Are you sure you weren't at a Walmart?

I wonder if the LBS are going the way of the Mom nad Pop hardware store. It is easy to see how it could happen, Big strore puts pressure on profits, cutback on staff, more pressure on profits, cutback on knowledgeable staff, buisness slows people buy bikes from the big box stores and dont pay for service they dont get anyway.

I ranted in another forum the other day about my seemingly endless search for a friendly LBS and then sat down and thought about it some and realized that I have found one that is pretty good.

Funny you should mention mom and pop hardware stores.... In my search for a friendly, helpful lbs the one that stands at the top of the list (although they are almost prohibitively expensive) is located in a loft area at the top, back of an old True Value harware store in our neighborhood.

I do go there as much as possible because of the service - - but the expensive part is no joke. We bought a bike for my son there knowing it was spendy and later seeing the same bike $40 cheaper, they charged me $1 a piece for some simple hardware to attach my baskets (in retrospect I probably could have gotten the same thing downstairs in the hardware store for next to nothing) and $5 for a small replacement part for our trail-a-bike which the company probably would have given me for free.

I am consistently impressed with their friendly nature. There are almost always people in there with cheapo, old bikes needing fixed and they are just as nice to them as they are to the folks spending thousands on high-end bikes. I definitely don't see that at other places.

Oh and I must give a shout out for our main REI store's bike shop. They are friendly and knowlegable, but very, very busy so you don't get much time to talk with any of them. If you do catch them with time, they're pretty good.

I think it depends on where you are. I'm in a residential neighborhood of a largish but not huge city. Mom and Pop hardware stores still do well and I could probably ride by half a dozen lbses on my way home without going very far out of my way.

My guess is that people who live in cities are a bit more inclined to pay extra in exchange for having things close by.

Department store bikes aren't anything new and the LBS has had to compete with them for a long time. I think it's the ability to get stuff online that hurts LBSes more. There's one LBS and one coop that sells used parts and they get a lot of my business. It's much more convenient than craigslist or ebay.

Seems to me that the overwhelming majority of LBSs are underwhelming.

I've noticed that typically the best also sell REALLY expensive bikes...but they cater to an enthusiast crowd. The underwhelming ones are selling a buttload of $1K Treks to people who will put 100 miles per year in on them. A quick "sizing", a few stock answers to uninformed questions, and off you go.

Ask any of those shops anything out of the ordinary, well, watch out.

Once in a while I find a gem of a shop with a variety of pricepoints, and a staff that is knowledgeable and helpful, even with oddball and esoteric questions concerning bikes/parts that aren't "run of the mill". But this is very, very rare.

By me, the easiest way to judge an LBS is by checking out the pictures the mechanics and sales guys have hanging in the shop, or find out about their involvement in the local cycling clubs:

SVC (my favourite shop) has pictures of the shop staff in races, or photos of the teams the shop staff are on. Posters are mostly famous race pictures, or just old advertising banners from the shop. The guy who co-owns the shop is the president of RUSA and the local randonneuring club.
I find that kind of fanatical dedication to the sport/hobby/lifestyle (whatever you want to call it) really brings a high level of service no matter if you're going in for a 3 hour fit session and a $7000 racing bike, or a $400 setup to ride a few miles to work.
I've had one of the shop guys pass me going up a long hill, him on a training ride and me just commuting home, slow down and ask me how I'm enjoying my new bike.

It's not just bike shops where you should shop around until you find one where you'll get the best service. I had a bad experience with an electronics purchase this weekend. Went into one shop, had to ask twice for someone to come and help me, and 5 minutes after the second request I left the store without buying anything because no one ever came to help me out. At the second shop I had a sales rep ask me if I needed any help within 2 minutes of checking out a few components.

Bingo. I was a bike mechanic for 3 years while in college, part-time during the school year and full-time over the summers. Being a bike mechanic actually takes a very large amount of knowledge about many many different makes and models of bikes and component groups as well as very good problem-solving and troubleshooting skills to diagnose and correct a mechanical problem quickly and efficiently.

Basically the job requires the same (or higher) skill level as almost any job I've had - and so how many people are willing to be a bike mechanic for life and get paid a little over minimum wage when they can go to college and get almost any kind of corporate job paying 5 times as much?

Back when I worked in the industry the shop I worked at billed bike mechanic labor at $60.00/hour (and that was below the industry average). Yet the mechanic him/herself is of course getting paid more like $15.00/hour at the most and most shops struggle to make a profit anyway.

There is quite simply a disparity between the level of skill required for the work and the level of pay the industry can support. Perhaps with the gas price situation more demand for quality service will increase bike shop wages and attract more qualified individuals to the industry.

What shops are you talking about, out of curiosity, particularly the excellent one? I have had similar experiences here in Camp Hill...I really like Mountain Side Ski and Sports in Mechanicsburg and I like World Cup alright, but I've found that nobody has any idea what they're talking about anywhere besides Mountain Side. Holmes is an awesome bike shop, but it's so hit or miss about who you get for service. The people are friendly at World Cup but not knowledgeable. I think all of this is a total crapshoot and since bike shops get exclusivity for their brands, it makes it easy for them to lay back and accept whatever business happens to pass through.

best thing I've found about all the LBS's around me? They suck so bad that it forced me to learn how to take care of my own bike.

I would take it to REI, but they don't have drop in service at all. Every shop I call has a 3-5 day wait. No thanks.

The couple LBS's I did try for service? The one I bought my bike from (needed it quick, so little choice where I went) never even heard of a fitting. Also took my old bike there for service, and basically just swapped out the chain. Didn't adjust the shifters at all (even though I told them they were having problems). Just lazy, bare minimum service. No thanks again.

Now that I have some of my own tools, and a spare bike, I can take the time to take one of the bikes offline to work on it myself.

I must be lucky. I perform my research and go visit any of three bike shops near me. Then I ask a few more questions and all is said and done. Sometimes I do the work. Sometimes they do the work. Neither of the three shops has steered me wrong.... I do enough of that on my own.
It helps that I generally know what I want before I walk through the door.
Even performance has not caused me issues. However, I tend to only purchase items there.
The other three shops are staffed with wrenches I trust.

Even an expensive bike will save you money in the long run (as long as you ride it frequently), and even up front may not cost as much as a year of auto insurance. I've had one bike for 18 years, a mountain bike was around for at least 10 years, and my latest touring/commuter bicycle is already 4 years old. So think of it as a long-term investment. Of course you shouldn't spend more than you need to, but do get a bike that fits you and one that is suited to the type of riding you plan to do. I always tell people to buy from a shop they are comfortable with, even if it costs a little more. In five or ten years you might still be riding that bike, and by then you won't care if you paid $100 more than you thought you should have. During that same amount of time you'll probably get some free quick adjustments from the shop, and hopefully quality service and repairs that are worth the price.

Here is what I would do about the poor customer service you received at these two local shops: As someone who has managed a few apathetic employees, I recommend that you relate your experience to the store managers and/or owners. Like many industries it can be really hard to find good help in the bike shop business. I can assure you that the owner wants customers to have good experiences, and he or she may not be aware that there is a problem from the customer's perspective.

Of course there are shop owners and managers that just aren't good at training employees or supervising them, so it's possible your complaint will not help... but it might. And since you only have two local bike shops to choose from, do what you can to improve their service by reporting your experiences to the manager or owner. If the management is worth their salt, they will take it as an opportunity to re-train the staff.

The best bike shops take pride in service before anything else, and my favorites cater to commuters and casual cyclists as much as racers and mountain bikers. It's a competitive business... especially now that people can order parts, accessories, and entire bicycles online. You don't have to give the owner your name when you call to complain about your experience, but given that he needs your business he might just offer you a discount to get you back into the store.

Sean

I like Pedal Pushers on Walnut. Not the greatest selection of parts and whatnot to pick from, but they are not jerks. Prices seem to be about what everywhere else is.

The excellent one is Merv's Bike Shop. USAZorro alluded to it in his message. It is a pretty good haul from Camp Hill, since it is about 2/3rds of the way to Shippensburg from Carlisle. Maybe too far for weekly visits for you, but sometime you should make up some excuse to get in there. Fantastic prices, best stock of any place I have ever seen, and while Merv and his boys are sort of shy (maybe a Mennonite thing?), they are extraordinarily helpful. They will leave you alone in the store and will not be too quick to offer help, but if you ask them to help, they will do anything for you. Its not too hard to find (take hwy 11 out of Carlisle towards Shippensburg. Take a left on Firehouse road (maybe about 14 miles out of Carlisle), and his shop is on the left after about 1/3 of a mile.

jim

I usually go into an LBS to buy something, but never for servicing, that I can do myself and do a better job majority of the time. I went in today for a part that has been out of stock for several weeks, and still get the same response that it will be in a few days. I'll give them one more time and then it's online, I try to keep the dollars local as much as possible, but not when the LBS doesn't have the item, or take way too long to get it.

This is why my LBS isn't local. They're 2 towns away. The real "L"BS doesn't see any of my business. I bought my first bike after 7 years being without and the attitude was crap.

The one I use now I just found back in the winter. Very friendly. I walked in with a wheel that needed truing expecting to drop it off and have to come back later in the week. The guy stopped working on one wheel, popped mine in and was done in 5 minutes. Even told me what probably caused it (and he was right on the mark). Charged me $4 bucks. So now I drive the 40 miles round trip when I need something I can't do or can't get on line.

Keep looking and you'll find a good one. It just may not be very "local".

I used to live in Jacksonville, NC and we had a GREAT LBS there. I'd go in every 2-3 weeks just to look. Most often I wouldn't buy anything. But they were still very friendly and helpful.

Then when I planned a cross-country train/bike vacation the only thing they sold me was different tires - for touring. And that's AFTER talking to them for several months about it. 2 tires, that's all they recommended I buy from them - all that I needed. I bought and had a wonderful trip.

Oh how I miss my favorite LBS!

+100 on Merv's. That's MY not so "L" LBS. Those guys are great

My LBS is four blocks from my house. Its one of Two in the COUNTY that I know of. It STINKS! Not to mention names (Ridge Cyclery, Highland IN ) But these guys are too busy doing inventory to bother to answer a question! That was the first time I went in (I was looking for a rack to hold a Massive ammount of weight). I decided to give them another try when I wanted to get my 7yo son a new bike. All they had were BMX style bikes and he couldnt get the hange of the one he already has! They seem to deal in Schwinn, Raleigh and NOS bikes that the origional owner stashed away in the 70's (To my uneducated eyes, those NOS bikes are WAY over priced too). The last time I tried them, I went in for a pump..... The cheapest pump that had a gauge was $35! But I figured that after shipping buying one on-line would be about the same, so I plunked down my Debit card.... Got it home and the gauge was a POS. It would read 0 when first put on the tube, regardless of the actuall pressure. It would then go up from that! I went to take it back, and the sales kid gave me a rash and a sh&t about returning it......

The local TREK store, on the other hand, has been VERY good to me. I was just looking around and CHAD (he was so polite, I actually remember his name! ) spent 20 min with me just talking and answering questions. This store is also one of the top 100 LBS in the country, and it shows. I mentioned how I wanted a LHT, and it was a shame they couldnt get it(being a TREK store), when CHAD said "Yes we can! Just come in and order it, and it will be here in less than a week, free shipping". That pretty much sold me! Btw, its in Schererville IN, on HWY 30 & Cline Ave.

JMHO
Billy

OP here,

i envy you guys for having lbs blocks away. the closet lbs is about 35 miles from me. i couldn't bike it if i try since there is no side shoulder or bike path. if there is a lbs close by, i would go in there a lot even if they are crappy. i even give me some business, tire, tube, glue, etc; anything under 20 bucks.

Where are you located?

Maybe someone in your area can help suggest a bike shop that cares and would like your bidness...

got a flat today.

i am @ 22485 of VA. i think there is a shop over in maryland. the website is the best i have seen of any shop. new bikes bought there are warranty for life on performance adjustment such as brake, shifter, etc. i am going to try to go there this weekend and buy my tubes. they're been in business for 13 years and southern maryland is very very bike friendly as all highway, even many side road, have a full lane for bike and emergency use. this is probably the best area for long commute as the road is very well paved and there is plenty of space to ride on.

i'll go there and get my tubes to fix my flat to give them some business for starter. then if there service is good i'll pick up a bike from them. they carry a lot of brands.

https://bikedoctorwaldorf.com/page.cfm?pageID=61

I've heard great things about pedal pushers. Never heard of Merv's but if I ever find myself out that way, I'll stop in. I'm always on the lookout for a good place to spend my money!

Have you tried World Cup Ski & Cycle in Mechanicsburg? Very professional.

At the biggest bike shop in the area (this being Dallas area), I've been in there and been totally ignored, and have been in there and had 7 or 8 people ask me if they could help me. I think what makes the difference is how busy I am.

At the smaller shop two miles from my house, they nearly always have time to say hello and ask if there's anything I need.

There have been posts in the Clydesdale forums about large people being ignored. Some stores see a large person and think, 'That person's too fat to ride." Other stores see a larger person and think "That person's too fat. He/she should be riding a bicycle." But to carry it further, some stores seem more geared to high-performance biking, and and just assume anyone that doesn't fit that mold isn't a potential customer.

I was lucky enough to find a good shop in my area. They're a Trek shop, with plenty of the high performance bikes and stupid racing posters on display, but the staff is very good. Sometimes they're in slightly bad moods and seem like they don't really want to talk, but frankly I think that's to be expected at just about any buisness. I don't take it too seriously. Anyways, if you ask them a question, they always answer enthusiastically, and if they don't know the answer they'll ask one of the other staff members.

It really helps that most of them are also bike commuters and love riding bikes as a hobby. When I bought a new bike there about a month ago they fitted me, let me test ride a few bikes, told me what the general opinions of the bikes were on biking forums, and they ordered the model I decided on in my size. They took the time to explain lots of things about the bike and accesories I purchased. That sort of service is priceless.

+1 on Indy bike shops. I've been to a half dozen over the years (Matthews, BGI, Bike Wave, Bike Line, Circle City, ICS) and have never had bad service at any one of them. The salespeople know what they're talking about; the mechanics know what they are doing; no one is condescending or pushy...it's really very nice.

Lotsa folks here are telling you right, this isn't the usual or the norm for an LBS; like everything else where you plan on spending more than a week's lunch money, you need to compare, shop around, and find what suits you.

After all...you didn't marry the first girl you dated...

...did you?