Originally Posted by
Scratcher33
A sentiment that often bothers me about this forum is how much everyone is into buying from the internet to save a little bit of cash over an LBS. Often people talk about how they would never buy anything from an LBS. I think that's kinda ****ed. We should be supporting our LBSs that foster a bike community (a real - not cyber one). And don't get me wrong -- I definitely will order parts off the internet sometime, but I don't mind paying an extra 5 bucks for a part at the store that can give me quality advice and help grow a cycling scene in my area.
I feel little allegiance to LBSes; they're businesses, not buddies. I frequent one because I bought my first bike there, but if I can find something cheaper elsewhere (like online), I'll go there first. Generally, the only time I visit the shop is when something breaks that I can't fix myself, and they're quite happy to take my money in the repairs. Besides that, the internet's by far my first choice for accessories like lights, computers, and other things I'm capable of using and installing on my own.
I have no plans to buy another bike from a physical store unless I find myself rolling in money; the
Forge I bought online at Target cost less than $400 for a nice road bike to ride about. The same bike, spec-wise, would have cost about $700-800 at the local store. I don't have that kind of budget to throw away needlessly. I did take the bike to the store and have them tweak the gears and brakes, and paid for that. Using the same store for such repairs is enough support for me. My next bike will probably come from BD or Craigslist, and if I can't tweak the gears or brakes again, I'll probably head to the store.