretched a bit (normal) which may be the cause of your shifting problems. Try to tighten the cable by turning the barrel adjuster a bit- you should actually be able to see the derailleur move closer to the center of the chainring. Hope that helps!


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