x136 

Bless them every one.

robertv

A lot of people hate bike shops cause the only bike shop they've ever been too really sucked.
There's a bike shop up the road from my house, I had a flat right outside their shop so I went in(even though I ****ing hate them, they wouldn't hire me cause I'm not Australian even though I have a Visa that I can work full time on) the girl they did hire(after leaving their salesmen wanted sign out for 3 months after I applied) was very nice and helped me and then when I asked to use their floor pump the trouble started. It turns out their floor pump is very finicky. Actually its an old piece of **** that shoulda been replaced 5 years ago. I can't get it to work. I ask them if I need to reverse the rubber bit so it'll work with roadie innnertubes, and the boss angrily lets both me and the girl know that "it works". Then after bout 5 minutes of toying with it I finally realize that if you hold the nozzle just so it does in fact work.

He could have ****ing told me that. I'm not an idiot. I know how pumps work. If I just spent 12 bucks on a tube you can at least help me out. If he was a remotely competent LBS employee he would know that the pump was finicky and could have just told me that. If the LBS was remotely competent they could just replace the damn floorpump. (By contrast, another shop 20 minutes ride away has 5 floorpumps, all in good working condition, available for customer use.)

If I didn't know much about bikes I would probably never want to deal with another LBS again after walking into a shop like that. This is the same shop that is convinced that my Surly Cross-check is a "hybrid". This is the same shop that wouldn't hire me cause I'mnot aussie and it would take to long to train me up and they're afraid I'd move away right after I finally learned how to do things right. Nevermind that it was for a sales position, not a mechanic position.

While I was pumping up my tire the girl who they did hire(who was very friendly, if inexperienced) who was holding the nozzle just so expressed serious concern that the tire might blow up in her face. I had to explain to her that even if it did blow it would not blow up in her face and would just make a loud pop and hiss. What the hell is wrong with some shops?

At another shop I was talking to the girl at the counter and told her to tell her customers that the cops were targeting cyclists that day. She asked if I got fined and I said yeah and that the cop was a bit of a reactionary who gave me a whole speech about trying to get myself killed. Her response "Oh riding around here you're gonna get kileld sooner or later anyway" in a bit of a smartass tone. Sydney CBD isn't the greatest place to ride a bike, but it's really not that bad either. Anyone with such a ridiculous view of cycling and commuting probably should be working in a bike shop right in the CBD.

I'm a pretty big supporter of local shops, of all kinds but especially bike shops, but I can also understand why lots of people don't want to deal with them.

Mos6502

Well having lived all over, I've been to a lot of shops. I can think of two that were half way interesting at least, if not actually useful. Cycle Analysts in Denver for having a wide variety of old and new, and odd stuff - and Recycled Cycles in Seattle for having a large amount of used bits and pieces to rummage through in addition to new and used bikes (and pile of free junk outside the door occasionally).

Everything else has either been geared towards getting new bikes out the door, giving people just service, or tiny mom and pop shops that don't stock much except for inner tubes and training wheels. None of those things are necessarily bad, but it's a hassle to run around shop to shop picking up what you need. If there's one good thing about buying online, it's that you can get everything you want at any time (barring the seriously rare and odd stuff).

If I were to buy a new bike. I'd go to a shop. I can take a look at it in person, see what size I like (if they have more than one size in stock) take it for a ride in the parking lot, etc. Even if I didn't end up getting it from them, I could make a well informed decision to order online.

Apart from that the only thing I find useful is picking up stuff like inner tubes or grease, brake pads. Stuff I know they will have, that they're not going to have to go through their catalogs and tell me that nobody makes anymore, or they can't get.

camashtorcal

I'm from Chicago and a few years ago I stopped by a pretty famous fixed gear related bike shop. It is known for its wheelbuilder who is arguably one of the best, definitely in the midwest. Anyhow, I used to live out in the burbs at the time and I was visiting some friends in the city so I decided to stop by the shop to look at the eye candy and pick up a Salsa stem, while I was in the area. Some messengers where there along with some fakengers(myself included). This bike shop is really known as the community bike shop for the community and it is located very near a rather poor area of the city. A few kids from the area rode up with their department store bought BMX bikes and one kid had a loose nut that he just needed to be tightened on his rear wheel. For anyone with a 15mm wrench, it's less than a few minute job. I would have done it myself but I drove there and left my tools in my fakenger bag at home. I still remember clearly as the 3 neighborhood kids, so shyly asked the shop's owner/operator if he could fix the wheel and he told them it would cost them 7~9 bucks. I can't remember the amount exactly but it was an amount that kids this young in that neighborhood couldn't imagine counting in their hands unless it was their birthday. I was stunned that he even quoted them a price and didn't just pull out the tool that he had in the apron he was wearing. The broken and rejected look on those kids faces was something for sure as they turned around and went out of the door in shame. As they were leaving, a father and his son not from the neighborhood came in with their matching Fuji roadbikes(Daddy's weekend tribike and his son's Junior racer) and were quickly taken care of. I was still shocked and just standing there. Angry at myself for believing in the "What a great guy and shop," that you read on the local blogs as well as when you meet local people. I got over it and left and when I went outside and I saw a young lady helping out the three kids and she fixed the wheel. It was really nice of her and it put a smile back on my face. This bike shop is so known for taking care of the community and the owner can't even take the time to do something nice for some poor kids in the neighborhood, but he moves like his feet are on fire when Richie Rich and his father stroll in . I stopped going to that shop after that. At that time and now, 90% of what I buy, I buy from bike shops. But I'm over the BS that you hear about supporting your local bike shop as if it's a charity or they are saving the world or something. I gladly pay more to nice people and for good service. What happened at that bike shop made me even madder after a few weeks later the same thing happened at my local suburban Performance bike and the mechanic who had a hundred bikes that he had to build up in an hour(exaggerating) took care of a kid with a loose nut, no charge and a lollipop(exaggerating). Good Service and Good People is what I want in my local businesses. Everything else, small business or not, take a hike.

TejanoTrackie 

^^^^ This! ^^^^

Very well said.

Brian

Where?

Scrodzilla

Come on, man...I only asked for a little help!

rhennigan

I'm one of those clueless idiots that doesn't know how to work a wrench, but I sure do love to ride my bike. My LBS is a life saver. Really friendly people that help me out when I need it (and they don't laugh at me when I say stupid things). I don't mind paying a little extra for this.

Brian

Patience.

Back2Kill

I always try and support local business. For 35 years I lived in a large metro city where bike shops provided selection, fair prices, customer service, and expertise. I recently was forced to move to a small city where everything is the opposite. Needless to say, the internet has become my only source for finding the obscure stuff I need and that's the way it is.

Inertianinja

the question is - are you willing to pay more and choose from a smaller selection...just to patronize a LBS?

for me, the answer is yes, but only when it's not a huge difference.

robertv

Oh, I don't really wanna go smearing this store, especially given my rejected employment(Mind you, I though they kind of sucked before I applied, I figured that if they suck that much they gotta at least hire me). Let's just say I prefer Cheeky Transport(even if it can be hard to get their attention, they seem like allright guys who actually know a bit about bikes).

Brian

Hadley's in Lambton (Newcastle) hires Americans. And their shops are huge.

johnnytheboy

i hate the attitude of "they ripped/tried to rip me off".
wtf?
if a shop doesn't charge for labor, they must not take their work seriously.
a tube change runs ~$15 at my lbs (includes removal of wheel, removal of tire, tire checked for debris, inspection of spokes/rimstrip, talc on the tube and airing up to proper psi).
it's a ~10 minute job, and i have never seen a person balk at the price or turn and walk out.
and why would they?
$6 for the tube and $9 for the peace of mind that the work was done by a professional who took his time and did things right.
alot of people seem to have the mentality of "it's just a bike" on here.
of course it is....but what would happen if someone came up and kicked your beloved fixie?
would you get mad? of course you would!
but why? i mean..after all, it's only a bike!
the second you have that attitude about an item or a service, it's your own problem- no one else's.
i've never seen bikesdirect at a local crit race (even though i live in the same city as one of it's main distributors) but i see SEVERAL local bike shops at every event with tents and bike stands helping riders at pre-race.
when the sheldon brown wheelbuilding article confused the 13yr old bmx kid lacing up his odyssey wheel, guess who he brought it to to have it properly laced and tensioned?
how much does a truing stand, tensionometer, spoke wrenches and a dishing tool cost?
a hell of a lot more than having your lbs build a wheel for you....and guess what else you get: peace of mind, and usually a pretty damn good guarantee for said wheel.
how dare any of you expect to walk into a shop and not be charged for a service!!!
ugh.
goddammit.

carleton

Amen

Mos6502

JAJAJAJAJAJA

Look there are plenty of completely clueless people to whom the convenience may be worth $9. I don't think peace of mind has anything to do with it.

wroomwroomoops

Over with the revolution, I guess? And straight back to church.

johnnytheboy

what's convenient about a mom lugging her kids 30lb NEXT bmx bike into a shop to have a wrench do it, instead of going to wallyworld and buying a "universal fit tube" and having her kid/husband/herself do it?

Mos6502

Oh you're right, it is just easier not to go to the bike shop. Thanks for invalidating your own argument.

johnnytheboy

i'm gonna go ahead and give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you missed my point.
i'd rather do that than just call you a moron.

johnnytheboy

my point is-
why would the mom rather load up her kids bike and pay someone to do something for her when she could run to xmart and buy a tube?
convenience? no.
she would rather pay $9 more and have the peace of mind that an employee at a BIKE SHOP that changes 20 flats a day will offer her and make good on a service that is easily screwed up if you're not paying attention (bad/mis-aligned rimstrip, debris in tire, pinch flat etc...) or simply doesn't have the knowledge to do.


was it really that hard?

Mos6502

No she won't.

johnnytheboy

it's clear from your post that you've never stepped foot in a bike shop.

cc700

i was on the phone with a single mom friend of mine and she was 1. trying to unloop a chain(not much to explain, i couldn't really help her other than to say it won't move unless you release the tension on it) 2. saying how awesome the bike shop was and how they changed the tire for her.

so yes, she will. as evidenced in real life.



that said, some bike shops will rob you. anytime there's stupid ass markup or they aren't as quick at their job as they should be, that's getting robbed. i paid 200 for a hand built dimension hub laced to an alex adventurer rim. i'm sorry but that wheel was not worth 200 dollars.

hairnet

what do you expect when you buy individual parts and pay someone skilled to build it?