CTC dropped Dawes tourers

[Brains]

It's a bit of an own goal, I suppose, but surely no-one joins the CTC to buy a touring bike. There are many other reasons why I joined the club but that's not one of them.
Are you sure you're not just picking a fight for the sake of it?

Yes people would join the CTC to get a discount Touring Bike.

You would have thought the CTC could negotiate a decent members only discount from several suppliers and then sell them via the Wiggle website.

The original reason I joined the CTC many years ago was because of the discount offered using the BikeExpress for a trip to France.

The discount for two of us was greater than the amount the trip cost so I got my membership for 'free' and in those days I also got access to the touring maps which were not available all over the net like they are now. The Insurance issue was an added bonus later

 

[simoncc]

The CTC mag is still probably the best place to find ads for cut price tourers and tourers generally. The fact that the 'CTC shop' doesn't sell them is neither here nor there to me. I've never bought anything from the CTC shop but I have found information in the CTC mag that has led to several bike purchases and many other purchases of bike bits and pieces.

 

[simoncc]

Rich you're more than likely right that I'm nit picking to a point. I joined the CTC firstly because of the touring routes, forums and general support for touring cyclists. I was also looking to buy a tourer at the time after not seriously cycling for the last 5 yrs so was a little wet behind the ears. The prices available on the Dawes at the time via the online store certainly was quite competitive and it certainly was a pull factor when joining the CTC. That pull factor is now not there.

The CTC shop has never been the cheapest place to get Dawes tourers or any other tourer. It's not the cheapest place to get anything and never has been. I can't understand the 'pull factor' of CTC shop cheap Dawes tourers when every copy of the CTC mag carries a Spa Cycles advert for much cheaper Dawes tourers and presumably will still do so. And for those of you who have heard of Google, it is now very easy to find other sources of tourers at prices better than the CTC shop ever did.

 

[vernon]

Something else to look out for:

The CTC version of Wiggles charges postage on order below £50 whereas the Wiggle site does not charge postage on anything. The 10% discount will quickly get swallowed up from the CTC shop....

 

[wafflycat]

Personally, I regret the move away from Bike+ running the CTC shop. Bike+ did it with the CTC ethos in mind, offered a *good* personal service, were always willing to answer queries and offer genuinely helpful advice. Even though I'm no longer with the CTC, my past experience of buying stuff from Bike+ when it ran the CTC shop means I am always willing to go back there even now, if they have something I'm after. I also like Wiggle, but they don't offer they type of service that Bike+ gave (and still do). Wiggle are for if I know what I want and I need a cheap deal (but even now they aren't always the cheapest anymore). Evans on the other hand, I wouldn't touch with a bargepole for several reasons, not least of which was that they tended to be bloody expensive, as well as too many reports of appalling customer service.

 

[clownfishrob]

The CTC shop has never been the cheapest place to get Dawes tourers or any other tourer. It's not the cheapest place to get anything and never has been. I can't understand the 'pull factor' of CTC shop cheap Dawes tourers when every copy of the CTC mag carries a Spa Cycles advert for much cheaper Dawes tourers and presumably will still do so. And for those of you who have heard of Google, it is now very easy to find other sources of tourers at prices better than the CTC shop ever did.

Google ? Never heard of it lol

 

[ufkacbln]

Personally, I regret the move away from Bike+ running the CTC shop. Bike+ did it with the CTC ethos in mind, offered a *good* personal service, were always willing to answer queries and offer genuinely helpful advice. Even though I'm no longer with the CTC, my past experience of buying stuff from Bike+ when it ran the CTC shop means I am always willing to go back there even now, if they have something I'm after. I also like Wiggle, but they don't offer they type of service that Bike+ gave (and still do). Wiggle are for if I know what I want and I need a cheap deal (but even now they aren't always the cheapest anymore). Evans on the other hand, I wouldn't touch with a bargepole for several reasons, not least of which was that they tended to be bloody expensive, as well as too many reports of appalling customer service.

Must admit I still use BikePlus!

Wiggle uses CityLink so I will simply not use them as my experiences with the company are so poor.

Saddest thing is I cycle past Wiggle daily, yet still have to have things sent by courier!

 

[LondonCommuter]

Wiggle does use Royal Mail too (increasingly so to me in North London)

 

[wafflycat]

Must admit I still use BikePlus!

Wiggle uses CityLink so I will simply not use them as my experiences with the company are so poor.

Saddest thing is I cycle past Wiggle daily, yet still have to have things sent by courier!

They also use Royal Mail. Last few deliveries I've had from Wiggle have been RM. But yes, City Link are absolutely useless.

 

[andym]

Wiggle uses CityLink so I will simply not use them as my experiences with the company are so poor.

I haven't bought much from them recently but my experience is that Wiggle's delivery is excellent.