The death of LBSs as we know them. Reborn as Jiffy LBS?
02-09-18, 12:33 PM
#76
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I agree with the other stuff you said, but I'd suggest that even fairly knowledgeable shoppers still like showrooms to confirm, in real life, whether what they think they want is really "all that." And it's a lot easier to shut down a browser than it is to walk away from a showroom empty handed when one was all ready to open ones wallet. It is for me, anyhow.
02-09-18, 12:48 PM
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Also, let's not forget we're talking about discretionary retail. Retailers have little interest in how well-informed the buyer's choice is, as long as the buyer WANTS what they have to sell. Often enough, the more irrational the desire, the likelier the sale. 
02-09-18, 02:05 PM
#78
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02-09-18, 03:35 PM
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No. And that's why Trek isn't as eager for bike shops to disappear as the writer suggests: they'd lose all that fantastic "free" advertising. That's the thing about reputation, brand awareness and goodwill. It's immeasurably valuable, but you never see it on a balance sheet.
02-10-18, 11:10 AM
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I would imagine Trek makes co-op dollars available to retailers to advertise specific sales and events branded with their name. At least that's how it works in most other consumer goods businesses.
02-10-18, 06:29 PM
#81
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Sorry, but who takes their bike to a shop to change out a cassette or lube the chain? It takes longer to drive / ride your bike to the shop than to do it yourself. You can change a cassette in literally 2 minutes. The tools it takes to do it cost $5-$10.
02-10-18, 07:25 PM
#83
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Plenty of people have no idea on how to change a cassette and might figure it's much harder than it actually is.
02-10-18, 09:14 PM
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My LBS's in my area are thriving as they sell some high end stuff and leave the lower end to such places as Eriks bike and board (not dogging on them at all). What is killing things is the price for parts/accessories, I will do everything I can to support the local businesses but when they want 75.00 for one GP4000 25mm tire its hard not to find the same tire for over half the price online. (most of the time you can even get a 2 pack deal).
02-10-18, 11:29 PM
#85
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My LBS's in my area are thriving as they sell some high end stuff and leave the lower end to such places as Eriks bike and board (not dogging on them at all). What is killing things is the price for parts/accessories, I will do everything I can to support the local businesses but when they want 75.00 for one GP4000 25mm tire its hard not to find the same tire for over half the price online. (most of the time you can even get a 2 pack deal).
02-11-18, 04:28 AM
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02-11-18, 07:03 AM
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02-11-18, 08:38 AM
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My LBS's in my area are thriving as they sell some high end stuff and leave the lower end to such places as Eriks bike and board (not dogging on them at all). What is killing things is the price for parts/accessories, I will do everything I can to support the local businesses but when they want 75.00 for one GP4000 25mm tire its hard not to find the same tire for over half the price online. (most of the time you can even get a 2 pack deal).
02-19-18, 08:09 AM
#89
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Precisely what the car has evolved into now. Just pump up the tires and take it to the shop for everything else.
02-19-18, 08:51 AM
#90
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I remember saying the same thing in 1980's but about changing oil in a car! I remember a time when Sunday afternoon was all about washing, waxing and servicing cars. You'd see lots of car in a drive way with a pair of legs underneath them.
Precisely what the car has evolved into now. Just pump up the tires and take it to the shop for everything else.
Precisely what the car has evolved into now. Just pump up the tires and take it to the shop for everything else.
Even the most high end bicycle is pretty simple in its operation.
02-19-18, 12:12 PM
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More to do with time
Hi @maartendc my comment was more to do with time. People could learn to service their bikes but that takes time they don't have.
Sure, but apart from maybe changing oil, most things on a car are a lot more complex than on a bicycle. Especially now that most cars have more and more electronics built in, so you cannot service it yourself.
Even the most high end bicycle is pretty simple in its operation.
Even the most high end bicycle is pretty simple in its operation.
02-19-18, 01:14 PM
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Hi @maartendc my comment was more to do with time. People could learn to service their bikes but that takes time they don't have.
02-20-18, 09:57 AM
#93
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Hi @maartendc my comment was more to do with time. People could learn to service their bikes but that takes time they don't have.
Yeah - people have more important things to do with their time - like social media, shopping and video games. Honestly, I'm not the handiest guy, but I don't kid myself that it's because I everything else I spend my time on is more important or worthwhile than taking care of my stuff. Heck, sometimes I wonder if what I even do for a living is more worthwhile than learning to adjust my derailleur.
That being said, back to the original point of a guy paying a bike shop to change his cassette every other week: it would take LESS time for him to learn how to do this simple task himself (takes literally 5 minutes to learn), rather than driving to the bike shop all the time.
At some point, dealing with organizing/paying a "professional" to do it is more hassle than actually just doing it. This goes for a lot of things in life.
02-21-18, 03:55 PM
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There is a bike shop a couple of miles from my home of 40+ years. It used to be Chatsworth Cyclery, Valley Bicycles, Cycle World, Bike Guys, and now it's vacant again ( I may have missed a couple of iterations). The last place lasted less than a year. It's on a major street, lots of riders pass by all day. Except for internet traffic, I don't understand why they can't keep the doors open. Must be high rent there, like most of LA. I do most of my mechanical work myself, but have used them a few times for problems I couldn't figure out. I am guilty of shopping online, but try to shop local when I can. Often the problem is "We don't have it, but we can order it for you". Hello Amazon?
Last edited by Slightspeed; 02-21-18 at 05:48 PM.
02-21-18, 04:05 PM
#95
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Yeah - people have more important things to do with their time - like social media, shopping and video games. Honestly, I'm not the handiest guy, but I don't kid myself that it's because I everything else I spend my time on is more important or worthwhile than taking care of my stuff. Heck, sometimes I wonder if what I even do for a living is more worthwhile than learning to adjust my derailleur.
02-21-18, 04:13 PM
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Yup, I'll pay a little more locally if I can satisfy my impatience, but having to pay more and (in many cases) wait longer is a bridge too far.
02-21-18, 04:48 PM
#97
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It's always changing. First tour for me was in '79 (not including a 2-day run by myself a few years earlier). The bike I used was put together from a crashed Panasonic and a Trek frame. All LBS were road bikes and little kid bikes for the Christmas shoppers. Around 1985 I purchased a Stumpjumper at a LBS. That apparently changed everything. For example, the last tour I went on -- still years ago but before '96 -- there wasn't a LBS along the Oregon/N. Cali coast highway that sold much of anything for roadies--everything was off-road. I now see E-bike shops and rentals springing everywhere. Another change, I think, occurred when the industrial-military complex took a hit when Clinton took office... a bunch of engineers in their 50s were cashiered out of the workplace and some of them took to making new-age bike parts. That was about the time of Phil Wood hubs.
02-23-18, 02:27 AM
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One of them even suggested I go to a different LBS, because they couldn't do it.
(I'm hoping that means the mechanic went home early and left only a salesperson, because that's frightening).
02-23-18, 02:42 AM
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There is a bike shop a couple of miles from my home of 40+ years. It used to be Chatsworth Cyclery, Valley Bicycles, Cycle World, Bike Guys, and now it's vacant again ( I may have missed a couple of iterations). The last place lasted less than a year. It's on a major street, lots of riders pass by all day. Except for internet traffic, I don't understand why they can't keep the doors open. Must be high rent there, like most of LA. I do most of my mechanical work myself, but have used them a few times for problems I couldn't figure out. I am guilty of shopping online, but try to shop local when I can. Often the problem is "We don't have it, but we can order it for you". Hello Amazon?
02-23-18, 02:53 AM
#100
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Hmmm...
If one has a waiting line, then in theory, one can keep one's technicians busy. And thus maximize billable hours.
To have good drop in service, one should have at least one technician standing around twiddling their thumbs at all times. So they can say grab a bike change tires, and give it back to the owner a few minutes later.
Or change a chain
Or lube something, adjust brakes, etc.
One could modify that, of course. For example have background tasks such as building new bikes or refurbing used bikes that could be done as time permitted, and then jump to customer bikes when they arrive.
Some customers might allow a morning drop-off/evening pickup. Others might prefer a 30 minute or 1 hour turn-around.
Velocult in Portland has a unique design. Half bar, half bike shop.
So in theory, one could drop off one's bike. Then go have a beer. Then pick up the bike and head home
If one has a waiting line, then in theory, one can keep one's technicians busy. And thus maximize billable hours.
To have good drop in service, one should have at least one technician standing around twiddling their thumbs at all times. So they can say grab a bike change tires, and give it back to the owner a few minutes later.
Or change a chain
Or lube something, adjust brakes, etc.
One could modify that, of course. For example have background tasks such as building new bikes or refurbing used bikes that could be done as time permitted, and then jump to customer bikes when they arrive.
Some customers might allow a morning drop-off/evening pickup. Others might prefer a 30 minute or 1 hour turn-around.
Velocult in Portland has a unique design. Half bar, half bike shop.
So in theory, one could drop off one's bike. Then go have a beer. Then pick up the bike and head home