After having paid for a bike/frame for a shop to give you a firm delivery date?
I did ask in advance of the payment and was given a reply of X weeks.
It’s been 3 weeks now, and I have chased them once with no luck.
What do I do? I know there is a production plan/waiting list but not even knowing of their original lead time is still applicable is killing me? It might be coming soon and it might not?
I can be a bit disproportionate in my approach and I don’t really want to cancel (but I’m willing to) and go to the back of the queue, so advice appreciated.

It depends on how special the bike is? Is it worth waiting for or just cancel and buy something else, there are plenty of different brands about.

Is this Nicolai? There is a production queue spreadsheet thingy on their website.

Edit: here

https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0Aho4mKeuwSYGdE16MFVqV0o5Q0x0ZnhSUVV5MzBoRGc&hl=de&single=true&gid=1&output=html

It depends what X was.

X = 10?

Its always x+1.

Having seen some of the horror stories on this here forum, I wouldn’t pay for a bike without having confidence in the delivery date. In your case I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for an approximate delivery date. If they can’t even give that… 😯

Personally I think no bike is that good that you should have to wait an indeterminate amount of time before it’s ready to ride. Other options are available.

wrecker: I did ask in advance of the payment and was given a reply of X weeks.

scotroutes: X = 10

Well you’re being impatient. Sit in the corner and think about what you’ve done.

How much do i want it – how much they have annoyed me

Which is the greatest ?

not even knowing of their original lead time is still applicable is killing me?

Really?

I’ll be waiting 3 weeks for a Soma B-Side to be delivered. Ordered it from Mosquito bikes who took a deposit when I placed the order. They’ve been pretty good at responding when I email them.

I am getting slightly impatient now though!

I want the bike. The shop haven’t annoyed me, they are a nice bunch. I just want to know when my bike is coming.

Really?

New bike time doesn’t come every day you know.

New bike time doesn’t come every any day soon you know.

ftfy 🙂

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PofNl3yQchs[/video]

Last 2 bikes I ordered that weren’t in stock took 5 and 7 weeks. The suspense didn’t, amazingly, kill me.

What did they say the lead time was when you ordered?

The suspense didn’t, amazingly, kill me.

How droll. Thanks for your input…….

Tomhoward: The suspense didn’t, amazingly, kill me.

Are you sure? You could have got better and not noticed.

Depends on the company and how they manage stock. The likes of Giant, Spesh. and a few others have B2B sites where to can lookup the stock realtime. Smaller companies…we used to just ring them and ask. LBS should be able to tell you, but it’s not unexpected for them to be told total lies by suppliers im my experience.

Depends how much you want the bike really. I waited a month extra on top of the time I was quoted for my last one because Fox had some problem getting the fork. The most frustrating thing was that no-one could tell me what was going on, because it was going through the LBS to the manufacturer to Fox, so the communication was crap!

Now that I’ve got it though I love it and have forgot all about the wait.

If it is Nicolai the shop now deal with them direct I believe. As such I suspect if you phone Nicolai and ask them about x frame set to be sent to x shop they will be able to tell you the date of dispatch. If any company is likely to be on time with frame I suspect ze Germans are the ones.

wrecker, It’ll be an amazing bike when it comes. 😀 They’re a reputable manufacturer. You have nothing to fret* about.

* I’d be just as bad, not knowing kills 😆

wrecker, It’ll be an amazing bike when it comes. They’re a reputable manufacturer. You have nothing to fret* about.

* I’d be just as bad, not knowing kills
Yeah, I think you’re right. I’ll just chill out and try to forget about it……BUT I CANT!!!!!I WANT!!!!! 😀

Could be worse, it could have been a kick starter frame…

Two to three months I think for my new Aeris. Always new it would take that long. Have other bikes to ride. Weather isn’t exactly ideal for new-bike-love. I’ll be glad when it’s here, but until then I can just pretend how much faster I’ll be when it turns up 😉

Personally I think no bike is that good that you should have to wait an indeterminate amount of time before it’s ready to ride. Other options are available.

This^^^ I’ve never ordered a bike that wasn’t in stock.

Waited 4 months for my last new bike last year. Everything was available… bar the frame. Was a long wait, but bike shop were ace and knew when I ordered it could be a longish wait. More than worth it though. Love the bike.

I think I waited 8 weeks for my Shan.

It was painful.

New bike time doesn’t come every day you know.

3 months for my Tripster frame, but worth the wait. Really does depend on how much you want that specific bike, nothing else was cutting it for me.

4 months FT!, i won’t go in to starbucks because they are so **** slow.

Ideally I didn’t want to wait 4 months. But that was the ONE I wanted. Could’ve had it sooner, but didn’t like the other colour options out the three available. Was lucky as had my Dialled Alpine to ride while I waited mind you.

Ideally I didn’t want to wait 4 months. But that was the ONE I wanted.

That’s pretty much where I am. I’m sure the bike shop has put the order in, and I know that my chasing for a date won’t make it arrive any quicker (although I’ll be annoyed if it’s much different to the original lead time given before I ordered).
I could have ordered it online via a helpful chap in the know, but I wanted to buy from a local shop and they were a touch cheaper. Not sure I made the right choice now……

Original timeframe for custom road bike frame was 6-8weeks, turned out to be three months. Broke it after four months.

Ordered in stock road frame from German shop, took 3 weeks from point of order to arrival. Happy enough.

wrecker, this is a sort of dream bike thing isn’t it?

Couple of weeks here or there on the delivery will be soon forgotten when you’ve got your mitts on it. 😀

wrecker, this is a sort of dream bike thing isn’t it?

Ummm. Not sure about that. It’s a big gamble; I’ve not had a HT in years. I was looking at far cheaper options but got caught up, it’s still expensive but not top end Ti money. In marketing lingo, it is an emotional purchase I suppose; most bikes are I think.
I have forks, wheels, drivetrain etc tucked away in a cupboard so I can’t see it all.

If any company is likely to be on time with frame I suspect ze Germans are the ones

They might be German but they’re a small company who make nearly everything in house.

Say you’ve got 3 welders who make 5 frames a day each you can make 75 frames a week. If one of them goes sick you’ve only made 50. It takes a while to catch up.

Nicolai’s delivery dates are only ever guidance.

Say you are at work… someone orders from you, you say ‘that’ll be here in 10 weeks’, you take the money.

Over the 1st 3 weeks the customer calls and emails asking if the original 10 weeks is still the expected delivery date…. pestering springs to mind.

The other side is that this isn’t a normal purchase… it’s a new bike… cue very excited customer who keeps calling up well before the expected date… possible pita springs to mind but also ‘hey, I hope this bike shows, the guy can’t wait, it’s a great bike, he is going to love it!!’.

I am impatient to know the original lead time and what the frame is…. it’s catching!!

Hope it turns up soon… for both you and the bike shops sake.

Over the 1st 3 weeks the customer calls and emails asking if the original 10 weeks is still the expected delivery date…. pestering springs to mind.

Ha! I’ve only called once in 3 weeks so I’m not too bad (I hope….)
Just want to know what production run I’m on.

Fair enough, it read like you had been alittle more eager.

The spread sheet thingy doesn’t make a lot of sense to me… maybe week 17??

Whatever happens a Nicolai is normally a bike that stays in the stable for a while… once you have it all the waiting will be forgotten.

I actually have a new HT frame sat here waiting for bits…. it sits on the sofa with me… 😯

I’ve got to wait 11 months for my next bike.

You’ll probably be bored with yours by then.

She’s here……..

Absolutely over the moon with it. The colour is hard to describe. Sometimes it looks yellow, sometimes green. It really is stunning. Spendy, but so glad i went for it now.
Ordered some pro2 evos/ryde trace enduros which haven’t arrived yet so the build will have to wait.