General Cycling Discussion - Is TREK doing this to your LBS?

First I'll start by saying I have no problem with Trek's products they build a good bicycle.

But here is what they are doing to the small bike shop in my town. There are 2 stores that sell quality bikes. One is called Albrecht Cycle. They are the small privatley owned LBS. Albrechts main line is Trek, they are also a Giant and specialized dealer as well as others.

The other is Scheels. They are a high end all purpous sporting goods store. They are in the process of building new super size stores all over the country. You may have one in your town soon. Because of this they want to expand their line of bicycles that they carry. Scheels now wants to carry Trek.

So the rep. basically told the owner at Albrechts they have to drop of of their lines. Thsi needless to say dod not make the owner happy.

Scheels wined and dined and flew the Trek rep. to their new stores, etc. So it sounds like Scheels will get the Trek line. Now Albrechts can still carry it if they want to. The rep. is not telling them to drop their Trek line by any means. but it will seriously affect the sales of the Trek line at Albrechts because Scheels will offer the same line of Trek bikes for a lower price. Talk about unfair to Albrechts.

So the owner at Albrechts is boycotting Trek and if he drops any line of bikes it will be them. And they will simply increase their line of Giant, Specialized and other brands. hopefully Trek and Albrechts will come to a good solution before this happens though. Things are still up in the air regarding this issue right now and time wil tell what happens.

I do not know whos idea it was originally for Trek to do this. Whether it was Trek's, or Scheels, or a joint idea. I don't think the owner of Albrechts knows either. But it does not matter this is a classic case of the big guy undercutting the little guy.

Now don't get me wrong I like Scheels, I buy things other then bicycles there when it comes to high end sporting goods. That is because they have a good selection of outfitting, camping, etc. gear.

Has any thing like this happened in your area? If so which companies were involved?

Home Depot....in a grander scale...

I have seen it happen before. Trek wants to make money and see this as a chance to increase sales in the area. And I hate to say it but it does usually work. Ironhorse sells exclusively through Sportcheck in Canada. This sucks because sportcheck limits the sales of the bike to areas based on quotas. BC is not included in the high end mtb sales section. This highly limits my choice when I wanted to buy an ironhorse. But overall I bet this move increased sales of general bikes sold. I just think they could sell more diversifying their product to other areas, which sportcheck won't do.

The one thing that was lost was the lbs feel and the knowledgable staff. The staff at sportcheck are trained in the most rudementary way and only enough to impress people. Not really knowing anything.

I have never heard of Scheels. I guess they are not in California.

It would be interesting to see if Scheels tries that in many markets they enter. If so, the LBSs could probably mount a decent antitrust case against them.

Giant did the same thing to a lbs in the socal area. Every bike company is going to go with where they smell the money.
Too bad there is no loyalty anymore.

Well, by boycotting Trek might do Albrecht Cycle a world of good, as a matter of fact if Albrecht drops Trek as a line, it might be a reality check to Trek. As a matter of fact by increasing the Giant/Specialized line at Albrech's will do a world of good. Both brands make a very high quality product and in my honest opinion, better then Trek. Trek has made their impression through Lance, their have been no major technological advance from trek, where there have been major technological advances from both Specialized and by Giant. Giant has perfected the use of CarbonFiber as a woven. While trek's CF frames are nice, they haven't done one thing to improve the strength, Giant has. Specialized just builds one kick butt bike. So what I'm trying to say it will be a good business decision to drop Trek instead of Specialized or Giant.

Originally posted by RacerX
Giant did the same thing to a lbs in the socal area. Every bike company is going to go with where they smell the money.
Too bad there is no loyalty anymore.

Not exactly, the lbs I work at is exclusively a Rocky Mountain Dealer, and has been ever since they opened, very loyal. Last year, the shop started to carry Tomac as a minor line, Tomac started trying to get the shop to drop RM so they can have Tomac as the main line, Tomac offered better money. The line that got dropped was Tomac.

This tactic is very shortsighted on the part of Trek. This seems like a way to squeeze the smaller retailers to the benefit of Trek, but there will be a backlash when the smaller retailers fold or drop Trek, leaving only one or two major outlets for Trek in that area. At that point the "Scheel's" in the area will be the 800lb gorilla that will dictate terms to Trek after the small LBS community abandons them.

It is in Trek's long term best interest to cultivate both types of retailers, possibly by offering the low end of some of the Trek lines to the discounter at good price while preserving the premium product for the smaller LBS and offering a better rate for warranty work to the smaller shops. There are probably other incentives for smaller retailers that could be found as well, just to keep them as a viable alternative to the mass marketers.

my .02

Dan

My LBS had the same thing happen to them from Giant. Unfortunately, I don't think there is any one company to blame. It's the way business is right now. I was originally considering Giant when I bought my first road bike this spring, but decided on another brand that my LBS carried...similar bike for similar price. I feel it's much more important to remain loyal to your LBS if at all possible.

No not me. Of course I am one of two LBS in about a 100 square mile area, and I don't sell Trek. However I do know for example that 242 LBS closed across America because of lack of support.

Sounds like a little competition going on. I certainly don't see anything unfair about that. Competition is the consumer's best friend.

I can see where Trek would have plenty of incentive to find another retailer in your town for their product. They only have about a 1/3 chance of one of their bikes selling in Albrects. I'm sure Trek wants the LBS to drop one line of bikes so that the Trek bikes will sell better. And now that they have a higher volume retailer, they have some negotiating power with the smaller LBS.

This issue cuts both ways. There's the downside from the small shop's point of view, as others have said.

On the other hand, a larger dealer will be able to get a lower price from manufacturers like Trek, and hence sell bikes for less money to you.

Which reminds me of something I've wondered about from to time. Why don't we see larger chains trying to get a piece of the higher end bike market? That's where more than half of the money in retail sales is made in the U.S., after all, with far fewer units.

Now you might say, "no way! How could some store like Big or Walmart have its typical retail floor employees do specialized fitting and buidling work, requiring real mechanical skills?" Well, of course, they couldn't.

But that doesn't mean they couldn't hire people to do mechanical work. With their huge capital reserves, and their economies of scale in retail space, big stores could spend the money to hire skilled mechanics, build in-store shops, and then efficiently sell bikes like Trek or Specialized. So why don't they?

I'm guessing one reason they don't is brand identity. Big5, Sports Authority, WalMart, etc., make their name by selling lots and lots of adequate stuff really cheaply. Higher end bikes don't fit that model so well. (Although an upscale place like REI could get away with selling good bikes, and, in fact, they do; with some brands, at least.)

Another reason is that the fact is that it would take a lot of investment to build up the skill and equipment necessary to sell good bikes. Bear in mind that the cost is increased because these stores wouldn't just be starting from scratch, but would have to spend extra money to outbid the existing reservoir of mechanical skill in the present LBS distribution system. Yet a large store would be doing all this for a market in which there just isn't much growth potential. So you can see why large stores think there are better things they could do with their money.

Then, the manufacturers probably welcome the greater leverage they have over small shops, which they must see as some security in keeping an eye on quality control and profits. So, they'd probably be reluctant to sign on with a big chain and surrender some control in exchange for more money in the short term.

So, in the end, I guess I think that if the bike market remains more or less stagnant, we won't see a lot of bigger stores trying to compete with LBS on higher end units.

Trek will be sorry. Trek has the reputation of a high-quality company BECAUSE OF HIGH QUALITY DEALERS! Trek's product is fair to middlin' out of the box. Quality dealers make the difference by doing meticulous assemblies, spotting defective manufacturing and defective designs and specifications. Occasionally some genius from Trek tries to promulgate the myth of the 30-minute bike assembly which, of course, exists only at stores that don't care what their floor bikes work like. Dealers who know and care about product quality have the wisdom to ignore this. A friend of mine, a former Iowan, is an ex-Albrecht's employee. A Trek that passed through Albrecht's' hands would be a very, very different bicycle than a Trek assembled and floored by a management-heavy chain store without real mechanics or a real service department.
Watch for Treks at Wal Mart any day if this succeeds.

What I meant to say, in a nutshell and in no uncertain terms, is that Trek's dealers make their bikes' reputation. They owe their good name as a manufacturer 100% to their dealers.

I have not ridden Trek since 1994 since I bought my first Cannondale. Before that it was my only bike. But thats just my preference.

They need to drop em like a rock.

Large sporting goods stores such as Scheels are the Walmarts of the bicycle business. They are only in business to maximize their profits, and they do so by minimizing their costs (low wage, poorly trained employees), and maximizing sales volume. Forget about getting quality service or support from these types of shops. Copelands Sporting Goods is the equivalent of Scheels in Oregon. The few times I have been in their shop, looking at helmets, I couldn't even find someone in the bicycle department to help me.

Originally posted by Merriwether

Now you might say, "no way! How could some store like Big or Walmart have its typical retail floor employees do specialized fitting and buidling work, requiring real mechanical skills?" Well, of course, they couldn't.

But that doesn't mean they couldn't hire people to do mechanical work. With their huge capital reserves, and their economies of scale in retail space, big stores could spend the money to hire skilled mechanics, build in-store shops, and then efficiently sell bikes like Trek or Specialized. So why don't they?



Because the big box stores live off low profit margins and high volume. It's all about dollers per sq ft of floor space. I would expect the average Xmart sells more cheap bikes in a month than the average LBS does in a year. An Xmart gets by with very low labor costs per dollar of sales as well by very agressively managing the number of employees and keeping labor rates as low as possible.

The entire Xmart culture is opposite that required to sell and service a high end bicycle.

Originally posted by supcom
Because the big box stores live off low profit margins and high volume. It's all about dollers per sq ft of floor space. I would expect the average Xmart sells more cheap bikes in a month than the average LBS does in a year. An Xmart gets by with very low labor costs per dollar of sales as well by very agressively managing the number of employees and keeping labor rates as low as possible.

The entire Xmart culture is opposite that required to sell and service a high end bicycle.

I agree. One way to put what I was wondering about is why such stores aren't willing to change their culture to accommodate high quality bike sales. But I think it's just too costly for them-- they have no experience with that kind of specialty retailing, and it would be too expensive both in direct financial terms and in less tangible things like brand identity to make it worth doing.

The local bike shop owner should contact sportings good store manager and offer to service the bikes for a fee and maybe split the profits with them. The Trek brand should be dropped in a heartbeat and replaced with another brand like Bianchi.

More than likely, the Treks at the sporting goods store will be low or mid-level bikes. I highly doubt they will sell Lance's bike. I suspect these bikes will be assembled much in the similar fashion that Schwinns are put together in Toys R Us.

We were a Trek dealer from 78' to 87' (As I understand it ) and dropped them because they decided to sell bikes to any shop in town. Until this time we were the only Trek dealer and had established them in the area.

Well, business is business. I'd like to live in a perfect world where Treks, Tomacs, Rocky Mountains, Giants, Cannondales, Konas, Fujis, Huffys, GF, Bianchis, and Lemonds can all be sold side by side. However, whether we like it or not, many people in these bike companies are in it just for the money and that fantasy bike shop of mine will probably never happen.

I don't plan on boycotting anything just because a couple of sales reps are trying to sell bikes.

Trek has recently opened Trek superstores in my part of the country. The store
carries all Trek owned bike manufacturers and I have to say I purchased my last roadbike from them. I know that since I bought it from Trek I won't have to worry about the LBS going out of business or dropping the line of bikes I prefer.

Originally posted by randya
Large sporting goods stores such as Scheels are the Walmarts of the bicycle business. They are only in business to maximize their profits, and they do so by minimizing their costs (low wage, poorly trained employees), and maximizing sales volume. Forget about getting quality service or support from these types of shops. Copelands Sporting Goods is the equivalent of Scheels in Oregon. The few times I have been in their shop, looking at helmets, I couldn't even find someone in the bicycle department to help me.

The bike dept. @ Scheels is pretty good and their staf is well trained. I've never had a problem finding someone to ask question to. Even though I've never bought a bike from scheels and never will I do use them as a comparison to Albrechts. In fact even if Scheels offers me a better price then Albrechts I still buy from Albrechts every time. Why? Well loyalty for one. And in the case of the smaller guy competing against the bigger one I choose the smaller shop.

The only time I do not go to Albrechts for service is when I have to have something done to my bike and Albrechts is not open and I can not adjust or repair it myself. Or if Albrechts does not have something in stock and I need it before they can order it for me and Scheels has it available. And yes Albrechts knows this, they have no problem with it. Because they know 98% of the time I come ti them. They are not concerned with the 2% that I have to go to Scheels. Again its because of my customer loyalty with Albrechts.

To bad Trek can't show the same loyalty.

Now wil this turn me off to Trek's? I don't know. I am considering a Trek mtn bike. Maybe I'll boycott them my self and buy a Giant or Specialized from Albrechts.

Originally posted by Diesel
Trek has recently opened Trek superstores in my part of the country. The store
carries all Trek owned bike manufacturers and I have to say I purchased my last roadbike from them. I know that since I bought it from Trek I won't have to worry about the LBS going out of business or dropping the line of bikes I prefer.

Is this store a Trek company owned and operated store? Is this something new for them?

We have the original Scheels in our area, and they have always sold Trek. So have the lbs down the street. Don't know of any problems between the 2.

When i hear trek,i hear sony.Same thing.

I don't have a big problem with Scheels. I was interested in the Trek Fx series and my local shop has never carried them. Now they would order me one but obviously I wanted to see and handle the bike before commiting to buy. While I was traveling I happened to walk into a Scheels and they had just what I was looking for. One salesperson was not an expert but when I talked with the bike manager I received the service that I required. I watched the mechanic do the run through and I felt he did a good job. The bike was less than MSRP and the components are the same. I'm quite familar with Treks and have spent a good amount of time on their website researching bikes. I was surprised at this find because the Scheels store closer to my home carries mostly Specialized bicycles. Anywhere you go you will find staff that are very knowledgeable and you will staff that does not know anything. I have been to LBS where the kid on the sales floor was no expert. I'm just trying to present another side to this story.

Business is business. Specialized is doing the very same thing to one of our LBS too. Don't think this is speficic to anyone particular brand. I personally own a Specialized MTB, and a Trek 5200. As with almost ANY product lines...there are low-end models that sell very well due to the low price. But, don't confuse low-end with a better top-end. My 5200 is the most comfortable bike (over long distances) than any other bike I've owned. does this mean that a Cannondale or a Fuji or a Lemond wouldn't work just as well? Probably not, but I just don't have enough $$ to buy 'em all and sort it out.
Oh, I also have a $6500 Litespeed Vortex. Guess what? It isn't even as comforatable as my Trek which was somewhere around $2500.
So, stop with all the Trek bashing already. Every large bike manufacturer insists that there product should be the only one sold. The little guy is the one paying the price, not the general public.

way to bring back a 3 year old thread. haha

Scheel's isn't that big. Only 22 stores.

Wow, a thread from 2003!!!

I know a little about what Trek is doing, having a friend inside of Trek - whose HQ is just a few miles from where I live.

Trek is in the midst of opening 1000 Trek Company Stores. A number of LBS's will feel the impact of this.

Trek also now desires any storefront carrying Trek to have their bikes (Trek, Gary Fisher, LeMond, Klein) to make up approximately 75% of all of the bikes on the floor. Two LBS's in my area have opened 2nd stores to be their Trek stores, where the floor is all or nearly all Trek, then their other lines are in the other store.

Specialized is trying to do the same thing. I know of three LBS's where Specialized dropped them in order to back stores that were nearly all Specialized.

So what a lot of communities are going to see are: 1) Trek Company stores carrying only Trek. 2) LBS's that have either no Trek or are dominated by Trek. 3) LBS's that carry either no Specialized or are dominated by Specialized. And it will be a rare sight to see Trek & Specialized in the same LBS.

In San Diego, as best I know, if you want to buy a Trek, you go to a Trek store. If you want something else, you go somewhere else. There are three Trek "Superstores" in San Diego.

My first new bike was a Trek and I've been impressed with the service ever since. I was in the store the other day and the manager remembered me from many, many months ago (I've moved further away from his store.)

OTOH, the LBS's that are close to me have most of the other brands. Can't seem to find Jamis nearby.

Anyway, competition is competition!

If the owner of Albrechts wants to stay competitive, they need to make sure that they trump the big store in maintainance and expertise, the traditinal advantages of the LBS.

Being a small business owner myself (not cycling related) service is about the only thing a smaller store can offer, along with possibly a more convenient location. With the advent of the internet and various "super" stores it is all we have left to offer. I am still appalled at the number of people that come in and want us to "price match" something they found on the internet...nope no can do, or think they should receive a discount. I would have to shut my doors, if I sold below my costs all the time. We actually dropped a couple of our vendors last year after they basically lied to us and sold a line we were carrying to the super store up the road from us. We did have a few people come in asking for the lines but when we told them they had to go up the road to the superstore they weren't happy about it. Several of them chose something else from one of our other lines instead. Apparently the customer service and the overall quality of the merchandise at the super store is less than great, but if you shop price only you more than likely are going to have to give up something. The other fun thing we have is someone buys something on the internet that we sell, then brings it to us wanting alterations or adjustment..."why don't you take it back where you bought it?":rolleyes: and sorry can't help you there either. I am sure we lose the occasional customer over that too, but if you bought it from us we will bend over backwards to help you with it. Buy it somewhere else, please have them service it.

Aaron:)

I've heard of similar issues with Trek at one or two shops here in the Cincinnati area. I don't know how common this is among bike manufacturers, but apparently a bike shop has to sell X number of Treks or they lose the contract. I heard this story from one of the local shops when I was looking for my first road bike. This particular shop used to be a Trek dealer, but they couldn't sell enough and Trek pulled the plug on them. It caused some bad blood I guess.

I'm friends with one of the largset Trek dealers in the country. We've had long discussions about Treks marketing and where they are heading. If Trek doesnt do what they are They'll lose market share. Regardless of the type buisness ones in one must adapt to current markets conditions or die. I.E. GM Ford

I'd say that this gives license to Albrecht's to say ANYTHING that they want about Trek product, true or not, to steer a sale in another direction. It is almost always smaller stores that build the reputation of a line. It is in the long run a poor business strategy for Trek to ***** the line out to bigger outlets unless the bigger outlet can be proven to have a level of service and assembly to support the product adequately. Major bike lines aren't that different; it is the assembly, customer care, and follow-up of the dealer that make the line. Albrecht's is a stakeholder in this by having helped build Trek's reputation and thus their equity. By trampling them like this Trek deserves whatever they get. If Trek was smart about it, Albrecht's would get best-quantity terms and pricing and preferential shipping. I used to work for a Trek dealer and in days gone by they weren't that smart about it. I have a few words for the owner of Albrecht's--"Bianchi, Marin, Fuji, Soma."

http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/images/lblackwell/2005/03/01/thread_necromancer.png

There is one in Northwest Indiana. It is locally owned, but I believe Trek financed the whole thing. If you want to buy a bike they have a large selection. If you want to buy a part for the bike you bought, you better go find it on the internet because they don't carry much. I wanted to buy a particular tire and they couldn't get it or any other tire besides, some real junk they had laying on the floor behind the shop. They have a web site, but I won't promote it.

torgrot

I don't know. I've been the small guy a few times, and I support my lbs based on bottom line. I may pay marginally more per part there, but if I were to combine the cost savings at a superstore with the cost of getting advice from people who know what they're doing... well, it's tough to quantify that, but it's definately worth the price difference to me.

The trick is making sure the consumer knows it.

Now the question is, why/how did the trek rep suggest that the lbs would have to drop Trek? Just by saying they wouldnt be the only shop in town carrying them, or would have to deal with someone who had lower prices? maybe it's just me living in metropolis (LA) but that's the standard operating proceedure around here, and all the LBS's make it regardless, based strictly on their (priceless to me) superior knowlege, customer service, etc.

-- James

In San Diego, as best I know, if you want to buy a Trek, you go to a Trek store. If you want something else, you go somewhere else. There are three Trek "Superstores" in San Diego.


In Madison, which is almost the home of Trek, with them located just outside of the city, there are two Trek Superstores and two LBS Trek stores. One of the LBS has 5 storefronts, with their largest being their Trek store. At this store they carry more Trek bikes than the Trek Superstores, sell them at a lower price than does Trek, extends the warranty to longer than what Trek offers, and provides great service and parts selection. Their salespeople are long-time bike store staff who really know what they are doing. I think it may well be the best Trek store in the USA. They sell several other brands at their other storefronts.

The other LBS runs out of a beautiful old train depot where they sell Cannondale, Marin, Felt, Bianchi, Electra, and other lines. Then they have a second store where they sell only Trek, also at lower prices than available from the Trek stores. In mid-Feb of this year, they ran a 10-day sale where every Trek in stock was 20% off of list, even 2007 models.

So you can shop Trek Company Store vs Trek LBS #1 vs Trek LBS #2. And I would never buy from one of the company stores, because you pay more and get less.

I went into one of the Trek stores here in Cincinnati, and it was really odd. Everything was absolutely clean. There were no racks of bikes (well, the little kids bikes were but that's it), instead each bike had it's own place on the wall. I wasn't left to wander then get help when someone on the floor had time, or when the greasy shop guy noticed me. No, as soon as I walked in and glanced at a pair of sunglasses, a fresh young well-groomed kid came out of nowhere to try to sell me anything he could. I told him I just wanted to look and he disappeared for a while. Then, I figured out what was so weird. I couldn't see the shop part of the store anywhere, nor were there any bikes sitting around "just off the stand" and waiting to be picked up any minute by a customer. No, they had completely buried the shop in the middle of the store and covered it with walls and the only entrance was through a small door behind the cash register.

Most if not all LBS that I've been in have the shop right there for you to see or in a separate room, but no door so you can see in. Maybe it's just me, but I like to know that there are competent mechanics at a place I'm buying a bike and being able to see the shop area or watch their people actually work is a good way for me to know. The well-groomed kid was another weird thing. Other shops around are usually staffed by people who look like they ride a lot and know what they are talking about, or some greasy, inked up guy who just walked out of the shop and knows what he is talking about. This guy seemed like the kid who only works the register on Saturdays at the big shop around here. Just there for a job.

Maybe other Trek stores are different, but this one was just too... corporate. It had no soul at all.

Bigger business ALWAYS wants to squash smaller business and take there business....Home Depot does not care and Ace Hardware and neither of them care about East Ashville Hardware..no matter what they say....

It is even worse in smaller business....smaller business hates other simular smaller business....although if you are from a different area it is slightly less pronounced....it is like opening a store in an area of town that is "open" makes it harder for them to make there boat payment....people get nasty and mean....sad sad....and the responce is business is business....lol I love that answer.......do or say whatever you want to some one else and it is all ok because business is business..

So yes they are doing it.....no they will not stop and unless you like buying your bike stuff and Sun and Ski you better go to visit the small guy.....simple....

It is in Trek's long term best interest to cultivate both types of retailers, possibly by offering the low end of some of the Trek lines to the discounter at good price while preserving the premium product for the smaller LBS and offering a better rate for warranty work to the smaller shops. There are probably other incentives for smaller retailers that could be found as well, just to keep them as a viable alternative to the mass marketers.

my .02

Dan

The problem with this idea is that the LBS doesn't make its income off high end bikes. How many people, on average, do you think spend $2000 or even $1000 on a bike? Outside BF, that is!

Not that many. People buy the low end bikes and the bike shop makes a lot of their money on that volume. If Trek undercuts the LBS on those bikes, it may or may not be worth it for the LBS to carry Trek any longer. It's a business decision that the shop owner will have to make based on the market and what he thinks he can offer that the big store can't.

It would be worth it to the LBS to come to some kind of agreement for service on the Treks even if they drop the line. That is, if they can come to a deal with the big store which might not be easy.

Has any thing like this happened in your area? If so which companies were involved?


It is in Trek's long term best interest to cultivate both types of retailers, possibly by offering the low end of some of the Trek lines to the discounter at good price while preserving the premium product for the smaller LBS and offering a better rate for warranty work to the smaller shops. There are probably other incentives for smaller retailers that could be found as well, just to keep them as a viable alternative to the mass marketers.

my .02

Dan

What you are describing is much the same as what Schwinn did to all their old line dealers in the 90's. They missed the boat on mountain bike craze and were trying hard to catch up in the early 90's. The basically started handing out dealerships....plenty of business for one...not near enough for two sort of thing. They were struggling anyway but this was the final nail in the coffin before they went through either bankruptcy or near bankruptcy and two sales.

I was lucky and bought two matching cro-mo / Rock Shox bikes right before the Schwinn wheels came off, so to speak. Man, I love those bikes (not to be confused with WalMarts current offering).

Think of it like Krispy Kreme donuts....when people were lining up around the block everytime a new store opened. Then, they started sending day-old product out to supermarkets and WalMart. Guess where they are now. #1 - they killed their image and #2 - started competing with their most profitable outlets.

I believe Trek is going to have a tough time continuing to demand such a premium as they do for their bikes. That kid at the big box store isn't going to talk someone into upgrading from a $700 to a $1500 bike, let alone even know the difference. They have had an extremely profitable niche, largely due to a Texan with strong legs and seven victories. Now they own Lemond and Fisher and Bontrager. They are trying to break out of their LBS niche with low-end Trek bikes? It will be interesting to see how that market strategy works. I'd bet against it. They should put the Lemond and Gary Fisher stuff at the big box stores. This sort of strategy is probably exactly what bikesdirect.com is hoping for. Look for a big breakout from those folks.

The other fun thing we have is someone buys something on the internet that we sell, then brings it to us wanting alterations or adjustment..."why don't you take it back where you bought it?":rolleyes: and sorry can't help you there either. I am sure we lose the occasional customer over that too, but if you bought it from us we will bend over backwards to help you with it. Buy it somewhere else, please have them service it.Aaron:)

Hmmmm...interesting attitude you have there. I think I would service it, charge a premium, and then try to get their business back when you do it. If you turned me away, you'd lose me forever.

[QUOTE=Digital Gee]In San Diego, as best I know, if you want to buy a Trek, you go to a Trek store. If you want something else, you go somewhere else. There are three Trek "Superstores" in San Diego.

QUOTE]

in San Diego, you can also get Treks at Bicycle Discovery
Bicycle Discovery also sells Motobecane, Phat, Masi, Electra, Raleigh, etc

Scheels started as a hardware store in my hometown, Fargo ND. Bought my first schwinn there back in '85. Even so I have mixed feelings about them.

I think its a mistake to dismiss Scheels as being just another 'big box store.' They tend to offer much higher quality products and services than other chain sporting goods stores like Sportmart and Dick's. They also obsess over the quality of their staff about as much as a large store can. This explains their explosive growth in the last twenty years. On the other hand, they're not locally owned and their sales staff doesn't specialize in bikes. If you need info, you're better off talking to the mechanics. Not so great for the high-end customer, but fantastic for the average family shopping for something under $1000.

I compare them to Barnes and Noble. B&N is a monster if you live in a city that has an excellent independent bookstore that actively services its community. They are a godsend if your city has some sh1tty bookstore staffed by arrogant jackasses.

The bottom line is that they work with their customers and move tons of product. Collectively, they are now the largest Trek dealer in the United States and have the leverage to muscle the little guys out of the way.

This reminds me of Erik's Bike Shop in Minnesota / Wisconsin. Erik started in his parent's basement in Minneapolis and is now the largest Specialized dealer with something like 13 stores. He does a good job of staffing his stores with people who specialize in bikes only.

At any rate, there seems to be a trend in higher-end sport retail favoring home-grown chains capable of offering higher end products and services. I feel sorry for the guys who get squeezed out but it remains to be seen if Trek's decision is a short-sighted strategy. Trek and Specialized may be on to something.

I bought a specalized Allez comp Double at Scheels in Dec. '06. Love the bike, and I saved $600 off MSRP. I bought the bike on closeout for $999. But, I didn't get a decent bike fitting from the store. I went for my first group ride in April with Stadium bike my LBS. Th4e owner almost laughed at me for having my seat so low. I'm glad he did. I went to his shop for a proper fitting. My seat was almost 2" low and about 2" to far back. No wonder my back hurt. I just didn't know any better. I would still buy the bike again but, I would pay for a bike fitting right away. So Scheels did a good job putting the bike together but, they couldn't fit a bike to save their ass.

I bought a specalized Allez comp Double at Scheels in Dec. '06. Love the bike, and I saved $600 off MSRP. I bought the bike on closeout for $999. But, I didn't get a decent bike fitting from the store. I went for my first group ride in April with Stadium bike my LBS. Th4e owner almost laughed at me for having my seat so low. I'm glad he did. I went to his shop for a proper fitting. My seat was almost 2" low and about 2" to far back. No wonder my back hurt. I just didn't know any better. I would still buy the bike again but, I would pay for a bike fitting right away. So Scheels did a good job putting the bike together but, they couldn't fit a bike to save their ass.

That sounds about right.