Cathal Gallagher

I recently booked Heathrow VIP Meet & Greet through comparetheairportparking.com (ref. 339169).

I booked collection for 08:00 on 03/01/2025. After collecting my luggage, I called the parking sub-contractor (Kangaroo Parking) at 07:44. The agent informed me that they were very busy and I would have to wait 30 minutes to collect my car. I wasn't happy with this, but I had little choice in the matter. After five further calls it was eventually delivered at 09:51 -- over two hours after my first call. During these calls, the agent got progressively ruder and more aggressive, swearing at me and continually lying about the location of my car.

My car has a GPS tracker fitted. During the two weeks when I was away, the car was moved several times, including to a residential address near Heathrow.

When I raised the issue with comparetheairportparking.com, they fobbed me off: “I am writing to extend our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience you experienced due to the delay in returning your vehicle at Heathrow airport. We deeply regret any frustration this may have caused you and want to assure you that we take your feedback seriously … we are taking immediate steps to address any underlying issues and to implement measures to prevent such occurrences in the future..” As of 15/01/2025, Kangaroo Parking is still included on comparetheairportparking.com despite having 57% one-star ratings on TrustPilot.

I was told to take it up with Kangaroo Parking (who told me to f*uck off over the phone) if I wanted compensation, as comparetheairportparking.com did not do not take vehicles from any airport.

However, it’s comparetheairportparking.com who took my money and it’s from them I’ll be seeking it back via small claims mediation. I would recommend anyone similarly affected does likewise.

I mean... it's fine. It's a parking app that uses ANPR. Aside from overcharging you, what can go wrong? They didn't overcharge me.

AirBike XD cassettes will only fit *some* XD hubs. Those made to SRAM’s correct technical specs. will not accept their cassettes.

XD standard freehub bodies technically specifies that the splines are all the same size. All pre-2017 hubs had this specification. Aftermarket companies (who cold-formed their freehubs) just used the blanks from Shimano HG, which have a (wider) timing spline machined to XD standard. (The timing spline was used in HG cassettes/freehubs to ensure that each of the individual sprockets were aligned properly relative to each other, which is not required on a 1-piece XD cassette?) Most manufacturers have now moved to using HG-type XD freehub bodies, but this is technically wrong and won’t work with lots of (mostly older) wheels (though Superstar Components still use the old standard on their new wheels, for one). I have made AirBikes aware of this, but they brushed it off with a passive-aggressive response.

Additionally, the aluminium on the lock-ring is cottage-cheese soft. I manage to shear some teeth off mine (using a Park Tool FR-5.2GT cassette tool) when removed it to service the hub bearings.

To me, this seems functionally identical to products by Sunrise and ZTTO available on AliExpress for $29.99. I wouldn’t pay the extra to AirBike for the sake of customer service because they are completely uninterested once the product fails.

The owner will undoubtedly post a response below explaining how I’m rude (which is true), but I began be being polite and got the brush-off. Use them if you want to… but I wouldn’t. It’s a budget product repackaged to look premium, IMO.

Edit: I pointed out the issue with the XD cassette via eBay on 19 December 2022 - the day they arrived. The second paragraph above is copied verbatim from that e-mail. At the time you said you "[r]eally appreciate[d] this information", but ignored the bit in the same e-mail about a partial refund.

Buy of these guys if you like. If there are no issues with the item, they're A1, but they don't stand by their products when they prove to be faulty, as you can probably tell from the tone of the response. I've just bought a new SRAM XG1150 from Lordgun Bikes for £75.

Great value. Fantastic service. Great choice of local fitters. Cannot recommend enough!

Delivery was next day. Well packed and as described.

I received my frames yesterday to find that the glazing was 1mm thick acrylic and the backing was cardboard. The standard in the industry for frames of this size would be 2mm acrylic with MDF backing. I called customer services, and was talked down to by the staff member who took the call. He made it clear that that's what they sold and that's what I was stuck with. It's a shame that they don't mention on their website that they use cheap materials to cut costs. In the end, I had to purchase 2mm acrylic from my local glazier to get the frames I expected. I would recommend you spend an extra few quid and buy from your local framer. These charlatans will do your artwork/photos no favours. AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE.

Edit: Their reply agrees with my feedback. If you want it done properly, get it done somewhere else: either on the high street, as they suggest; or from any one of many other online vendors.

Best price. Super fast delivery. Very happy.