prj71

Not sure if that's the case all the time, but that's just absurd.

I know I have looked at their website off an on over the years and I always thought their bikes were overpriced.

big john

Of the 4 frames that I have broken, only 1 was still under warranty, and it was a steel Trek. The warranty service was very good. Of all the other parts and wheels that I have broken, only a few of the wheels were under warranty and I was pleased with Mavic and their warranty service and they even covered one wheel which was slightly out by time. Another time one failed and they gave me a big discount on replacement when it was out of warranty. I've also had 3 sets of pedals warranteed for breaking and one stem.

I know plenty of people who have cracked frames, both aluminum and cf, and many of these were covered. I've also seen people upset when warranty is denied.

You're right, most people won't break a frame. Just like most won't have a major engine failure in a car. The warranty is for peace of mind and to protect the unlucky ones who do need it.

steelywheelie

I’ve sold a couple of bikes to them and they paid very fair for them….since they then turned around and list them at very strong prices. That business model seems to be working well, especially now with the relative bike shortages/supply chain/etc.

msu2001la

It's funny to click on all the links in this thread and see that all of the bikes being discussed as absurdly overpriced garbage have sold.

Does TPC ever lower a price once they've listed a bike? I don't think I've ever seen anything last more than a few weeks.

Chandne

Used bikes now are going to be expensive. No way around that and yeah, they will eventually sell. I have sold a bike to Pros (before Covid) in the $1,600 range and got maybe 15% less than from a private buyer. I also bought one from them pre-Covid and paid maybe 15% more than from a private seller. It is a professionally-run outfit with some very cool guys, in my opinion. I actually went there and they helped me quite a bit, and are so knowledgeable as well...that helped. There was no pressure either.

bruce19

FWIW I just bought a 2016 Guru Photon from them. All Dura Ace 11-sp mechanical, 1295 g Mavic AL clinchers, and it weighed 14 lb 7 oz w/o pedals. Put all my "stuff" on it and went for a ride yesterday. It weighed 15 lb 10 oz as ridden (w/o water bottle). The bike cost me $2,000. When I go on EBAY people are asking $4500 for the same bike. So, I'm feeling pretty good about them right now.

Hiro11

Thought I'd provide some updated thinking here.

As mentioned above, I bought a bike from The Pro's Closet last year. This is a high end ti/carbon cyclocross bike. Yesterday, I noticed a crack in the weld of the rear dropout. The bike was not crashed and the crack was not there before, so it looks like a weld failure. Who knows if it's fixable. The frame builder does not offer any warranty to anyone but the original buyer, again not unreasonably. I emailed the manufacturer about the possibility of paid repair, but I haven't heard back yet.

What to do in this situation? The Pro's Closet does not offer any sort of warranty or post-sales support. It's probably unreasonable for them to do so and I don't blame them. The manufacturer is unlikely to offer anything beyond a costly repair (which is probably the road I'm headed down here). No shop around here is going to help as I didn't buy from them. Again, no one is doing anything wrong here but this is all obviously a MAJOR reason to not buy a used bike in general: you're kinda screwed if something goes wrong.

msu2001la

There are shops that specialize in carbon and titanium frame repairs, right? I wouldn't expect an LBS to be able to do this work in-house, but hopefully they'd help put you in contact with these shops, even if you didn't buy the bike from them.

I wouldn't expect anyone to do this work for free in this situation. This doesn't seem any different than any other used/second hand product and doesn't seem to have anything to do with Pro's Closet - unless your contention is that they sold you a cracked frame?

N2deep

I like pro's closet and buy a lot of components-mostly wheels from them. My only gripe is that they lack a mechanism/system to make an offer on a bike, especially since some of the bikes have really stoopid prices. I get it if they don't accept an offer but at least be open enough to evaluate it. BTW, TPC was the first site that actually measured wheel truness/bearing smoothness to help you determine if you wanted to buy it or not, and everything I bought from them was in better condition than their description, an honest site.

Have fun.

msu2001la

I'm sure TPC does occasionally lower their prices on bikes that have been listed for a long time. I'm not surprised that they adhere to a "no haggle" pricing structure though. This is part of the business model, much like CARMAX and used cars. You're paying extra for the ease of the transaction and the "no haggle" aspect is part of it, just like the inspections, photos, buy back guarantee, etc.

N2deep

I understand the business model but believe it would be improved if you could submit an offer, Multiple sites have this feature. Just saying, Thanks for your input.

Caliwild

Apparently, Pro's Closet is not even offering money for bikes anymore, only store credit. Sent them photos of a bike and they did provide a generous offer, but it was only for store credit... Just FYI...

datlas 

I am thinking that the pandemic bike boom is over and supply chain issues better, so prices for used bikes probably peaked last year and are on their way down. So it makes sense they would make this change to stay in business.

Colorado Kid

Be careful. According to a recent trade paper, they are in deep trouble money wise. Will they last another year? I hope so.

sarhog

Source?

thin_concrete

I don’t know if this is the same article Colorado Kid was referencing, but I saw this:

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/indu...e#.Y3zZdi1Omf0

jaxgtr

This must be a very recent thing, I had a friend of mine sell a bike to them about 3 weeks ago. Said he thought the offer was a little low, but as mentioned somewhere in the thread, the benefit of no haggling, and dealing with people, he took the offer, plus the market is cooling due to the economy slowing and some bikes coming on the market in bike shops.

Caliwild

Yeah, things are definitely slowing down. A local shop that does consignments is being very picky in what they accept. Last year, they were accepting all kinds of vintage bikes, etc... Now, they just want big name, carbon fiber, and disc brakes... Glad I sold a few last year.

jaxgtr

Yep, same here. I sold a Domane SLR about a month ago after I picked up a 2023 Domane, got a decent price, so glad I was able to sell it as quickly as I did. I've sold about 6 bikes over the last 2 years.

Hiro11

TPC's prices are no longer at the outrageous rip-off levels they were in the fall of 2021, but (in my opinion) they are still too damned high. I'd say they need to knock another 15%-20% off their current pricing for their offerings to be a good option. The pressure is only going to build as I believe lots of new bikes will start getting steep discounts in 2023. I wonder how viable this business model is going forward. TPC is going to have a tough run of it in 2023 and 2024.

Also, update on my broken frame I mentioned above: the original fabricator fixed it and reconditioned the bike for a very reasonable fee. The bike is better than it ever was before, so the story has a happy ending.

MoAlpha

Got a Zaffiro Pro trainer tire there for, like, 20 bucks.

jsigone

scored some new Quarq power meter complete cranks for $380. Re-labeled sram RED carbon arms. I should have bought a second set to stash for a another bike. I like the PM better than the stages I've been using for years.

msu2001la

I remain surprised by the number of new products being sold by Pro's Closet. They currently have around 300 bikes that are listed as "new", including bikes from Orbea, Mosaic, Yeti, Rocky Mountain, Giant/Liv, Santa Cruz. On the accessories and components pages, 99% of what they're selling is "new". Shimano, Garmin, 4iii, Stages, etc.

I keep checking their site hoping to snag a cheap Stages or 4iiii power meter for a Hollowgram crank, but find nothing.

Beyond bikes and some wheels, the majority of TPC's website seems to be brand new MSRP apparel, accessories and components.

lasauge 

There's no need for the quotation marks around "new," those listings are legit. I have no affiliation with TPC but happen to know they picked up some NIB inventory from shops that went out of business or were sold to new ownership.

Hiro11

Totally agree. I have two bikes with Quarqs. They are absolutely bulletproof: you get on the bike, they connect to the head unit immediately, calibrate and off you go. Replacing the battery takes about thirty seconds and they give you plenty of warning when they're about to die. They're also super simple: no moving parts, nothing really to break, nothing really exposed. They also offer true dual-sided data without anything unnecessary. IMO, the best PMs on the market.