Bicycle Mechanics - Small bike shop or big bike shop for repairs?

Ok, so I purchased my Bianchi Talladaga road bike at one of the larger bike shops in my area. I have been having trouble with my shifting and they have not solved the problem in my opinion. Not that they are a poor shop, but the waiting in line for service, then to have the problem not fixed is frustrating. I have noticed that there are two new small shops that are open in my part of town, should I check those shops out and see if they can give me a hand. They look as though I could walk right in, and get service right away.

Originally posted by nikos
Ok, so I purchased my Bianchi Talladaga road bike at one of the larger bike shops in my area. I have been having trouble with my shifting and they have not solved the problem in my opinion. Not that they are a poor shop, but the waiting in line for service, then to have the problem not fixed is frustrating. I have noticed that there are two new small shops that are open in my part of town, should I check those shops out and see if they can give me a hand. They look as though I could walk right in, and get service right away.
nikos, go for it, there is a saying "you cannot judge a book by its cover", you have to see and try their service if they can fix your bike

If they are new they might have a better attitude and be willing to go the extra mile in terms of service. If you take a liking to one of the shops and give them your business now while they are starting out, then they will take care of you down the road. I'd drop by them both just to browse and get a feel for the atmosphere and decide from there whether to bring your bike in to either shop.

give the new shops a try, you might prefer them later when you make your next purchase.

BTW, what's the problem? Maybe someone on the forum could help you out.:)

Went to one of the new shops. The owner took me in back, right with him to work on the shifting. It was great, I was right in the action. He went over the areas that might have caused the sloppy shifting, did some tweaking and lubed the front and rear derailers and chain and I was off. The shifting could not be better. I will make a point of thanking them tomorrow. It was great being right in on the action, the larger shop does not allow that at all.

I personally prefer small shops for anything whether it is a bike shop, car repair, or whatever. The smaller the shop the more effect gaining or losing one customer can be. If Wal-Mart upsets 1 million people they don't care, there are still 250 million other people in the US they can get get money from. If Bob's general store down the street that does $50k of business a year pisses you off and loses your $1000 worth of grocery business for a year that is a big hit!

Great to hear about the new shop.

The shop in town that has my business got it when I broke a spoke on the way home. I called ahead to let them know that I'd be there just before closing time. They were pretty busy so I bought the spoke (a huge purchase ;) ) and said that I would go outside and fix it so they could close.

The manager, who knows I like to work on my bike myself, insisted that I stay inside and use their tools and truing stand to do the repairs. The shop guys were cool about everything.

Funny, from my experiences , I don't think that would happen at the bike shop chain in town.

There are some shops where the prevelent attitude seems to be that they are doing YOU a favor just looking at your bike --intead of the other way around.

Small shops are often started by a good mechanic who wants some independence. Unfortunately they often don't have a lot of money or business experience and go broke before the word gets spread that they are there. The failure rate for these guys is terribly high. If you find one of them, as Nicos did, you should encourage every biker you know to use that shop.

I'm all for my LBS. I had a flat this morning (ugh!) which I simply couldn't repair, despite two patches, so I hitched a ride home and took the back tire to my LBS (Lee's Cyclery on Laurel St. in Fort Collins, CO). I told the bike mech what happened and started asking questions. Not only did he answer them, but he gave me recommendations, took the tyre and the tube off, showed me what was wrong, and immediately diagnosed the problem - there was the tiniest shard of glass in my tyre, which was causing the flat, and he pulled out the glass and threw in a spare tube for me, in addition to the new one.

Yay Lee's!!!

The point is, the people at the LBS (at least at mine) are genuinely interested in bicycles, improving them, maintaining them and whatnot, and know that their responsibility is to help people with that interest.

So find an LBS that you feel comfortable with.

Why don't you buy a book(Zinn) or access some other reference and learn to do it yourself?Not that tough.Very satisfying and FREEDOM from LBS .

Originally posted by RoadKill
I personally prefer small shops for anything whether it is a bike shop, car repair, or whatever. The smaller the shop the more effect gaining or losing one customer can be.

AMEN, brother!!!!!!! (I prefer working for small companies, as well.) For over a decade, I have taken the cars to the corner gas station, where I can talk directly to the two highly-competent mechanics. (They do have a service advisor, but I like him because he's a good Scotsman and because he never tries to block my access to the guys in the bays.) For front-end alignments, I visit a local 50-year-old family-owned local business.

Although I do almost all of my own bicycle work, I have a very good working relationship with my local bike shop, which comprises an owner-mechanic, his accountant wife, and a couple of employees.

I currently hold one of the most enjoyable jobs of my 25-year career, with a 20-person startup company.

One of our local independent grocers, Seaside Market, has competitive prices, a surprisingly good selection of produce and healthful foods, superb service, and short checkout lines.

There are exceptions and necessary economies of scale, but small is beautiful.

Originally posted by John E

Although I do almost all of my own bicycle work, I have a very good working relationship with my local bike shop, which comprises an owner-mechanic, his accountant wife, and a couple of employees.

You know what shocks me about that statement, JohnE? The fact that there is actually a human on the face of the planet who can use the word "comprises" properly! :beer:

I learned by experimentation too, and I came onto the scene at a good point, just before Hyperglide came out, so I was able to keep up with the evolution that occurred in the decade that followed, while getting a taste of the previous generation of technlology as well. (edit: sorry, this paragraph would make more sense in the thread asking how we learned to tune our bikes... guess I need another cup of coffee! :p )

There's also the thing about what type of customer your'e perveived to be. Large outlets will see you as someone who is contributing to the bottom line. They can survive without you. Smaller setups are generally run by those who are enthusiastic about what they do. They still value your money, but I find them to be more helpful, friendlier, and more knowledgeable. I sometimes argue with suppliers (other than bike shops) and I tell them that while I'm not their only customer, I expect to be treated as if I am their only customer. The LBS treat me like that. Larger shops do not normally do so. I went into my LBS to check up on my Gemini i'm buying, and 30mins later the guys in the shop were still talking about bikes with me. I don't think I'd get that in the larger shops. Eventually, you'll find a shop that you like, and it'll be run by folk who will be happy to help. It may take a few shops to get there, but yup, they are worth looking for.

My biggest disappointment with the big shops is that they often hire under-skilled part-time students as wrenches. These kids have some knowledge about a specific type of bike (usually mountain bikes) and have only limited exposure to the variety of bicycles and parts used over the years.

The real downer is that this lack of knowledge does not stop them from trying - and often bungling a repair job.

Smaller shops often avails you to the owner who has a passion for bicycles and usually a better overall knowledge/skill level than the part-time youth at the big shops.

My town has only 2 LBS, both small. They are both quite pleasant to visit, comparable in price and seem to have the required skills. They don't overlap on bicycle brands and between the two of them probably only carry a half dozen brands. I'd have to drive 100 miles to look at a new TREK on display for example.

When visiting Tuscon or Phoenix, I do go by the big shops just to drool and rub stuff. Usually if I see something I need or want, I'll wait until I get back to town and see if my favorite LBS can get it for me.

Guess I'd vote for a small LBS for the most part particualrly if the owner was the chief mech. Usually the owner doesn't leave for a better job. Losing the big mech must be devastating for a small shop.

Carl

The smallest bike shop in my area is the one with the best "wrench guy" as he likes to be called. It all depends on who they hire to work that area of the shop. some places around me have people who can't build a tireset for there life. JUst check all places out and find a good one. I always go back to the same one and am always happy.

Jared