Test 2015: Road bikes from mail order - price advantage? 4 mail order bikes in comparison

More and more cyclists are buying their racing bikes at the click of a mouse. According to a survey by the German bicycle industry association ZIV, around 30 per cent of all sales in the bicycle trade were made online in 2013. The figures do not reveal the proportion of online buyers among racing cyclists. However, the data from TOUR's annual reader survey shows that the mail order business also has a strong position here. According to this survey, the direct sellers Canyon and Rose have been among the best-selling road bike brands in Germany for years.

The reasons for their success from the customer's point of view are obvious: no stress with shop opening hours, generous return options under the Distance Selling Act and lower prices compared to specialised retail models. The latter can mainly be explained by the fact that mail order companies such as Canyon and Rose are manufacturers and retailers in one. The companies pass on the elimination of the corresponding retail margin to their customers as a price advantage. Either by offering equivalent bikes at a lower price than specialist retailers - or by offering technically better bikes at the same price level.

We have tested these dispatch bikes:

- Canyon Ultimate CF SL 8.0
- Radon Spire 7.0
- Rose Xeon TEam CGF-3000
- Votec VRC Comp

MANY QUESTIONS WHEN BUYING A ROAD BIKE BY MAIL ORDER

However, buying by mail order also harbours pitfalls. Anyone who attaches importance to a test drive naturally faces an obstacle with direct suppliers. In principle, this is possible, but most customers have to travel halfway across Germany to do so, which relativises the price advantage. In addition, less informed buyers ask themselves many questions before buying a road bike, which a competent specialist dealer may be able to answer better in dialogue with the customer than an anonymous call centre salesperson or an internet search: Which geometry is right for me? Which shifting system will work best for me? Last but not least: What frame size do I need? Even road cyclists who know exactly which bike they want are not safe from surprises. Nobody will tell you what condition the bike will be delivered in or whether it will fulfil the promises made by the manufacturer or tests.

To shed some light on the subject, we took a two-stage approach to this test. Firstly, we officially invited four mail-order companies to test bikes in the €2,000 class. At the same time, we had an intermediary buy the same bikes in order to gain unfiltered experience with the shipping process. However, as in all tests, the basis for the evaluation of the bikes are the test bikes officially ordered and delivered to TOUR. The selection includes Canyon and Rose as market leaders among road bike mail order companies, plus Radon as another provider with many years of experience in shipping. Fourth in the group is Votec. The brand of the online retailer Internetstores, known to cyclists through the sales websites fahrrad.de and bruegelmann.de, is only in its third year of offering racing bikes.

Good news from our middleman: three of the four companies were able to deliver their bikes immediately, and the Votec arrived six working days after the order was placed on 5 March. Canyon and Radon also arrived two days later. Only Rose took longer: the automatic order confirmation stated a delivery date of 24 April. However, the bike arrived a week before the deadline.

UNPACK THE DESPATCH BIKE - AND OFF YOU GO?

The first differences became apparent in the packaging. The Votec came in a huge cardboard box. The 1.70 metre long box was securely closed like a safe with 40 metal staples. The bike was also well protected against transport damage with plenty of corrugated cardboard, foam rubber rollers and padding film. Disadvantage: It took almost half an hour to unpack it. The other bikes were unpacked much faster. Canyon and Radon deliver their bikes in smaller boxes, which are also ideal for travelling to training camps. Canyon's packaging is very well thought out: foam rubber buffers, which are fixed with Velcro, protect the bike and keep the dismantled front wheel at a distance from the frame. No tools are required for unpacking. A simple torque spanner with several bits is included for fitting the handlebars and seat post. Thanks to the pre-assembled handlebars, however, the Rose racer was ready to ride the quickest.

There were only problems with the assembly condition at Radon. During the functional test of the derailleur on the assembly stand, the derailleur cable on the front derailleur slipped through the clamping screw. When trying to clamp the cable, the derailleur turned inwards due to an unsuitable washer. Not a big deal for an experienced mechanic, but if you've never adjusted a derailleur before, a mishap like this might spoil your first weekend with your new favourite bike. Radon is a special case among the four brands in that the company can deliver the bike on request via one of more than 180 service partners across Europe, who also carry out the initial adjustment. Experience shows that this is not the worst idea.

With Votec, the right cable settled after several shifting operations and had to be slightly retightened, otherwise the assembly was flawless. We were a little surprised by the retaining ring, which is clamped onto the seatpost with a screw. The post is slightly undersized - it is a tenth of a millimetre too thin. We suspect that the ring serves as an additional safety device to prevent the post from slipping in and to relieve the clamp. If this bothers you, you should ask for the support to be exchanged for a different model when ordering. There were no criticisms of Canyon and Rose. Both bikes were perfectly assembled. The gears also worked flawlessly.

Finally, we compared the weights of officially ordered test bikes and bikes bought incognito. Canyon, Radon and Votec were all in the green zone. Votec's purchased bike was 70 grams heavier, but also - as ordered - one size bigger. The frame of the test bike in the nominal frame size 54 turned out to be five millimetres shorter than stated on the website. This means that the bike is actually too small for our test. The geometry information for the size 56 bike we bought was correct.

THE SURPRISE

The only model with relevant deviations was the Xeon Team CGF-3000 from Rose. 230 grams more weight separated the purchased bike from the test bike. Although the frames are not painted identically due to a carelessness when ordering, this does not explain the big difference. This is due to several factors: The headset and clamp cone in the steerer tube together weigh 66 grams more, the frame and fork are 44 and 46 grams heavier respectively on the purchased bike, and a further 74 grams are hidden in the components. More important than the differences in weight, however, is the fact that the forks of the bikes come from different production moulds. They also differ not only in terms of weight, but also in terms of stiffness. The fork in the test bike contributes significantly to the outstanding rating of the frameset with a score of 1.3 with a fabulous comfort value and maximum lateral stiffness. The fork in the purchased bike, on the other hand, only delivers an average performance (comfort value 83 N/mm, lateral stiffness 63 N/mm), so this frameset would receive an individual score of 1.6, turning the overall score of 1.6 (test bike) into a slightly lower 1.8 (purchased bike). That would still be a very good test result; however, there is still a slight aftertaste that the incognito racer does not live up to the promises of the test bike.

We confronted Erwin Rose, senior manager of the Bocholt-based shipper, with the findings. Rose was surprised by the discrepancies, but immediately gave an explanation, which we have accepted (see interview above). Due to a recent changeover, the frame sets come from different production sites. The new manufacturer, from whom the frame of the purchased bike originates, still has problems meeting Rose's specifications for weights and stiffness exactly. However, Rose has promised to work intensively with the frame manufacturer to find a solution to the problem.

Of course, this detail is not an argument against buying a mail-order bike. In general, the test shows that the four mail-order companies are masters of their business. The inherent weakness of the mail order business remains the interface with the customer. If you don't know exactly what you want, want intensive advice and want to compare several options, buying from a well-stocked specialist dealer is probably the safer way to get your new dream bike.