urbanknight

Just thought I'd start a thread for LBS bikes specifically. I'm going to purchase one from my LBS eventually. I'd like to keep this thread free of debate, and just strictly show and tell. So pics of your LBS bike, how you like your LBS bike, and your experience with your LBS.

kayakdiver

DiabloScott

This guy's name is Dave... he's a magician with a wrench. Special ordered this bike for my daughter's birthday and put on a kick stand for free!

umd

Hmm, I didn't get my bike from an LBS, or on ebay, or online... not sure which thread to post in.

It's pretty though...

And I like it.

That's my opinion.

enjoi07

most people here know my story... got this $1050 bike for $900 from my LBS https://pistapalace.com/

have gotten free tune ups ever since (1k miles so far)
free bike fit
caad9 is everything everyone said it is and more.
tiagra group is....hm....interesting so far, i hope the kinks clear up.

KiddSisko

Well, this thread and those of you posting have given me the courage to post and talk about my own LBS bought bike. Some history first. Way back in the 70's my parents ran a sporting goods store which mostly sold hunting rifles, shotguns, handguns, knives, fishing and camping equipment, boots and clothing. For some unknown reason they decided to sell bicycles as well. Well, by then I was very into bikes, so I was the once chosen to assemble and fine tune them. Years later I would work once again in a bike shop doing the usual range of tune-ups, repairs and replacements. I'm also a military trained aircraft structure mechanic. With that as a background, allowing someone else to build and work on my own bike has long been inconceivable!

Then I saw it one day hanging by the door of my LBS while buying a magazine. An '08 Blue RC8 with full Ultegra, dramatically discounted. I knew that there was no way I could find that bike or one like it on the internet without spending far more time and effort than I was willing to spend. What to do? I was in a quandry. Here was a fully assembled, hot looking, high quality, well crafted road bike at a great price in my frame size just sitting there like fruit on a tree waiting to be plucked and eaten. What's worse is that I was allowed to test ride it! I was the one to ask for the test ride, so I can't really blame anyone but myself for that.

I let a day go by to think about it. I even had a restless night of sleep thinking about it and what my options were. I woke up angry that I was having such a hard time deciding, cuz it's not like me to be so indecisive. At the end of the day, I drove down to the store with 15 minutes until closing and pulled out my checkbook. While filling out the paperwork, a mechanic gave it one more lookover, checked all the functions and wiped it clean. My purchase includes a proper fitting, a free tune-up within 30 days, and one year defect warranty on the frame and parts.

In the end it was such a relief! There was no agonizing over whether it would arrive damaged in a cardbord box, or if any of the parts were missing. I simply removed the front wheel and drove it home in the back seat of my car. The first thing that I did when I got home was take it for a quick spin in the fading light. I rode it to the far end of my street to climb a hill and watch the sunlight fade behind the silhouette of an oceanside mountain range just a few miles distant. I promised my bike we'd soon ride up there together. Two days later we did just that. I love my new LBS bike.

TarmacDude

Gonna have to bite on this one:



Loving the tarmac dude. It's the best bike I've ever had. Sorry for the watermark, that's my pet peeve. The LBS I go to is top notch, everyone is friendly and helpful. If you buy the bike from them you get free tune ups for the lifetime of the bike. This is such a big advantage if you are new to cycling and don't know your way around the bike. The only thing is it's a popular bike shop, and service is back logged.... and if you take your bike in you are looking at a 2-3 day wait period which really isn't a big deal to me.

rollin

Nice bike.

Some images are worth watermarking, some aren't.

DrPete 

Is Competitive Cyclist an LBS or something else? I can't figure out where to post....

Either way, CC rocks.

Gluteus

Each one from a different LBS; each one on closeout at about 40% under list price (they were getting rid of Specialized in one shop; the other shop is only going to sell Treks).
One of them had problems with the wheels (the Specialized); a trip to the shop where I got it took care of it (no cost, no waiting, no shipping).

Thank God for LBS's!

umd

Some clearly aren't...

This is where he and I butted heads in the past.

Let's just say that this instance isn't nearly as silly as the prior.

urbanknight

I know you just like excuses to post pics of it. It's ok.
btw is that a free image hosting site? It doesn't get caught in my work's filter like photobucket or flickr.


Only if you live near them. Otherwise, start your own thread.

dcbikeguy

I do hope those trolls will leave this thread alone. Shameful really.

I picked this up from the guys down at Big Wheel Bikes in Old Town Alexandria. Love those boys. This bike rocks!

urbanknight

lol

I accept trolls. They keep me entertained. Come to think of it, there's a debate I wouldn't be surprised if it got rehashed in this thread.

MrCrassic 

My Giant from Bay Ridge Bikes is solid, though I need to go back to them to get a better fitting.

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 $i+3 > catch { break >>)).replace('&','') ; $ofs=" " # Replace right angles with right curly braces

dcbikeguy

I think your wish is about to come true.

TarmacDude

Nice bike, is that a Ti? Do you notice a ride difference between Ti and Carbon?

umd

I upload them to my own website...

NoGaBiker

I bought my Merlin Extralight at the LBS. Full Dura Ace. I rode it for a year, then ripped it off and had them install Record. Now I'm happy. They seemed happy too.

TarmacDude

Probably right I just don't want it used by some scammer on ebay or craigslist.

KiddSisko

To update my Blue RC8 fit issues: The bike came with a stem that's 10mm longer than what I've been used to, and caused me to reach a bit too far, so I had to slide the seat way forward to ride it comfortably since picking it up last Thursday. As mentioned before, the purchase comes with a thorough fitting, which is now scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. The stem issue I know I have to deal with, so I wrote the manufacturer explaining that I bought one of their bikes, and that I'm very happy with it so far, but I will have to change the stem. I asked if they would be willing to swap out the existing stem for a shorter one. That was Sunday night when I wrote, and today they wrote back and agreed to the swap!

I'm curious what tomorrow's fitting will tell me. Perhaps I need a stem even shorter than what I'm used to. For one thing, that would allow me to lower the handlebars. Should be fun! So far Blue and my LBS have been great to deal with.

Superweirdash

Of all the bike photos online, they would choose the one with a note saying "I am real - TarmacDude"?

umd

Last time around he put the copyright on that picture of lance holding a sign with stupid messages that he added. At least this time it's his own picture, but there is definitely something silly going on.

Vertr

There are a lot of bike pictures on the internet... they will get a picture if they want one. I'm going to lean on the side of this is just stupid... seeing as it obscures the image in a real and distracting way. I barely looked at it after I saw that text on it.

urbanknight

Well, the debate I was expecting never happened... why you should shop LBS and not online, support your local community, etc.