brandonspeck

This seems like a legitimate reason to advise someone against buying an off the shelf tarck bike like the Pista. I'll side with you on that.

Practicality for the rider and their wants/needs > Shiny Pista.

But I think it's bad customer service to convince the customer that they should want something different, no matter what it's in.

jmathai

Ok, see how the headset protrudes out a few millimeters? That makes it difficult to attache the fender to the frame. The clip in the picture below is similar to what I had.


Am I way off on how I'm trying to install this? If so, then the person helping me at the bike store was just as off as me

SaveTheRock

Sorry, I didn't feel like typing out road bike riders. Perhaps I should of said "roadies". There are a lot in the valley, including me. I only have a cheaper Schwinn 684 aluminum bike though. And I would rather service it myself then take it in. My Principal (boss) however takes her bike in for EVERYTHING, including a bi-weekly wash. It's just the way things are out here. They spend big money. As I would if I was making bigger money. The LBS I speak of sells like ten 5k bikes a month (relayed to me by an employee who rides a BMX, and gets everything done at the other shop I go too). They do well out here with the money floating around. That's why they are moving on up. I'd be all about them if they didn't treat me like a kid. They keep an excellent stock of PREMIUM parts. Maybe I should work on my professional image to get better service!

inteno

My LBS ****in rules. Nicest shop-people I've ever met. Ask anything and they'll happily give you a long and detailed lecture.

LOVE.

bradenCBC

Allow me to clarify. If he bought the pedals from me I would have installed them for free, I just would not have loaned out the tool. And for the record when we designed our shop we made sure to put an air hose in an area easily accessible by customers so they can help themselves to free air any time they need it.

As far as $40 to drill a hole goes I could be mistaken but I don't see where the OP said something about simply drilling a hole. He said they offered to machine something for him which seems more involved than simply drilling a hole. I don't pretend to know exactly what went down there. I am simply offering an alternative perspective (that of a shop rather than a customer) in the interest of a better understanding of this situation and other interactions between customers and LBSs.

I agree about the good service and that's why my shop has built itself a great reputation in that department since we opened last April with all types of customers from BMW driving triathletes to college kids on conversions.

anthony691

In terms of the fender mounting problem, it seems to me that the brake mounting "tab" on the front fender might protrude too far upward toward the headset.

I would dremel off a bit with a cutoff wheel. Problem solved.

BoSoxYacht

I know what you mean. Las Vegas has a shop like the one you mentioned and I never go the for anything. The LBS I use in Boulder City treats me like gold. Sure a spend money there often(on high profit margin items),but I spend far more online(on things that are priced at less than his cost). If i want something he doesn't have they'll order it without a problem.

The shop takes me to Interbike every year, and they value my opinion on what they should carry. When they are really busy, they'll ask me to wrench on some bikes or true up some wheels(i love fixing wheels that they think can't be fixed). At Christmas time I'll normally build a few bikes for them so that the employees can get on the floor to make some sales.

As you can tell, I love my local bike shop. It may sound like I'm a shill, but they take care of me. the sop I'm speaking of is B.C. Adventure Bicycles in Boulder City Nevada.

skeletor3000

I got treated like a thief at my local shop the very first time I went in there. I got the "can I help you by following you around and peering over your shoulder?" routine pretty hard.

But ever since then, they've started recognizing me and they turned SUPER friendly and helpful... plus they do work for really cheap. So now I love 'em.

JJPistols

the LBS on my block kicks all kinds of ass -- there are 5 more within a 2 mile ride, only one of them sucks -- the others are all pretty friendly shops


I'm a lucky dude

novacane

im not sure what kind of lbs' you guys are going to, because the only time ive had anything less than an awesome experience was when i went into a chain store, performance bicycle i think it was. ****, the salesman was all up on my nuts, i could barely breathe without him providing a running commentary of 'can i help you, here buy this'

veganeric

I can't say enough good things about my LBS. This spring when I was looking at a closeout tri/tt bike and asked if they had an 08 I could ride to compair it to they offered me a $8500 top of the line model, knowing full well there's no way I was going to spend that much.

Then a month or so ago when I was starting to look for a new winter bike one of the guys offered to let me take one of his personal bikes for a few days to feel it out.

That same guy straight up told me to buy some wheels off ebay when I asked him what he thought about them. I thought that was pretty awesome. He potentially lost a sale, but was honest and told me it was a good deal and I should snatch them up.

chore4n

It's true, some LBS' are so quick to judge it's ridiculous. My LBS is mainly a mountain bike/road bike shop but has some fixed gears for sale and does do maintenance, but at first I only respected one of the guys. Then I ran into all of them in San Francisco after the MACAFRAMA premier, and we rode back through Berkeley together, and figures they're pretty cool, you just have to get to know them better.

jmberg

I'm going to see David Byrne on Halloween night. Can't wait.