Do you buy the one they have in stock or do you ask them to order a brand new one?

Is it bad form to ask them to have a brand new one shipped that take what's available at the store?

The only reason I'm asking is because once they start pushing out the earlier years models they've been on display for quite a while...

Well it depends of what u want, is your money.

Is your problem if you take an early model and leave them push you the bike

Personally I have bought only 1 full bike all my life and did not even ride it in the store, I even told the guy to discount the tune up for life crap because they were not going to see me again in that shop probably ever and the guy did as i asked, saved like 400 bucks.

What u can learn from this? that u have to know what you want, if you dont know what u want then the LBS sale man will get you bent over nicely and probably will end with stuff u don't even need.

I dare to say that 70% of this forums buy bike on line and not in LBS, why? because they know what they want and deal sometimes with a kid that have no idea it is painful, more over... probably what they want and need is not even sold in the LBS.

Good luck

Is the bike going to be spoiled?
I am not understanding what is supposed to be wrong with a bike built and on display rather than in a box on a shelf of the supplier somewhere....

eh?
Do not buy from a bike shop that offers free tune-ups for life. It is not practical to offer that, since the more a LBS has to tune up, especially for free, the lower quality work they do. It is not a practical and just their way to entice a sale.

Go check out your LBS and talk to them, I work at a bicycle shop and I try to inform my customers as much as possible without overloading them. A good sales person will find out what kind of riding you do, what you are generally wanting, what your price ceiling, and then find a bicycle that will fit your needs.

@ultraman6970 You really did not address the OPs questions. If you are going to give statistics actually know what you are talking about, it is very pretentious. Also, your outlook at bike shops is very cynical.

@todayilearned

• First figure out whether you want a road, mountain, or hybrid bicycle.
• If you want a deal on a bicycle they will not be able to offer you anything on a special order, since it does not help them clear inventory.
• A great time to buy would be around this time of year, when LBS are clearing previous year inventory for the up-coming year.
• Check out a few bicycle shops in your area, then look online at whatever bicycle you are interested. That will tell you if you are looking at a clearance model or the next years model.
• Read a few reviews on what interests you.
• Speak with someone at the bicycle shop and test ride a bike. There is no point of buying a bicycle that looks "cool" if it does not ride comfortably for you.
• Always ask questions, if you do not know what the components are do not be afraid to ask them to explain what level of components they are.
• Buy the most bicycle you can afford. It is more expensive to buy parts and then upgrade later. Taking in account for your time, trial and error, buying tools, making mistakes, etc. I value you my time a lot so I do not try to fix my car if it has issues that are over my head.

When you finally decide to chose a bicycle remember you are not only getting a bicycle. You are getting a year or two of free service, warranty on your frame (either life time or 5 years), and warranty on your components (shimano offers 2.)

With an internet bike you do not get any of this, and if you do not know anything about bicycles, what to get, or even how to start searching for one. It is very helpful to get one that will be serviced locally and warrantied.

I have only been working at a bicycle shop for two years and I will not claim I know everything about bicycles. Sure I can tune up a bicycle, but I do find myself asking my boss questions or the other mechanics for help, still to this day. Though during this time I have learned how to communicate with my customers to figure out what they want, and find them a bicycle that fits their needs.

Remember bicycle shops need you to make money, most will not try to take your money and be done with you. The margins on service and accessories you purchase are greater than just on a bicycle. The whole point of asking questions and to visit multiple bicycle shops is to find consistency in what they tell you. It helps you find your LBS.

Depends what size they've got in stock. If they don't have your size, you have to ask them to order one that is.

If they have the bike in inventory in your size, they're going to want to move it off their floor, so I doubt they'll be very cooperative with ordering one. And you definitely should expect to pay full MSRP if you do order one.

It's not like it goes bad, what's your issue? Test rides? You'll put more miles on it in the first week than all the test rides put together. If the tires are worn, you could ask for new tires.

Except for this:

Sorry, but with respect, that may be true some times, but at other times, it's just nonsense.

There are 4 major LBSs in my town, and there's hot competition among them. My LBS gave me free tuneups for life, and they've always done a good job. So I asked the owner what the incentive was. His answer - he hopes it builds customer loyalty, so people will buy their upgrades, equipment, clothes, and extras from him - because that's where a lot of the margins are to be found.

It worked - I go tho that LBS for everything.

^ my LBS mech is freaking awesome, owner rocks and is always competitive with pricing and doesn't hesitate to give awesome advice, he is also an ironman (not sprint tri's) and manages his own racing team... I feel confidant he knows what he is talking about.

Jamse ...

Well too long

Cya

A better way to answer this is when the LBS orders bikes to put on display, would they be ok ordering a bike that has been sitting around, getting test ridden, etc, or would they want a brand-new-from-the-box model to put on display?

They offer free life time tune ups because it takes a competent mechanic about 5-10mins to tune up your bike...Once it's setup it ain't rocket science to keep it tuned up...

Why would you not receive the same warranty coverage on a bike/parts bought online? Might want to rethink that...

I think he is talking about used, gray-market, or non-authorized retailers in that case, but could be wrong.

In the box.