Originally Posted by
hybridbkrdr
What are you people saying? Why do some shops refuse to work on department store bikes? Is it because department store bicycles are too difficult to work on? Or is it because you don't want to support the stores that sell them?
It's like this: today a guy brought in a Roadmaster that had obviously spent some time in the rain. It needed a chain, brake pads, a new rear derailleur, and a wheel true. The estimate was close to $100. "But I can get a new one for that!", he said. And it's true. He can go to Walmart and buy a new, barely functional, poorly assembled POS for the same money.
But guys like him don't understand value, they only understand cost. They are two different things. So he left probably thinking I was the bad guy because I can't work for $2/hr so he can maintain his cheap bike habit.
And the quality has taken a turn for the worse lately. I am close to turning them away entirely. I can't work for free, but these bikes won't stay adjusted, so people just feel ripped off. Not by Walmart or whoever for foisting such a junker on them, but by me, because they paid a "professional" but it still doesn't work. That's not in my shop's best interests!
To
vredstein: you said
They have many Schwinn hybrid and comfort bikes that are perfectly acceptable for casual cyclists and can be repaired and adjusted for a reasonable cost.
While true, they are universally poorly assembled and come in
one size. They don't even double check the bike for safety or so much as air the tires before they go out the door. No help on how to shift, either. It cost pennies a day more to go to a shop and buy an entry level hybrid that is better assembled, better fitted, and better backed than such a bike.