Old 07-06-17, 01:27 PM
  #44  
mconlonx
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Originally Posted by Bonzo Banana
Can that be said of most LBS's though. I thought in the US as well as Europe a huge number of local bike shops have closed due to online sales. Certainly some may get their online purchase maintained by their local bike shop but many will probably buy maintenance parts online and service themselves.

It sort of defeats the purpose of buying an online bike if you don't do the maintenance yourself in a way. Charges from local bike shops will soon add up. I don't think I've ever had any work done by a local bike shop. I did buy a Carrera Subway 8 a Nexus 8 speed bike online from Halfords which was then sent to my local Halfords for assembly and I got a free 6 week service out of it which is their policy. Fantastic deal and bike but that is the only work I've actually had done by a local bike shop. My actual independent local bike shop charges full whack for bikes and maintenance and I have better uses for that money.
The online sales which cause bike shops to close is accessories and parts. Not bikes. At least in the US, the number of people who maintain their own bikes, and are willing to learn to do so, is thankfully small.

Bold points are spot-on, and the last sentence there is exactly why we don't mind direct sales models. Again, most people don't do their own maintenance, and when they find out that getting their direct sales bike running properly is more than just a matter of "some assembly required," they will usually turn to a local shop to do a correct assembly or at least a tune after their attempts to get the bike up and running.

It doesn't take much to correctly assemble and tune a bike out of a box direct from the manufacturer, but you'd be surprised how few people are willing to take the time to do it or learn. Most people who are really into bikes are stunned to learn that a bread and butter repair is actually just fixing flats...
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