Originally Posted by
Velognome
What can or can't be with an LBS depends on the market, unless the store is a person's hobby with business hours. Close to our home we have several "roadie" type stores, carbon bikes along with city bikes and coasters but mostly lycra, shoes and helmets. Reparis are mostly hanging parts. We also have an old school shop, which is closer to the "less desirable" town, there you find a mix of everything including vintage becase that's what people in that town are still riding. You can get a steel rim de-bliped, have a tube brazed, or training wheels adjusted...come on the right day and instead of buying a tire or tube, the owner will show a customer how to mount it with out pinching the tube, he'll also build up a kids bmx wheel cuz he finally got the purple spokes he wanted, or braze up a frame for you ( if you beg and plead long enough) It's all about the market.
Want a C&V type store in your town?.......Then stop buying on-line and start buying from your local store, ask them to order the part from you. It may cost a bit more. but if you support your local LBS...they micght just be there when you need to repair a drop-out on your beloved steed!
local bike shops are an interesting sort around here. One went Big S concept store, not sure how that is playing out for him. Five others, one is an enthusiast oriented shop, (nice owner) has 20 cruisers out front, so one has to adapt to the market. Another is a hobby it appears to me, open 3 hours per day, focused on real track bikes. The others struggle in that bmx, cheap mtb/hybrid world. Those don't appear to be really prospering. A few lesser shops vaporized a while back.
Avoiding the big trio of brands is a challenge it appears. Even the "independent" shops face distributors who have tire "programs"... if you want when you need, you have to order up big.