UK Couriers

[Templogin]

There is a Thorn on eBay that I would like and the seller is willing to ship it - hurrah.  Can anyone recommend a courier that will pick it up from him in Essex and deliver to me in Shetland?  For the life of me I can't remember who I engaged to ship one of my M**lt*ns up here.

Thanks

Andy

[Templogin]

Cancel my last request.  It was Paisley Freight.

[Matt2matt2002]

I'm sure we'd all like to hear about your new Thorn.
Model, year, gears etc.
Matt

[Templogin]

It's on eBay so it is far from mine Matt!  Thorn Sterling.  I have been looking for one of these for some time with a Rohloff hub, so just got to wait for the auction to end to see if I won.  Would have preferred MT Tura forks, in fact one sold recently with the stiff forks on them for £850, but the guy was down in Brighton and the bike was collect only.  This guy is happy to ship, and Paisley Freight will do it for £60.  If I get it I will get some stiff forks for it and put some more road orientated tyres on it, but something more butch than the Panaracer Paselas on my eXp.  I plan to put a rack on the back and make it into a lightweight tourer.

Going on a nano tour tomorrow for a couple of days, all of 18 miles each way to the Braewick Caravan Park.  It's a camp site with a cafe.  I need a couple of nights away to clear my head from the hectic life that is Lerwick!

[Bill C]

if he wants you to arrange a courier make sure the seller will box it properly,
i used paisley once and they refused to collect as they said it was unsuitably wrapped, ended up paying for and losing the bike as they wouldn't refund (ebay seller, collection only in listing, i asked about my own courier they said yes), and lost the shipping as they (paisley) said it was the senders fault they hadn't collected,
 luckily it was a dirt cheap bike that i only wanted the frame, could of been a real loser otherwise as it wasn't worth the cost of going and collecting
i won't buy anything any more that says arrange your own courier, unless it's close enough to pick up if it all go's pear shaped
don't want to be a downer on your bike but it's worth checking that they are prepared to box it  properly

[Danneaux]

Best of luck all-'round, Andy.

Dan.

[Templogin]

Thanks a lot guys.  The guy has certainly got a box, so we are halfway there!

The camping isn't going great, but I have found a pub with wifi and food so all is not lost!

[Andre Jute]

He mustn't just shove it in the box. There's considerable work to packing a bike properly. It's not that I've sold any bikes for couriers to pick up but that I bought all my bikes, every single one, from dealers at least two countries away, and so have repeatedly seen the right way to do the job.

Inside the box the pedals must be off the bike and in a sealed padded bag ziptied to two tubes so that the paddybag is suspended in a frame triangle, The handlebars must by loosened to be turned -- and ziptied so they can't move. Those two items are ziptied to the frame after it is thoroughly covered in round tubular stiff foam, which is itself ziptied on. Every frame tube must be covered, and the handlebars too, and the cranks. It's amazing what will bump around in a box and bruise your bike's paintwork distressingly, and what will bump into the box, ditto.

The pic from http://coolmainpress.com/AndreJute'sUtopiaKranich.pdf is an example of a properly wrapped bike after I already removed some padding. Notice the padded tube tied to the head tube for loose bits. It took me a good hour to clear all the packing off the bike, so you can imagine how much work it was to pack it properly.

Good luck.

[Danneaux]

There's considerable work to packing a bike properly.

<nods> I'll say!

I have also had good luck by obsessively padding and secuiring *everything* when shipping bikes abroad. One went across the US to New Jersey, then by ship across the Atlantic and down the Danube to the Black Sea, then by truck for the last leg to Kyiv. All arrived in good shape.

Thorn sure did a stellar job packing my Nomad for damage-free arrival...

Best,

Dan.

[Templogin]

Very true guys.  My eXp came packed liked Andre's picture, if not better.

[Andre Jute]

Glad you got sorted.

[Templogin]

I didn't buy it in the end.  A combination of the attack of the jitters and an email from an online trader that I use, telling me that their site security has been compromised and that my card and account details had been accessed, along with others.  The hackers hadn't got the CVV number, which is but a small consolation.  I went into the bank this afternoon and they have cancelled the card, which means that I can't use PayPal at the moment.  Not meaning to besmirch the name of the seller, if he owns a Thorn he must be a decent chap, but long distance buying by bank transfer is a bit too nerve-wracking!

[Andre Jute]

I bought bikes by bank-to-bank transfer from as far away as Germany, but from dealers and that was years ago. Today, like you, I like Paypal for the ease of making a claim when something goes wrong, though it rarely does if you're careful.

[Bill C]

if he owns a Thorn he must be a decent chap

i wouldn't take what someone owns as a way of judging character, after all i have one  as likely doe's a possible scammer in the nomad post

[David Simpson]

if he owns a Thorn he must be a decent chap

i wouldn't take what someone owns as a way of judging character...

Another way to look at it is: if he's getting rid of his Thorn, what does that say about his character? 

- DaveS