Gosh all the horror stories about bike shops.

From what I have heard, no one gets rich owning a bike shop. I figure that by in large, what we get from bike shops is subsidized by the owners (who accept a low return on their investment) and the poeple who work there (who accept low wages).

I think comparing a local bike shop's (LBS) prices to the lowest prices on the web really is not fair. A bike shop has to pay the rent, they have to pay a salary and they have to have the inventory. You can go in and actually SEE what you are buying and if it is clothing TRY it on.

Also they provice support. That place you buy things from on the web will not repair your bike.

Now does this mean that the LBS is always right? Of course, not. Every human institution is rife with errors.

But many of them do a pretty good job at a more than reasonable price and we are lucky to have them.