Originally Posted by rxn
My parents just bought me a new bike from bikesdirect.com. I don't know crap about bikes and I didn't want to assemble it myself. I live in Boston and I took the bike, still in its box, to Back Bay Bicycles, which is the closest LBS to me. The staff there didn't make me feel awkward at all for having them assemble a bike that I didn't purchase from their store. In fact, the mechanic was impressed with the bike I received as a gift and told me some interesting things about it that I would have never found out on my own. After I left my bike with the mechanic, I asked one of the sales guys to help me buy a pump, lock, and helmet. I didn't feel like he tried to oversell me on any of these items. I really feel I've taken advantage of both worlds, the online and LBS; I don't know much about cycling, but I think my parents got a good deal on a bike and I felt good about pumping money into my LBS without feeling ripped off. By the way, is 120 dollars and a 4 day turn around a good deal for bike assembly? I paid it happily because the bike would probably fall apart if I put it together.
[edited for grammar]
Glad to hear it RXN. That is the kind of service that will keep you comming back! As for the price, I really don't know the market rate for putting a bike together (but there are plenty here who do) and I would imagine it depends on how the bike is shipped. When I buy one on ebay or mtbr, I can put it together in about an hour, but it usually is pretty well together already. If it has none of the ders., brakes, cables, headset, bb, or anything attached, it would take me (a novice mechanic at best) about 4 hours with no problems. I have buddies who have paid up to $40 to have a shop put on a fork but that usually included spacers and cutting the fork as well. I also hear that you sometimes pay a higher labor charge if the bike or part was purchased elsewhere. I guess the bottom line is....are you happy with the price you paid and the service you received? If so, it is a no-brainer.