Serendipper 

This is true.

However, in a world controlled by men, I find dicks to be an expectation - not an exception.

zelah

basically i dont give a **** when it comes to **** like this

if X shop has Y part for less than Z, i'll buy it

i dont really expect a shop to be "nice" to me, sure its nice, but i'm not in there for friends most of the time. i go in, get what i need, go on my way.

once i went into a local shop when i first moved here, introduced myself, tried to start a conversation, and was directed to a different part of the shop where more parts were. fine, we dont gotta be friends. later i went in for a part that disapeared from my hub, dude found, installed, and chatted up wheel options the whole time. great, next time i need a small part, i'll head there.

but people being straight up dicks or denying service? thats not good business (cause you know, thats what the B stands for in LBS). as a whole they really do need to get their heads out of their asses and realize that they make more money wrenching online buyers bikes than they do alienating them

and you say this guy is the sole employee and probably owner? i wouldnt go back, i would tell others to avoid it

edit: x y z applies to online too. i dont exactly have the cash to be "supporting local businesses", which is kind of a joke in itself, cause i mean its not like these local businesses produce anything other than labor, they all (i am sure there are a few exceptions) just resell imported goods.

i'm gonna be buying a new front wheel soon. should i go with $100 ultegra/open pro online? or 140(+?) hand built surly/open pro?

$100, if the wheels not perfectly trued i can go to a bike shop and have them take a look and still come out ahead financially. and thats good for the business of me

Sammyboy

All I can say to this is that my LBS seems quite happy to do very small jobs, as well as large. I take them in a wheel, and ask them to pull the freewheel - they do it. They were also willing to install a headset for me that I bought online. Of course, I have to wait my turn - if they're real busy, it might take a day or two, but any time their workshop staff are idle, they're losing money. The smart thing to do, business wise, is to give them something to do which pays. Sure, they'd like it even more if I bought the headset there, but even if I didn't, the staff are an overhead they still have to pay for.

mattface 

My LBS Is happy to charge me to install parts I've bought online. I'm sure they would also be happy to sell me the parts, but they make a lot more on labor than parts, and they know they can't always compete with online prices. I usually give them a shot. Like with my headset. I asked them for a price, and they wanted $50 for a headest. I got a nicer one online for $20, and paid them to install it. they made more off the instalation than they would have off the headset.

They know I'm a cheap bastard. I'm not likely to be buying a $3000 bike any time soon, but I buy lots of small parts,and they are always happy to take my money when I offer it up in one and 2 digit increments.

Jamtastic

It is strange time now-a-days. Our LBS has now said they will match any price on the net as long as it isnt below cost to them.

I noticed in my other interests this is coming up also. Dance shops will no longer let you try on tap or pointe shoes for free. If you intend to buy online it cost about 5-10 dollars to try on shoes. Strange.

lyeinyoureye

Well, the nice thing about the int3rn3tz is that you can post anon reviews of your specific LBS, and tell the world how much of an asshat this person is. Just make sure it's done anon.

DerekRI

Right there ^^ That's when you walk out and find another LBS.

sfcrossrider

Go to your LBS (local book shop) and get a book on fixing your bike. Bicycling makes a great one foe 25 USD. You can get a good intro tool kit that can do anything you need for under 100 USD on-line. I buy bikes from my LBS (or frames). If I'm building something, I want to be the one who puts it together. Also, if I can ge the same part for less money... I'm down.

dustinlikewhat

maybe you smell bad?

marqueemoon

Yep. That's the kind of relationship I have with my LBS.

barba

I can understand the impulse to be a bit nasty about it, though I agree that they likely missed an opportunity to build a customer. The shops I frequent will install parts for you, but it can be a tightrope. The OP was probably well intentioned, but there are a lot of folks that go into a shop, ask lots of questions about installation, parts, advice, etc. and then go buy them on-line. Then they offer $5 to borrow a crank puller. I have also known people to complain to the shop that installed their internet purchased parts when they fail (expect the shop to take care of warranty stuff, etc.).

If you establish a relationship with a shop (give them first crack on prices, etc.), they will likely understand that you are low on funds and not really hold it against you if the mail order stuff has prices they can't match.

12XU

I think what we're needing to focus on here is: Is the person in question attempting to strictly get information for free and never establish a relationship with the bike shop and its employee(s)? I've gotten the "no, just browsing" attitude from few people, but it's usually repeat shop visitors who come in, look around for upwards of half to a full hour, don't buy anything, and then come back mysteriously owning something we either have in stock or could get within a few days, asking us to install it or see if it's been installed correctly (the worst).

Now, is it within our business model to give advice on something you could have potentially done incorrectly, assuming that you'll listen to everything I have to say and do it absolutely perfectly? Of course not. There's always a liability involved when a new cyclist comes in for information, buys the parts outside of our shop, and assumes that we can sit down with them for many minutes explaining the ins and outs of the product. That's the domain of manufactuers' FAQs and instruction manuals, not the LBS.

Fortunately most of our customers realize we have more experience than them (not always true) and can be a source for relevant information and quality, guaranteed work. If I lived in a hip urban center where oodles of young kids price shopped and bugged the hell out of me for information only to do the task incorrectly and come back expecting to pay a few bucks for my time and effort in straightening out the mess, I'd probably go crazy.

wearegetgetgo

recently, i went to a bike shop in sf to get a headset.. while asking what the return policy was, the dude told me "you should really know what you're buying and how to install it before you come in here". .

so i went back to the bike co-op and told them and they told me never to go back there.

Momentum

Bike shops don't make much profit on parts (usually about 10 - 15% once you take everything into account), whereas the profit margin should be much higher on labour (if their business model is any good), so it's a bit foolish of this guy to give you that attitude. Maybe his business model isn't quite right.

My local shop is chilled on this front. I phoned them up (so they had no idea who I was) to check how much it would cost to install a headset that I had already bought. No hassle - just gave me a quote.

Blender

More and More LBS are selling online.

Is Harris a LBS?

There is a balance between Online and LBS. Often the cost is not that great when considering shipping. My LBS has given me free used parts to keep a kids bike going.
My LBS is Smart. They discourage X mart crap They encourage folks who can't afford a new bike, especially a quality kids bike, to pick up an older model working quality bike at a Garage sale and they will tune it up and then sticker it with the LBS decal and offer Free tuneups. They keep folks away from Wall Mart Bikes and in their shop

SingleSpeeDemon

I brought my Schwinn into my LBS (Trek & Specialized dealer) for some new headset spacers. They took my bike into the parking lot and drove over it several times with a large pick-up truck.

Just kidding.

My LBS is cool with my bikes and my online parts although much of the time I buy from them because I hat to wait for mail order. In return, they have cut me some great deals on parts and have given me plenty of free labour.

xpenny

I came to that shop for his quality service and I am going to pay for it. That's for sure. I did not expect
any warranty about the parts that I bought from the LBS, as I understand the distinction between parts
problem and installation problems. I see the domain of an LBS is to provide their techniques in bike and
exchange that for money. Does that have to be buying parts for customer too?

zelah

yeah that was the benefit back home, after awhile they started giving me regular discounts cause i was basically replacing every part on my bike through them

Aeroplane

I dunno. I don't really buy parts online unless I'm sure that I know how to install them.

Buying parts online, and then going to a shop for help with them seems kind of jerky in my book. Kind of like buying groceries, and then walking into a restaurant asking for a recipe. Okay, horrible simile, but that's the vibe I get.

nitropowered

Just dont go into a shop, ask what all parts you need, what you need to do to fix a bike or whatever, leave, come back in a week or so with parts you bought online and have them installed. We'll still do the work, but won't think very highly of you.

Yeah, there are a lot of times online stores sell things a lot less than what the shops can get them for but thats the way things are rolling now.

mcatano

To me, it seems more like buying groceries and then paying someone to cook you dinner.

jyossarian

I brought my ebay'ed roadie into the mechanic to price out new shifter and brake cables, handlebar, stem, etc. He told me the price and what parts I'd need so I went online to buy the parts, installed them and brought it back to him. He whistled appreciatively, adjusted the derailer cable tension, charged me $10 and that was that. No drama, no "f*ck off, you're taking my business away."

I brought my car to a garage to have the new tires I bought online installed. They said, "OK", took off the old ones, put on the new ones, charged me a few bucks and sent me on my way.

Both shops realize that customers are always looking to save money and if they can do it online, they will. They also realize they can still make money doing the installation and labor and it's better than going out of business. The ones who don't realize that probably won't be in business much longer.

BTW, my LBS gets a lot of repeat business from me for stuff that doesn't make sense to buy online.

progre-ss

I've never purchased parts online. The only things I've purchased from an online bike store was sunglasses and a t-shirt. All parts are purchased through an LBS near work as I get the best price and more importantly the BEST service around! Doesn't matter if it's my fixed folder or my fixed conversion, John (the owner) will get me back on the road. When I first converted my bike to fixed I was looking for bar end brake levers to put on some chopped and flipped drops. He told me not to buy new ones because a tri-racer he wrenches for (perhaps also sponsors) was getting new ones from another sponsor and he could probably get the guy to sell me his old ones for cheap. Plus, last Friday he also gave my bike a quick tuneup, truing my rear wheel, adjusting my headset and pedals plus a lot more when I only came in (less than an hour before closing) to have my BB shell rethreaded and get a new BB installed.

I'm sure if I were to order parts online or bring in parts that I didn't buy from him, he'd still work on my bike. In doing that he can pretty much guarantee that I or anyone else for that matter will pass by in the future with cash in hand.

mcatano

I like my LBS's solution to the problem: their labour rate is marginally higher if you bring in your own parts. ie, a wheel build with your rims and hubs costs $30/wheel while a build with their rims and hubs costs $25/wheel. They're probably not making much more than a $10 mark up on a set of rims anyway, so they're happy either way.

That said, my LBS is far more oriented towards service than it is to sales.

m.

mwrobe1

Couldn't have said it better myself.