Mukluk

I am bike shopping. I strongly prefer to buy something I can test ride first.... However there appear to be some great deals on the internet. if I find something online that looks like it would work for me and it's a good price I'd consider buying online. So my question is...

1. If the bike is fully assembled and the seller has the LBS pack the bike, how much assembly would be required when it arrives? Is it something I could put together myself or would it be better to have the LBS do it? (I have never done more than minor maintenence on bikes, but figure if it isn't too difficult I might be able do a partial assembly).

2. If the bike is not assembled, what do you think would be a ball park cost for having a LBS assemble it? (I don't think I would want to attempt this by myself).

Thanks in advance.

whiterock

You could probably put it together yourself, otherwise (as an example) my LBS would probably charge around $50.

I also looked at bikes on the Internet, however, I'm a big believer in buying the bike at the LBS. I ended up getting a different size than I thought I would need after a professional fit. The salesperson spent several hours with me swapping out stems, bars, adjusting seat height, etc. I even took the bike on one of their group rides before buying it to make sure.

Buying online I would have spent a lot of $$ and gotten the wrong bike. Yes, I spent more at the LBS, but I've also gotten several other things for free, discounts on others, plus some good advice.

oilman_15106

Your first bike? LBS is the way to go in that case.

Assembly of a bike(they are 95% built when you get them from the mfg) is not difficult but fit is my concern.
A poor fitting bike is like getting $500 or whatever you plan to spend and just lighting it on fire.

Mukluk

This will be my second bike (first one is circa 1981 and is my current ride). There are numerous advantages to buying at your LBS- I will certainly not argue that. The online advantage can be getting a higher quality low mileage bike for a great deal. I think when buying a bike online, you obviously have to be willing to take the risk that the fit might not work out. I am checking all potential internet bikes for frame geometry to make sure they are about the same as bikes I have tried that fit. I think with buying on line that the worse case scenario where it just isn't the right bike, you can always turn around and sell it (and since I'd only be buying something if it's a really good deal, I think I could resell it without too much trouble). At the moment I'm between a new 06 Women's Lemond Versailles (It's at a 45 miles away bike shop and is waiting for me to come up this weekend for a test ride) (cost $1200). And a two year old lightly used Cannondale Women's r1000 optima on line (it's an auction so I don't what the price will be). Thanks

msheron

If you are somewhat mechanically inclined would be easy to do it. However, to make sure it is right and your unsure........LBS would do it. Just ask them a price.