Originally Posted by
msu2001la
There is a relatively new corporate Specialized store in my neighborhood and it's total garbage. It's basically a showroom for new bikes, with sales bros who will be visibly disappointed if you tell them you're just looking to pick up basic things (likely because they don't have them and have to explain this to new walk-in customers multiple times a day). I'm not even sure if they do bike service there for anything beyond newly sold Specialized bikes.
This is not the future of bike shops that I want.
Me neither but I see nothing wrong with it assuming they have bicycles in stock.
What’s wrong with being able to know what you want and/or research something online and then have the option to go buy it local?
Sounds ok to me and I could care less if gels are 5 cents or $50 as I think they are kind of a joke either way.
I will also continue to use my small local shop for all maintenance and repairs and I am quite confident they will be around for a long time. Reports of their demise have been greatly exaggerated for many years.