Originally Posted by
koolerb
To be fair, I don't think you can compare the average LBS to REI or Performance. Local LBS owners has to be really careful about what and how much stock if they want to remain bike shop owners. What I don't get is the delivery time from the distributors. You'd think 3 or 4 days tops to receive an order for an in stock part.
IMO, if the bike shop can't stock actual bike parts, they won't be bike shop owners for long. An LBS should have a good selection of stems and other fit related items. It's not like a grocery store throwing away meat. OTOH, my LBS is rather useless with parts they stock. I only check with them now in emergency situations, and even then, it's usually the internet that gets my business.
I get why the LBS isn't a bike parts warehouse. But when I walk in, and they never have the part, why bother going back when the part I need is never more than a few clicks/day(s) away. I believe the only way they will be competitive in the future, will be to go back to stocking more items. Being able to walk in to a local store and walk out with a part the same day is a definite advantage that they lose by not stocking a decent selection of parts.