Hello,

Does anyone have experience dealing with Maestro in the U.K.? I have read a number of positive things about him on the internet...I am just curious to know how he can sell colnagos at such a tremendous discount.

I just spent an hour calculating the cost of a 2009 C-50 w/Super Record, Deda, and Eurus wheels on R&Acycles and the cost totaled approximately $9,500 USD. An identical bike from Maestro (per the price list on his website) equates to $3,667 british pounds or approximately $5,321 USD.

Am I missing something here? Can this be accurate?

Thanks in advance.

-Mono

Try an EPS. The price difference is considerably bigger yet.

Maestro UK Threads:

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum ... hp?t=43580
http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12593615

If you want to pay as much as humanly possible, then go to R&A and pretty much forget about having anything special and/or different done.

If I were buying a Colnago, I would go with Mike at MS Maestro.

He's been in the business for years. I spoke to him years ago about getting something exotic and he seems to have a pipeline directly to some manufacturers.

_________________
Check out the latest controversies in sport-

http://berzin.blogspot.com/

So what is the rationale for the price differential? In other words, why do U.S. retailers continue to raise prices for 2009? At my local LBS I noticed that the EPS is going for $6700???? Are they increasing prices in response to vendor pricing or are they simply trying to make a greater profit spread?

my shop is an authorized colnago dealer. our colnagos come from the us distributor, veltec. we can't compete with maestro on price but your bike frame will have a real colnago paintjob. maestro's bikes come the sketchy Belgian distributor- generally feature paintjobs done in Belgium...and several of them that've come through here have actually been re-finished used team bikes.

not that any of this is bad, it just isn't the same thing. in general us dealers ca compete on price when one is comparing apples to apples. thing is, while I've got some 40% off extreme powers, extreme c's and older c50s....doesn't mean you should consider my 2009 eps and c50s overpriced, they just ain't the same things....maestro's bikes ain't the same thing either.

jerk ( who if he were a retail customer would jump at a refab'd extreme power from maestro)

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the jerk is always right!
the jerk thinks your stem is too short!

I've also seen Colnago's with milky clear coats, mediocre graphics and lines etc... And while they're really well made, things can and do go wrong, and you will NOT be serviced by any domestic dealer (nor should you be) if there is a problem...

That's also been debated a lot, but this isn't the car industry and there is not enough money for Veltec to service something for nothing...

I have purchased 6 Colnago's. One of them Grey Market and the one grey market had an issue (just luck of the draw) and getting it handled was a nightmare that lasted 8 months.


Not saying the guys at Maestro are anything but nice, but personally I would not purchase a grey market Colnago.

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charles@pezcyclingnews.com

Are you saying that selling re-finished used team bikes represented as new is not bad? That is a fairly serious charge. Or are these re-finished used team bikes being represented as such?

I think it's a very serious charge...can you clarify or substantiate it? In addition, I'll note that Maestro also offers very good prices for all campy products (including 2009 super record). Jerk, are you suggesting the components that Maestro sells are somehow inferior too? If so, how?

Anybody wanting to cut, paste and email the above to Mike at Maestro to see if he wants to say anything in his defence before this thread turns nasty and lible?... Unless you can prove your claims then I suggest you don't post such utter tosh.

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www.freddibnahheritagecentre.co.uk

I agree. I've asked for feedback and rationale as to how he can offer below market prices. I didn't ask for unsubstantiated allegations.

As a follow up, someone mentioned that Maestro's colnagos are painted in belgium. Does he offer current year paint options?

Thanks

Mike can get current paint jobs, prior paint jobs and indeed custom paint jobs.......

my tip.... don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

With respect to repair issues, while I understand that Veltec won't service a "grey" market colnago...why would we want them too? Suposedly they (and colnago, in general) have a horrible reputation for handling warranty and repair issues. I typically hear that it can take 6months+ to have a frame repaired or a warranty issue addressed.


And while I wouldn't be thrilled to have to ship a damaged/defected frame back to europe to Maestro for repairs...wouldn't a veltec-distributed frame have to be shipped back to europe anyway?

Of course retailers/distributors will say whatever to protect their market share, but they won't do it with lower prices and quality service. They want to do it by cornering a particular market and choking the life out of it.

So if some of these Colnago frames are painted in Belgium, so what?

I ran into someone a while ago who was complaining that his uber-expensive top-of-the-line Pinarello was suffering from chipped paint underneath the down tube.

You know what his retailer said? "Oh, he's complaining because he's just looking for an excuse to buy another frame."

It made me wonder where this frame was painted-yes, you guessed it-Italy. So where a frame is painted should make no difference as long as the work is up to snuff and the price is reasonable.

Bottom line is MS Maestro have been around FOR YEARS and Mike has a solid reputation.

If he was so grey market, how in the world has he been dealing with Colnago for such a long time without someone kicking up a fuss?

Wouldn't it stand to reason that Ernesto and the people at Campagnolo would of shut him down by now if any of this were true?

_________________
Check out the latest controversies in sport-

http://berzin.blogspot.com/

I know Mike Maestro's pricing (and solid reputation) and am well informed on the pricing of Italian frames (De Rosa, Pina, Colnago) in Europe in general. Whichever you buy over there will be up to 50% less than here in the US (including buying from official European dealers). They will all gladly ship it to you at a reasonable cost and fast as well.
Regarding warranty, I agree with what has been said above: for serious issues these frames have to be returned to Italy anyway...and it may take a while to get them back, in any case. It's a free country and everyone should buy where you feel the most comfortable, but in doing so, you might as well try to save a couple thousands. We're not talking nickles and dimes here.