pdxtex

Dear Local bike shop OWNER,

thank you for scowling at my broken spoke, as you dutifully inform me that my broken wheel was the reason your shop didn't not carry any entry level bikes, insinuating that my wheel was a piece of junk. Hate to break it to you, but half of the brands you carry were also lovingly made by Taiwanese robots!!!Only two spokes broken and 5000 miles on those bad boys is pretty good I would say. Anyway, not all of us have deep pockets and can afford them fancy bikes.

rog

Recently I broke a spoke while out on a ride, and was right by my LBS, so I stopped in, they changed it for me on the spot, trued up my wheel, and refused to take any money for it.

Oh wait...that wasn't the kind of story you were looking for? Guess not everyone lives near a bad LBS.

Actually, wait - not completely true. I ride past one bike shop to get to the one I like. It's still local, though.

pdxtex

well thats the thing, most local shops around me a super cool....booo snobby bike shop owner.

irideacenturion

Such is life. A fair number of bike shop owners seem to adopt the same hollier-than-thou attitude of record and instrument store employees commonly known as the "High Fidelity" attitude.. I've only experienced this in a few shops. The LBSs that I frequent are employed by generally nice folks. I try to avoid the ones with upity employees.

nycphotography

How about the (nameless) LBS we wandered into while taking a break on a looong ride... and the owner cornered us and regaled us with story after story about.... insurance fraud.

No lie... you like that cervelo?? Leave your Denali outside and when it's stolen, I'll write you up a receipt for 8 grand. Your insurance will buy it for you.

Geez.

thoakes3

My local shops are awesome! Every time that I have a problem/concern, they do everything that they can to help. I'm just getting back into cycling, so I'm not that experienced. They ALL took time to talk to me. Never felt talked down to.
Those guys may not be around long. Word of mouth can be a business's(sp?) best friend or worst enemy

DieselDan

Then fix it yourself.

MIN 

Which shop was it?

irideacenturion

Haha ... that's pretty much beyond absurd.

pdxtex

veloce bikes on hawthorne. to their credit, i actually have had good luck with that shop, and their prices are fair, but essentially bad mouthing my choice of bikes in front of me is poor business practice. but whatever....life goes on.

Jeffrey

snobby local bike shops are like a*@holes, everybodys got one.
haha not to be cliche but I thought it was a good line

patentcad

Snobby LBS's RULE.

Keep that piece of crap bike out of them.

Surferbruce

you know what they say
friends don't let friends ride junk....

Nachoman

shabbasuraj

Learn to wrench yourself.

Avoid the LBS, buy everything you need online.

YAY INTRAWEB!

roccobike

All the local bike shops in my area are pretty good. There are about 20 shops within a 30 mile radius from my house. That heavy competition tends to keep the 'snob' rate to a minimum.

uspspro

Where do I sign up

Dr_Robert

There's a shop here that I stopped in when I was looking for my new ride. I wasn't sure what I wanted, and was just looking at / test riding anything in my price range, so I let the owner know up front that I wasn't there to buy anything that day. He basically told me that I was wasting his time, and to come back when I had money to spend.

It seemed like a pretty nice shop, and they have a great reputation for quality work, but I haven't been back since.

-DR

C_Heath

one of mine like that too.

I call up ready to buy a new one but Im an hour away and just wanted to make sure its in stock and that the price is what is suposed to be.....

"Im sorry we dont price our bikes on the phone"

Um, do what?

I bought a new bike that day but I didnt make the trek to their shop.

Just wanted a price

oilman_15106

It's all about me, me, me, me...............

7rider

Any language experts know the etymology of the phrase "do what?" I noticed two of my friends - one from Tennessee and one from Indiana - will use this phrase instead of "what?" Occasionally, I'll also hear others from the south using "do what?"

I never heard "do what?" growing up in the Chicago area.

MONGO!

I like Veloce but it sounds like you should head over to City Bikes on Ankeny, they'll only be snobby if your bike cost more than $100 or is less than 10 years old

urbanknight

We have snobby shops and nice shops as well, and they all have their finer points. I just go to whichever I think can serve me best. When I want to buy a Serotta, I'll go to the snobby shop. Being a school teacher, they probably won't see me for a while.

fogrider

there are shops around here where the people are nice and helpful. and there are shops where they give me atitude. guess where I like to go. I think the reason these shops have atitude is the owner is a grump and they open a little shop because with their atitude, they can't work for anyone. and they wonder why they don't have much business.

pdxtex

even city bikes can be "hipster" snobby. bike gallery is the way to go. and ironically, the fanciest shop in town, lakeside bikes down in Lake Oswego has really nice employees.