New Ciamillo GSL Micro

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Elrey
Posts: 557
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2010 11:13 pm
Location: Denmark. Yeeees

by Elrey

I'm not defending Ted here, but he seems to me like a man with a lot on his mind and a lot guys calling him up to know where the stuff are they ordered. All so he needs to meet the demands of other webshops to. All in all a lot of work for a "small" company.
I know he's done wrong in the past, and he shouldn't make promises he can't keep. But give him a chance. It's guys like him, that tryes to push the limits and giving us new stuff to dream about and adore.
I hope you guys get your breaks and that they will perform well! I would love to try a pair my self one day.

crimsonbadger
Posts: 86
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:50 am

by crimsonbadger

The 2014 GSLs (not micro) are some of the finest brakes I've used (set up with SwissStop BXP blue pads). They're predictable and strong and, after meticulously trimming housing to the correct length, have stayed perfectly centered.

I was reluctant to purchase them, having read comments here (and on many other forums) about the company's customer support. The brakes took a few weeks longer to arrive than promised, but Ted called (a pleasant surprise) with an update before he sent them out, and I received them a couple of days later.

I'm not usually compelled to comment on such threads, but figured I'd add my experience to the mix. I'd buy from Ciamillo again (especially if the Gravitas brakes are still being produced, though I don't see them on the site).

by Weenie


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cfred84
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2010 2:20 am

by cfred84

I have about the same experience as many customers of Ted.
Paid for a Gravitas crankset + GSL combo in mid October with a lead time of 2-3 weeks.
Was very prompt with his email replies at the beginning and most of the times.
However delivery dates kept getting pushed back.

Have e-mailed him at least 3-4 times the past 2 weeks after he gave me a 2 Thursday ago deadline for delivery.
Since then, no reply nothing from him.

Have used both the Gravitas and Gravitas SL brakes in the past and liked them enough to continue using them.
However this will be the last time I ever purchase directly from him.
Not worth waiting a couple of months with emails flying back and forth with no end/delivery date in sight.
Should have listen to the mind and maybe ordered it through a dealer even though the cost might be higher. Shucks

Briscoelab
Posts: 1513
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:01 pm

by Briscoelab

I think at the very least, it's clear Ted should stop selling any of his products directly. He just doesn't have the manpower or organizational/time management skills to pull it off. Not to mention selling stuff on specials all the time undercuts your dealer network.

He'd still have to be able to deal with service and warranty claims. But, with the other workload off his shoulders he might be able to cope with that more effectively. The way it is now, it's bad business practices at a minimum and borderline fraud in some cases. Also, someone like this with a definite history of dishonestly and bad customer service should be given a very short leash, so to speak, regarding future issues.

bazmac
Posts: 42
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2014 4:30 am

by bazmac

Looks like the real deal and the weight is getting down to where a quality road brake needs to be!

Baz


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Monkeyboy3333
Posts: 632
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:41 pm

by Monkeyboy3333

This guy is something else! All that hard work to get the product right only to ruin his brand with all the bad press

elfuinha
Posts: 723
Joined: Sun Aug 08, 2010 10:18 pm

by elfuinha

Ordered a Gravitas crank, ending up returning it because it was faulty with lots of creaking noises and a misaligned spider, add the same experience with constant delays and tracking numbers.
At the end product returned, and about 300€, lost in ports and import taxes.
I will not buy again.
Never the less the products look great, but still have mutch to improve. To boutique for real use.
But this is my experience with Ciamillo. Others have better experiences than mine.

tonytourist
Posts: 1426
Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2009 7:13 am
Location: 90039

by tonytourist

Still waiting on my brakes :noidea: :unbelievable:

drainyoo
Posts: 789
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2007 6:56 pm

by drainyoo

I was set to buy these brakes, but this thread made me change my mind. No excuse for keeping customers in the dark about their orders.

Got me a set of Planet-X brakes for half the price.

lewolive
Posts: 160
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:10 pm
Location: Gien, France
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by lewolive

Briscoelab wrote:I think at the very least, it's clear Ted should stop selling any of his products directly. He just doesn't have the manpower or organizational/time management skills to pull it off. Not to mention selling stuff on specials all the time undercuts your dealer network.

He'd still have to be able to deal with service and warranty claims. But, with the other workload off his shoulders he might be able to cope with that more effectively. The way it is now, it's bad business practices at a minimum and borderline fraud in some cases. Also, someone like this with a definite history of dishonestly and bad customer service should be given a very short leash, so to speak, regarding future issues.


Selling directly is something very risky when you produce something that customers have paid earlier. This is done only on very high end and expensive products. But despite a high price, Ciamillo products are probably not expensive enough to allow a such way of work.
The problem is also coming from customers who buy discounted prices all the time, despite of the difficulties met by the brand.
If you want a product in stock, it's $399 and there's nothing to negotiate
If you want a discounted product, you may buy special offers, you may buy them cheaper, but you should consider that they are not in stock and that it can take many weeks to get delivered.
As the European distributor, I have paid my GSL micros (that are currently in stock) at the full price and I have been delivered in time. The consequence is that I cannot award discounts to my customers, but at least they are in stock, they work very well and they are available in red, black and white.
The job of the factory is to plan a large production, not individual sales, even if there's a marketing worker, which is not the case here.
The job of a distributor is to have products available and to insure warranty services.
In the past we used to have factory/distributor1/distributor2/retailer/customer. Now, we mostly have factory/distributor/customer. It means that 1 or 2 intermediates have disappeared. So, the purchasing power of all of us is higher now than it used to be in the 90's. But there are still customer's who want to buy direct to make savings, and Ted needs money to run the shop... So, the temptation is high to sell direct and it's for me a bad way of work taken before 2007 crisis. He agrees with the idea to sell products in stock only, but it requires more successful products. The micros are, but they are coming after not successful projects that burned cash.

To conclude, please note that I've been waiting for 6 months for titanium Ciamillo small parts, but Ted is not responsible, it takes time from his supplier to build these custom Ti parts. Sometimes it's also better to take what is available instead of wanting the all new product. Regular GSL and OG are for example still available, and they are excellent products, except that you should consider replacing padholders when you use wide rims. The micro cam is made for a larger public than the original customers. I personally ride the regular cam because I change the padholders when I replace my alloy rims by carbon rims. It's a good optimization and I have a perfect stopping power all the time.

mdeth1313
Posts: 2069
Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 12:38 am
Location: Dutchess County, NY

by mdeth1313

same story different thread. nothing new
Speedplay is the devil!

drainyoo
Posts: 789
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2007 6:56 pm

by drainyoo

Which dealers sell these brakes?

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carbonLORD
in the industry
Posts: 459
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2004 6:31 pm
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by carbonLORD

https://www.google.com/search?q=ciamill ... annel=fflb

Google "Ciamillo Dealers" and look down 3 posts.

lewoilve is also a dealer for Europe, based in France.

I am a US dealer as well as the Netherlands, Germany and Asian territories.

We both have the Micro in stock. I stock them in black or white (assuming my latest order has arrived in Chicago.

I believe Arts Cyclery and Iron Horse Bikes are also dealers. Beyond that I'm not too sure.

I never advertise here but hope people in this situation find my post of use as I agree going direct is not always the best means to get a terrific product.

PS: I no longer stock the cranks as there's been a few issues but rest assure once the product meets my requirements I will again advertise them (and they are going through a 3rd revision so stay tuned).

HTH
carbonLORD.com

caadmium
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2013 10:17 pm

by caadmium

I've received my micros and they look great. Now I just have to fit them but I have no experience of Campag brake pads. All my other calipers are Shimano. When I look online I see pads for pre 2000, post 2000 and SR2011. Can anyone advise on which type I should be buying? e.g. in a Koolstop pad, which type fits Ciamillo? thanks

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carbonLORD
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Posts: 459
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2004 6:31 pm
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by carbonLORD

caadmium wrote:I've received my micros and they look great. Now I just have to fit them but I have no experience of Campag brake pads. All my other calipers are Shimano. When I look online I see pads for pre 2000, post 2000 and SR2011. Can anyone advise on which type I should be buying? e.g. in a Koolstop pad, which type fits Ciamillo? thanks


They just slide in. Doesn't matter if they are pre/post or Shimano pads, they all fit the alloy pad holders so don't stress it.
carbonLORD.com

by Weenie


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