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| Voler "Tour Tribute" Jerseys |
We have clearly ordered the most often and spent the most money with Amazon. This includes orders fulfilled by Amazon, and items ordered through Amazon and shipped by others. There doesn't seem to be a significant difference between the two, and shipping times may even be shorter from outside suppliers than when choosing the Amazon free shipping option.
As an aside, Amazon has introduced the Amazon Smile program where you can designate a non-profit organization to receive .5% of your qualifying purchases at no cost to you. The Spencerport Depot & Canal Museum was recently added to the list of organizations.
Next in line is Voler (Voe-LAY) Premium Cycling Apparel. All of their jerseys, shorts and clothing accessories are made in their environmentally friendly factory in Grover Beach, CA and sold directly. We have a couple pairs of bib shorts and a dozen jerseys from Voler, including the ones that Zelma designed.
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| Voler Custom Jerseys by Zelma |
Modern Bike in Des Moines, Iowa "offers a large selection of bicycle parts, accessories, and clothing for low prices." Flat rate shipping is $6.99, but each of our orders has included at least one item that qualified the entire order for free shipping. Prices are very attractive during the frequent sales on the site. Purchases include a Brooks saddle, tires and tubes, cycle computers and several tools and accessories.
Bike Nashbar and Performance Bicycle are now owned by the same company and have similar products and pricing. (Performance also has an online "Learning Center" and over 100 stores in 20 states across the country, but none in New York yet.) Each site maintains its own in-house brands for clothing and tools, which have been most of our purchases. Performance (bib) shorts are a good value, particularly when on sale.
We have been using Nuun (pronounced "noon") hydration products for the last three years and it is cheaper to order in bulk directly from the company. Though there is now an "Energy" version, we use the basic hydration product which comes in 12 flavors, some with a small amount of caffeine. Each tab is mixed with 16 ounces of water to make an electrolyte replacement drink for less than 50 cents per bottle. The basic tubes contain 12 tabs and there no bottles to store or recycle.
Other bicycle related sites that we have ordered from directly include: Bike Kid Shop (Burley trailer), Upstanding Bicycle, Walz Caps, BikeSomeWhere, Art's Cyclery, Niagara Cycle and Velo Orange.
We both use Road ID products. I wear the Wrist ID Elite all the time and Zelma has a Shoe ID on one of her cycling shoes.
Of the non-cycle specific sites, we have purchased a lot of cycle clothing from Sierra Trading Post over the years. Zelma particularly likes Canari shorts, tights and jerseys, which are often available at good discounts.
Brooks Saddle & People for Bikes Promo Bell
L.L.Bean and Campmor both have a fairly extensive range of cycling clothing and accessories. (L.L.Bean had the best price when we bought two pairs of Planet Bike fenders last Winter.)
I haven't tried any of the overseas suppliers. Chain Reaction Cycles claims to be "The World's Largest Online Bike Store." Having seen photos of their warehouse in Northern Ireland, I wouldn't argue with that claim. They ship all over the world and their prices are attractive, but I've never tried them. Another interesting alternative is ProBikeKit. The link goes to a page called ProBikeKit USA, but orders ship from the UK. Though I've never had an issue with an online order, so far I haven't taken a chance on an off shore supplier.
Happy Shopping and remember to Keep Moving.
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