Winstanley Bikes

Even if you live near them, why go there when you can give your money to Alans BMX who are fucking brilliant?

+1 to that man, Dealt with Alans many times and they have been flawless.

I appreciate that the prices of winstanleys are very appealing but seriously, I've tried to use them (as have two of my house mates) and their service is appauling.

I've had someone on the phone, whilst I'm putting in a complaint spend, half an hour checking they have an item in stock (which I'd already been waiting for for over a month) confirm that he had the thing in his hand. Only to not receive it by a week later and speak to the same guy who stated he'd never confirmed anything of the kind. It took in total 2 months to give them lots of money, receive nothing but hassle and eventually get my money back.

Buy somewhere else. Pay extra. Be happy.

I too have been ensured that the person on the other end of the phone had an item "in his hand right now" and then after waiting weeks for said item to arrive i have been told that that item has been out of stock for months.

They may seem cheap but you so rarely get what you have actually ordered that it just isn't worth it.

Seriously, you order something like a 13t left hand drive freewheel for 1/8' chain and you recieve a 16t right hand drive 3/32" freewheel. It's like they either don't know that that isn't the same thing or they just don't care.

alans bmx didnt stock giant bowery 2008 for next to nothing im afraid haha

+1 to that man, Dealt with Alans many times and they have been flawless.

While I've been at uni in Liverpool, over the years I must have spent about £400 at Alans in the shop and over the phone. Their service is impeccable and they can always tell what sort of help you need. If I know exactly what I want they'll take the order and that's it and if I want some opinions on parts they'll give me real experiences with the parts I'm interested in.

I too have been ensured that the person on the other end of the phone had an item "in his hand right now" and then after waiting weeks for said item to arrive i have been told that that item has been out of stock for months.

They may seem cheap but you so rarely get what you have actually ordered that it just isn't worth it.

Seriously, you order something like a 13t left hand drive freewheel for 1/8' chain and you recieve a 16t right hand drive 3/32" freewheel. It's like they either don't know that that isn't the same thing or they just don't care.

I shit you not, my friend waited 6 months for them to finally send him the Federal Steven Hamilton signature frame he ordered. In those 6 months he received a box containing 2 rear wheels, an empty frame box, a set of shitty Prolite bars, and an FSA Pig Headset. Each time he rang them up and they genuinely thought the frame had been delivered.

alans bmx didnt stock giant bowery 2008 for next to nothing im afraid haha

I'll let you off that one then :P

haha nurseholiday you still in liverpool?

Yeah, but I got exams coming up and project presentation so I'm barely out of the house or library.

I bouht som NOS Pace RC36 forks off them @ a super price with a 2 day delivery, so no problem here.

T..d.. p..

they did send me my frame in the wrong colour (red not black) but as i don't worry too much about those kind of things and it was so cheap I didn't mind, but I agree with most of the comments here. They're somewhat like the lidl of the online stores. Cheap as shit but with fuck all service.

Nah LIDL don't fuck up as much as Winstanley.

The equivalent of Winstanley on the high street is going to LIDL and finding crack heads manning the tills. You hand over the stuff you've picked up and the crack head just throws them on the floor while another stamps on them. Another crack head then hits the back of your head with some sort of blunt instrument and steals your wallet. A kid then comes over and pisses in your ear.

So LIDL in Peckham, then?

I gotta say i've used em a couple of times with no hassle at all, i guess i just got lucky. Only used em as they had the trials bike i got for my pa at the right price. Arrived 2 days later with no hassle.
I too have spent many a dorrah from alans over the years. They are king.

No more winstanlys for me, ta for the heads up!

Ordered some shorts from them a few days ago, they were listed as not in stock and they gave me an estimated delivery time of 10 days, came in 6.
I've ordered freewheels from them too. Maybe I got lucky too?

They're based in Wigan.

Surely that says it all?

Anyone had any dealings with them? I've read mixed reports on here and on bikeradar, quite a few problems with sending wrong size/wrong model.. I'm hesitant to use them but they are the only place I can find with the bike I'm after "in stock", in the size I'm after...and they are cheap

So please let me know your experiences... I searched titles and there is no other thread like this with a name specifically related to winstanleys... but I am aware there are mentions of winstanleys within other threads, so no need to reiterate that fact.

completely crap shop.
took weeks for my bike tool to come.(DK wrench) when i was into bmx, and when i finally got it they put in 2 of the same allen keys!!!
also ordered a saddle, at about a week before christmas. still hasn't come yet! dont even want it anymore, but wont let me cancel the order, even tho they havent sent it!!!!!!!!!!!

rant over

or alternatively buy from chainreaction.com

+1 Cant beat em'

Sorry guys.. kinda have to disagree. Brought some hubs off these dudes Mon night.. arrived by 1st class this morning (thurs).. not bad really.

they are seriously shit, i've used them for bmx stuff a couple of times.
I ordered and S & M 24'' race frame off them a few years ago. It took ages and then i received a 20'' frame. One of the most retarded mistakes ever + then they said they couldn't get hold of the 24" version. They were totally shit another time too. Customer service is appauling.

There obviously isn't a local mcdonalds, so they've employed all the local idiots instead.

they are seriously shit, i've used them for bmx stuff a couple of times.
I ordered and S & M 24'' race frame off them a few years ago. It took ages and then i received a 20'' frame. One of the most retarded mistakes ever + then they said they couldn't get hold of the 24" version. They were totally shit another time too. Customer service is appauling.

There obviously isn't a local mcdonalds, so they've employed all the local idiots instead.

They are truely a really shit shop, the only reason why there prices are good is 50% of the time you dont recieve the f*%king goods. . .

Winstanleys suck ass! I ordered a pair of replacement bolts for my bmx cranks and also a couple of inner tubes to make the postage seem worth while (£3.99). They replied two days later saying the bolts would not be in stock for three months! I asked if they could supply an alternative as I know these bolts are used by multiple brands other cranks (profile, demolition, sputnic) but they replied saying they are specific to the crank which I know is a load off crap. So I told them to cancel the order. Two days later I receive the two inner tubes from them much to my surprise. So I spent £9.97 on two kenda bmx tubes when I live two minutes from a halfords!. I emailed them to complain and was fairly nice about it but got no apology.

I ordered a Fuji Track 08 model from them in June and had it delivered a few days later. Also

I ordered a Fuji Track 08 model from them in June and had it delivered a few days later. Also rang thm up with a few basic questions and found them pretty helpful. Must admit, I probably would not have ordered from them had I read all the bad threads, but glad I did as it was by far the best price and a good purchase from them.

I wouldn't buy from them over the phone/net due to all the crap I've heard on here - helpful enough if you go down the shop like I do though!

I just wanted to add my 2p. I had read this (and other) thread(s) about Winstanley before buying my 2009 SE lager, but I thought I'd just go for it anyway as it was £35 cheaper than evans. I placed my order at 11pm on thursday night and recieved my bike yesterday (monday) morning. It was the right model, right size etc, exactly as I was expecting.

My only gripe really is that the bike didn't come even part assembled. I think wiggle and other bike distributors send their online orders out with minimal assembly required, I think just attaching the front wheel or something along those lines, whereas I had to measure, cut and route the brake cables, fit the stem, bars, peddles etc. I haven't done it before and didn't find it too difficult but I can imagine that some people wouldn't be so sure. It did amuse me that on the top of the box it said in big bold letters "THIS BIKE MUST BE FULLY ASSEMBLED AT DEALER".

Ok their communication might not be as good as some of the other companies (no "your order has been despatched" email) but I'm very satisfied overall, I think that some self assembly was well worth the £35 I saved.

Ordered a Dia Compe rear brake from them since they were the only store I could find in the UK that seemed to have any in stock, but I rang them first to double check they actually had the item and that the website was not lying. Order arrived a couple of days later, no problems. Free shipping too and price was lower than most other retailers.

Will be slightly more cautious in the future having read all the bad rap they receive here.

I wonder whether someone high up there has had a look at what people are saying about them on the internet. Maybe they've realised that customer service is actually fairly important?