You're absolutely correct. Old businesses, mature products.... expecting customers to wait a week or 10 days for a common item was perfectly normal.... 25 years ago. Modern distribution systems and internet ordering as well as stock checking and even bicycle repair text updates should all be normal.

But local shops are... what they are.

So much drama, all because of gloves.

You've missed the point entirely.

If I already know exactly what I want, I'll give several of my LBSs a call to see if they have it, and make every effort to buy it locally. However, when I hear "We can order it for you" I say "No thanks" and order it myself. If it's something $100 or more (like a set of tires) I'll also try to keep that money in the neighborhood rather than send it out of state via Amazon, Niagara, Nashbar, etc. But even that depends on how soon I need it and a few other factors.

The above assumes that the bike shop has done absolutely nothing to help you reach your buying decision. If you've consulted with them and used any of their time to show, explain, or demonstrate something, you need to buy it from them. No fair wasting their time and then buying it on Amazon.

When the shop is doing work on the bike, I insist that they sell me the parts. If I want a specific headset installed and they don't stock it, I want them to both order the part and then install it. Don't be the guy that walks into a bike shop with his own parts.

I had a great LBS, then the owner ran off the real mechanics to give his kids and their friends jobs. I took my bike in for something I couldn't do, and when I got the bike back, the kids says; "I noticed your chain is too short, so I added a few links." I take it for a ride, get up to speed out on the road, shift up, and something doesn't feel or sound right. I stop, look the bike over, and see the chain is now so long, as the chain passes over the bottom pulley it is in contact with itself where it feeds onto the 11 tooth cog because the bottom pulley is now actually higher than the top pulley, and it is also dragging along the bottom of the derailleur. I'd upload the image, but the software isn't cooperating. They corrected the problem, then a few days later the chain failed while I was climbing a hill.

I agree. My knowledge of bike mechanics is growing but I still need the bike shop's help on certain things. Maybe in the future I won't, but for now, I wouldn't be comfortable building a wheel, for example. I usually do prefer having the lbs buy the parts they install. That said recently, I explored the idea of buying parts and having the local shop do the labor to install them. In the end, I didn't and the bike shop came up with a way to get the project done a different way and they took care of ordering the parts, but they didn't seem too offended by what I was proposing. (they did, however, make clear that if they install the parts and the parts fail due to a manufacturer defect, I would be on my own, which I figured would be the case anyway).

But for other bike related things, I am fairly comfortable. I know what brands of clothing fits me, and even if I don't, I have enough of a frame of reference to figure out from internet stores whether or not it will fit. I know brand X runs small and brand Y is more generously cut, etc...And as for gloves, I know exactly the brand and size I prefer, and what is a good price.

With all that and surprisingly, I still buy a fair amount of stuff from local bike shops. Maybe it is because I buy stuff when I see it on sale and not just when I need it, but I have 4 pairs of the same gloves, jerseys and shorts I bought locally on clearance, and socks I bought locally because they are a cheap item and it doesn't matter all that much if I pay $8 or $10 locally, or $6 online and have to pay for shipping.

But I don't get all that upset if a small local place doesn't have my preferred brand and size of shorts, jerseys, or gloves. I just go elsewhere.

then you order it online in the first place if they do **** like that...

its not he ordered a 25k$ bike

You buy from LBS for several reasons - convenience, immediate delivery, staff knowledge and expertise, personal friendship and buying relationship, and being able to see and feel things firsthand. If those aren't happening, you go to another LBS or find another way like online ordering.

I personally have two LBS I use. Both are exceptional in every way I just mentioned.

It's a lot better all around, especially for ones mental health, to find another LBS or skip buying that way completely. Between all the online sources of user feedback, product testing, and reviews, it's pretty easy to make buying decisions that way.

Whaa? Ya mean to say that not all LBS so-called mechanics are experts capable of properly assembling a bicycle or correctly making adjusting adjustments? Why that's hard to believe after reading so much shilling on BF for LBS's and their allegedly expert and flawless mechanical service in Support Your Local Bike Store Owner and His Staff of Expert Mechanics posts.

And, the more you ride, the greater your knowledge base and ability to navigate online stores. So if I own a pair of gloves in brand X, and I am trying a new brand, I call the internet place and ask. How does the size of this compare with brand X?

Some bike shops are better than others. Why is that a great surprise? As to which ones have the best reputation for service, you can always ask around, or check places like Yelp and other internet resources for recent reviews of local bike shops.

Geez...all aboard the butthurt train...

My wife was shopping for a new bike about a month ago. We were getting groceries and noticed there was a Trek Store in the same shopping center that we hadn't ever been in before. Decided to stop in and see if Trek had anything she would be interested in. We walked up there and explained to the salesperson at the front that we were looking for a drop-bar road bike with components somewhere around Shimano 105, and disk brakes, and not looking to spend much more than maybe $1500-$1700.

She pulled up the computer, and literally told us that she didn't have anything like what we were asking for, but here's a $5500 road bike that doesn't meet any of our requirements.

We just turned tail and walked out. A week later we found her exactly what she wanted at Performance on clearance for $999.

A naive reader of BF would gather that any and all LBS mechanics, no matter how good or bad they may be compared to each other, may be required, and are qualified to properly reassemble and adjust any bike that was not previously assembled and serviced by an LBS mechanic, i.e. department store or used bicycles. The same unqualified endorsement from some LBS shills goes for any bike with an LBS/game brand provenance over any and all non LBS sourced product.

Good thing you are around to set things straight. ;)

Lots of people recommending the OP buy online, but other than from Specialized's own website, I've never been able to buy anything from Specialized online. Just saying.

Same reason I usually avoid the LBS for anything other than service. They either have nothing I want in stock, or it's marked up far higher than the internet retailers. My usual LBS -- they know me and they know I go to them for service. I've asked to see how much they could get parts in for me, but even at cost they can't come close to the UK retailers. They accept this, but at the same time know that I would 100% buy parts from them if they could come within even 10% of what the UK retailers charge.

I went to an out-of-town LBS for my TT bike. They offered 20% off all accessories and parts, but that's still not going to come close. Their MSRP for the wheels, crank, and pedals I want: $1770. The 20% they're throwing at me barely covers the sales tax. From the UK retailers? $860 for the same parts, and no sales tax. I want to support the LBS, but there's just no logical reason for me to buy those things from them. But I will 100% support them via the shop, which should be a much bigger profit margin for them anyway.

I'm lucky that I live in a city with no less than a dozen to 15 good bike shops including a Performance store, a Giant factory store and a Trek factory privateer store. I can buy anything from a cheap Huffy to a $12,000 Dogma at local shops.

Having exclaimed that, there's only one I go to regularly because, well, it's a REAL bike shop. Good mechanics, sells most of we need, are friendly, honest and dependable; oh, and they call when they say they will. Those kind of shops are the hardest to find. Just because a shop sells cool stuff doesn't mean squat.

This.
I thought that most adult consumers had a basic understanding of customer service and the pros and cons of buying locally.
I hope OP never had a waitress at a local restaurant forget to bring him a glass of water...
:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Only once, after two weeks of waiting for it I left. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Sensitive and funny.
How refreshing.
Let's recap though.
You wandered into a local shop and thought you had a binding agreement to purchase an item currently not in stock based only upon a quick conversation. You filled out no paperwork?
You left no deposit?
And when you discovered that someone had in fact dropped the ball you decided to go online and trash them to an entire biking community?
Yep. Sounds right...

Does it really make a "whooshing" sound?

Lets see. I searched out some new gloves online. The pair I decided to give a go are sold by Specialized, and guess what there is a Specialized Dealer in town. Instead of blindly buying them I figured I could see them in person and likely buy local. I stop in, the shop had four pair in stock, three weren't my size. Sales person stated they are a stock item and are low, "I can get them by the end of the week" she then verified with one of the guys in the shop.

You don't have a clue as to the length or extent of the conversation. It is their shop, their policies, if they required a deposit or paper work, they should have stated so.

Trashed them on line to an entire community, them who? You don't have a clue who they are or where the shop is.

Your hollow arguments are amusing.

You're simply not getting the same experience at rapha.com that you do in one of their Cycle Club locations.

People always love to come to the internet when something doesn't go their way. No shop is going to be perfect for everyone but that doesn't mean we should just attack the LBS and go leaping into the arms of Jeff Bezos.

You cannot tell me you haven't made a mistake! Everyone makes mistakes, it happens. A shop is made up of our fellow humans who are all capable of mistakes. We tend to expect that everyone in a bike shop should be perfect all the time and one error makes the whole thing bad. That should never be the case.

I know at the shop I work at now communication sometimes doesn't always go through. Sometimes it is on us typing in the wrong email or phone number and sometimes it is the customer not checking voicemail or email and sometimes we are so busy that we cannot call a customer right away. I know I am trying to get us better at that and I have certainly seen improvement but again we are all humans and things can happen. We work our tails off to get the job done and it sucks seeing so much hate for our profession. Many of us work long days for lower wages dealing with all manner of people because we love what we do and we love cycling and there is no need to crap all over us all the time.

If a bank teller was out of twenty dollar bills or didn't know the details of one of the loans they offer would people get so butthurt about it like they do with a bike shop? If a cashier at your local grocery store scanned your tomatoes wrong...

If you have an issue go talk with the shop and try and get it resolved communicate with them rather than just attacking them. Help them improve if you really think they need it otherwise chill out and ride, it will be way better for everyone.