mstateglfr 

Earlier in the month I decided on some Panaracer Gravelking SS in 43mm size.

Amazon had em cheapest by far, so I ordered a pair on the 9th. Delivery showed as the 15th which I chalked up to them being slammed during prime days.
On the 15th, Amazon cancels the order because they don't have the product in stock.
WTF?! It took a week to process that they dont have the inventory? Oh well.

I go look around again and Walmart online has the cheapest price for the tires, so I order a pair on the 15th with an expected delivery of the 24th.
On the 23rd, Walmart sends an email apologizing that there is a delay due to high demand of these tires. They will let me know at some point when the tires will ship or if I need to cancel.
WTF?! High demand for a couple of tires? And it took a week for them to tell me?

So I decided to just order the tires direct off Panaracer's site. Nope, can't do that- they are backorder.

To the Google again- I ordered a pair off Nashbar last night. Already got a shipped confirmation email which I don't at all believe due to it being Sunday and the tires not being in stock elsewhere.


Hopefully 3rd time is a charm.
I get that supply chains have been messed up this year(i work in transportation logistics analytics), but this struggle is more absurd since the sites don't just show accurate inventory.


After this much effort, I will for sure claim these to be the greatest tires ever created, even if I hate em.

trailangel

Entirely your fault for being cheap. Why not order from a good reputable company that shows exactly what they have in stock?
https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...7&category=178

pbass

Have had similar issues in the past w Amazon and others. These days I stick with either Jenson or Bike Tires Direct and have no complaints.

Digger Goreman

Maybe it's because I'm a more casual commuter/exerciser, but I am intent on wearing tires till they reach threads or become flat catchers.... When I see good used on the side of the road, I will cannabalize at least till this pandemic-lack is over....

mstateglfr 

Sure, this clearly occurred because I'm looking for the best price. I'm not in a hurry, so I attempted to buy on price- its a common consumer behavior.
I just found it funny that 2 of the largest e-retailers both failed to fulfill the order. The odds of that have to be quite small.
I'm aware other sites also list the tires in stock. I didnt use Universal because the total cost was more than Nashbar.


I have an odd sense of humor and laugh at the small absurdities in life.

Metieval

What is with the war on mom n pop stores?

Boycott the giant retailers or else your future will be like trying to buy panaracers in Venezuela!

And that will be "comical".

The choice is yours.

mstateglfr 

Ill take the bait. Who in this thread is at war with mom and pop stores?

Koyote

mstateglfr : This is the universe's way of telling you to stick with Resolutes.

mstateglfr 

ha ha ha, strong post- good work.

Cyclist0108

Nah, it is saying buy Rene Herse tires (which Panaracer makes for them).

Herzlos

They were probably aiming to get the stock in within a few days which went wrong due to the backorder.

J.Higgins 

I've been immersed in tire-buying lately, and I can definitely relate to the Op's woes. I'm at the point of projecting what I will need, and getting it on order through any means necessary, even if it means getting them through UK or Holland. Takes a while, but they eventually get here. Retailers here in CONUS are under pressure to perform, and they just arent doing a crackup job of it. Builds have slowed down to a trickle because of this. I cant just plan a build and wing-it as I go through the process of hanging parts on a frame. Used to be that if I needed something, I'd get online and it'd be on my doorstep in a day or two. Not now. It takes two weeks minimum, and if I go overseas, a month. Not a good time to be in business.

mstateglfr 

Just got the tires- delivered 3 days after ordering with one of those days being the weekend.
Nashbar still isn't what it used to be, but in this instance it's actually better!


488g and 492g, so a touch heavier than claimed. Can't wait to get em set up.

Metieval

Not me, I walked into a local bike shop. Paid msrp for a set of tires, picked up an extra bottle of orange sealant. Had a nice chat, I pet their shop dog and left.
Buying tires is easy.... they even had a set of sk's. Of course economy and supply is a little stronger in those states because people support local businesses. And their stores have not been shut down.

mstateglfr 

You initially asked what is up with the war on mom and pop stores. Nobody has said or suggested they are at war with mom and pop stores.
The two shops I frequent do not stock the tire I want, and if either did, I would have purchased from them. One does carry the SK, but I didnt want that tire so it does no good for me.

As for your claim that economy and supply is a little stronger in states where mom and pop stores are supported, that is a completely impossible claim to defend. Small businesses exist all over the country alongside large corporations- every state I have been to or lived in has a mix of small and large businesses and the initiative of how to balance both in a healthy manner is a focus all across the country. This is just yet another time where you make a general claim that is incorrect or unprovable and phrased in a way to pass judgement.
The two local shops I use both have special order processes that result in them placing orders once a week. So if I order something on Tuesday, they place the order next Monday, and I receive the product on Thursday or Friday which is 9-10 days later. I use that sometimes and use e-retail sometimes.

You are passively criticizing anyone who uses e-retail to purchase goods. Thats quite the position to take.


Ironically enough, my initial post was to complain about e-retail, which would support your position. I too find issues with it, but Im not simple enough to think its somehow bad or weakens economies. My purchases from companies across the country support those local economies. Why you buy from Tree Fort, you support the local economy in whatever Michigan town they are located. When you buy from Modern Bike, you support the Des Moines economy. etc etc etc.

Your terrible hot takes in this thread aside, I got the tires I want and am happy.

Chi_Z

good for you, my LBS are filled with elitist snobs that judge ppl who buys bike stuff online

Craptacular8

I walked into my LBS as well a month ago. I needed something bigger than my 700x35 bon jons for a ride/race I had coming up. They had the Rene Herse 700x42 Hurricane Ridge standard casing in stock, I had them mount them tubeless, as I hadn't previously set these wheels up for tubeless. The installation/setup was "free" meaning I know the labor cost was buried in the cost of the materials used to setup the wheels for tubeless, but the tires were the same price as if I'd ordered them direct from RH, so no markup there. I've been using them for the past month, and have been really pleased. They aren't leaking sealant, hold tire pressure well, and are giving me the extra float i needed over my boggy local gravel. The recent ride/race was over 15 miles of hero gravel, the other 40 miles was chunky, recently spread gravel, with a few miles of just flat out rock (4" or larger "gravel"). I was glad I wasn't running anything narrower. I found these had really good traction, with no performance loss (for me anyway) on pavement.

pbass

Here in LA, we have no shortage of cool LBS's that carry brands other than the "big 3" and a bunch of entry-level stuff, etc. The gravel and bikepacking scene is very well represented. But still, it's hard to get inventory these days it seems. Or, it just isn't profitable to keep things like a bunch of tire options in stock. I always check locally first, but ordering through them takes as long (at least) as ordering myself from Jenson and the like. I go to my LBS as much as possible but sometimes it's tough.