Rant!

Whats up with that? Really I was to support my LBS but they do not have hardly ANYTHING commuter related!

On the curb is 50 mountain bikes. In side is all Lycra gear. No real selection of lights, reflective gear, racks, locks and other commuter interest parts.

I hate REI because of some of their corporate BS (I'm into 4x4's and they back the shut it all down unless you are on foot crowd including bikes). But REI and Performance is getting all my cash becasue I can NEVER find what I want at the LBS and they are far cheaper on most gear too boot.

I wouldn't mind paying a little more at my LBS that I can see from the entrance to my neighborhood but they sure do not cater to anything but weekend warriors.

Yesterday I wanted a Planet Bike combo light kit with the super flash and Blazer headlight for a ride I was wanting to go on today. REI has it on the shelf at the local store for $45.


Here is how it went at the LBS.

LBS Employee : Can I help you find something?

Me: Yes I am interested in a Planet bike super flash tail light and the Blazer combo if you have it.

LBS: we don't carry Planet bike parts. My lights are on this rack (a end cap so about 2x2ft square).

I go look and right there is a Planet bike super flash dead center the tiny display. No combo packs. No headlight, no prices listed. They don't even know what they have for stock.


LBS: anything else I can help you with?:

Me: Reflective gear. (I'm looking for a Nathan Vest with the LED strip)

LBS employee directs me to another rack that has one peg of Nathan stickers on it. One reflective vest and a few reflectors and arm bands.

Everything in the store is directed at daylight weekend roadies or $1000 MTB crowd.

I understand you have to keep what sells but throw me a bone here!

Welcome to the real world bunky wait until you ask them about IGH and generator hubs FWIW those are a major PITA to find outside of just a couple of models. Shimano USA refuses to believe that they make generator hubs with roller brakes. Yet if you go to the EU site there are several listed. I took matters into my own hands and contacted someone in the Netherlands to get one for me.

Eventually bicycles will not only be sporting goods and toys, but will be accepted as a viable form of transportation in some areas. I will give my LBS credit, they will order anything I ask for...

Aaron

Wow -- that guy was an idiot.

My LBS seems to pay attention to what I order through them. The example that comes to mind was when I ordered an Incredibell bell that you stick into the end of the handlebars and twist to ring. They got just one for me, then about a month or two later, I saw a half-dozen on a peg on the bells n' mirrors wall.

Normally, I'd say to just order it through them so that they learn what their customers really want. However, I'd hesitate to do so since they (or at least that guy) don't even know what they have on the premises.

I've been able to find a few things locally. It also helps that I have several LBS to choose from as well as REI and Performance.

But here's my typical conversation at my favorite LBS.

LBS: Can I help you?
ME: Ya, hi. I'm looking for blah blah blah.
LBS: No, we don't have that. But we can order it for you!
ME: Ummmmm yeahhh.... I'll let you know if I don't find it locally. <--- translation: I can order it myself, thank you!

The really bad part is I think it was the owner, might have been their fitter.


Don't get me wrong, I have had some good experiences with them. I bought some tires and tubes for my old P8 Peugeot and one of the tubes leaked. The counter guy warrantied it even though he felt I may have pinched it when I was installing it (and its possible but I was being careful so I kind of think it was just a defective). He warrantied it with a smile on his face. I appreciated that. That same sales person spent a good amount of time talking to me about commuting when I started a few months ago including giving me tips on riding in the dark. The guy is teacher and works the LBS summers and evenings. He rides everywhere so I have a lot of respect for his advice since he lives what he speaks. I was very comfortable talking to this guy and I genuinely felt good with the info I was getting. Shame his employer doesn't carry a good selection of different styles of the gear he was recommending. It was one size fits all stocking.

They will order stuff as I need it but I'm an "instant gratification junky". I want to fondle it before I lay my cash down. Some stuff like lighting I think should be on the shelf. I didn't buy the stuff at REI after fondling it because I wanted to go check the net to see if the price was in line. It always has been or close enough that it was not worth the fuel to go drive to Performance.

Ever been in retail? We stock what sells, if we're smart. Can't stock everything.

In my business, most of the small stuff just sits because people get it on line.

Yes I have been in retail and was in retail for 15 years and I understand stocking principles but lights? Come on they had almost none.

REI sells them like hot cakes. That argument doesn't seem to hold a lot of water in this case.

The stocking of one or two of a couple different options is not a huge outlay. They had 3 different tail lights. One low priced headlight and then went to the $300 Nite rider stuff for the money no object crowd. I don't see them selling $300 lights at a faster rate then a $30-50 Blazer or Cat Eye's. Especially true since they are the closest bike store to the local College that has a LOT of Bicycle commuters now with the fuel being so high.

They are totally missing a growing segment of riders. Broading your customer base is a big retail principle as well.

My LBS has a BMX course in the back.
Things I've heard from their lips:

"Yeah, we have water bottle cages, but they throw the balance of the bike off. Why don't you just keep your drink in a cooler like everyone else?"

"32's? You ride that bike on the road, what's with the uber fatties?"

Owner: "Yeah man, Shimano owns Rohloff."
Me: "Ah--no, at least not to my knowledge."
Owner: "Whatev man, I ride single speed in the dirt."

The LBS I work at sometimes sells 70 planet bike superflashes a month.

commuter trend is well noted in the industry. Racks have been in notoriously short supply from many manufacturers this year.

any bike shop that ISN'T catering to transportational bicycling as part of their clientle's needs is missing the boat. find another LBS.

Where in Atlanta are you living? Where I lived there, 9 shops were within easy riding distance.
I know there are shops that carry what you need. Find another shop.

My faves in no particular order:

Outback
Intown
Peachtree
REI
Bicycle South

My new favorite bike shop on South Logan in Lansing really seems to have a handle on the commuting thing. Could be because they take it seriously. Not the other shop.

Sounds like you were in Midtown or maybe buckhead. You forgot Performance on NE Expressway access road on the other side of I85 from REI. I am very happy with the selection and price at Performance. Not quite the one on one feel but on clothing and accessories where self service is fine I am pretty happy because of the selection.

I'm in the Burbs but I'm not going to be more specific because it would point right at the shop. I know patrons and probably employees of the LBS are here and I rather they stay anonymous. They do good things for the bike community locally and that I commend them for. Just missing the segment of riders I am in.

I did not notice that he lived in Atlanta.
+1 to all of these 'cept REI +1/2 to that.

Bicycle South is on the corner of Clairmont and N. Decatur, commuter specific almost.

Yes I was, but I moved before the Performance store opened or I might have included it. Hopefully you can find a great shop closer to you. Good Luck.

We have three Bike shops in my area. One has an owner with a real condescending attitude and his store smells like his old dirty dog. He caters to the beach cruiser crowd and childrens bikes.

The Second one is the Cannondale/Giant dealer. Owned by a couple of super nice guys. Well stocked with accessories. Unfortunately, they don't seem to know much beyond Beach Cruisers and kids bikes. When I bought my Bike a couple of weeks back, I went to his store to look at the Cannondales. When I started asking him about the bikes, he didn't seem to know much about the road bikes and their accessories. When I asked what size bike he thought I should buy, he answered "Well, sit on a couple of them and see what feels good." "And, if we don't have what you want, we can order it for you."

The thrird shop is the Trek dealer. They don't have a huge line of accessories to offer but have an owner who is an avid cyclist. When I asked about the different series of Trek Road bike, I got all of my questions answered. When I asked about fit, they put a couple of bikes in the trainer for me and spent time making sure that I would end up with the correct size bike.

Intially, I had planned to buy either a Trek 1.4 or Cannondale CAAD9 6.

The Cannondale shop had only a CAAD9 5 but not in the size that I felt would be correct (it wasn't) and the one they had was smaller than what I really needed. But, they could order it for me.

The Trek shop did not have the 1.2 in the size I needed either but had several other AF bikes and a number of CF bikes.

Well, to end this long story, I ended up trying out several of the AF bikes along with the Madone 4.5 and a Madone 5.2.

The rest is now history. I bought the Madone 4.5 for two reasons. 1. I liked it better than the AF bikes and 2. The LBS made me a good deal on it.

What a shame that we don't have a store here that could combine the best of The Cannondale shop and the Trek shop. That would be an awesome LBS.

Thanks for reading.

Ed

What's Atlanta got? A few hundred commuters max?, fewer dedicated?

The poor store is just selling to it's market which is probably 95%+ recreational

Actually it is growing at a very fast rate. 5Million listed for the region. 500,000 listed as actual residents. Atlanta has a HUGE suburban area that commutes to Atlanta. Their is a big push to ad bike lanes (the gov figured out that they get money from the feds).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_of_Atlanta The region grew by 1,000,000 in 7 years.

The Critical mass here regularly draws 500+.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7BVVB2e5N0
And thats only a small sampling as a lot of daily riders will not participate in Mass because they feel it gives a black eye to the community with the corking actions.

As for market. Talked to the sales person at REI yesterday when I went to get the light I wanted. They can't keep them on the shelf. Somebody buys them.

I ended up spending $100 on lights, reflective stickers and a vest. Lost sale for the LBS three miles away that I honestly left the REI so I could try to spend my money with them and had to go back to REI a day later to get what they didn't carry.

There is one just like that here in St. Simons too.