Q. Do
you Ship Bikes?
A. Yes. Bikesport,
Inc. ships bikes to all of the lower 48 states in the U.S.,
Alaska, Hawaii, many Asian, European, Central and South American
countries. Bikesport, Inc. cannot ship bikes to countries
from which the U.S. is restricted from trade. As of June 2008
these include but are not limited to: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya,
North Korea, and Somalia. We only ship bikes that are authorized
for mail order or internet sales by the manufacturer, in compliance
with their dealer agreement.
Q: Are
you an Authorized Dealer for the Bikes you sell?
A. Yes. Bikesport,
Inc. is an authorized dealer for each brand we sell. Some
brands are restricted from mail order sale by their manufacturer.
Bikesport, Inc. is not permitted to sell these brands via
the internet or over the phone. For specific information on
which brands we are allowed to sell via phone and internet
sales please phone us at (313) 278 1350.
Q. How
do you ship Bikes?
A. Bikesport,
Inc. ships via UPS Ground for most bicycles and orders within
the United States. For orders to some countries we may divide
a bicycle shipment into two smaller boxes, one containing
the wheelset, the other containing the rest of the bicycle
and use a different shipping service such as USPS.
Q. What
should I do about Customs requirements for a Bicycle order to
a country other than the United States?
A. Compliance
with Customs, tariff, tax and import requirements is your
responsibility. Please understand the duties, taxes, tariffs
and import restrictions that may apply to a bicycle purchase
coming into your country before placing an order. Bikesport,
Inc. does not have current customs information for all of
the countries we ship to. Complying with these requirements
is your responsibility.
Q. How
long will my order take to arrive?
A. Bikesport,
Inc. does not guarantee delivery dates. Our employees may
offer an estimate of delivery time including shipping transit
time, backorder duration (if any) assembly and processing
time. This is only an estimate. It is not a promise. No Bikesport,
Inc. employee is authorized to promise delivery times or dates.
Q. I
placed my order but I'd like to make a few changes to it: May
I?
A. We want your
new bike to be the way you want it. If you would like to make
changes to your order before it is shipped we are pleased
to accomodate your request. If additional parts must be ordered
and or changed this will add to the delivery time. Depending
on the changes we may also want to confrim them via e-mail
with a new, revised invoice. We are always pleased to make
changes to existing orders but remember they will add reasonable
processing and assembly time to the order.
Q. I have
a race this weekend and I need my bike now.
A. Every customer
and every event is critically important to us. Our business
is based on supplying bikes to people for events. Nearly all
of our employees race themselves. For this reason we inform
our customers here and elsewhere in our store and website
to order their bikes a minimum of 6 months prior to their
event date. This lead time gives you adequate time to receive
your bike, be fitted correctly and get acclimated to your
new riding position as well as resolve any issues that may
exist.
If you know you need a bike by a specific date
it is best buy your bike a minimum of 6 months prior to that
date so that you can receive your bike, have it assembled
by a bike shop, be professionally fitted on it and have several
months to get accustomed to your new equipment then have any
modifications made to fine tune your fitting and mechanical
performance before an event. You should not race on new equipment
that has not been professionally assembled and fitted.
Q. Can
I cancel my bike order if it is not received by my event date?
A. If you are
only buying a bike for a single event please let us know at
the time of order. We do not promise delivery dates but we
may be able to provide and estimate of delivery date. Please
remember that a specifically road or triathlon bike is a specially
prepared race equipment for a specific athlete. It is intended
for many years of enjoyment, not just one weekend. It is worth
investing the necessary time to get the right equipment for
the rider, not just for one weekend. There is a 15% restocking
fee for cancelled bike orders. If you know you need a bike
by a specific date it is best buy your bike a minimum of 6
months prior to that date so that you can receive your bike,
have it assembled by a bike shop, be professionally fitted
on it and have several months to get accustomed to your new
equipment then have any modifications made to fine tune your
fitting and mechanical performance before an event. You should
not race on new equipment that has not been professionally
assembled and fitted.
Q. Can
I check the status of my order?
A. Bikesport,
Inc. is a small business that processes a large number of
orders. At any given time there may be over 200 bike orders
in process at various stages of delivery and fulfillment.
Every order is equally important and the majority of our bike
orders are for people who are doing races or events. Customer
service is a priority so we do our best to handle requests
for status updates on bikes; however, requests for status
updates on bikes delay the actual shipment of orders. The
fastest way to get your order is to place your order early.
Repeated requests to check the status of orders mean our staff
has to stop building and shipping bikes to look up information
and write e-mails or make phone calls. Each day our staff
spends at least 10 man hours replying to requests for order
status. While we understand this is important we know your
primary concern is getting your new bike as quickly as possible.
The higher the volume of requests to check order status the
slower the process becomes. Please understand that we are
happy to check the status of your order but we may not be
able to provide specific information and it may slow down
the order processing cycle.
Q. Can
you track my bike?
A. Once UPS
issues us a tracking number for a bike being shipped from
us to you we are happy to provide it to you via e-mail or
phone. Be aware that it often takes 1-3 days for a UPS tracking
number generated by us to go “live” or show movement
on the UPS website. We cannot track outstanding orders but
we may be able to offer an estimate of the arrival date, this
is only an estimate.
Please note that individual bikes cannot be
tracked from the manufacturer to us. We can only offer an
estimate of delivery time. Estimates do not constitute a promise
of delivery and may be incorrect. These are only estimates.
Please allow adequate time before events (we recommend 6 months)
for bike delivery, set-up and acclimation to your new bike.
Q. My
bike has taken longer than I expected, why?
A. Lead times
are affected by many factors. Most of the bikes we sell are
performance oriented, specialty bikes. As a result supplies
are limited and lead times can change. These factors are beyond
our control. While other industries, including the one you
may work in, may be able to precisely track manufacturing
and delivery throughout the fulfillment cycle the systems
to do this in bicycle retail do not exist. As a result lead
times may be longer than anticipated especially on high demand
bikes and during peak seasons or for low production bikes.
We do our best to expedite all orders and interact with our
suppliers every day throughout the day to insure the most
prompt delivery possible. Please remember a performance bicycle
is an expensive purchase designed to last. It is worth being
patient to get the bike you really want.
Q. In
my industry/job/profession we can track every order: Why can’t
you?
A. While automotive,
medical, financial, electronic and information technology
industries often have elaborate systems in place from the
highest level to track transactions the resources to adopt
these systems universally in the cycling industry do not yet
exist. Many specialty vendors are cottage industry or very
small companies. The people answering their phones for customer
service are the same ones packing and shipping orders and
in some case actually manufacturing the products themselves.
As a result there is no real-time capability to precisely
track individual orders from placement to fulfillment.
Q. Can
I call the manufacturer to check on my order?
A. Manufacturers
and distributors generally prefer that retail consumers interact
with retail outlets. Most manufacturers and distributors to
bike stores do not have the resources to interact with end
users and may not have accurate information about individual
orders. This can often add unnecessary confusion to the order
fulfillment process. The people answering their phones for
customer service at many small bicycle vendors are the same
ones packing and shipping orders and in some case actually
manufacturing the products themselves. Answering questions
about delivery times diverts them from the task of delivering
your bike quickly. If they have to field 10 inquiries per
day that each take 6 minutes to answer they have spent an
hour on the phone they could have spent preparing the bike
you may be waiting for. When inquiring about outstanding orders
it is always best to contact the retailer.
Q. What
do I have to do to assemble my bike once I receive it?
A. We always
recommend you take your new bike to a bike shop for professional
assembly and adjustment for your safety and comfort. This
is important for your safety and to help establish a relationship
with your local bicycle retailer who will assist you with
accessories, fitting and maintenance. Racing, road and triathlon
bicycles need precision assembly fro experienced mechanics
with specialized tools and techniques. For your safety and
the optimum enjoyment of your bike a professional bike shop
will assist you in getting the most fro your bike.
Q. I’m
afraid to take a mail order bike into my local bike shop. Will
they be mean to me if I bought a bike somewhere else?
A. Most modern
retailers welcome you for service on your new bike purchased
by mail order- it is a great source of revenue for them! Forward
thinking retailers offer internet specific services such a
special assembly/tune-up package for bikes bought remotely
and brought to their shop for assembly. We always recommend
you take your new bike to a bike shop for professional assembly
and adjustment for your safety and comfort. If your shop is
a qualified bike fitter they will benefit from your remote
purchase by selling you a complete assembly, bike fit and
positioning in their store. When your local bike shop develops
smart ways to work with the internet they welcome you and
your new bike as a great opportunity to provide service and
build a relationship while generating valuable, high profit
margin revenue. A good local bike store servicing your needs
when you buy your bike elsewhere on line or over the phone
will make as much or more profit as they would have had you
bought the bike from them!
Q. Do
you swap components at no charge during a fitting?
A. Yes. Components
of the equal value are exchanged at no additional charge at
the time of your final fitting. When additional components
are needed to complete a fit, such as a new cable set when
replacing a cockpit or adjusting a stem length, you pay only
for those new components. We discard the old components, such
as cable sets that are too long or too short for a given cockpit
assembly. Charges to replace a full set of drivetrain and
brake cables and housings are usually $60. Saddle exchanges
at time of fitting are done based on a flat $30 credit for
the original saddle toward the regular price of any new saddle.
For bikes shipped to the buyer we will exchange
components once the original components are received back
from the buyer. Buyer pays the shipping of the return component
to us, we pay the shipping to them upon receipt of the original
component if the new component is in stock in our store. If
we must order the new (replacement) component, it will ship
when we receive it. There is an upcharge for components replaced
during a fitting that are of greater value than the original
component.
