Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Would you shop at my shop?

I run a tiny bike shop which is quite single speed / fixed gear centric. I also deall in vintage 10 speeds a lot. What tips could you give me to better service people like you... the SSFG crowd.

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Photo in front of the shop propr to one of our monthly group rides.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/SirWompus/bikehop.jpg

Mural on the back wall.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/SirWompus/misc/Picture1359.jpg

Oh and this is all done on the cheap, so investing in deep V-Phil wheelsets in every color isn't an optoin. I'm thinking in terms of what small stuff do you wish your LBS had. Also on the line of community service items like recently I locked a pump outside the shop and plan on locking some tools out there to. Suggestions?

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=37927677&MyToken=d7adf46f-e879-4e73-9666-524a693ec806

i would say if space allows, offer an area in the shop where customers can use your tools to do their own work. you could either do this for free, or perhaps have an annual membership fee of $10 or something, just to help pay for upkeep. or you could rent shop space hourly/half hourly. such a thing would be greatly appreciated.

Good customer service will get you far. IMO

looks like a friendly LBS.

sponsoring local alleycats seems to be a good way to connect. also, keeping a stock of rear cogs and chainrings is a good idea.

good luck!

Advertisment I just had a local artist draw.
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sweet drawing... where's Van Ness Village??

Good customer service will get you far. IMO

+1. You could have the smallest inventory in the world but if your customer service is top notch, word will spread like wildfire. Then you'll need a bigger shop! ;)

Space for customers to wrench on their bikes is a good idea. Offering monthly or weekly workshops for the mechanically inept would help too.

I'd shop at your shop.

I know a shop that have a stand set aside for customers to use, thought that was a great idea.

Oh yeah, customer service is huge. A lot of bike shops are populated by dicks, so word will get around if you're cool to people. One of the reasons people like IRO so much is because Tony does his absolute best, often with limited resources, to get people what they want.

yeah, as far as customer service goes, especially as a shop that can't have a huge inventory, just make it widely known that you are more than happy to do special orders and will make every effort to happily get people stuff they want

sweet drawing... where's Van Ness Village??

Thanks, I had the same artist that did the mural in the shop make the ad. Its going to be put in a local newspaper on July 1.

Fresno > CA > USA > Planet earth.


Thanks for the feedback. I wish there was a work bench customers could use, for now I have a box of tools they can drag outside. Also there is a co-op that a friend of mine runs so in that regard all bases are covered me thinks.

I wish I lived near a bike shop like that...

The part about recycling/fixing old bikes is great, IMO. A lot of shops I've seen or heard of seem to look down upon old bikes. If one of them offered your $50 single-speed conversion, I'd pay for it.

Friendliness always helps, too.

And I like the part about having a stand for customers to use, as well as a way for them to get instruction on repairing their own bike. I'd pay for stuff like that, but it doesn't seem to be offered much around here.

i'd totally buy a mixte fixed-conversion for 50 bucks.

At the shop I worked at in high school we had two policies I liked.

The first was that if you walked in and needed a simple tweak-a derailleur adjusted, wheel aligned(in the dropouts, not trued), hub cones adjusted, etc-something done in a minute or two, we did it for free. If you needed more than one adjustment or it was a bigger job, then we had to charge labor.

The second was that for all new bikes purchased, any normal maintenance done on the bike was free. This obviously didn't cover breaking down the hubs and relacing a destroyed wheel, but tune-ups and the type of minor adjustments mentioned above were covered.

These two policies kept the customers loyal and spread the word.

We also helped run a weekly time trial that was hosted out of our parking lot, kept the yearly stats posted in the window and ran a Sunday morning mountain bike ride. In general, encouraged activity in local cycling. This isn't real singlespeed/fixed specific but it gives you the sort of idea of things that worked well for us.

Depending on your clientele, maybe stock some books. Mainstream book stores around here are beholden to the Lance Armstrong industry. I was thinking of books on how to wrench, e.g. Barnett's, how to ride, e.g. Hurst and Zinn, and history, e.g. Herlihy and Wilson.

i only wish there was a shop by me that offered such services, AND was friendly. i just got done converting a SS, and the guy at my LBS was so bitter, i wanted to never walk in there again. i guess i wasn't over 50, overweight, and looking for the newest of the new racing bicycle, so it didn't matter much to them. i was a customer though, that had real questions and was willing to spend some money. i learned more from this site/ sheldon brown than i did in my LBS. customer service is key!

I like the idea of a space to work on your stuff. My lbs which recently closed, eventually let you in their work area if they knew you. dunno how the new shop that's taking it's place is gonna be. Getting rides together would be cool, too. I mean, don't let the sale be the last time you see someone. I like the mechanic/maintenance classes, pub crawls, weekly rides. Having a class where you give people pointers on how to ride in traffic would be great, too. I see too many people on bikes that have no business on the street (or sidewalk) the way they ride. Great customer service is the key, though. My LBS didn't have everything, but they could order what I wanted and have it arrive in a couple of days. I was worth doing that than paying for shipping, I thought. Plus, I put a little money in my LBS. It was when I started getting quoted low prices and then when the parts came in and I was given a different price, that I stopped buying there. I was really cool, we had a grill out front, and we'd bbq it up and drink beers on the deck.

i tend to agree with everyone here. In davis, i keep going to the same bike shop (theres a good dozen in this small town), because they have a section for renting tools and working on your own bikes. they used to have 3 stands for customers, and let you grab your own tools, but due to theft of small expensive tools, you now give them a photo ID, and they give you the tools you need (thats a good little hint/idea too). they might not do all the work for you, but they are willing to give you suggestions, or tell you how to do something, all for free. they however, know just about nothing about fixed gears, so i know what i can expect from them when i walk in the door.

the shop i keep going back to in san francisco isn't the cheapest, or the biggest, but the guys who work there are really knowledgable about fixed gears. They will help you install parts you buy, or tweak small problems for free; they give great advice about what parts to buy, and are willing to tell you that you should go somewhere else when they don't have the exact part you should get, or when you could get a much better deal somewhere else. They have old track and road frames sitting around everywhere, and they buy and sell a lot of used gear; the old guy there has lots of old track stories, and always wants to go ride fixed with us on the weekends... really good environment

OK. Stock a fridge. Red Bull, beer, vegan wraps, whatever. It's nice for employees. Tool use is nice. Very nice. But be careful with it. Have a customers only tool set so as not to **** up mechanics' tools. Please please please stock some cogs. 14-18 would be awesome, and order regularly. If you're focusing on the fixed crowd, hold wheelbuilding classes. Charge maybe half the price of building one (or less) to make it worth people's time. Books are always nice. You could also have a couch with some non-bike books for customers while they wait on a tune up, or if they just want to hang. A porch would be rad, but maybe not practical. Maybe try and convert a condom machine into a patch kit machine, and put it out with your locked up pump. Better safe than sorry.

Sell coffee....??? :D

I know Im gonna buy a T-Shirt !
The artwork as soooo great !!
It is very reminicent of the Crumb / Zapp Komix
type stuff that came out of San Francisco in the late 60's early 70's.
Im in vermont though.......:cry:

Fridge with beer [check].

Not interested in stocking food, especially types which apeal only to specific hip sects of people.

I am the only employee

As far as making cogs readily avalible, I've gone a step furthur to offer a unoficial cog trade in program. Your old cog plus a buck or three to get the number of tooth cog you really want.

Is cycling clothing like hats and gloves that important for a tiny LBS or would you people rather just go to a large LBS to get generic stuff like that?

My spelling rules

If I ever opened a shop, I'd make it almost identical to Black Sheep Cycles in North Carolina: http://www.blacksheepcycles.com/

Not just a shop but a cafe/place to hang out.
Super rad.
I'd never leave such a place.

I won't shop/buy anywhere that has a myspace page.

ooooookay

I love the idea of the tool bench for customers.
The cog swap is genius.

this must be ben???

great job with the artwork, it's flippin sweet. still doing the monthly cm rides?? i hope to make it over sometime soon to ride with y'all

I would frequent your shop. The cog swap alone would be worth the visit.

I like the idea of letting customers have their own work space, but you must remember that insurance may not cover this sort of thing...

Suppose someone goes in there, grabs a wrench and goes at it, snaps the wrench and slices his arm open and bleeds half to death in your shop....

No sooner than he is whisked out the back door by an ambulance that you'll find his lawyer knocking on the front door..... Then there will be hell to pay.

I suggest that you speak to a lawyer and identify any liability that you may pass on to the client by asking to sign a waiver if they use the free work bench......

At the very least you will have something showing that you took as many steps to protect the customer as any reasonable person would also have done.....

=)

Good luck with your shop !!! I would definately go there too !

i'm going to echo what some other people said. in oakland, there are two shops i go to:
1) missing link, which is actually in berkeley, because they have a loaner tool area and they are really nice people with no attitude. you give them your drivers license and you can work in their loaner tool/workshop area, which is stocked. they don't have a ton of parts on hand, since they don't focus on fixed stuff, but they do have a few cogs, track bars, and the like. but of course they are willing to order anything. a couple of the people there are extremely knowlegeable about fixed (like Roger). the others are all nice people. really.
2) montano velo, because they have EVERYTHING fixed that you need (rarely will you need to order anything), including very nice/fancy stuff, are also cool dudes, and do a lot for the local fixed community.
basically, if you have a loaner tool area, if you are involved, and if you stock at least the essentials (cogs, chainrings), then you should do well. good luck!

I would definitely frequent a shop like yours, especially if you kept a good stock of small parts. Several colors of cloth tape. Short stack bolts, lockrings, bearings, that sort of thing.

Also a good supply of tools for sale would be good, but the tool rental idea might bite into tool sales a bit.

You should get a large collection of obscure tools! Does that SS conversion include parts, or is it just labor?
You should also allow for the use of your tools, like autozone's toold rental program does, to encourage people that wrench themselves to buy parts from you.

I meant just any kind of food. Yeah, cloth tape is a definite plus. Hubs'd be nice, but could get expensive for you. If I ever find myslef in Fresno, I'll stop by.

as nearly everyone else has mentioned here, customer service (which you seem to be pretty aware of:) ) can't be over-emphasized! i'd rather support a shop with a friendly, helpful staff and fewer parts than a shop with an rude or elitist staff and a huge inventory.

again, if the liability aspect of it checks out, the "self-service" stand sounds awesome.

i'd definitely shop at your place (and certainly will, should i ever be in fresno)!

my city has [relativly] a ton of shops that know ****-tons about fixed-gear.
hell, I live about five blocks from one of them.

yet I always find myself in a shop halfway across town, that stocks next to nothing fixed-wise, simply because everyone who works there is really really nice, they never talk down to me even if i have a really basic question, and they have tools to loan for minor repairs.

they also don't do ****** things like force me to pay $20 for two cross levers when I only want one.

if i could get them to stock cloth tape and cogs it would be a totally done deal.

Maybe try and convert a condom machine into a patch kit machine, and put it out with your locked up pump. Better safe than sorry.

that is an awesome idea

I wonder how many of these people here actually tried to earn a living providing a service to the community? I never have, its tough.

Liability aspects aside, you're in business to put food on your table and to not have to work for someone else. You friend runs the co-op right? You're running a business. Sell tools and rent shop space, maybe the parts sales will make up for the lost wrenching money.

If your customers understand this, I think they would/should be willing to part with some of their cash in order to have/keep a shop in the neighborhood like you're trying to provide.

Be honest without the salesmanship crap and people will respect you and recommend you. Put on the biweekly or monthly ride. Charge reasonable rates, no matter how nice a shop you have, if they can buy something cheaper elsewhere, then bye bye. Get involved/give-back to the community (free advertising).

And don't discriminate, if they ride a bike, any bike, then they should be made to feel welcome. No one wants to be somewhere where they feel like they're not cool enough to shop there.

Plant sticker bushes along all the major bike ways, flat fixing is your bread and butter, uh I'll stop now.
Condom machine idea sounds great.
good luck.

I would definitely frequent a shop like yours, especially if you kept a good stock of small parts. Several colors of cloth tape. Short stack bolts, lockrings, bearings, that sort of thing.

+1

collect as many parts as you can from old bikes too, like BBs from Pugeots and Motobecanes, as well as 27" rim and tires. Try and be the place where people go when they can't find a specific part they need.

I won't shop/buy anywhere that has a myspace page.

much respect dude, and your ANT is awesome, but you have got to be kidding me. dude is trying to advertise his shop and survive.

Pumps and tools want to be free and their friends with cutting tools will help them. If you have a shop compressor just run a hose thru the wall with a dual Presta/Schraedar head on it. Maybe forget the tools as you want to make money fixing things for people. Looking at that mixed up crowd how about a team/shop T-shirt/Jersey?

While the tool use is a good idea, what about liability issues?

Customer service is where its at. I recently had to buy a fair amount of stuff. I could have bought it off pbk for a whole heap less. I went down to the lbs because I wasnt exactly sure what I needed (shoe size) and the people there are straight talking-wont push stuff on you-will check stuff if they aren't sure.

But locking up a pump outside is a good idea. Cog swap is also a sweet idea.

You should get a large collection of obscure tools! Does that SS conversion include parts, or is it just labor?
You should also allow for the use of your tools, like autozone's toold rental program does, to encourage people that wrench themselves to buy parts from you.

It inclues a new chain, a freewheel, and the labor to redish/space the rear wheel. Oh ya, and strip any unused parts like those three forgoten light mounts, the extra chainring and the rear brake.

No its not a money maker. Yes I like doing it.

this must be ben???

great job with the artwork, it's flippin sweet. still doing the monthly cm rides?? i hope to make it over sometime soon to ride with y'all

Yes, and you are?

I'm interested in one or more of the saddles you have listed in the saddle trade thread BTW.

I have a seat/bar/pedal/tire fetish

No its not a money maker. Yes I like doing it.

:beer:

Well, I would very likely to shop at any place that was asking the question "What should we do to get you to shop here", that's for starters.

There are a lot of things that you can't compete with the bigger LBS's on, so don't try to hard to do so. They will always have the "standard" stuff at a lower price than you - there's no good trying to compete with Nashbar on cheap cycling shorts, for instance.

Instead, go for the things that people find hard to get, and hold some stock of them. Just starting with things like short stack chainring bolts, cogs, single speed freewheels, stuff which guys like us would like to be able to pick up straight off the shelf, but often can't. Cyclocross levers. Make it very clear that you'll order in anything that anyone wants, make the catalogs available.

Make it as much of a community as a shop. If people come in for reasons other than shopping, they'll still see things they like, and want to buy them. Some sort of free/reduced price wrenching/tool area sounds great. Coffee and beer - definitely, what about somewhere to sit as well? Start to get guys like those on this board coming to your shop to shoot the breeze, and drink a coffee, and before you know it, they're trying those new handlebars they've been thinking about, or picking up a top-tube protector while they're in. Not big ticket, maybe, but you could do a lot of that business.

What about offering used bikes, as well? Maybe that would conflict too much with your Co-op buddy, but buying and selling interesting used bikes appeals to a lot of people. What you want, more than anything, is reasons for people to come in, get to know you, and make all those incidental purchases. Club rides, alleycats, wheelbuilding classes, anything that will make people want to come in, and to be in your shop. You could be on your way to becoming a local legend!

Oh, and finally, on clothing, only sell things that are special for your shop. Use that artwork, or similar, on hats, shirts, jerseys, sure, but probably you won't compete on "standard" items.

i would say if space allows, offer an area in the shop where customers can use your tools to do their own work. you could either do this for free, or perhaps have an annual membership fee of $10 or something, just to help pay for upkeep. or you could rent shop space hourly/half hourly. such a thing would be greatly appreciated.

i didn't read the whole thread, but +1 to this and other suggestions, like sponsoring alleycats, that help develop a community. there's a cool shop in new haven, ct, whose motto is "turning people into riders and turning riders into cyclists," which i think is a cool attitude, too. have programs to get people involved, and more involved, and more educated. basic "how to tune your bike" workshops. tool use space is a must, and anything that can build yourself up a membership base--rides, workshops, events, parties, et cetera--will go a long way.

goddamn that sounds like fun...

a newer shop in philly that i've been going to lately sells bikes on consignment for people that may have too many bikes and need to convert one to cash or something of the like...

I won't shop/buy anywhere that has a myspace page.


Please justify this. Rationally/logically would be nice.

Kneejerk. The guy's trying to run a business. He seems like a nice guy. His shop seems cool. He's looking to this forum to make it better.

You probably hang out with people who have Myspace pages & don't even know it. (Or shop at places.)

a few more things..

1. ballpark Price for fixie conversion
2. Same for SS
3. Always have at least one or two builds of nice track bikes, gotta get the mouth watering

I like the idea for the consignmnt for people with too many bikes. It gives people a reason to swing by and you a nice collection of older parts you can sell cheap (small profit + great cheap service for customers). Other than that the bike rides, and customer service seems like good ideas. Only thing I suggest is you are running a business. you rent tools, make people drop you 2 bucks, a dollar for the group ride, keep one of those giant pretzel jars someplace and it'll add up. Give you even a few bucks week to week for food for yourself, or whatever. Like they say every little bit helps

You're getting some good advice here, but most people are telling you what kind of shop they would like to spend time in, not what kind they would want to spend money in. Not that the two are mutually exclusive, but you gotta keep your eye on the bottom line. I like places where I can roll in with a 6 pack, hang out on a couch that doesn't matter if it gets grease stains, tweak some **** on my bike with someone else's tools for free, maybe get a screaming deal on some parts, and leave when I want, but if that kind of thing made money my and my friends' garages and living rooms would be our principle sources of income.

Also, keep an eye on your markup when you choose what items you stock. Clothing has a pretty good markup, though you have to carry a decent amount of inventory because of sizing and the fact that a shop with 3 pair of shorts and 2 jerseys for sale looks kinda silly. Same goes for the cogs. It sounds like a great plan, but standard markup on cogs is like 100%. FG/SS people don't chew through as many small parts as others in the first place, so what are you going to make money on if not stuff like that? Cogs are the kind of thing that along with tubes, bar tape, little bottles of lube, etc... keeps the cash coming in. If you really think a cog trade bin is going to be a good hook to get people in, try it, but again, watch your bottom line.

What about offering used bikes, as well? Maybe that would conflict too much with your Co-op buddy, but buying and selling interesting used bikes appeals to a lot of people. What you want, more than anything, is reasons for people to come in, get to know you, and make all those incidental purchases. Club rides, alleycats, wheelbuilding classes, anything that will make people want to come in, and to be in your shop. You could be on your way to becoming a local legend!



I forgot to mention, most of what I do is sell bikes. Sometimes trade-ins, sometimes yardsale finds, sometimes CL finds, sometimes my personal bikes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/SirWompus/1234.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/SirWompus/Picture1671.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/SirWompus/Picture1677.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/SirWompus/Picture1674.jpg

Sorry for the large pics but I'm in a rush to get out the door to the reall job [the one that pays my bills].

Thanks for all the advice.

Please justify this. Rationally/logically would be nice.

Kneejerk. The guy's trying to run a business. He seems like a nice guy. His shop seems cool. He's looking to this forum to make it better.

You probably hang out with people who have Myspace pages & don't even know it. (Or shop at places.)

+1