Weird Specialized discovery....

stompandgo said:
Mike's is blowing them out for $3200. Don't pay more than that.
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If that is Mike's Bikes the support level is high for remote customers. Bikes can ship 'ready-to-ride'. That means that they are prebuilt and tuned, then partially disassembled, and you just install the front wheel and turn the bar. Customer service is top notch. I used to work at HQ doing sales support. They are now owned by PON Group International, so it is not like a local bike shop but far better than 99% of online sales.
 
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That's where I bought my Cannondale. They charge $99 to build, prep for shipping, box (custom box), and ship the bike. We sell Cannondale at the shop (I was not working there when I bought this bike), so I know what they had to do to get it to that point.
 
So I went and test rode a Radwagon 5 today. Brand new light blue for $2199. Here are my findings/concerns:

The shop I went to offers a $360 3 year extended warranty. They did not offer it on the Radwagon 5 because of the "Going out of business" news. The new owner of Rad hasn't reached out to any of the Rad dealers at all. The shop said that's a bad sign.

I don't really have a problem buying a "dead" brand but I'm apprehensive about ordering accessories from the Rad website. I get Juiced vibes. Also spare parts like a controller and such. Juiced vibes keeps popping in my head.

I'm gonna wait and see if Velotric brings a updated version of the Packer out, AND I intend on doing the drive to look at a Globe Haul LT when one gets in stock.

The Radwagon 5 rode very nice. The torque sensor is nicely dialed in. Why did you get greedy Rad and ruin a good thing?
 
Narrowed my choices down. I still need to test ride a Aventon Abound LR but that shouldn't be a problem as I have 2 Aventon dealers close by. If for whatever reason the Abound LR doesn't work out I'm going back and getting the Radwagon 5 mentioned above. Rad seems to be back-up and operating again. The Specialized dealer 100 miles away said they had no Globe Hauls in stock and didn't offer a ETA on restock nor offered to put me on a notification when one comes in. Just very vague like I called during their lunch hour. Oh well.....
 
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Update: I got a health scare and decided to get another bmx bike (27.5) to start riding again. I can still do bunny hops, endos, small jumps, some basic flatland tricks (even on a bigger bike), ride bowls and ramps, plus it will force me to get exercise. I'm keeping the Xpedition for now, or until the wife and I find something we really like. Anyways, back to the regular bike. I looked at all sorts of normal bikes. I didn't have a budget but didn't want to go over $2000. I ended up getting a new Fairdale Taj 27.5 for under $550 shipped! I had the 26" Taj but gave it to a friend who rode the wheels off of it. I eventually got it back but it was ragged out. Plus the 26" had cheap loose ball hubs that started scoring the inside of the hub cones. The 27.5 has sealed hubs. So I guess my fat butt is getting back into riding bmx bikes again, albeit super sized ones! Bonus, the wife will start riding her Electra Rad Rod with me again!
 
sc00ter said:
Update: I got a health scare and decided to get another bmx bike (27.5) to start riding again. I can still do bunny hops, endos, small jumps, some basic flatland tricks (even on a bigger bike), ride bowls and ramps, plus it will force me to get exercise. I'm keeping the Xpedition for now, or until the wife and I find something we really like. Anyways, back to the regular bike. I looked at all sorts of normal bikes. I didn't have a budget but didn't want to go over $2000. I ended up getting a new Fairdale Taj 27.5 for under $550 shipped! I had the 26" Taj but gave it to a friend who rode the wheels off of it. I eventually got it back but it was ragged out. Plus the 26" had cheap loose ball hubs that started scoring the inside of the hub cones. The 27.5 has sealed hubs. So I guess my fat butt is getting back into riding bmx bikes again, albeit super sized ones! Bonus, the wife will start riding her Electra Rad Rod with me again!
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NIce. We can't keep SE Rippers in stock. Heal up and enjoy!!!
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Specialized must have returned to its core business instead of competing with Chinese scrap metal ❤️
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Smart move... Selling to the more money than brains club who needs an LBS to put air in their tires and over pays for bragging rights is lucrative. Being a snob to potential new customers is their way of weeding out anyone who has a brain and can't be bs'd 🙃
 
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I've been in a couple of LBS' that would only work on high end bikes. It's certainly not every LBS, but they are out there. Probably because they don't want to deal with rude customers looking for free or cheap LBS support for their Walmart bike. I have also walked into an LBS looking for some inexpensive part (cable end caps, I think) and they just handed me some for free.
 
stompandgo said:
I cannot justify rude behavior by any LBS, but that kind of behavior is not exclusive to Specialized.
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True... But I wasn't commenting on the LBS... I was commenting on their typical customers behavior.
He's beside himself knowing that Specialized is even being mentioned alongside other brands. 😋
 
stompandgo said:
I cannot justify rude behavior by any LBS, but that kind of behavior is not exclusive to Specialized.
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Nor is it true of every Specialized dealer. I've personally dealt with 3 over the years, 2 of them in the last 2 years. All 3 were friendly and helpful. No snobbery detected.

My favorite LBS of all time — and I've dealt with many — is a Specialized dealer. They also sell Colnago, Factor, Pinarello, and the like. If any LBS had grounds to be snobby, this would be it. In fact, they're just the opposite.

These sweeping generalizations about bike shops based solely on the brands they sell are pure self-delusion.
 
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I was in the LBS that I try to avoid a few weeks ago and everyone was helpful, polite and useful! I was shocked! Only thing I can think is they must have a new manager. Moral seemed high as well in the service bay. Now I wish they carried Specialized again.

Both of my local TREK stores are great as well. Come to think about it I no longer have a bicycle shop I hate going into.

Note: My local ebike store has a program set-up to help lower income people with simple stuff like quick adjustments and flat repair. Any extra stuff I have like tires, pedals, seats, chains and anything else that can still be reused I drop off with them for their Give Back To The Community program. I saw a funny saying that's so true:

Kindness is like manure , it only does good when spread around.
 
Gionnirocket said:
True... But I wasn't commenting on the LBS... I was commenting on their typical customers behavior.
He's beside himself knowing that Specialized is even being mentioned alongside other brands. 😋
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about half the bikes i see on any given ride are specialized of one sort or another…. i don’t think you can judge the attitude of tens of thousands of people based on one or a few online. they sell bikes ranging from 500 to 15000… the truly snobby brands are never even mentioned on this site lol.
 
Globe is not Specialized :)
That's why Specialized sells the Specialized Turbo Porto in Europe but no Globe :)

1774854417549.png

Globe Haul LT, hub drive motor, throttle

1774854456313.png

Specialized Turbo Porto, mid-drive motor, no throttle.

Globe could stand by Specialized for several years yet it wouldn't become a Specialized :D
 
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