Plimogz

Hi. I hope these last dying breaths of Winter find you well!

Anyway. I'm looking to buy 40mm Schwalbe Marathon Winters (or are they called HS396 now?) online. And I'm having trouble finding someplace which even shows 'em on their site.

Does anybody have any recommendations for online suppliers, that ship to Canada, preferably from within Canada, that have a good selection of studded tires? The best I've found so far is Niagara Cycle.

gbg

If you can find a canadian one they will probably/unfortunately be 2X as expensive.

I've ordered from here before.
https://www.bikeman.com/TR4862.html

I got some Nokian mount and grounds, wanted then right away so had to spend $99 each + GST/PST like $230ish.
If I wanted to wait I probably could get them for about 50 US each.

Just bought some winter boots reg $209 for $129 thought I got a great deal, looked online reg $129 sale $67 in the states.
Canadians buying in Canada are ripped off BIG TIME. Even with $ above par.

Plimogz

Oh, I don't mind buying from the States; particularly if, as you say, I can save significant $$$ doing so. The only issue I have with cross-boarder shipping is the insane UPS brokerage fees which I've sometimes gotten stuck with when I'd failed to pay attention.

edit: And thanks for the link btw! now to find and read their shipping information.

gbg

DO NOT USE UPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FEdex, or my prefered USPS doesn't charge brokerage fees.
UPS once charged me $40 on a $102 item (over $100) I will NEVER use them again, and will find another place to buy if they use them.

electrik

Buy from the UK - wiggle, chainreactioncycles.

Just get the 35c if they have it. Trust me that the difference with the 40c to 35c isn't going to be night and day. We are talking 2.5mm grown each direction...

Plimogz

I've actually been ridding 35s through the last 4 winters and while one of the pair is still going strong, the other is pretty much done (I probably pumped it to too high a pressure which eventually compromised the tire casing where the studs started pushing through, and tubes now gradually rub against those worn spots and develop slow leaks...) anyway...

So I think I'd like to try some 40s next. Though now that winter is seemingly routed, I might just leave this purchase to some later date. Particularly after seeing the thread there was around here with people saying how their recently purchased Marathon Winters had lost inordinate amounts of studs for apparently no valid reason.

Barrettscv 

Also try Peter White, he has the 700x40 in stock: https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

Cyclist0383

This German shop has them. Take 19% off the price as you are outside of the EU. Shipping to Canada is 20 euro. They'd be around 105CAD shipped for two tires. I've used this company a lot and their service is top notch.

https://www.bike-components.de/produc...kereifen-.html

Plimogz

That is a really solid price -- maybe good enough to get them despite the anecdotes of studs falling out and the fact that the tyres would probably sit in a corner unused for the better part of a year...

And thanks for the heads-up, btw

edit: Urgh! now I have to wonder what duty/brokerage/etc fees could apply... Surely somebody around here has ordered parts from overseas to Canada... Now, to find them...

Plimogz

well, I've figured out what the taxes on these tires would be. Unfortunately I don't quite know how I can find out what the possible brokerage fees might be. And I don't know that I'm willing to risk ordering unless I'm sure that I won't get stuck with a ridiculous 60% surcharge or something of the sort.

electrik

Some of those German sites charge an arm and leg for shipping... I'm not sure why you want the 40c tires? It will likely complicate things for you since they're harder to find.

It is best to have the tires sent via snail mail. Canada post charges only $7 for brokerage and they work with usps and royal mail. I don't know which German system though.

Bicycle tires aren't usually charged duty, mine weren't, but everybody collects the hst - 13%

In short, I never order international with fedex or ups. Just not in a rush and the whole point is to save money, not blow the budget on overnight shipping or an insane brokerage fee.

Judging by this insane winter, it will never return and if the whole planet isn't on fire by the end of july we'll be wearing shorts in December so forget the studded tires

Plimogz

While I wholeheartedly agree about the probable need to stock up on sunscreen and fire-******ant bicycle shorts for the upcoming winters, I still want to cover all my bases; What about the off-chance of temperatures staying below freezing for a couple of weeks at a time? Ice formation might occur and studded tires would then serve a purpose. It could happen, even in Canada.

Anyway. As for why I want the 40s, I suppose you could say that I think they'll bring slightly better ride characteristics. What I'm thinking is that I'll be loosing some on snow and gaining some on ice. pavement should be pretty much a wash. the larger tire should have an edge on uneven, rough or mottled surfaces, so that's a plus. Overall, I just want to try something slightly bigger.

With regards to shipping from Germany, the site I'm looking at says they use DHL, which looks to be a European UPS, or the like. I'm still not sure what brokerage fees I could expect, though.

update: I've come across some information which leads me to believe the brokerage fee charged by DHL would be 2.5% the value of my order (not including shipping) or 7$, whichever is greater.

If that's true, it would still be a good deal ordering from Germany. Though perhaps not a great one. And besides, that figure seems almost too good to be true...

Cyclist0383

In my experience they us DHL, which works with the post office, and my packages arrived via regular post.