starbike.com

[kyoseki]

Ok, well I've used these guys in the past and been pretty happy - you certainly can't complain about their prices if you're not in a rush to get the parts.

They're an online bike part supplier based out of Germany, for some reason, if you're buying Shimano or Campy kit, it's a lot cheaper to buy it from Europe than to buy it locally, I really don't know why. (www.totalcycling.com have superb prices as well, but I don't know what their service is like - I have an order in with them, so I'll post on that too )

I bought an XTR drivetrain for my 5.5 a couple years ago and the only gripe I had was that it was difficult to track their shipment - they use DHL and the website USED to be particularly crappy, you were lucky if it told you which country the box was in. This seems to have been rectified now so I'm curious to see how my latest order comes through.

I just ordered a very silly groupset from these guys and have been pretty happy with their responsiveness - they even threw in the chain for free since it showed up as out of stock when I placed the order.

If you're planning a big purchase, check their prices, I guarantee you that for European and even Japanese components, they're going to be cheaper than you can get locally (example, full Campy Super Record gruppo, $1950 or so, delivered, full Dura Ace 7900 gruppo probably $1600 or so), for American components, meh, the prices are about equal so they're not great there.

Basically, unless you need the part now, they're well worth checking out, delivery takes 10 days or so I've found, but for the savings, I'm happy to wait

Oh, and they're Visa/Mastercard only, no AmEx, which is unfortunate.

[kyoseki]

Ok, an update.

I just received the box from starbike.com and everything is as it should be. Well packaged as usual so even though the box itself shows all the signs of international freight, it's contents is all perfectly fine.

It shipped last tuesday, so that's what? 10-11 days door to door?

That's ok, I'm still waiting on my wheels anyway, but my biggest gripe is that DHL, their courier, do not give any real updates once the package leaves Germany. It seems that the USPS handle their deliveries in North America and once they hand off the package to them, good luck finding out where the hell it is until it shows up at the delivery address - according to the tracking page (which only updated this morning) the box is still in US customs and that was dated the 3rd.

[culturesponge]

i've ordered a couple of times from Starbike (aka GypzyBike) mostly tires that were either 2x the price or otherwise unavailable stateside in the flavour needed.

its no-nonsense German efficiency, just place the order and wait 7-10 days for delivery. Starbike also exchange or re-fund if customers are unhappy for whatever reason, Martin Stuber there was very helpful last time i had an enquiry.