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Sorry - bike-related. Which is more important in a new bike purchase? The shop or the deal/selection, i.e. bike!


Ralphie

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Depends on who you ask. 

 

Me? The price deal. Any one of those brands would suit me if it has a lifetime warranty on the frame.

 

LBS, not even a consideration IMO. I don't let any of them touch my bikes, all they do is F 'em up during free tune ups then try to up sell.

Yup - I am afraid they did f up my rear wheel last year.  :angry:   Sure, it is 25 years old, but it broke about a year after they "trued" it. 

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I've pretty much shopped at one LBS for the past 15 years. Smaller with limited brands. Like the service, deals and they can wrench on any brand.

I can wrench any brand, but it does not mean I am going to fix it right the first 30 times :)

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Hmm, I get great deals on bikes because I shop around at different shops and don't buy unless it's a great deal.  :blush:

 

At one time I swore I would never buy online but has has changed after realizing I've been getting screwed by bike shops. Lousy service that does more damage than good, those "free" adjustments cost me more in the long run.

 

And those great loyal customer prices? Buddy, I'm going to sell you this $75 tire for $65 (Conti GP 4000). Sheesh I can get 4 for $138 free shipping or $38 each.

 

I had one shop that I really tried to support owned by a rider I know. Last year I dropped about a grand in early December on little stuff. In January, I need parts to build a wheel. I could have gone online but figured hey, why not support the shop? I ordered DT Swiss spokes but he ended up ordering Wheelsmith. OK no biggie!

 

I'll take his word for it on the Wheelsmith spokes but he ordered all the same length spokes for my rear wheel (req's 2 different lengths). He said he rounded up on one and down on the other, uhhh OK! But why not get me the right sizes? It wont make a difference, I do it all the time he says. Then he says it was cheaper for him to sell me the box instead of ordering two boxes and selling me half of each.  :huh:

 

So I build the wheel and it will not work correctly. I tear it down and rebuild 3 times, no dice! I tell the guy and he says it's not the spoke lengths. OK whatever!

 

So I go to prowheelbuilderdotcom and order the correct spokes lengths, then rebuild the wheel and it goes together smooth as butter! B)

 

OK, that ended my thoughts of supporting LBS's and doing friends a favor, preferred customer BS. Now it's all business. He tried to save a few bucks on me after dropping an easy grand a month earlier? It's all business now buddy!  :mellow:

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I get 4 GP 4000's for $138 shipped. Regular $75 at the LBS, $60'ish loyal customer price (?). I also got both front and rear Ultegra 10 speed hubs online for $134 shipped. 

 

The loyal customer price at the LBS is $74 for the front Ultegra hub alone. I don't see the loyal customer prices being any kind of benefit at all.

 

Loyal customer prices only means they are going to use Vaseline!  :lol:  :D

 

 

 

 

 

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So you buy everything online? Just what crumbs do you throw at the LBS? Granted I don't buy tires at my LBS either. But I've gotten some pretty great deals on bikes. I support the local trade as much as I can.

 

 

"NOW", I buy what I can online because of 15 years of disappointments at the LBS.

 

Supporting the local trade: I paid for hand built wheel several times at several shops. Lasting 2000 miles was not enough. I started building my own and get 20,000 out of a wheel. Why would I be concerned about support the local trade that has failed me many many times? So are you suggesting I should continue to buy a wheel every 6 months when I can buy parts on line and build one that lasts 3 years on my own? Would you?

 

I can get a Deep V rim online for $60. Or I can let the LBS order it and have to wait "longer" for delivery and pay $100. They only order when they have a big enough shipment.

 

I just picked up an Ultegra Cassette and chain for $80 online. LBS wanted $80 for the cassette alone (on sale). Last time they installed a chain for me, I had to remove a link because they left ti too  long and it was dragging on my pulley in my 39/14.

 

Why would I want to continue to support these places? 

 

If I need socks, then I go to Peformance to pick up a few pair. Lubes, tubes, stuff that is not much different on line and won't allow shop employees to damage my bikes. 

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Sounds like your area is really devoid of skilled wheel builders. Our little town (15,000) supports 5 shops. That's right 5! So competition for the local buck is aggressive. Deals abound. And the work is not sub-standard. I can get a wheel built to last 20K and not spend too much over what Performance, etc. charge. Besides in the long run I want these shops to survive. It helps the local economy overall.

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Her is another example! I build my own wheels but figured for the tandem, a 48 spoke wheel would be a job for a tandem specific store. So I put my pride aside.

 

I order the rim, $100 ( I could have gotten it online for $60) plus I had to wait for order and delivery schedule per LBS procedure. I order the spokes,  and paid $75 for a professional build.

 

I got the wheel back about a week and a half later. Something was weird about the wheel but I could not figure it out. I had a hard time putting air in it. We don't ride the tandem a much as the single so the next time we rode it., I realized the idiot had built the spokes crossing the path of the pump nozzle.  :angry:

 

I went back to the shop and the freakin' shop was out of business! Gone! I'm sheot out of luck but I;m glad they are gone! Tandem experts my ass!

 

The path is supposed to be clear like the wheel on the right!

 

 

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Sounds like your area is really devoid of skilled wheel builders. Our little town (15,000) supports 5 shops. That's right 5! So competition for the local buck is aggressive. Deals abound. And the work is not sub-standard. I can get a wheel built to last 20K and not spend too much over what Performance, etc. charge. Besides in the long run I want these shops to survive. It helps the local economy overall.

 

 

I don't know what it is but I have tried all the high end race worthy shops at wheel building and one our of many has been successful. He's the guy I followed till story above (wrong spokes story).

 

I totally  understand about wanting the economy to survive, but after all the failures, there is a point where my buck becomes more important than giving it away to sub standard service. Believe me, these are high end race shops that run and support the big local races here! :whistle:  

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I buy bikes on how they feel.  I set a budget and then ride as many bikes in my price range as I can afford.  I can do most of my own maintenance, so that is not an issue.  Last bike I bought was a Trek from Richardson Bike Mart.  Rode all kinds of bikes from Specialized, Cannondale, Felt, off brands at Performance and the Trek felt the best so I bought it.

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 and the Trek felt the best so I bought it.

 

 

When we bought Gina's bike, she tried several brands and liked the Trek.

 

We went to many shops. Helen's Incycle, Coates, Trek USA, Jax, Compettive Edge and several others. There are about 30 around here!

 

She ended up finding a "last years" model for $2100. The latest model was $2800 that she had her mind set on. I myself would have suggested she get the new year but for a $700 difference? Plus the last year's model had FULL ULTEGRA 10 speed and the new year's model had Ultegra rear der and shifters with Bonti cranks, Forget that! No brainer, full Ultegra vs Bontrager? And saved $700!

 

We look for deals, then buy!

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