Originally Posted by
kwrides
Look, I know I'm vocal about not liking the BD marketing strategy, but all positioning aside, is this really the behavior you want from the company you purchase from? What if you have a problem? Wouldn't you rather find something locally for a bit more money who will help you quickly when you have an issue or need advice?
You're incorrectly presuming that bike-shop people in all cases know what they're doing. I've traded at 4 bike shops in my area. Usually they're staffed by lowly paid youngsters with minimum experience and no formal technical training. I made the mistake, because of limited time and business travel, of taking my wife's Xmas present bike to perhaps that most respected shop in my area for final assembly. They installed the chain incorrectly, it broke going up a hill, and she got lacerations on her knee and elbow with a hip pointer to match. I went to a different shop to buy a derailleur cable and the person there tried to sell me a brake cable, and then argued with me when I explained what a derailleur cable looked like. My friends take their bikes to shops for service and they end up paying for new parts + installation when adjusting the not-so-old ones would do. It's like the marketing thing for all luxury items - reality <> image. Smarten up.