Originally Posted by
Sixty Fiver
I usually deal with cyclists and riders that have fairly rigorous demands and consider daily commuting to be a fairly intensive activity for both the rider and the bicycle.
At the other end I also deal with people on limited budgets (usually through our co-op) and for about the same amount as one would spend at x-mart we can people on much better bicycles and really tweak them out to match the needs of the rider.
How many cyclists that you've interacted with have went the big box route before coming to your co-op?
The best thing about a co-op is that it can pick and choose the best parts off of better quality bikes and make a really durable bike or just being able refine a bike that was mediocre to begin with, into a bike several levels higher for the same price or less than a new big box bike.
The co-op's main real obstacle is trying to overcome the lure of the shiny new bike look at the big box.