Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
The bike shops in my town, except for 1, sell the 'latest and greatest' and for a pretty penny. They don't cater to the consumer that wants to spend $300 for a bike and trailer combo to grab groceries or run errands.
There isn't money in that.
We've got a couple of different types of bike shops around here. Not too many specialize in "road bikes". One of the problems in the low end bike industry is time. Say you take a $100 junker into a shop for repair, then a simple tune-up could easily cost more than the bike is worth. One may be better off just going to Walmart and buying a new $200 bike.
Of course a home mechanic can do well rebuilding the junkers, but it is always frustrating to buy a bike for $10, then pay $20 EACH for new tires.
Personally, I think many of the bike shops could do better with one-stop-shopping. There is no reason not to carry things like caged bearings for the low-end bikes.