SteveInConverse

So I ordered a WTB Nano (wire bead) and when it arrived it was twisted into a figure 8, I guess to make the package smaller. I took it out of the package and popped it into it's full shape and inspected it...it seemed ok. It mounted to the rim fine and seated as it should. I about had a heart attack seeing it "folded up" the way it was. Anyone have the same experience with Amazon?

soyabean

It may or may not be the shipper doing this, but it is a common method for backpacking a wire bead, totally fine for short times.

Camilo

My personal soap box: don't buy tires or any bike stuff from Amazon. There's a lot of actual bike shop online sellers with free or very reasonable shipping that are competitive with Amazon prices. Plus they know what they're doing and you can get actual advice by chat or over the phone. Yeah, some of them do sell through Amazon, but I'm just so tired of the crappy fulfillment and business practices of Amazon, I'm starting to get kind of preachy about it. I put together two full bikes about a year ago without buying a single item from Amazon, and did some price and availability comparisons and Amazon didn't offer anything over the real bike sellers, or if there was, it was so minor as to be irrelevant.

SurferRosa

Wired tires have arrived from numerous vendors at my door in a figure-8 dozens of times. I think it's okay for them to be like that for a few weeks.

For my own bikes (not flips), I've been buying folding beads.

dedhed

Common shipping method

Iride01 

Only a figure eight with two loops? That just shows their inexperience.

Rolla

Then why the concern?

Litespud

figure-8 folding is fine for a wire-bead tire. As long as there are no actual kinks in the wire, you’re good.
I’ve bought several rounds of tires through Amazon - usually Rubino Pros - no problems. however, it’s worth being as diligent as you can to ensure that you’re getting what you paid for. I’ve seen enough “SPD-SL-compatible” cleats packaged very similar to actual Shimano-made cleats to make me buy cleats only from the LBS, even though they’re a bit more expensive

livedarklions

I've found that sometimes Amazon is the cheapest place to buy a specific tire-- often the Continental GP 5000 I prefer. They're fine, coming in their original packaging.

CAT7RDR

I kind of enjoy the snake in the can of nuts trick with my Terrier.
Cut the tape and the tire explodes and the game is on.

rumrunn6

yes, not w/ Amazon, but yes

SkinGriz

Figure 8 is a better way than flattening out the tire to fit OE package.
Flattened tires want to keep popping out of the rim hook during installation.

Camilo

Oh, I'm not saying that Amazon can't provide cheapest prices and genuine items. In the past I happily bought stuff from Amazon. I just don't like them at all any more, thus my little peeve post and willingness to pay a tiny bit more (rarely more, usually comparable) not to have to support them. It's usually very easy find prices and shipping (cost and time) that are comparable. Amazon's brilliant and hard -won niche is "you don't have to look anywhere else", but it's not that hard, and often pays off.

Last spring when components were really getting scarce, I found many things from online sellers that weren't available at Amazon and/or were more expensive on Amazon. In some cases I thought that Amazon pricing was way out of line, maybe Amazon itself and its sellers were so used to people automatically looking to Amazon that they didn't think they had competition. And that's probably true in a lot of cases. Not to mention talking or chatting with someone who knows something about what you're looking for. And they often or usually have a "waiting list" type of deal where if something isn't in stock, they will either ship it (and charge) when it comes in, or will notify you when it comes in. This was extremely handy during that time of extreme scarcity. I could get on one or more waiting lists, and buy when the first one came through. I made use of that several times, and I've never seen that with Amazon sellers.

That built up knowledge of a bunch of great online bike sellers that I just check now and don't bother with Amazon. EBay is my other go-to over Amazon. Not necessarily for bike parts, but almost anything I can get on Amazon, I can get from much smaller-time EBay sellers, competitive pricing, with reliable fulfillment and shipping. Supporting small business E-commerce with little or no cost penalty vs. paying for a business I don't like.

Anyway, I'm not a crazy person about this (at least I don't think I am!) but am very happy to convey my distaste for that particular business and how easy it's been for me to wean myself from them.

SteveInConverse

Shipping feedback mostly...if the process was wrong or could damage the product I would have let them know (as if it probably matters lol)

SteveInConverse

[QUOTE=Camilo;22430717]

Where would be some online places you would recommend. I do like Amazon, ain't gonna lie, but I'm always interested in options and I'll pay a little more all other things being pretty equal.

frogman

[QUOTE=SteveInConverse;22430748]
Same here. Give us your recommendations.

rumrunn6

hope you like them!

SteveInConverse

I immediately noticed a softer ride and it feels more confident on loose stuff compared to the stock tires on the FX1. I put a 700x40 up front and have a WTB all terrain in 38c for the back.

urbanknight

Wire bead tires often come shipped in a figure 8 from Amazon, bike shops, and even the manufacturer. If it were folded more than that, I would be concerned.

SteveInConverse

Yeah it was a single twist. Glad to know it's normal.

MarcusT

I ordered 2 tires from Amazon and they arrived in a box big enough for a bike frame and what's worse, 2 separate deliveries

Camilo

[QUOTE=frogman;22430772]Just at the top of my head.... Kind of in the order of what I've purchased most from in the past year and that have been great to me: Western BIke Works, Colorado Cyclist, Performance Bike/Nashbar (can still be good if they have what you need in stock - major ownership change a couple of years ago which had a little bit of a rocky transition); Competitive Cyclist/Backcountry, Trail This (usually through Ebay), Planet Cyclery (Ebay mostly), Ben's Cycle/ Milwaukee Bicycle, Universal, Abaxo (Ebay), Jenson, Cambria Bike, Helen's Cycles, There's a couple more that I've used and a bunch more eBay sellers that I can't put my finger on right now. For Ebay, I'm a long term user so it's second nature to me, easier (to me) than using Amazon and you have the option of new or used. Normal EBay buying applies - find the seller, see what it costs (I do Buy It Now 99.9% of the time), shipping policy (all are very clear and easy to see on the front listing screen), and feedback score.

But the bottom line is just do a search for what you're looking for and check out what pops up - what their price is and shipping (often free >$X). For small items, I almost always look at EBay first.

SteveInConverse

[QUOTE=Camilo;22430893]This is so awesome... Thank you!

livedarklions

Just to remind you, you started your previous post with getting on a soapbox to tell us not to buy bikes and bike stuff from Amazon. I shop for most items, and often find Amazon's price is cheaper, especially when I don't have to add shipping charges. And they ship better than anyone else.

Kapusta

Many times when searching for an item and I see a good price on Amazon, I look up the seller to see if they have on online store, and then buy it that way.

So many sellers on Amazon know little about the finer details of what they are selling, and this is especially true when looking at tires, where one model may come in multiple casing designs and tread compounds.

I have mostly gotten away from buying bike stuff from Amazon. The one reason I will still use it is if I think there is a chance I may need/want to return something. For example any sort of bike clothing. Or the Fidlock water bottle I just ordered but am not sure if it will actually work with my frame.