kwcahart

I know what you mean. I got mine at Performance Bike in San Antonio.

mconlonx

We do it with tubes...

CliffordK

I don't seen any benefit of going into a shop and having them order an item when I can order it myself. It is also not worth it to me to spend all day hunting for a $20 part at multiple stores.

I also have no problem with buying something direct from China vs a local shop that buys the same part from China and resells it to me. I do like USA made stuff, but that is somewhat of a rarity in the bike world, other than a few bike frames (which I'm now riding one).

However, I don't like going into stores to try out their merchandise, only to buy it elsewhere.

I also loose patience with shops that have poor inventory. And in the bike world, there are a million different parts available now, and it takes a good store to carry them all. Even the online super-stores may have a restricted inventory.

There certainly is an issue with old stock and NOS parts. I wouldn't expect a shop to be well stocked with 30 yr old campy parts. But, if it takes me minutes to find a new part online vs all day hunting at stores.. the answer is simple.

Anybody want to do a scavenger hunt challenge? I could pick out 6 recent "new" bicycle part purchases and see if any local shop carries all of the parts... or perhaps whether the parts can even be found with going to a half dozen different shops.

Keep in mind that there are some online super-stores, but many of the online vendors through E-Bay and Amazon are just small businesses, perhaps even smaller than your local LBS, if not individuals just ridding themselves of excess inventory.

dr_lha

Absolutely no benefit at all. This reminds me of a recent trip to my LBS to buy a trainer (right at the end of the season, when they should have been well stocked). I had a chat with the sales associate and asked him to tell me what the difference between their two fluid trainers were (other than $70 cost). He couldn't tell me, told me I should look it up online, oh and if I found a trainer I wanted online, that they could order it for me. My response was: Yes, and I can order it too.

Back in the day when ordering parts was some sort of magic thing that only shops could do, the whole "we can order that for you" schtick might have flown, but these days why should I wait for a week or two for a part when Amazon Prime could get it to me in 2 days and cheaper? Just to support their ****ty service and stocking? What I needed was good service and a salesman who knew his stuff, and maybe for them to carry a few more models, or at least, the most popular models.

Luckily I have more than 1 LBS in town and one of the others had the trainer I wanted in stock.

CenturionIM

It's a free market. Shops can charge whatever they want. Nobody can force you to buy it tho. I can price my turd at 1000$/gram but probably will go bankrupt paying rent.

Jed19

True, but you just want to support the local guy if you can. Some local guys are making that tough, however.

mconlonx

Does anyone think $3 for a presta/schraeder adapter is out of line...?

rydabent

A couple more thots. Owners of your LBS have to know that a large percentage of their customers check prices on line, and if they are smart, they will price their stuff accordingly. It seems to me that most all here are willing to pay a couple of bucks extra for the luxury of having the part in hand immediately.

Also if there are things they dont stock, for many of us in the snow belt that are doing winter maintence what is the hurry if the shop has to order the part? The point is it is worth keeping your LBS in business expecially in the summer when you want and need them to keep you riding.

Someone mentioned shops that continually rip off the public, but if they do in my opinion they wont stay in business very long.

dwmckee

+2

my lbs and i are at a point in our relationship where my pricing is al most always below on line. Next month i likely will be buying the shop actually.

CliffordK

It is something that one normally doesn't buy a lot of if you are careful not to loose them. Are the adapters good quality? I think I read of someone complaining that extra-long adapters don't work well. And, I think there may be some brass plated zinc adapters hitting the market of a cheaper quality than the standard brass ones. (Some people like aluminum adapters though).

Anyway, the E-Bay prices are something like 10 for $2.38 including shipping from China.

Your LBS (if they care) should be able to buy them in quantities of 100+ for less than 20¢ each.

20¢ ==> $1 would be a 5 fold mark-up, but perhaps not unreasonable for a small, low price, low volume item.

Tubs of 150 seem to be hitting the (retail) market at about $75, or about 50¢ each (what is the mark-up?)

I am seeing that there is at least one USA made version, Kool Stop adapters that are hitting the market at about $1.50 each, bubble packed, but a bit cheaper with bulk packaging.

Anyway, this is a place where the LBS needs to adjust their prices according to the kinds of sales they intend to make. At $3, I might buy ONE as an emergency purchase. At 99¢ each, I would probably snag one for the front and one for the rear wheel as needed. At 49¢ each, I might snag a couple with new tube purchases (although I really only need one or two per bike).

I bought two tubes from one LBS a while ago.... $8 EACH. I haven't been into that store since then, and it is now last on my list for sources of tubes.

jyl

Sure you can buy them for $1 online, but I see $5+ shipping charges at the online places I just checked.

HillRider

Hmmmm, interesting. Since you are also in Pittsburgh, would you PM me with the shop you are considering buying? I'd like to consider being a customer.

CliffordK

That may be if you just buy one and nothing else.

Here you go from a US Vendor, $2 + $1.64 Shipping.

For Qty 1 direct from China, they can be purchased for 99¢ + FREE Shipping.
For Qty 5 from China (brass plated zinc?) they can be purchased for $1.34 + FREE SHIPPING (27¢ each).

The trick, of course, with online orders is often to tack smaller items onto a larger order, and buy as many as you need at once (several bikes? Spares?)

fietsbob

FWIW .. I got a Bike with Mavic's Presta-Schrader adapters in the Rims . They're molded plastic and snap in place to stay there .
If you are going to take all the bother to Import something , get the better ones .

a bag of 12 wont cost that much more to ship. Mavic rim valve hole drilling converter Schraeder - £0.99

& you can use stepped ring nuts like Schwalbe includes with their tubes, and not need an adapter at all ..

edthesped

+1

Poonjabby

I use the 10% rule. If it's with in 10% of what I can get it for online I'll buy local. I've bought six Specialized bikes since May so I've done my part to support the local bike store. I've recently got into building my own wheels and my lbs doesn't really sell wheel parts except spokes and I buy hubs and rims online and spokes local.

Poon

lopek77

Servicing it's what brings the biggest chunk of money to LBS. If you keep bringing these 6 bikes back for repairs and adjustments, then you will be a great customer and supporter.

sam_cyclist

Wow! I wish I had your budget!

Retro Grouch 

Mrs. Grouch and I own a pair of one wheel drive Kettweisel delta tricycles. I'm planning to upgrade them to two wheel drive by adding differentials.

Guess what I thought about when I read the title of this post.

Dan Burkhart 

I thought I as the only one that thought that.

lopek77

Went to the lbs to kill some time and see some bicycle porn while waiting for my wife. They mostly sell Trek bikes, and are a well known local chain.

Here is my experience...

Good:
it was a very cold day, with windchill numbers around -15F or so, so a big plus to be inside a heated building lol
Not so good:
Bikes were packed up to the ceiling, tightly together...no way to see all the details, or even touch it. Price tags were either hard, or just impossible to reach.
All but 1 hybrid bike was equipped with disc brakes...strange comparing to market trends.
Not much choice in large or extra large frames in any type of bike.
Not much choice in accessories.
Quick example of prices...
- Sram PC850 chain at this local chain - $22 + tax.
- @Performance Bike, national chain store - $17+ tax
- Online from $9 @ Chain Reaction. Many other websites sell it for $10-16.

Similar price differences with tires, shoes, apparel...

I find it disturbing to pay double for the same item at lbs, just to keep them in business.

I just bought Titan brand 3 way hex wrench for less than $4 ( around $10 + tax for Parktool ), and Lizard skin headset seal for $3 ( nobody local carry these ). I saved time and hassle of finding stuff. And with FREE 2-3 days shipping it's a damn good deal on two cheap items... Shopping online for cheap parts that needs to be replaced each year ( cassette, chain, tires, cables, brake shoes, grips ), saves me around $60-70. That's a "free" dinner for 3, or 900 miles worth of gas, or bunch of bike tools, or ... ... ...
More expensive components = more savings.
I'm so done with lbs...The only local place I'm willing give business to is a hybrid between local and online shopping - Performance Bike.
Internet can't fix your bike, but you can learn from the internet how to do it yourself... I just don't see any future for a bunch of local bike stores...Maybe one, big one, and that's it.

lopek77

The fight for survival already started...

HillRider

The counter argument is: The internet will provide what I need to fix my own bike, including the instructions if needed.

fietsbob

Your Job too can Be eliminated and off shored to another place.

.. then all you will have for work, is the Army. cannonfodder.

lopek77

Luckily my job can't be eliminated and off shored, but we as a country and individuals need to be flexible, and adapt quickly to a changing market. Some bike stores don't even have a website, or any online visibility. Some stores are growing their square footage, without providing enough in stock items. Most are charging full MSRP. Most of sale items are old and dusty, and still more expensive than a new item from online store.
Believe it or not, but one of the best local stores I ever saw is NOT in business to make money, but rather to help cyclist, and promote this awesome hobby/sport. It's run by a world known individual in cycling and boxing. Their website suck, they recently bought their first computer...It's one of the old school, personal touch places that I believe WILL survive. It's an exemption tho.