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cell bikes= don't bother
being new to the sport of mountain biking i was excited and eager to pick out my new horse, with decidedly little knowledge and a relatively small budget i ended up picking one from cell bikes on parramatta rd,really wrong decision, not so much for the bike just for the really,really poor service. so was just interested if anybody else had endured the souless sales monkey at cell? Now i could go on with a plethara of complaints,grumbles and issues i've had over the past 8 months but i think i'll leave it.
thoughts?
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... I think this concept originated with Heraclitus of Ephesus (Ancient Greek: c. 535–c. 475 BCE) who was way ahead of the curve on philosophy in general, and mountain biking philosophy in particular.
Same thing!
A mate was looking at a bike at Anaconda. I did a bit of research and the MTX0 was incredible value so we went to check it out. The bike is a basic aluminum frame, ok wheels and full SLX running gear. The closest spec Giant is $800 more! The staff were friendly and helpful, even discussed my setup with me and gave me some good tips. So far my mate loves it.
I've had two bikes from there. One got stolen whilst fairly new.
The next, actually a progear, is ok... great value. Mighty heavy but sturdy aluminium frame (bike is ~16kg). The Hayes Sole brakes failed, but they do that. Replaced with Avid Juicy 7's.
Oh yes, the fork (RST Gila, no surprises) wobbled and made me really scared. Replaced it with a Manitou Minute fork.
So I spent $250 + $500 on upgrades, at least.
So my verdict would be that as soon as you get serious you will be looking at the same price as the bike in upgrades. And then you'll want a new frame anyway. So not such great value.
But they do have some newer models. A carbon hardtail for example, and a basic dual suspension - their advertisment in Mountain Bike Australia featured Geff Rooney, who finished the Care Flight Classic (The Oaks) in 44 minutes on a cell duallie.
yeah me too, their costumer service is no good!!
Please be careful with your comments, folks.
While this is a "community" type site, there is a real risk that the owner could be sued for defamation directly or for "facilitating" the offense by failing to moderate the comment. That would mean this wonderful site would need to come down and we'd all be the poorer. And it would be a particularly poor way to repay Rob for the huge amount of indispensible work he does in trail advocacy. That could end up costing you the loss of places to ride.
If you are having problems with service, continue escalating until you get to the owner, or if possible the distributor. If you are getting the grief from the owner, then vote with your feet and don't darken their doorway again. Getting no more of your money will be sufficient penalty.
If you're really pissed, raise a case with Dept of Fair Trading. This will waste a lot of the shops time at no expense to you, and possibly get your issues fixed properly.
So please don't slag them off here. It's OK to consult on what to do re: poor service, but this should be done without mentioning shop names in the first instance.
What goes in the shop should stay in the shop and should be addressed to the owner/manager or dept of fair trading. We have all had good and bad service no matter what the industry, grocery shop, cafe, night club, IT helpdesk, Telecommunications Company etc....in this era the shops should be smart enough to know how to treat clients. But again, depends on the circumstances and how the customer handles the situation?
Wish you all the best with your riding and don't let this stop you from bike shopping in the future. Or just shop online and deal with a AUS website, there are many Sydney online stores.
Yes if you don't mention the shops name they can't sue for defamation. Of course, if they employ over 10 people, they also can't sue for defamation. Does this place employ over 10 people? If so, your safe and can point out their flaws as much as you want... they simply CANNOT sure for defamation in that case.
Good luck either way mate!
So your complaint is more about the sales/service of the bike shop and not much to do with the quality of the bike? That said, I thought Cell bikes were decent, for the money, and make a great introductory bike for anyone that is dipping their toe into this great sport. Sure they are no Norco
, but they do what they are designed for.
I think you will be hard pressed to find too many people here that have dealt with this bike shop. Back in the day, I purchased a Shogun steel mountain bike from Parramatta and had no issues. But today could be different.
To other users on this site mentioning the slagging thing. As long as the language is kept above the belt, have at 'em I say. Surely one can mention any individual bike shop, by name, and say whether their pricing was poor, sales and service was awful, or was just a generally bad consumer experience? What's wrong with that? Since when was the truth illegal? That's why these people are in business, and are rightly judged as good or bad against their retailing competition.
If you have a comment about service you have received, then be it good or bad, thats one of the valuable purposes of internet forums - Check out mtbr reviews, there is an amazing range of feedback - or even check the links page here, which people are free to add to.
Brakeburner unfortunately your post just comes across as a bit of a whinge - you haven't really been specific about the issues you've had or how you tried to rectify - so it isn't really very constructive feedback. Also in your personal comments you note that it isn't actually a bad bike...
"decidedly little knowledge and a relatively small budget " - Nobmobbers are here to help, check out any number of 'which bike should I buy' posts on this site.
Before I buy anywhere I look here and elsewhere for peoples feedback - so ensure you put the good along with the bad.
However I would strongly encourage you to ensure you keep it honest and specific... i have seen some reports where the folks with the complaints appear to have been less than straight with their side of the story, and with the widely known nature of this site, you can be sure if it goes on long enough the other party will probably be here and see it.
Having said all that i'm sure we've all made what in reflection are poor purchases, i've had some stories myself with shops that today are mentioned by others with highly positive feedback here - so remember that one negative feedback doesnt mean the end of the world.
as soon as lawyers get involved.
Witness the stoush resolved last years between two ex-Warringah councillors. Darren whatshisname was one, the other a middle-aged female.
Darren was awarded a peppercorn settlement in damages, she lost her home over the legal expenses.
Please, lets not go there.
When checking out Cell for the first time the value looked so good that it raises suspicion. There has to be a catch.
My first Cell bike was a road bike which has served me well and this was followed by a Cell dual suspension MTB which has been used without problem for a few years and got me around the 100Km Dirtworks and other events. If you get to the shop out of busy periods they have time for you and the staff (Tank) I have spoken to know their stuff. For me their service has been good and I have never found a catch.
Recently I requested a price on a Scott MTB at Cell and asked for a wheel change to tubeless rims. They got back to me with a good value quote although a little slowly, by which time I had paid a deposit at a more conveniently located (for me) LBS. Some of the LBS I approached would not entertain my request and probably could not be bothered to contend with changing the wheel set.
Whilst I agree it's informative to post experiences I think it's always good to mention decent service you get as well. I often try to mention local bike shops that have gone out of their way to help, it's useful information.
Just remember, a post lasts a long time on the internet, I always try to give the benefit of the doubt the first time.
It's just freedom of expression, it's a forum right? so just expressing what we thought about their costumer service.
My experience to them is when I bought a hardtail mountain bike. At my first ride of the bike I noticed that the draillers are not properly tuned up! and sorted it my self but before fixing it I broke the chain twice, also the brake! the front brake lever doesn't go back to original position, cut the story short. I think they don't check or test ride the bike before handling to costumer.
And contacting them is a bit slow, that you feel they just ignoring you? Sent them email last Saturday about another concern, until now no respond?
Take it back to them & don't leave till it is fixed make sure you are there well b4 closing time too .
first of all this comment was the outcome of a little frustration, that was all!! i whole heartedly agree with discussing both good and bad points of any business, much trade is done by word of mouth, and i thought of no more fitting place than a mtb discussion forum. however what with words such as defamation, dept. of fair trading and legal proceedings i think this has snowballed too far, and may descend into a debate of what truth is!
so please take the original comment as nothing more than a gripe and NOT to offend anyone!
regards and happy trails to all
@ Igoy: Actually no. It's not a democracy - freedom of expression is not absolute. It's subject to the rules set by the site owner. He who pays the bills sets the rules. Fair enough, don't you agree?
I don't pretend to speak for Rob, but I'm just asking for some common sense about what you say. This because I don;t want to see this site draw the wrong kind of attention that could see you putting his butt on the line.
As I mentioned above, people have lost their homes and endured a lot of stress and distress for less.
Their business is quite different to your traditional LBS and are about high volume sales hence the lower prices. The problem with this is that they will always struggle to balance this with prompt and efficient service. If you want more attentive service then your friendly LBS will always win out (at a price of course).
My first mountain bike was a cell. I bought it because of the price and I didn't know if I would take mountain biking seriously. I hit the dam on it and it served the purpose well. As I fell in love with the sport and my skill level progressed I soon became infected with upgradeitis and found myself scouring ebay to replace some of the lower quality components such as the cranks and fork.
One year on I finally bought myself a trance and have never looked back. So what has happened to the cell? I have put some slicks on it and still get out on it when the tracks are closed. And if the trance is in for a lengthy service then I occasionally take it for a spin around the dam. So for me the bike has served me well and I still have a soft spot for it given it introduced me to this sport.
I have to say that is was disappointing to see the comments regarding Cell Bikes being based on the experience of the sales assistant or the support they provided - I guess if you want a much more expensive bike with higher margins, there is room for extra attention. But if you want a great bike at an extremely competitive price - I have been delighted with mine.
I purchased a 105 Road Bike and have clocked up nearly 4,000Km on it, and continue to be delighted with it. A colleague at work purchased a Cell MB and has similarly got years of great use out of it. I ride on a Sunday morning with a group of four friends, and two of us ride Cell Bikes, the others ride fancy Italian Carbon Bikes - and I have to say that they do no better than I do on my cell for the type of riding we do. The difference is I still have several thousand dollars still in the bank that they don't. Cell's online ordering is fast and efficient (I live in Sydney), and I have often ordered gear on a Sunday afternoon after my morning ride, and had it sitting at home when I got back from work on Tuesday.
If you want image and are brand conscious, don't buy a cell bike. But I get a lot of pleasure in enjoying a bike that I know cost an awful lot less than my mates bikes. From my experience if you want a solid bike with good running gear, Cell offer a great alternative to big brand and fancy name alternatives. But if your into the coffee shop trendy and friendly bike shop filled with people who have to time to talk and help you out, and who are able to offer their experience if you don't know what you are look, there are other alternatives that are a better option.