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Why would you buy your tires online???

faz

faz

Sexiest Ex-Mod around!™
Joined
Apr 23, 2002
Location
Sunnyvale, CA
Moto(s)
07 zx14
Name
Faz
I just came back from Santa Clara Cycle accessories, and asked them about the price of a set of tires for my BMW... I am considering Bridgestone BT021, Metzler Z6, and Pilot Road for my next set of tires (in a week or two.)

The price they quoted me was less than (or within a dollar or two) of the listed prices (not including shipping) on:

chaparral-racing, bikebandit, denniskirk, cyclegear (online), discountmotorcycletire, ronayers, mawonline, and ebay.

I do have to pay tax on the tire purchase, but they mount the tire for free (wheels off the bike) if I buy the tire from them, so it cancels out.


In any case, if you are out there planning on buying new tires, don't simply assume your best prices are on the internet... do ask your local shops, and you might just be surprised to find the tires cheaper locally. :thumbup
 
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When I was looking for F650 tires, SW Mototires was cheaper than anything I could find locally, and had free shipping with two or more tires. FWIW.

http://arizonamoto.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?

I messed up my hand royally and swore a blue streak mounting them, but at least it was free. :p I don't have a car, so taking a wheel in off of the bike was not an option.


On the other hand, I got my Titter tires from Cycle Gear. They had them in stock for a decent price. It's the in-stock that can often be the decision-maker; if the store has to order them in, I figure I might as well get them delivered to my own place.
 
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Roadstergal said:
When I was looking for F650 tires, SW Mototires was cheaper than anything I could find locally, and had free shipping with two or more tires. FWIW.

http://arizonamoto.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?

I messed up my hand royally and swore a blue streak mounting them, but at least it was free. :p I don't have a car, so taking a wheel in off of the bike was not an option.
Click to expand...

Add that to my list above too. I just checked and their listed prices are within $3 (some below, AND in some cases above) the quoted price from the local store. :)
 
I went into SCC with wheels and left with Pilot Power 2CTs mounted and balanced in 20 minutes. Good price on the tires, free mount/balance.

Hard to argue with that. Even got a recommendation from the guy there on chain wax he was using, brought me out back and showed me how clean it ran on his bike.
 
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A lot of people forget that if you buy tires via mail-order, you *may* end up with some that have been sitting around the warehouse for months or even longer. Worse still, you could end up getting a tire from the bottom of the pile and spreading the beads for proper mounting is a pain in the ass. In the end, I'd rather pay the little extra and support local shops compared to paying shipping and then waiting around for them to show. Besides, UPS isn't the most reliable service...
 
Don't forget, it's a pain in the ass getting rid of your old tires too.
 
"Why would you buy tires online?"


Just to piss off SuperTireGuy!:teeth:laughing
 
sometimes you just find deals that you cannot find anywhere else. for eg cycle gear online (only online not in store) carried 208GP front tires for 75 bucks. During new year, it was another 30% off. Where can you get race tires for $50-60?


Also the cheapest in store place is not necessarily the best place to mount your tires because they scratch up rims(I've had my rims even gouged). So I buy tires & then take them to a place to mount where I am confident that my rims won't be fucked up. I might only save 20 or 30 bucks per set but I am absolutely happy that my rims weren't messed up.
 
The market for mc tires at the moment is particularly fierce. Which means dealers are selling them barely above cost. This is difficult for online shops to compete against because when you factor in shipping it can get rather pricey and why sell a tire if you're going to take a loss? That's why you don't see super good prices for tires online.

As far as the age of the tire is concerned, I can almost guarantee that just because a shop is local it doesn't mean that they have the exact tire I want in stock and when they special order it, they're ordering it from the exact same distributor an online shop is. So the age of the tire will generally be the same. Clearance sales not withstanding.
 
I buy my tires online because:

It's a 40 minute round trip to any of my three closest dealers, who never have what I want in stock. Then I have to order said tires, and make another 40 minute round trip on a different day, putting me out a minimum of 1 hour, 20 minutes, not counting either time spend waiting around for mounting, or time spent at the counter waiting for the deal to get done.

When I order online, UPS drops them off at my door, and I can either mount them myself, or go to a shop at a time that's convenient and have it done. And after having a rim with only 2000 miles on it get scratched pretty good on it's first tire change, and having the shop claim that they hadn't done it, I prefer to change my own.
 
I buy online because I know a guy that has a one man shop (labor only, no retail) and he has done great work on my bikes. I'd rather pay him to mount the tires than anyone else even if it cost me a few dolllars more.
 
Maybe I shouldn't say this but... If you have the tools and the know how to mount the tires yourself then it can be tough for shops to match online tire warehouse no sales tax pricing.

On the other hand if you don't have the tools, the know how or the time then it's quick and easy to have trusted local shop do the work for you. As an added bonus while the shop is flipping tires they can usually see and make notes of any other bike issues found along the way. Maybe your brake pads are almost metal-to-metal, maybe the tire pressures were too high/low or the chain/sprockets are ready to implode, etc. Great info to have in order for you to make informed bike maintenance decisions, if you're not well versed with what to look for.
 
I once ordered car tires from TireRack, and couldn't find a single shop that would mount them. :mad

I got them way cheaper then the shop, plus it was a special order tire that no one stocked, and I would to wait anyway. After calling and driving all over town, I gave up. Lucky for me, I live on a military base with access to the auto hobby shop, so I used the same tire machine and electronic balancer that the tire shop has. That also meant doing it myself. Even after seeing it done hundreds of times, it ain't easy to run one those machines without the fear of losing a limb or destroying my wheel. I could probably do it faster with more practice, but it took me almost two hours to mount and balance two tires. :)

It wasn't as much fun as I thought, so I'd rather pay a pro to do it for me. :teeth
 
Sane_Man said:
I once ordered car tires from TireRack, and couldn't find a single shop that would mount them. :mad

I got them way cheaper then the shop, plus it was a special order tire that no one stocked, and I would to wait anyway. After calling and driving all over town, I gave up. Lucky for me, I live on a military base with access to the auto hobby shop, so I used the same tire machine and electronic balancer that the tire shop has. That also meant doing it myself. Even after seeing it done hundreds of times, it ain't easy to run one those machines without the fear of losing a limb or destroying my wheel. I could probably do it faster with more practice, but it took me almost two hours to mount and balance two tires. :)

It wasn't as much fun as I thought, so I'd rather pay a pro to do it for me. :teeth
Click to expand...
Actually the machines that are used for car tires(if they are air or hydo powered) are not suitable for most MC tires. Car tires have much heavier beads and the tolerances for balancing are much lower. Powered car tire machines can easily break the bead on an MC tire(as in structurally fuck up the tire) while the dynamic balancers aren't fine tuned enough for the smaller weights used on MC tires... Congradulations on doing it your self but realize its like using a 12lb hammer when a 1lb works best...
 
faz said:
I just came back from Santa Clara Cycle accessories, and asked them about the price of a set of tires for my BMW... I am considering Bridgestone BT021, Metzler Z6, and Pilot Road for my next set of tires (in a week or two.)

The price they quoted me was less than (or within a dollar or two) of the listed prices (not including shipping) on:

chaparral-racing, bikebandit, denniskirk, cyclegear (online), discountmotorcycletire, ronayers, mawonline, and ebay.

I do have to pay tax on the tire purchase, but they mount the tire for free (wheels off the bike) if I buy the tire from them, so it cancels out.


In any case, if you are out there planning on buying new tires, don't simply assume your best prices are on the internet... do ask your local shops, and you might just be surprised to find the tires cheaper locally. :thumbup
Click to expand...

In reply to your question, I get a MUCH better deal on line. I'm glad you found service & product at a local shop & walked away happy. I would pay 10 to 15 % more at a local shop if I could at least walk out of there feeling like the guy at the parts counter gave a shit & knew the diff. between an XR100 and CRF450. I have been buying bike parts since 1972 & the brick & mortar shops are doomed. I get better feed back & info. from a guy in Teaxs or Vegas or just about any where than the shops in the Bay Area. I'm at the tracks at least twice a month & most people are feeling the same. The shops don't stock shit loose orders & act like there doing you a favor. So thousands of legit. customers now shop on line.
 
I agree. I've never had the need to buy tires online. Fremont Cycle Salvage (good) and Santa Clara Cycle (Best) have always had the same tires within a few bucks. My brother, father, and myself all use those two shops exclusively for tires.
 
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