Pinarello ride into Halfords stores

So have Yellow lost their UK distributor role for Pinarello or is this a deal through them?

Now I'm not a snob who is anti Halfords but even so, would you really pay Pinarello money to them? At that level of prices I want fitting by real experts. I know Bikehut was set up to provide this but it doesn't seem to have really worked.

In some ways it is an understandable move but IMHO in real terms a bit of a dead end. We'll wait and see.

Great work by Halfords, fair enough. But can you imagine the average Half-donkey trying to set up one of those? With Di2? Tubulars?

Feel so sorry for existing Pinarello Dealers trying to shift £3.5k frameset's and complete bikes, now up against Halfords .

It'll be the usual story customer buys a 'Pina' from Halfords, bike falls apart within one week, customer takes bike to a proper bike shop for a 'once over' tighten nuts and bolts when the proper bike shop would have loved this high end sale in the first place. Believe me I've seen this working in the trade (proper bike shop-Ed).

Next we'll see Sky co-sponsored by H A L F O R D S omg

Having just read Jeff Connor's book Wide-Eyed and Legless, I can imagine that may be a weird (and unwelcome) kind of deja vu for Shane Sutton!!

Typical setup/adjustment issues at some stores show that they often don't know one end of a bike from the other, some work to be done there. Can't say I'd rush to Halfords to buy a flashy bike!

I didn't see this one coming. I'm surprised that the importer couldn't have improved coverage and availability through good independents in selected locations. Great business for Halfords but a risk for Pinarello's brand reputation.

Thinking what being linked to Halfords did for GT and Kona as 'must have' mtb brands

Seems like Halfords have a weird strategy here. Anyone who knows that you wouldn't buy a new Formula 1 car - ok, maybe that's over-stating it a bit - Anyone who knows that you wouldn't buy a new Ferrari from the local Car Supermarket would also know not to buy a Pinarello from Halfords. Halfords brand managers surely get this. So this suggests that they are consciously saying "sod those that know what they're on about, we're just after the rich fools with thousands to spend and no clue between their ears". They would be better off training the guys properly, eliminating any box-shifter mentality, and offering services like bike-fitting etc to build up trust in the Halfords brand.

As for Pinarello, well it's brand suicide for them, IMHO. To continue the car analogy, what would happen if Ferrari announced that rather than bother with their own showrooms, buyers would need to visit Fiat showrooms instead? It makes them look, well, chavvy.

Then again, it's Halfords that puts me off buying a Boardman, and they seem to be doing ok, so perhaps I'm way off the mark.

The slating you guys are giving is a bit harsh...
the boardman bikes are good from halfords & they're set up by 'half donkeys'
remember pinarello is a COMPANY who charges top whack for their bikes, they want as much sales coverage as possible. they don't give their bikes away...

I reckon Wheelz has been at it again and bought a job lot of knock-off Chinarellos:

http://road.cc/content/forum/52602-i-just-orderd-one-these

Now he's masquerading as a distributor for Pinarello and flogging to Halfords. It's not like they'd be able to tell the difference (nor would I!).

How's it going Wheelz?

I can only see this work, if Halfords set up special shops (or at least shop corners.) So if they wish to enter the upper market this could be a good chance, the turn over of Halford should enable them to get better pricing. Maybe the result are boutique shops.

If I wish to put 3k on the table I expect some service like fitting. So for boutique shops they'll need trained stuff. And some clothing, maybe they will stock Rapha as well.

Pina and Halfords feels to me like Bentley and Volkswagen.

Regards,

Dr. Ko

I foresee backwards-fitted forks thanks to Pinarello's wibbly-wobbly designs confusing Halford's school-leaver staff. And yes, I am a snob.

There is no way someone's going to Halfords to drop £3k+ on a bike

And I reckon this year will be the last year Sky will be riding Pinas. I was thinking that already but this confirms it for me

W.T.F!?

Good comments all round here. After a fantastic year for sport especially cycling in 2012 didn't Halfords post poor results or a warning just before Christmas that they hadn't capitalized on it all in 2012. Weren't they close to going belly up 2010? Halfords advertising sales campaign is a joke e.g Was £149.99 now only £79.99 any body around bikes knows it's always been £79.99 never go with the hype.

Pinarello brand suicide in the UK. Yellow maybe smiling inside .

Unless the bikes are discount or bought from a new 'bespoke' Halfords bike shop as Dr Ko suggested nobody will want to be associated with the brand. Boardman bikes are good value at £1000 and below but the brand isn't flying pitched with Halfords.

How about warranty claims and returns. Independent dealers may still support Pinarello's but in the future ditch the brand quickly? Your £3k+ frame develops a problem the Independant doesn't have to honour or hasn't the means to, cos the returns route will be with Halfords

Hear that? It's the sound of 100's of independent bike shops dropping Pinarello and 1000's of Pinarello owners logging on to ebay to sell their dogma.

There is another sound, me kissing my Tarmac Expert I bought instead of a Pinarello. They may be popular but they aren't from Halfords!

Oh, yes, I am also a snob btw.

This just makes me giggle. I *believe* that no one will die.

Unlike Pinarello, Boardman have a lot of bikes in the sub £1K Bike2Work bracket. My employer will only let you do Bike2Work through Halfords and I doubt they're alone. If I wanted a bike in that price bracket on that scheme and was forced to buy from Halfords then I'd pick a Boardman. Otherwise I'd go nowhere near Halfords!

They set up my brother's bike so the front calipers were always touching the rim. When he showed them the wheel wouldn't spin they denied anything was wrong and said it was supposed to be like that! Why would anyone let "mechanics" like that anywhere near a decent bike?

Aren't Pinarello £3.5K+ framesets mass produced in China for $50 a pop? Sorry but pitch with Halfords it's another dent in Pinarello's alleged 'Italian' (errr!) heritage!

'MOST' bars & stems and wobbly bits are gonna look great on Halfords shelves. Lol!

Well, I'd have one.

I bet one or two of our local Mamil bike snobs will be putting their Pinarello's on eBay after reading this.

They used to say that Bianchi was the Italian Raleigh - I think they've just lost that title.

I had to check whether it is 1st April - even Boardman sell their top of the range bikes thorough specialists, not Halfords.

I bought my Boardman from Wiggle and put it together without any idea what I was doing. I've never had any trouble with it. So if I can do it, anyone can.

Every time I see someone riding a Pinarello, I'm going to ask if they got it from Halfords.

In facy, I'm just going to tweet Alan Sugar...

Dear oh dear!

A racing bike needs to be properly sized to be comfortable and give good performance, we all know that here.

What I can say from experience is that Halfords do not have the facilities or business model to allow for this. Hell, they couldn't even get that right with their flagship Bikehut failure which was in Brighton (I know, I worked there).

On the bright side... Oh wait.

Picking up on the Internet that the Dogma range won't be sold through Halfords only a selection of bikes will be available. Ok all Dogma owners you can breath easy now

On the down side, think about the potential for creating a truly annoying advert during theTour this year. On the up side, perhaps a chance to win a Dogma rather than a Carrera

I love bicycles and cycling but most of the replies to this story display perfectly the snobbish attitudes that a large number of you have. Halfords are not perfect and like any large chain store, quality of service is quite patchy. Their reputation goes before them and has little to do with the actuality of shopping there. Personally I wouldn't buy a Pinarello from Halfords...or anyone else.

Just what sort of customer experience are Pinarello trying to deliver? It's not just about the product, guys. The brand loses its value every time that Halfords - or anyone else - cocks something up at any point within the customer journey

Complete brand suicide but no doubt tempted by the sales potential in the sponsorship of team Sky boosted by the Wiggo effect. 'Sky ride bikes like these' will appeal to people in the Halfords consumer profile, i.e first time cyclists and will probably generate sales at the lower end of the Pina range. However, it absolutely kills their reputation among other more 'knowledgeable' road cyclists. I've never much cared for those wobbly lines.

No, sorry, this isn't just snobbery. If all you needed from a shop was for them to sell you the same box as anyone else, used in the same way, one size fits all, and be there if you needed to return it, you'd have a point. As it is, you'd get no more expertise/support from these guys than you would an online retailer that's never seen you. I'd buy bits from them the same as I buy bits from Wiggle, but a whole bike? Just as with online, you would need to be absolutely certain what you were after, spec, size, the lot.

Too many snobs on this forum. Halfords can source over 90% of the bicycles available on the market anyway. All you do is buy the bicycle from Halfords and take it to your favourite cycle mechanic to get it checked and set up to your own specificationsl.

Until your favourite mechanic is no longer there because he couldn't keep the business going charging you £20 for the above. The majority of bike shops are independent businesses (obviously with the exception of Halfords, Evans, Cycle Surgery), and they operate on low margins, particularly in the current economic climate.

Also, I find that in the big chain stores, they will sell it for the marked price, whereas in the little places, they're more open to negotiation and "I'll throw in some lights and a computer"-type discussions.

That would be my only issue not the fact that Halfords, Evans or even Cycle Surgery are selling any particular brand of bike. Although I do you use Cycle Surgery simply because that where my favourite mechanics are
CS also price match on all items.

Totally disagree on the 'snobs' issue and the above advice. Work in an independent bike shop on a Saturday, find out what it's like operating on small margins, (wages, rates to pay etc) generating sales on £1000, £2K, £3K+ bikes. Why buy a bike from Halfords then take it to another shop you won't be popular with your favorite mechanic!! Buy from the shop direct for the full purchase, support experience.

This discussion is regarding brand suicide.

Independent Dealers fight tooth and nail to stock a 'world' leading brand, commit £K£K£K£K to stock the minimum range (inc many frame sizes) to satisfy the brand then commit to sell at least 20, maybe 30 bikes a year to keep the brand. To be 'shafted' by Pinerello supplying bikes to Halfords is criminal. Least no forget in this financial climate Independent bike shops maybe the only shop left on a high street.

On another issue 'the cycle to work scheme' the company I now work for is through Halfords. When I inquire they can't source any other brand of bikes other than what they stock in store or on line. So for a road bike that's a Chris Boardman up to £1K shame I can't purchase a Cannondale Caad8 £699 add to my Cannon collection, Caad3 & Super6 USA made (now there's a quality brand - Ed)

It's worth remembering too that the independents often give a lot better service, or they do where I live in South London anyway. Paying a little more to buy a bike can be totally offset by the free first service you get from an independent. I know most of the people in the independent shop I go to by name and have had a lot of help with little bits of this and that over the years. No Halfords store would ever do that. I do use Halfords soemtimes when buying bits, like lights or tubes or tyres and so on as the local store is convenient to where I live. I did buy a couple of bikes for my kids there when they were small. But now they're older, parts are the only things I get in Halfords.

Anyone tried to get a comment from Phil Griffiths?

Weird marketing decision by Pinarello. I always thought it was a premium brand. Strange choice of retail partner.

I've already confessed to the snob part lol.

In all honesty, some of things 'selling' I have witnessed in various halfords stores, including buying a TdF, point to the reason why I think this is bad move for pinarello.

If I wanted a Pinarello I would not be looking at Halfords just what where they thinking at Pinarello.
First port of call would be a real bike shop!

It's nothing to do with snobberry. It's to do with experience of shopping in halfords. They are not expertise enough to sell bikes at these price points.

It sounds a rather strange move in terms of brand management. Try to imagine Rolls Royce forming an agreement with Carsupermarket.com to become the principal supplier of their vehicles. The outcome could be very harmful to their reputation.

As with every chain store there will be stores with great people who are passionate about what they do and who genuinely know their stuff and you'll get stores where the people are just there for the money.. There are far more of the former out there than the latter and whilst I agree that there have probably been some bad experiences buying bikes from chain stores, (Evans and Cycle Surgery also included) the stores who are always on form suffer from these negative experiences as people are likely to tar the rest of the company with the same brush. With independents it's the same story. Some are great, some are ok and some shouldn't even be open at all...

All the gear and no idea snobs like some of the above do the sport no favours at all. Crunching 5 gears at once on a 20% incline instead of pre-selecting gears, spraying gt85 on the cork brake pads and carbon rims to stop the squeaking and running track wheels across the entire UK is just as retarded but if I were to say anyone with a bike is an idiot then the ones who do actually have a brain cell would be up in arms. It applies to riders as well as shops..

Ask anyone who rode the Deloitte Ride Across Britain in 2012. They all rode mega expensive bikes and the riders who did trust us had no complaints and would have been totally lost without us. We had all been cherry picked by the company for our knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for the sport. As for the Pinner's, the bikes will likely only be available in the stores where this knowledge and competency is in abundance. Just speak to the guys before purchasing and you'll soon know which of the two types you're dealing with. Simple isn't it?

Don't make the mistake of thinking you "built" your bike, Tovarisch, because you didn't - Wiggle did. The bikes come to them - or indeed any dealer - needing quite a lot of assembly, probably more than most home mechanics would be comfortable or competent to do. Wiggle do this before partially dis-assembling the bike again, leaving a minimum of simple assembly work for the end user. To their credit (and as an IBD I say this through gritted teeth) they employ some very good mechanics to do this, which also explains why they're not always the cheapest place to buy - source a bike from some of the real low-end retailers and you'll have the fright of your life when you open up the box, naively expecting to find something that looks like a bike inside.

Moving on, I find it ironic that Boardman are turning away from Halfords and towards IBDs to retail their higher-end products just as Pinarello are turning towards the Big-H. But then, Boardman have realised that there is a ceiling on what customers will, by and large, spend on a bike at Halfords; the reason for this, be it snobbery or whatever, is irrelevant because it's simply a fact.