Finally!

You may be wondering why in the world am I taking so long to finish building my Viner? My biggest hold up has been US Customs.

I have been fortunate to find a great bike shop in Europe called Square Deals on Wheels, or sdeals.com. It’s a family run operation and they really know bikes inside and out. Their prices are almost impossible to beat and they have access to a lot of components that aren’t listed on their site. Just ask them about availability and you might find yourself with this.

That's right... those are rims in there!

Rims, spokes, nipples, derailleurs, chains, shifters, and a headset fills out the package. It was not a small purchase but it includes everything I need to finish the Viner. No more hunting and pecking! I even saved some money compared to the US retail market despite the higher S&H and the weakening US dollar. It probably as a lot to do with the fact that I am eliminating the US distributor, a middle man, and getting closer to the wholesale price.

Many would say that I should stick to supporting my local bike shop or at least help a US retailer. The reality is that we all live and compete in a global economy. This isn’t charity. This is business. You could counter that with the fact that the local bike shop could provide a better service. In my case, I get terrible service at most of the local shops. I ask for a tubular tire and I’m handed a clincher inner tube. When I try to redeem a coupon for discount on a set of MTB tires the shop owner tells me that he really intended the coupon for a set of generics but just didn’t write on the coupon. Terrible! The good shops around me may know their material inside and out but their product selection is slim. It’s not their fault since they must carry what people want to buy. Unfortunately, everyone wants to buy SRAM and Shimano along with clincher tires. Special ordering a handful of separate items simply doesn’t make economic sense for anyone. I’ll happily buy cables and handlebar tape from them but not Campagnolo parts.

The only “bad” part about buying from abroad is the fact that US Customs can take forever in releasing the package. It’s not their fault. They may have a glut of packages that need to be processed or they may be confused when they read the declaration form and see “nipples” and “spokes” listed on there. Eventually it does get released and you’re on your merry way. It took about 17 days for air mail delivery in my case here, 5 of which were for transit and the other 12 were used in taking up shelf space somewhere in a port of entry. I probably could have had everything delivered within a week if I bought from a US retailer.

Anyways… ramblings aside, it looks like I have plenty to keep me busy now. When you get bored reading about the Tour de France then check back to see what I’ve done with my freshly arrived goodies.