Help me to compare bike brands
04-03-19, 06:05 AM
#26
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 7,384
Mentioned: 49 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 800 Post(s)
Liked 218 Times
in
171 Posts
I have to back @mstateglfr here.
IF the shop you like sells the bike you want at a price you like ... well,you are lucky. But what if it doesn't?
If the guy down the street sells a bike which fits me, has the build kit I want, and is at the right price, while my "favorite" shop doesn't have all that, why would I buy a bike which cost too much, didn't fit, and didn't have the parts I wanted?
By and large bikes at equal price points are going to be of equal quality---but it is the little things...
The only local shop (no need to worry about variety when there is only one shop in town) has trustworthy staff and will gladly work on Any bike. But i didn't want to pay their prices or buy their products. No stress.
As I said above, the shop isn't making money on the bike, it makes money on the accessories and repairs.
Also, Jim from the Home of the Revolution, you have a two-decade relationship with the shop. Not at all the same if I walk into a shop. Idon;'t get to sit around swapping stories with the owner ... I meet whichever salesman is on duty. he doesn't know me, he isn't looking to steer me to any deals for me ... maybe for him. The owner isn't going to come out and say, "I have an awesome bike at half price that would be perfect for you," the way that shop owner did for you.
I could say, "Buy bikes at the same store for 20 years, so you can get a good bike," but that would be silly.
And in fact ... didn't you and your wife already own bikes when you first went to that store? After your honeymoon bike tour? So no matter how awesome your 20-year relationship with this guy has been, at some point you had to buy bikes, not pick a store .... and probably rode your bike to his store.
Shoot .... When I moved south, there weren't many shops in town and only one had been there 20 years (and I am sure still is.) Most of the shops there now have opened since then ,,, and a lot have opened and closed. So a guy compromises on the bike he really wants in order to give his business to a certain shop ... and five years later the shop goes out of business.
it ain't the old days---we are just relics of those days.
As mstateglfr points out, if you want a Corvette, getting a Mustang isn't going to cut it. Buy the bike you want, and then find the shop which treats you best and get all your parts and service there.
IF the shop you like sells the bike you want at a price you like ... well,you are lucky. But what if it doesn't?
If the guy down the street sells a bike which fits me, has the build kit I want, and is at the right price, while my "favorite" shop doesn't have all that, why would I buy a bike which cost too much, didn't fit, and didn't have the parts I wanted?
By and large bikes at equal price points are going to be of equal quality---but it is the little things...
The only local shop (no need to worry about variety when there is only one shop in town) has trustworthy staff and will gladly work on Any bike. But i didn't want to pay their prices or buy their products. No stress.
As I said above, the shop isn't making money on the bike, it makes money on the accessories and repairs.
Also, Jim from the Home of the Revolution, you have a two-decade relationship with the shop. Not at all the same if I walk into a shop. Idon;'t get to sit around swapping stories with the owner ... I meet whichever salesman is on duty. he doesn't know me, he isn't looking to steer me to any deals for me ... maybe for him. The owner isn't going to come out and say, "I have an awesome bike at half price that would be perfect for you," the way that shop owner did for you.
I could say, "Buy bikes at the same store for 20 years, so you can get a good bike," but that would be silly.
And in fact ... didn't you and your wife already own bikes when you first went to that store? After your honeymoon bike tour? So no matter how awesome your 20-year relationship with this guy has been, at some point you had to buy bikes, not pick a store .... and probably rode your bike to his store.
Shoot .... When I moved south, there weren't many shops in town and only one had been there 20 years (and I am sure still is.) Most of the shops there now have opened since then ,,, and a lot have opened and closed. So a guy compromises on the bike he really wants in order to give his business to a certain shop ... and five years later the shop goes out of business.
it ain't the old days---we are just relics of those days.
As mstateglfr points out, if you want a Corvette, getting a Mustang isn't going to cut it. Buy the bike you want, and then find the shop which treats you best and get all your parts and service there.
Thanks for your comments, When I bought my Bridgestone, early on after settling in Boston, I had a preferred bike shop that convinced me to buy the Bridgestone, but didn’t have my size, and I bought from a far-suburban shop, and never went back. But that was a quality shop still well-regarded.
Perhaps if I had a closer tie to that first one (now long out of business), maybe they would have ordered it for me. Nonetheless, it has been touted to “Buy a bike shop, as well as a bike.” Perhaps for the casual rider, any shop will do, but I make extensive use of my bike shop's service, and it has sold me entirely satisfactory bikes.
I don’t think the idea of finding a good shop first is outdated, unless you prefer Internet purchases, and IMO is a good procedure, especially for the new cyclist, for whom I post my advice.
Often such posters bemoan the myriad of choices, and wisely selecting one quality shop can forestall the paralysis of analysis. Again not to be hardfast, and FWIW.
Jim from D'uh
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 04-03-19 at 06:56 AM.
04-03-19, 06:40 AM
#27
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: St Peters, Missouri
Posts: 30,225
Bikes: Catrike 559 I own some others but they don't get ridden very much.
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1572 Post(s)
Liked 644 Times
in
365 Posts
A bicycle is just a thing. What you are looking for is pleasant experiences that you are hoping a bicycle will provide.
Honestly, I think there are much greater differences among bicycle vendors than there is among bicycle brands. I think that you should shop for a shop before you shop for a bicycle. When you find the shop that has people who seem interested in matching you with the style bike that best suits your lifestyle - that's it. Don't worry about brand. Buy a brand of bike they carry at a style that suits your lifestyle and a price that suits your budget and you'll never go wrong.
Honestly, I think there are much greater differences among bicycle vendors than there is among bicycle brands. I think that you should shop for a shop before you shop for a bicycle. When you find the shop that has people who seem interested in matching you with the style bike that best suits your lifestyle - that's it. Don't worry about brand. Buy a brand of bike they carry at a style that suits your lifestyle and a price that suits your budget and you'll never go wrong.
__________________
My greatest fear is all of my kids standing around my coffin and talking about "how sensible" dad was.
My greatest fear is all of my kids standing around my coffin and talking about "how sensible" dad was.
04-03-19, 07:12 AM
#28
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 763
Bikes: S-Works Stumpjumper HT Disc, Fuji Absolute, Kona Jake the Snake, '85 Cannondale SR900
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 219 Post(s)
Liked 217 Times
in
142 Posts
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
blackbird123
Hybrid Bicycles
12
04-25-19 10:08 PM
k0rkE
Classic and Vintage Bicycles: Whats it Worth? Appraisals.
4
07-03-14 07:27 PM
