Yup. I recently went to a store that had rubinos for $80. You could buy the same thing from PBK for $20. Ripoff?

Why aren't you happy with the excellent deals being offered? A good deal is a good deal, if you need to haggle or not.....

I'm happy with the deals (bikes are either 2005 or 2006 models on clearance). I would just like to inform myself with any good advice on getting better prices on the bikes (possibly) and accessories. I'm not out to rip the stores off, they're both good stores with good staff and I expect to have a good relationship with whichever one I buy a bike from.

If you're willing to tell us what you've been quoted on what bikes, I'm sure people around here can tell you how "good" of a deal you're getting.

I think many of you are assuming your lbs has not heard everything that has been said here. I can guarantee you that my lbs that has been around for quite a while has heard everything. Just go in and explain what you are looking for and ask what they can do for you. Most bike stores will want to make you a customer for life but not if it means giving away the bike.
My wife and I got a great deal on our Giant mountain bikes when we went in there a few years ago because we were buying two. If you know anyone else who is shopping for a bike, have them go with you and negotiate a discount for buying more than one bike.

+1

I think if you are going to plunk down money on a lot of accessories, the LBS will be more willing to deal on the bike. You may want to pick out said accessories and have them at the counter, then discuss pricing on the bike. If it's a 2006 or older, you may be in luck.

But if it's that new Orca, don't bother.


I get so much free advice and tuneups from my LBS I wouldn't consider asking for a discount and they know how much stuff I buy and how many people I've dragged into their store that they'd most likely give me a discount anyway. They are good people that aren't getting rich selling bikes, no reason for me to try and chisel them.

"I'll pay cash right now if you give me 10% off." Or I'll round down to the nearest thousand if that would be more than 10% off. Like if it was $2400 I would offer $2000, but if it was already $2000 I would ask for 10% off, not $200 off. 10% sounds like less than $200 and he can't imagine holding 10% where as he can picture giving away 200 bucks.

+1
A tip as in Pizza and or beer work well too. I get totally taken care of at my lbs

No one in sales will "take care of you". It's business. They want the closest to msrp for profit, like anyone else would. They won't go down on good grace. You just have to be smart with a negotiation. Know your s**t. If a bike shop refuses to budge, and another does budge, go with the budge. There's nothing wrong with comparing store prices with a catalog's prices. If a bike shop gets your frequent business, and another newbie walks in, and they can sell the newbie the last of last's year's bike stock for the sticker price, while you're expecting a deal, you're not going to get that deal. Again, it's business. Now, when there's tight competition between local shops, THAT works to your advantage. Hope a lot of the people on BF are in that lucky situation.

By the way, RoadWarrior here has it right. Of course, everyone loves a deal. but that's not what the shops are there for.

The only time I ever try to negotiate is the end of the season, like now, when I know that they always can get closeout from the factory for cheap, I know this becuase I've gotten bikes cheap now before. At any rate, they treat me well, when I was but a newb they showed me how to properly roll a tube onto the rim to avoid popping tires (right after I just popped a tire) and they showed me how to put the new tube on and gave it to me free of charge. They always do quick checkups on some noise or problem whenever I ask. I am pretty lucky.

I don't think you understood my post at all. My point is in the long run, beating the last dollar out of the LBS may not be in your best interest. Being reasonable and reaching a reasonable deal for both of you may well serve your long term interest. And my LBS does take care of me, in the sense that my bike gets fixed first while I wait, rather than leaving it for days,and I get allocated the first new Team Advanced when they're only 3 available this year in the entire district. I know they don't do this out of the goodness of their hearts. They do it because it is business and its good business to take care of your repeat customers. When its closing time on a Saturday and your racing on Sunday, and you need a spoke right now, it's nice to know the LBS will be happy to see you, and not lockup while you're on your way. There are things more valuable than knowing you got the absolute lowest price on the bike.

It is my understanding that the LBS does not make much money selling bicycles. They make money on their repair and maintenance work on bikes and on clothes and accessories. So the LBS has pretty limited ability to "deal" because they don't have much mark up. Where you may be able to get benefits are on things like service. Most bike shops will let you test ride a bike. They will fit the bike to you. You can usually get them to put a stem on the bike to optomize your fit. You might be able to get them to swap out some parts on it.

According to that logic bikes should be free (initial loss) in order to sell more consumables indefinably. Kind of like Duracell giving you a free flashlight so you will buy batteries, forever.

They do make some money selling bikes.

One thing that's bugging me is one of the bikes has some nice gear (Ultegra) but the brakes are some brand I've never heard of called TekTro. Anyone seen or used these brakes? If they're very bad/cheap brakes I'll have to upgrade to something better, suggestions? 105, Ultegra?

Tek Tro brakes are asian. They're a little bit on the cheap side, as compared to Ultegra brakes, but they will work good. Maybe you can get them to swap them out for Ultegra.

Would they be comparable to Shimano 105 then? I'd have to see what the store would charge to upgrade to Ultegra. What's the cost difference from a 105 to Ultegra?

I rented a Giant OCR with Tektro brakes, and while I thought it was a pretty decent bike, the brakes were horrible. Perhaps new brake pads would have solved the problem, but they didn't have nearly enough stopping power. I'd at least put some good pds on them (something like Koolstops ) or put on upgraded calipers.

Obviously meant markups, not margins. This corresponds to 33% and 50% margin, respectively, no surprise for specialty retail. The 50% is even low, lower-price accessories are certainly more in the 60-80% margin area.

As opposed to Shimano, which is, er, asian.

One of my bikes came with Tektro brakes, and I upgraded the calipers to ultegra a few months later, adn there was a noticeable difference. The tektros are pretty crappy, but they're rideable. I'd see about upgrading the calipers to 105. 105 brakes are pretty much the same as ultegra, but they're a few grams heavier and half the price of ultegra.

Tektro is asian as someone mentioned, but I still don't see what that has to do with the quality as last time I checked, so was Shimano.

I think the Asian descriptor is more about the make (not Italian or French, etc.). There's always various levels of quality for each brand, from entry level/affordable to high end race level. I'll ask the store to either swap in 105, or if I can afford it Ultegra, brakes. Thanks for the info.

There is a big difference between "LBS does not make much money selling bicycles" and the LBS taking the bikes as a total loss. Imagine how many consumables you would have to sell to cancel out even giving away a cheap road bike.

I would imagine that as the price of a bike climbs, so does the markup/profit margin. So, you should have a better chance of getting 10% off of a $3000 bike than one that costs $700 in the first place. Anyone who has worked in bike sales want to comment on the truth of this?

I had Tektro brakes for quite a while. They were OK in that they stopped. I had a chance to swap to 105 at no cost, so I did it. The 105 calipers were assembled with less slop. They seem to feel a little better.

I think you should match the "grade" of your calipers to your brake levers. So if you have 105 levers, get 105 brakes. This is not for function, but it seems sensible to have a bike with fairly eqully matched components.

Brake calipers are super-easy to swap out, so you might just go ahead and keep the Tektros and pick up a cheap pair used (ebay) or at a discounter like probikekit.com. If doing that kind of work is daunting to you, you probably want to cultivate a good relationship with your shop.

Personally, I visit my local shop so rarely that I don't see much value in a "special" relationship. And I feel wierd when friendship and business cross. My money will go to a local shop when I feel that what they have to offer (product, value, getting-it-right-away, knowledge, service) is worth more to me than what the mail-order place or the big chain is offering. I don't like the concept of "pay me a dollar and I'll be your friend today." It's kind of like prostitution.

How much of a price jump is to go from 105 to Ultegra?