Keeping My LBS
 

How about a LBS positivity thread?

When I was working with my LBS on a custom gravel bike, we were going to do a workaround to fit a subcompact crankset and still preserve the tire clearance and other features I wanted. About a week before the bike was going to be built up, Shimano announced their GRX groupset -- complete with a 48-31 crankset and matching FD. The shop owner suggested that it would be perfect for my bike -- a much better solution than the one we'd planned -- but I pointed out that he wouldn't be able to actually get the parts for several months. "No problem," he said. "We'll put on a take-off crankset for now, and when the GRX gets here we'll swap it in." The bike was ready a week later with a new-looking Shimano 50-34 crankset and the new Ultegra Di2 FD that he'd ordered in for my build.

Fast forward four months, during which I have raced the hell out of the bike and put much wear and tear on it. Shop manager called up and told me to bring in the bike for the swap. I dropped it off at 10am, we went to a museum and then out to lunch, and afterwards went to pick it up. Bike was now sporting a brand new GRX 48-31 crankset, brand new GRX Di2 FD, and worked beautifully. The charge? Only the upgrade cost of the new components compared to the old ones -- with no depreciation, no labor charge, nothing.

This is one of many great experiences I had with that LBS -- they always went waaay above and beyond my expectations, so I responded with loyalty -- bought a lot of stuff there, never haggled over price (never would've thought to do so, especially since they were quite reasonable), and always found ways (tangible and intangible) to express my gratitude.

What's your story?

My story was posted, but now locked. (Everything except the obvious at the end was true.) But here is something I didn't put in: When we fled an 88,000 acre wildfire five years ago that wound up destroying almost 1000 local residences, our same LBS offered to put us up (family, bikes, dogs, etc) in their shop! We had a temporary place sorted, but it was extremely kind of them to offer.

Just last week I went to my LBS to buy a set of replacement SPD-SL cleats (blue) as a replacement to have on hand since the end is near with those on my primary shoes (I buy this sort of stuff from the LBS...way too many fakes out there). They didn't have them in stock and offered to order them for me - good timing since they were in the middle of placing an order as I walked in. Sure I said as I'm in no big hurry. It turns out their supplier did not have them either. I mentioned their other store ~ 30 miles away had them and next time I was in their neighborhood I'd just pick them up there. I was told "hold on a sec", he picks up the phone and I hear him ask "are you going home after work? Can you drop off a pair of blue Shimano cleats?" - so he called the other store and had someone drop them off on their way home. I biked down at lunch the next day and picked the new cleats up.

Now that's service!

I am keeping my lbs despite my many attempts to shed them

Kidding aside, when I stripped the puller threads on my crank arm, they took care of it

Great story, and great LBS.

Keeping mine. The guys there have done a lot for me over the last several years. I've paid for service and have received help with things I had difficulty with at no charge.

It is a Trek company store to boot.

Maybe I've just been lucky, but the majority of LBS around here have all been good to deal with. I do most of my own maintenance, but when I needed something done, it was always taken care of quickly and accurately. Of course, there are some I like better than others, but can't say I dislike any of them. Even had one shop, when I was looking at new bikes, and I asked if he saw what was in my truck bed (my "06 LeMond), replied "don't ever sell that bike". Meant a lot to me, and if I ever have a need for a new bike, I'll check them first. For all he knew, I may have been ready for a new one, and he could have lost a sale, but was honest that the LeMond was worth holding onto.

I am keeping mine but to be fair I have a vested interest in this one. However most LBS I have gone into despite groans from friends (you work at a shop, why do you want to go into another one?) have been good before and while I am in the industry it has been great. There was one shop that didn't give us the time of day but I spoke with the owner and he was going to look into it and take care of it and was a really sweet guy so I chalked it up to a language barrier and some need of staff training and all good. Most local businesses I go to are pretty nice if you treat them right they will respond in kind. Every once in a blue moon I find one that doesn't get a good experience but that is the exception to the rule generally and in some of them I go back and everything is good and maybe it was an off day or the owner or manager was out and the kids were at play.

Bit did they hold your skeevy helmet for you?

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mine wouldn't, but I found one that will, so I’ll put that in the positive column

A lot of bike shops have gone downhill, just concentrating on sales, often a one-brand shop.

One in my area is way above the rest, my fave, I first learned of them in 2002 because they were the only ones in town that had used parts, I was visiting, someone else told me about them; I was volunteer-fixing a locally made pedalboat at a non-profit boating center, that blew a crank, and was able to get a replacement crank cheap. These days they still have huge bins of used parts, sorted well. They appear to have a great service department, I haven't used, but it's open to the sales floor and I can easily ask a question about parts compatibility or such, and I give info in return; "Bicycle Quarterly available to read free at <x> library!" (BQ is a bit expensive at $44/year/4-issues.) Independent shop with multiple brands, good used bikes, even used accessories. I've bought a lot of stuff there.

I have heard these still exist but I have not seen one in decades. In my AO we don't have any bike shops. Up the road over in Austin there are a few left. More likely any new Bike Shops are Bike Dealerships with increased interest in creative Financing... Rats!

Bravo to any of you'se guys that still have a Local Bike Shop. Treat them well...

I'm happy to patronize my LBS any time I need anything and would miss them if they went away. They've always been fair with me and I trust them for advice when I'm not sure what I want to do. Bought 3 bikes from them, uncountable numbers of tools, parts, numerous maintenance visits, etc. If they can save me a few $ on something they're happy to offer advice on that too. Do I know everything about bikes? No, for sure...but they've never made me feel like a Noob and I've learned a bunch from them.

Could I get some of the stuff I bought there online for cheaper? Sure. Do I sometimes buy it online? Sure. But if I need advice who am I going to talk to at any particular online store?

My LBS guy retired a few years ago and left me out in the cold, cruel world to fend for myself. Not entirely true, the guy he sold out to is pretty cool.

I first found him in 1989, iirc. First bike I bought from him had a bunch of parts swapped to my preferences, no problem. I bought a new cf bike for my girlfriend and when we broke up a few months later, he took it back and gave me a 100% refund. Ended up getting back with her and she had bought her own bike by then.

He helped me through a warranty issue on a Trek and got me a Landshark in a super deal. When I wanted a Tesch in 1992 he wasn't a Tesch dealer but he made it happen and sold it to me at a discount. Same thing when I wanted a Gunnar in 2006. I wanted a Cannondale in 2001 and he found one at a friend's store which was a new in the box frameset and built it up for me.

He sold me 3 NOS frames cheap including a Nishiki Seral touring frame.

Bought a mountain bike from him in 2008 and he took the cheap fork off and upgraded it at no charge. Bought my current mtb in 2018 and he sold it to me way under msrp.

He sold bikes, wheels, and parts for me which is a big help. I didn't have to advertise or deal with anyone. Just drop things off and later pick up the cash.

Always willing to find small parts which didn't have any profit for him and found a machinist to make things for me.

What does AO mean in your post?

Its an old acronym from US Army days. AO = Area of Operation

Thanks for the explanation!

Unexplained acronyms in forum posts remind me of a guy who posted one in a musician's forum a few years ago. Huge unbroken wall of text, with this one acronym buried in the middle. Several posters called him out on it.

Turned out that his two-letter acronym represented the first and second syllables of his misspelling of the name of some esoteric guitar effects pedal. Grrr.

I went in to one LBS, which is a big Trek retailer after a Saturday club ride. 40 minutes until closing. I had an out of true wheel I was planning to drop off to be trued.

The guy found a broken spoke before he got to the back room, handed it to a kid who is their wheel expert. He replaced the spoke and trued the wheel in about 10 minutes and saved me a trip back there (13 miles away) the next week.

The shop owner also throws me a bone now and then. For example, I asked for a simple drivetrain clean. He asked his employee to give it a full clean and he would just charge me the price of the partial clean. Very nice.

They've got a new single speed bike in my size from a local company that now is gone. He wants to get rid of it and is only asking $275 for it. I might buy it, even though I need it like a hole in the head. It's just so COOL. Only problem with this shop is that it's 13 miles from home and hard to get in while they're open.

******

We have another LBS, this one is only 6 miles away. They're a more traditional ma 'n pa shop, 2nd generation, been around since 1986. Seems they just started carrying Cannondale and Giant. I've only used them a couple times, trying to support the Trek shop that sponsors our club. Always helpful. The owner is usually behind the counter, wrenching on a bike.

We just had the oldest LBS close. He was walking distance from my work. That was a big loss. I bought 3 bikes from them in the last 2 years.

I buy from the LBS when I can, and I make a point to check there first before buying online. If I'm looking for a specific high-dollar thing like shoes or a helmet I'll often end up online to get exactly what I want. But cleats, chain lube, tools, and other random bits I will almost always buy from them. And yes, it costs a little more. And yes, I'm fine with that.

We still have a variety of LBS's around here, though we've lost some good ones.

How many of you have experienced this?

You have some kind of mechanical out on the road, and you or the group you are in just don't have the item or the tools that will get you going again - a tire destroyed, a chain broken and nobody has a chain breaker, etc.? And you or somebody looks at their phone and there's an LBS not so distant. Get the bike in, and THIS:

They stop what they are doing, fix your problem, and get you back on the road.

I've had this happen a bunch of times. And in several cases, they didn't even charge me labor.

Got two LBS stories. First, my favorite shop growing up. They unfortunately went out of business around 8 or so years ago but before that, all of us in the family would only go there. Bunch of really laid back older guys who really knew their stuff. They would let my brother and I roam freely in the back on quests to find old spare parts that they would often charge us next to nothing for or give to us for free. Let us learn while they worked and let us use the tools too. We would still get all of the brand new, regularly priced stuff from them too like helmets and gloves.
Once, I was looking for a quill stem and noticed a brand new Salsa stem on the shelf in their back room. Saw the eye watering price of $90 but asked about it anyways. One of the guys looked it, said a customer ordered it but wound up not wanting it so it had been sitting on the shelf for ages, shrugged and said I could have it for half off.

The other is more current. Granted, this is my brother's shop so I'm rather biased but he is the only one I trust to put hands on any of my bikes aside from me, he's that good. He does service only but still has wholesale accounts to get the usual replacement parts for routine servicing and any major replacements or custom builds. So, if I need anything, he can get it. In the end, I'm not paying much different than what a regular LBS would charge for parts because running a business ain't free but if I'm going to give the money to someone, I might as well support my brother. I kind of owe him anyways; he never charges me for labor, I get free range of the tools, free range of the spare parts and I store stuff there all the time.

Edit: Things come full circle. My brother's first bike shop job was at said old LBS that is now out of business. Now that he has his own shop, his old boss from said LBS now brings all of his bikes to my brother for servicing. I think he has one other former employer who brings him bikes now and again.

We do that sort of stuff all the time, we had a customer who brought in bike he was commuting on that needed a ton of work and he was supporting his family and didn't have money and we had a bike we were going to fix up for the shop and we ended up giving it to him and now he is on his feet and working for us part time and kicking ass. I give away parts and labor all the time to help people out. I want people to ride safely and if you are good then we want to send that energy back. I have been in that situation where I have needed help so I try to be there for others when I can but if you put out bad energy then it changes things.

I was on a mountain bike vacation with some friends at Lake Tahoe. On the trail my freehub started making horrible grinding noise. Went into town and there was a Sport Chalet, iirc. The guys in the bike service area jumped on it and found a freehub body that fit and had me ready to ride in no time. The price was very good, too, and they saved my vacation.

I've seen this a couple times, but both were shops that weren't terribly busy. OTOH, I've had similar experiences where they basically told me, we'll work on your as soon as we finish up what we're doing now -- I was very happy with both of those!

My preferred LBS is a fantastic place. When I was looking for the Stages bike I wanted during the Covid drought, he located one in Tampa, 4 hrs from where we are, and drove down there to get it and then called me to tell me he had a surprise for me. I showed up and there it sat. One other time, when I was interested in the Gen 4 Domane, he just happen to get one in my size and pointed to it as I walked into the store. Told me it was my size and then told me he was matching the price of a store getting bought up by Trek, so I saved a lot of cash on it. I've been going to this store since 2003. Great store, great people. I don't want to say I get special treatment, but sometimes, I might need to take my bike in for some work where I don't have the correct tool, but it might jump a few spaces in line.