So I go to my LBS for tech advice from their highly trained mechanic....
11-03-08, 08:59 PM
#1
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So I go to my LBS for tech advice from their highly trained mechanic....
..then I go home and order the bits online and install myself.
Am I a Dick?
Am I a Dick?
11-03-08, 09:00 PM
#2
ka maté ka maté ka ora
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yes
11-03-08, 09:00 PM
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Some guy with a bike.
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Only if your name is Richard.
11-03-08, 09:05 PM
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How much does it weigh?
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No, just intelligent.
Honestly, spend enough time at an LBS and you'll find that there are *PLENTY* of people who will take their bikes into a shop just to change a flat tire. There are *PLENTY* of people out there who don't even fathom of doing the mechanic work themselves. ...and guess what? Those people are also the ones buying their bikes directly from an LBS rather than piecing it together through various sources and components.
The LBS? They aren't dying, they're thriving. Sure prices are tough to beat with online - but not everyone knows what they're looking for nor where to look. For every one person that 'gets it' there are 5 who are new and won't 'get it' for a while.
Honestly, spend enough time at an LBS and you'll find that there are *PLENTY* of people who will take their bikes into a shop just to change a flat tire. There are *PLENTY* of people out there who don't even fathom of doing the mechanic work themselves. ...and guess what? Those people are also the ones buying their bikes directly from an LBS rather than piecing it together through various sources and components.
The LBS? They aren't dying, they're thriving. Sure prices are tough to beat with online - but not everyone knows what they're looking for nor where to look. For every one person that 'gets it' there are 5 who are new and won't 'get it' for a while.
11-03-08, 09:05 PM
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yeah. One of the best things about being an aircraft mechanic is that free advice is rarely given out. Essentially, you're stealing time from a mechanic that could be spent making money. Hope you feel ok about it.
11-03-08, 09:08 PM
#6
it's easy if you let it.
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If they're willing to give the advice, and you're willing to take it, that's consensual enough for most people.
11-03-08, 09:11 PM
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Lame
11-03-08, 09:12 PM
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You all must not be mechanics. Advice is generally given with the hopes that you'll return at some point and either use their mechanic services or buy parts from them. If you spend a half hour getting advice, that is a half hour that is now a total loss to the mechanic and company when you never bother to purchase anything from them.
Get your advice from the internet and leave the bike shop to people that actually spend money there.
Get your advice from the internet and leave the bike shop to people that actually spend money there.
11-03-08, 09:32 PM
#11
You gonna eat that?
Even if I have to pay a little more, I will buy the parts at the LBS. When I do, they often install them for free. I mentioned to them that I bought a small bike stand at Performance and their response was, "Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Don't feel like you have to buy everything from us." But... I bet they start carrying smaller stands like that.
Then again, I have a different kind of relationship with my LBS. First of all, one of the owners goes to my church. Secondly, she referred me to someone else in my church who sold me my bike (which turned out to be an older bike that was still brand-new with price tags and everything), saving me at least $500 that I would have spent in their shop, so I kind of feel like even if I spend too much on a few items at their store, I'm still ahead.
Then again, I have a different kind of relationship with my LBS. First of all, one of the owners goes to my church. Secondly, she referred me to someone else in my church who sold me my bike (which turned out to be an older bike that was still brand-new with price tags and everything), saving me at least $500 that I would have spent in their shop, so I kind of feel like even if I spend too much on a few items at their store, I'm still ahead.
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11-03-08, 09:47 PM
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I eat carbide.
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Nice troll, but to play along....
...if you think you're a dick...you probably are.
...if you think you're a dick...you probably are.
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11-03-08, 09:50 PM
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11-03-08, 10:06 PM
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No, I used to do that even before I got my own shop and started buying my own stuff for personal use.
I am good friends with several LBSs because they LIKE bikes so they are genuinely interested in the latest thing I am building, and I buy a lot of bits and pieces like expensive cables, tires, tubes, miscellaneous stuff that adds up to quite a lot over time... And I cause them zero grief and maintenance unlike regular LBS customers.
V.
I am good friends with several LBSs because they LIKE bikes so they are genuinely interested in the latest thing I am building, and I buy a lot of bits and pieces like expensive cables, tires, tubes, miscellaneous stuff that adds up to quite a lot over time... And I cause them zero grief and maintenance unlike regular LBS customers.
V.
11-03-08, 11:10 PM
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Out fishing with Annie on his lap, a cigar in one hand and a ginger ale in the other, watching the sunset.
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Going nowhere fast......
Closed
Closed
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. “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”- Fredrick Nietzsche
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." - Immanuel Kant
. “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”- Fredrick Nietzsche
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." - Immanuel Kant
