Originally Posted by chaadster

it’s totally skeezy...completely unethical. If someone needs laws to have teeth to make them compliant, that’s skeezy, too. “No cop, no stop,” is that how we should roll?

I have no problem with the shop removing them if the customer wants, but to suggest that shops not only disregard their legal obligation, and further, make it incumbent upon the buyer to ask for what is supposed to come with the bike, is pretty slimy. Give buyers what they’re supposed to have, and let them decide what do with it.

I’d guess that most people who shop at bike shops are either pretty inexperienced and haven’t thought ever in their life about reflectors, have never given any consideration to bicycle safety and were not taught about it in school, or have no idea that a bike wouldn’t come with reflectors and therefore wouldn’t think to ask about them. I don’t know that’s true, of course, nor do we know the converse is true, or even that a large percentage of buyers don’t want reflectors; correct me if there’s indicative data on that, but I’ e never seen it. Given that, and that reflectors are inexpensive, effective, easy to install and remove safety items for the general public good and have no deleterious effect on the bike or rider, the ethical, non-skeezy position for a shop to take is to mount them as required by law, or at the minimum include them with sale.

Further, it seems to me that a shop could use the reflector discussion to show distinctive service and care to the customer, and use as an upsell strategy for lights. That’s good business. Denying customers their due is not. That’s skeezy, like the OP’s shop and the pedals.

Originally Posted by chaadster

If safety is a tricky subject for you, instead of making assumptions about people, why not just follow the law? By your thinking on the matter, I’ve got a pretty good guess as to the answer...

Originally Posted by chaadster

rebel1916 I would have been surprised if you had anything insightful to offer!