Originally Posted by
Toddorado
What are you DOING to your frames? Riding them through an assault on the Death Star? My plan was to strip it, yes, but I don't give a hoot what anyone thinks of the name on my downtube, and I would wager that I could ride the Wal-Mart bike 330 days a year commuting and live to tell the tale, if safety is your concern. Actually, what is your concern?
Potential income loss. Imagine more and more consumers heading toward online dealers for bicycles? Save our LBS even though they often look down at customers who bring their non-branded LBS (let alone bought from them) bikes for servicing! Who cares about $$$ loss, gotta maintain the mythical aura that a two-wheel chain driven metal contraption requires the same level of maintenance that of the space shuttle!
Any bikes no matter where you buy, as long as it's under $2000 will likely have its frame sourced from China or Taiwan. Also the reason why Walmart can sell 105-equipped bikes at such low prices vs. an LBS is just by sheer economics of scale. Makes you wonder the profit behind that CAAD 5 or that Trek 1.5 sitting at your LBS.
Having said that, good LBS deserved customer's $. The LBS that I go to is run by honest genuine folks. None of those attitude problems so prevalent in many LBS. FYI, mtbr.com has a list of LBS reviews contributed by patrons. The sooner LBS realise how much $ they are losing to places like MEC or REI the sooner they will drop that "holier than thou" attitude towards customers wheeling in their non Ultegra or Deore LX equipped bicycles for servicing.