Windsor Willow bikes?

[dogbooty]

I just ordered a windsor willow for my girlfriend. The bike that I bought cost 465, shipping included. I did quite a bit of research on the willow before I bought it. As far as I can tell, I'm getting a bike that would cost about 700 in a lbs for 465. I even went so far as to look up most of the components online to determine how much they would cost individually. This is what I came up with for comparable quality or identical parts:

$60 cromoly fork
100 kinesis frame
140 sora shifters
40 crankset
15 sora front derailleur
25 sora rear derailleur
25 sora cassette freewheel
12 chain
90 wheels
25 tires
15 brakes
15 saddle
10 seat post
15 hubs

total: $590 (w/o lbs markup)
+100 lbs markup (local bike store)
690 + 8% tax = $745

Even if I'm off by 150, I've still saved about 140 dollars. Any thoughts?

[dogbooty]

I should also say that the customer service where I bought the windsor willow is garbage. I emailed them with a question and they never responded. I guess I'm taking a risk in that department, but I'm taking the bike back to europe for my girlfriend, so I wouldn't have the advantage of an lbs anyway. I've chosen not to buy in europe at an lbs because the dollar is so weak right now. way too expensive.

[lyca]

Another thing to consider is how the bike will be shipped. Will it come assembled already, or will you need to assemble it yourself? Maybe you're super savvy and can put a bike together. (I know I'm not. )

[dogbooty]

Thanks for your response. Yeah, I thought about that. I really don't have much choice since I'm going to check it on the airplane out of NYC. It has to be broken down for the trip. I do have a lbs over there that I use to work on my cannondale r800 and my specialized langster. they are not snobby and are really cool about working on bikes that they didn't sell. I live in belgium, and about half of the city bikes over there are older than the guys who own the lbs, so they can't be too picky about whose bikes they service. I think I'll take it up to them and ask them to assemble and adjust.

[Asphaltgirl]

Wow, I forgot how long the Windsor Willow (loving known as the Purple Peaple Eater) and I have been together. She is still going great and is a terrific basic bike for the value. My DH and LBS have tweeked her to match my riding style/size and LBS guys even went out and found purple Candies pedals for her. I ride every day, usually 20 to 25 miles and longer on the weekends and the bike is extremely reliable. At the time that I purchased her, there were very few budget choices available for the small size that I needed, but that has changed alot over the the past years. If the guilt doesn't get me, I'll probably upgrade next year and retire the PPE to a quiet corner of the attic. Maybe........
Asphaltgirl

[mimitabby]

well, Asphaltgirl, thanks for the info. Where's the picture? you have a bike that none of us have seen, and we'd like to see what it looks like!

please please?

[Asphaltgirl]

mimitabby-
Did you ever finally realize that you are, always, the one behind the camera taking the pictures?? I just went through all my the biking photos and I've got pics of everyone else (even some peopele that I don't rememeber who they are anymore!) but none of me and the PPE. If you wander over to bikesdirect.com and click on their tab for women's bikes, you'll see the Willow. It was really neat to look back 3 years ago, when I originially started this message and realize how much road cycling I've done since that time.

Now I need to out and take some photos.....

!~~AG~~

[sandra]

Did you check to see if they even carried your size? The sizes seem to be limited.