Has anyone here purchased from Slane Cycles in Ireland?

[malaholic]

I found Slane Cycles online and am considering purchasing a frame from them. I know, I know...I should be supporting my LBS instead. And I tried, except that the only LBS in my area that carries this brand won't sell me the bike as a frameset only (they get it as a complete bike from their US distributor and the LBS does not want to strip it and sell me the frame). I neither want nor need the complete bike. Slane Cycles sells the bike only as a frameset, and at a fair price as well.

So...I'm wondering if anyone here has dealt with them before and if so whether your experience was good or bad? I've seen several posts in other forums where people seemed to like them pretty well, but want to gather as much info as I can so I thought I'd ask here too.

[Biciclista]

I know nothing about Slane cycles but I think i would have gone crazy when i had my custom bike made, and it was a local outfit. It would have been nightmarish if i had had to do all my business via email and phone calls with an 8 hour time difference... (I wanted a Mercian bike... but gave the idea up when i found out how hard it was going to be just to communicate..)

[malkin]

If you love them, maybe you could just move to Ireland and then they'd be your LBS!

[crazycanuck]

Dunno about that shop but what about chainreaction cycles..they're based up the road..

www.chainreactioncycles.com

[malaholic]

Moving to another country to be close to a bike shop...now that would be a damn good shop. :)

CrazyCanuck - thanks for the recommendation - unfortunately, doesn't look like they have the frame I'm most interested in (Pinarello FP7). They have other bikes in the same family, but for some reason the that one seems harder to find.

So far the Slane guys have been pretty responsive to my q's via email, so that is a good sign, and I've found further thumbs-up recommendations on them on other forums, so I think I may go ahead with this. Just need to visit my bike fit guy first and have him set up the sizer cycle so that I can do a comparison between the two smallest sizes to determine which one will fit best. I'll post pics eventually when I get it built out!

[tulip]

Seems like you should at least take a trip to Ireland to do the fitting and get the bike. Maybe ride it around Ireland for a few weeks. :rolleyes:

[malaholic]

An Ireland pub crawl by bike...ya know, that's not a bad idea. Thanks Tulip! ;)

[malaholic]

Since I'd raised this thread earlier, I wanted to post an update now that the purchase is complete.

I ordered an FP7 frame because I could not get one locally (here it is sold a complete bike only). I thought their price was quite low on the frame, based on the cost of the complete bike here. I also bought some 3T bars and Look pedals because their prices were quite a bit lower than I found on the same models here. They list prices in sterling with VAT tax included, but on the website you can change currency & delivery location on the website to get an idea of actual price. The price lowers when you change delivery location to the USA because they remove the 15% VAT Tax - that helps a lot!

Overall, I give the purchase experience a B+ and I would not hesitate to purchase from them again. I had written several emails prior to purchasing and they replied promptly (allowing for the 8 hour time difference). Their replies were a little short/terse; maybe not quite as helpful as they could have been. I notice they are advertising to hire 3 new people on their website, so maybe being understaffed is why they don't go into much detail in their replies.

They require credit card orders to be made with a card that is "3D secure". The first time I tried to order, it was with a card that wasn't signed up for 3D security and so the order was cancelled; I had to re-submit the order with a different card. But I verified that I was only charged once and I think extra security online is never a bad thing.

They took a few days to actually get the order packed and shipped, but they didn't date the invoice until the shipping date. Because of that I was still able to submit my warranty registration within the manufacturers 10-day period to get extended warranty. Shipping to the USA was free - HUGE plus there - and it took 6 days to get here once shipped. No import duties.

So, B+ because the emails could have been a little more helpful and took a few days to process the order. You definitely lose some convenience dealing online and in a different time zone - but I'm super-happy overall to have gotten *exactly* what I wanted, at a great price.

Now I just have to get her built up, and of course post some pics here when she's ready to ride!

[tulip]

Irish pub tour by bike would have made it an A+, I'm sure. Glad it worked out for you.

[roadbiker]

Hi there,
Thank you for posting your experience re your purchase at Slane Cycles. I found this website a week ago and found their prices to be great. I thought is this too good to be true? I am planning to purchase either the Pinarello Dogma or the Pinarello Prince. But since I do not know the shop, I have to do my homework first and do some researching re the Slane Cycles. Like you, I have been emailing Ryan back and forth. Have you dealt with him, too. His response are prompt but short.
BTW, I hope by this time you're bike is built and you are loving it. I am also dealing with my local bike shop here but they are charging me full retail price no discounts.

Anyhow, I read that you would recommend purchasing from the shop. Also the most important thing that I would love for you to share is the import duties. I also did research this and I thought I saw import duties for bicycles from 5% - 11% depending on the category where it falls in.
Please share with me how did you get your bike without import duties. Was it delivered by a special carrier on your doorstep. Rignt now I planned to have the bike built halfway like installing the Record or Super Record gruppo. Then buying a wheelset but no tires.

Do you think there was no import duties because the bike was not built? If so, I will just find a shop here who can build for me.

Thank you so much for the info you shared and for whatever info you can share. I really, really appreciate it.

Maybe you can send pics of your Pinarello FP7.

[malaholic]

Yep, my FP7 has been built up. The picture I have doesn't really do it justice and I'm going to have to take some better ones. But I posted it here on this thread: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=37748.

I love the FP7 - but I'll still be very jealous of your Prince or Dogma, and I'll want to see some pics posted here once you get it built up. :) I'm surprised your local shop won't offer you a discount. I'm all for supporting LBS whenever practical - and having friendly local service is worth a premium to an extent. But Slane's prices on the Prince/Dogma run between $1000-$1400 off of US retail. Doesn't seem smart that they'd rather lose the sale than split part of that difference with you. In my case, the LBS said sure, they'd order the FP7 complete bike, strip the parts and put mine on - but wanted to charge me labor both for the strip and for the build and was I sure I didn't just want to buy a Prince frame instead since it would cost about the same? Not cool.

Anyway - yeah, Ryan was the guy that answered most of my emails. Most of my questions were pretty straightforward - whether they had the bike in a particular size/color, confirm that shipping would be free, confirm that the smaller frame would still take a 700 wheel, etc. Since you're inquiring about partial build, maybe you'd need more info. I do remember seeing another review online saying it was easier to talk to them on the phone, so you might try that if you're not getting the info you need via email. I didn't call so no experience with them there.

Regarding shipping - the package was shipped via Parcel Force and I didn't like their website; tracking info was not very informative. After the tracking event that it left the origin country, no update for a few days and I was getting worried. Then one evening I saw it update that it had arrived in the US (New York). I was next expecting to see it go through customs, etc. but instead the very next morning it showed up at my door (Seattle area) via USPS with signature required. Overall shipping time for me was 6 days (once packaged - they took a couple extra days to ship it after I placed the order). I'd guess that will vary based on your location and the customs process.

As for import duties, if you haven't already found this, you can see the tarriff schedule here: http://www.usitc.gov/publications/docs/tata/hts/bychapter/1000c87.pdf. Pages 20-22 deal with bike-related items. You'll see 3 columns for charges. The first column is the one that I *thought* should apply for Slane, being based in the UK. The 2nd column lists fees from some countries where we have special trade agreements, but I didn't see the UK in the "free" list for the frame so I was expecting the 3.9% charge from the first column. (The 3rd column with very high fees is only if you import from countries with whom the US is not on good terms - Cuba, North Korea, Iran, etc.) Anyway, I am not sure why I did not have to pay any customs charge. Not that I'm complaining, of course - but since I don't know why/how it worked out that way, I couldn't guarantee that you'd not be charged either. One other area you may be charged extra is if your credit card has a foreign transaction fee. Some don't, but some charge an extra 1-3%, so you should look at that also.

Good luck with your shopping, and remember - post pics here when you're done!!

[roadbiker]

Thank you very much for the advice. If you don't mind I will be asking you a lot of questions re your Slane purchase.
Did they pack the frame really well?
You are one brave soul because you ordered from them without even speaking to them over the phone. I will be calling them probably this week for some questions although I did not receive any response from Ryan today re the Prince frame that I am also looking into. I might opt for the Prince if they have my size siince accdg to reviews unless you are really very keen or a racer, you will not even feel the difference between Dogma & Prince. Another factor is the price, the Dogma is just very expensive for me. My budget for this whole bike is $6500(?) with Slane's discount prices. My bikeshop will build a Prince for me for $8000 - 9000 and the Dogma for probably close to 10,500I have tried to check with my local shop if they will match the price with Slane and they just can't. On top of that I will have to pay 9.75sales tax. But they have agreed to build the whole bike for $150 (good deal) if I bring all the components. Re the credit card, yes you are correct re the extra 2-3%that they charge as the foreign transaction fee. I will actually be using the Capital One credit card which does not charge any foreign transaction fee.

On to your bike, that is a very handsome bike. I am glad you flipped the stem and did not cut the steerer tube. I have a Madone SL/Ultegra and when I changed my handlebar and stem to FSA Kwing compact/OS 99 CSI stem, I wanted a more agressive position so there is some left on my steerer which I put spacers on.
What size is your bike? Is that a sloping frame?
How is Sram? Do you have an 11-28 cassette?
Those shift levers (white) are so goodlooking. Did sram came with it?
Compact or regular crank?
Your wheelset is awesome, too.
Again, thanks for the advice and looking forward for your response.

[ScaldedCat]

I know nothing about Slane cycles but I think i would have gone crazy when i had my custom bike made, and it was a local outfit. It would have been nightmarish if i had had to do all my business via email and phone calls with an 8 hour time difference... (I wanted a Mercian bike... but gave the idea up when i found out how hard it was going to be just to communicate..)

Mercian IS my LBS (or one of them anyway, kinda spoilt in my area) :p A 5 or 6 minute cycle ride away.

[usareviewer]

I had this same original question about Slane Cycles and found this thread. Since a couple of years has passed since this thread was started, I wanted to share my experience.

I placed an order today for a frameset from Slane Cycles. Slane Cycles is an authorized dealer for the frameset, so that made me feel comfortable that the frameset would be genuine. This is my first overseas online purchase. What a learning curve! Glad I found this thread. Saved me $800 USD. VAT is now 20%. I really like that Slane Cycles on their homepage mentions VAT free pricing. Their USD conversion from GBP to USB is just an estimate (see their FAQs). All of my communications so far have been through email or chat with Gavin. I did have to be patient with chat and wait for responses. I verified (see their FAQs) that they had what I wanted in stock before I placed my order. The hardest part of placing my order was the 3D Secure credit card part and foreign transaction or currency conversion charges/fees. I used a Capital One credit card. Capital One stated there would be no additional transaction fees due to the overseas purchase. Capital One also stated they use 3D Secure (without my having to do anything). My credit card was declined when I first tried to place the order, but the problem was with Capital One. I learned from Slane Cycles before placing my order that they will ship the frameset via Parcel Force using their Global Priority service. Gavin at Slane Cycles stated shipping should take 4 days and was traceable.

I'll post updates as my purchase and credit card transactions proceed.

[usareviewer]

I can confirm Slane Cycles communication certainly could be improved. I placed my order on 11.5, and my frameset was supposed to arrive at Slane Cycles on 11.5 or 11.6. Today is 11.14 and not only has my order not shipped, Slane Cycles still does not have my frameset! And I only know this because I contacted them. I have now been given three different stories as to when to expect my order. Apparently they only communicate when an order has been shipped by emailing a tracking number.

My advise is to be proactive and constantly follow up with them unless it does not matter to you when your order arrives.

[usareviewer]

I'm jealous! Someone I know placed an online order with Slane Cycles last night after they closed for an in stock frameset. They just received a shipping notification!

[usareviewer]

Another update here. The third story I was told was that the frameset would arrive today (Friday). Nope! Instead I was told a fourth story... It will arrive Monday and be shipped to me the same day. Stay tuned...

[usareviewer]

I'm jealous! Someone I know placed an online order with Slane Cycles last night after they closed for an in stock frameset. They just received a shipping notification!


I just got word this person received their frameset yesterday. So they ordered it overnight while Slane Cycles was closed. It shipped the next day when they opened. It arrived in the USA three days later via the USPS, but not via the normal USPS carrier. Package stated delivery by 3 p.m., which did happen. No customs fees. A signature was obtained, but I do not know if it was required.

[usareviewer]

Another update here. The third story I was told was that the frameset would arrive today (Friday). Nope! Instead I was told a fourth story... It will arrive Monday and be shipped to me the same day. Stay tuned...


Well, the fourth story I was told was correct. My frameset shipped yesterday (Friday). The cool thing was I did not have to wait overnight for the email shipping notice. It seemed to arrive when they actually created the shipping label. Now the question is will it arrive in three days because day three is Thanksgiving or will it be delayed a day till day four.

What else have I learned from dealing with Slane Cycles besides that their communication is bad and lacking? Well, in all cases except one I dealt with Gavin. Once I dealt with David. I found David's information to be very bad. I also felt twice they were not being honest with me. I feel they should have told me after the first story did not happen that there were 20 customers waiting on the same frameset AND size as I had ordered. They also should have explained they expected everything to arrive in one order, but the order was split into four shipments with one arriving about weekly. In other words, my wait was going to be another couple of weeks instead of stringing me along. I prefer complete honesty as a customer. Just communicate with me.

[usareviewer]

Well, the fourth story I was told was correct. My frameset shipped Monday the 19th. The cool thing was I did not have to wait overnight for the email shipping notice. It seemed to arrive when they actually created the shipping label. Now the question is will it arrive in three days because day three is Thanksgiving or will it be delayed a day till day four.

What else have I learned from dealing with Slane Cycles besides that their communication is bad and lacking? Well, in all cases except one I dealt with Gavin. Once I dealt with David. I found David's information to be very bad. I also felt twice they were not being honest with me. I feel they should have told me after the first story did not happen that there were 20 customers waiting on the same frameset AND size as I had ordered. They also should have explained they expected everything to arrive in one order, but the order was split into four shipments with one arriving about weekly. In other words, my wait was going to be another couple of weeks instead of stringing me along. I prefer complete honesty as a customer. Just communicate with me.



My frameset arrived on Saturday the 24th just before 3 p.m. It was shipped on Monday the 19th, so it took 5 days to get to the USA. Actually I learned Thanksgiving does not count as a shipping day, so it took 4 business days (FYI Saturdays count as shipping business days). The package was guaranteed to arrive in 3 days, but the person delivering the package did not know what had happened to delay it a day. The post office delivered the package, but the employee was not my regular carrier. I was asked to sign for the package. There were no monies for customs or anything due.

Shipping tracking was not very detailed. I could only see when it shipped and when it reached US Customs. The frameset was well packaged.

I have had a few problems with my order. The first was a BB (bottom bracket) came with my frameset, and I asked it NOT be installed. Well it came installed. Slane Cycles has agreed to reimburse me for gas and bike shop labor to get the BB uninstalled. Then they had me send the BB back to them for a replacement new, uninstalled BB (I'm selling it since it will not work with my crankset). Slane Cycles is to reimburse me for the return shipping. The one thing Slane Cycles is NOT agreeing to make right so far is swapping out the seatpost. Slane Cycles state they clamp carbon fiber bikes directly by their frame to bike work stands. My local frameset dealer that removed the BB required the seatpost be installed so he could clamp the frameset to his work stand via the seatpost. This meant I had to install the new seatpost, which I'm selling (can't use it either). I requested Slane Cycles swap out the seatpost for a new, unused one (so I can sell it as new). Slane Cycles refused because they feel the carbon fiber frame should have been clamped into the bike work stand via the frame (not the seatpost). I also was missing a part -- a cable noodle -- that was supposed to be installed in the frameset already. I contacted the frameset manufacturer and they sent the missing part to me at no charge, and I installed it.

I'll update again when my credit card statement arrives.

[usareviewer]

Well, the fourth story I was told was correct. My frameset shipped yesterday (Friday). The cool thing was I did not have to wait overnight for the email shipping notice. It seemed to arrive when they actually created the shipping label. Now the question is will it arrive in three days because day three is Thanksgiving or will it be delayed a day till day four.

What else have I learned from dealing with Slane Cycles besides that their communication is bad and lacking? Well, in all cases except one I dealt with Gavin. Once I dealt with David. I found David's information to be very bad. I also felt twice they were not being honest with me. I feel they should have told me after the first story did not happen that there were 20 customers waiting on the same frameset AND size as I had ordered. They also should have explained they expected everything to arrive in one order, but the order was split into four shipments with one arriving about weekly. In other words, my wait was going to be another couple of weeks instead of stringing me along. I prefer complete honesty as a customer. Just communicate with me.



CORRECTION: My frameset shipped Monday the 19 (fourth story) not Friday the 16th (third story)