What should the “best” local bike shop offer?

Discuss

Free local bike shop, stock included?

Online ordering with free next day delivery?

😉

Given the speed of mail order,I`d say service,service,service!

Ideally:
– no wait mechanicing
– sensible range of decent clothes – Endura maybe.
– all the spares in stock that people need now – inc Hope stuff.
– decent lubes etc. Try Purple extreme
– coffee
– a smile
– sensible pricing and and easy/clear route to 10% discount.
– more than just Specialized/Trek/Giant etc.
– change your niche brands occasionally
– shop rides
– staff that know enough to know more than the customers or shut up and be helpful when they don’t!
– stock of 29er tubes and tyres
– fork servicing

Hope this helps.

Andy

Everything ever made in stock
+price matched to germany/america/taiwan
+fitted immediately for free
+eternal no fault guarantee
+every brand/size of bike for demo-free
+staff who know what you are talking about even when you don’t have the slightest clue
+free use of the workshop including tutorials
It seems so obvious to provide this basic ‘customer service’ it’s hard to believe no one has done it yet.Do they not want me to give them my money?They don’t deserve to be driving round in their Porsches.

Edit..Shortcut beat me to it (but I don’t think he’s being ironic 😯 )

The things it should not be without….
Drivetrain spares of various qualities at least up to slx
Brake pads
Selection of season appropriate tyres
helmets
gloves
sundry bits like nuts and bolts stem caps etc

On top it needs a selection of other stuff to make me interested enough just to have a walk round and an ability to get stuff in.

Most of all it needs good managers and staff that will fix problems when they arise and treat customers properly. That’s why Hargroves Cycles and Solent Cycles get most of my business.

Service/workshop
Friendly staff
A short statement explaining why it costs more than online German shops.
Powerlinks tubes and somewhere to park your bike

mechanicing

– sounds like my spannering that 😆

Opening hours that aren’t the same as the majority of their prospective customers working hours

Open early, close late just like the corner shop

Ideally:
– no wait mechanicing
– sensible range of decent clothes – Endura maybe.
– all the spares in stock that people need now – inc Hope stuff.
– decent lubes etc. Try Purple extreme
– coffee
– a smile
– sensible pricing and and easy/clear route to 10% discount.
– more than just Specialized/Trek/Giant etc.
– change your niche brands occasionally
– shop rides
– staff that know enough to know more than the customers or shut up and be helpful when they don’t!
– stock of 29er tubes and tyres
– fork servicing

Hope this helps.

Why the hell would you want coffee in a bike shop? Would you want a wide selection of spoke nipples in a coffee shop?

Just having a LBS would be good as my local one has just shut up shop citing hard times .

Why the hell would you want coffee in a bike shop?

In other shops, Its used by sales staff while you are drinking coffee you are captive and susceptible to sales techniques, you just might spot a shiny thing you didn’t realise you wanted while wandering about the store

Thats why car showrooms and DFS type places do it

Vinneh, my local bikeshop offer all that 🙂

(dunno about the 29er tyres and tubes, but i care not a jot about them)

sensible pricing and and easy/clear route to 10% discount

Pick one or the other.

Ideally, I’d like them to actually call me back when they said they would at least once – If they can’t be bothered to do so then I can’t be bothered to do business with them…

thanks all please keep responses coming in.

I think it’s essential that the person serving in the shop talks to you like a normal human, not looks down their nose at you because they are a ‘dude’ with a job in a bike shop.

Just being reliable, like if they say something will be ready by a certain time, it is or they phone you. Obviously, often things take longer than expected but I don’t have time to wait in the shop for an hour for the work to be finished every single time.

I apppreciate that LBS cant really compete on price with the likes of Wiggle and dont have a returns/despatch dept so cant get things out as quick as the big internet shops but where they can excel is knowledge and describing how stuff works – i mean its right there in front of them, its not hard to demonstrate things to a potential buyer….

A good level of knowledge about the products you sell is essential (which means not rummaging through the latest catalogue on the counter), a reasonable knowledge about the products you dont sell (as in why they arent as good as your bikes/stock), local trail knowledge, proof that you actually go riding, (some visible cycle related scars or trophies on the cunter help here!), some knowledge on international race series (i went into a shop in London during le tour and they didnt even realise it was on let alone that a Brit was winning!),

Be open on a Sunday.
Be open until 19:00 at least a couple of days a week.
Have staff who don’t have personality disorders.
Good stock of stuff that people regularly need at short notice.
Good turnaround times on servicing.
Willingness to lend tools/do special tool five minute jobs at no minutes notice.
Staff who know componentry in depth and can think creatively.

My localist bike shop has a coffee machine… seemingly for ornamental purposes. They’re weird, if you don’t know them by name, then you get pretty much ignored, so i don’t spend there apart from one thing only they have. I have once walked in and basically said words to the effect of “I have money and fancy a change, sell me some new tyres” – nothing happened, other than a nodding grunt towards the tyre department.

So my additional would be “Acknowledge your customers!” For a text book example of how to do this, and therefore actually encourage them to spend money, send their friends to you, and praise you on the internet for being awesome, go to boneshakers in Harrogate. Who despite being 16 miles away, i actually consider to be my LBS.

Seeing as all bicycle parts are available online at prices that the LBS can’t match and all spannering on a bicycle is do-able by anyone, providing the ability to fix a bike while the owner is at work *and get it back to them in a timely fashion* is the biggie. Hence I agree with the opening hours idea – along with using suppliers with one day lead times on ordering parts.

Also, somehow the industry and/or shops and/or online stores need to allow people to say “I have this bike, I need this part for it”[1] as you can with a car or motorbike. Whoever cracks THAT will be minted. (Unless Apple have already patented “shopping for the right part for a thing whilst only knowing the name of the thing”.)

[1] As opposed to:
“I’d like a bottom bracket for this bicycle”.
“Fine, what kind of bottom bracket does it have?”
“The kind they put in this make and model of bicycle, numbnuts.”

You guys are sooooo funny, but then you obviously know all about running a bike shop too. How many of you have seriously considered doing it for a living?

I order a lot of gear online because I know exactly what i want and know i can fit it myself. But i needed some new shoes to sort out my numb toe problem. Nobody near me keeps top end shoes in stock which i can appreciate as its a big layout on what i would think is a relatively small market. I had 2 options order 3 or 4 pairs online to ensure i got the correct sizing and suitability. This would have melted my credit card!!! So i travelled 40 miles to harrogate( +1 for boneshakers) and the guy was brilliant. I have paid £25.00 more than online price because sometimes you’re not just paying for some bike bits but for the knowledge of someone who knows more about the products than you and can impart this info so i leave the shop knowing i’ve made the best purchase based on an informed opinion. Here endeth the lesson. amen

The traditional retail lbs business model is finished….the people in that sector need to move on to provide a different service/advice offer.

I never go the lbs because i don’t want to be charged £6 for an inner tube, to speak to a teenager who knows less than I do and which doesn’t stock my brand, or my size.

But I did travel miles to visit a shop run by an ex TdF rider, who advised me on bike fit and could not have been more helpful, I ended up spending +£1k and very very happy with outcome.

Open Sundays…

We have 3 LBS in a small town, none of which open Sundays, always have to wait until later in the week or following weekend. Which usually means I’ll order online instead. Most times it’s for little things tho.

LBS today bled my brakes and as the mechanic was off the owner did it ,loads of sponge in there, its like a brake cake,any way they helped me out as ive got a trip to Scotland leaving tomorrow ,so even though they busy today they got me done by doing it into closing time ,also bought some disk pads bought 3 pairs and owner rounded the price up by 5p a set to £15.00 now thats a service even told me the names of the staff , so i reckon if i let him over charge me again ill get some stickers or a coffee its taking time but im glad i let the attitude and bad service continue as we are making real progress.seriously though they always tackle other things for free whilst its there today they replaced a couple of rounded off bolts and the fact i rocked up with a broken bike leaving for a trip next day means that because they sorted me out they will still get my custom .

trtevron, ideal LBS customer, turns up at closing time “can you fix my brakes, I need it done now for a trip, I’m leaving tomorrow”

Can you get them to throw in some free punctuation and tips on sentence construction next time Trev?

Al, you forgot-then complains £10 is a rip off as it only took 15 minutes 🙄

said words to the effect of “I have money and fancy a change, sell me some new tyres” – nothing happened, other than a nodding grunt towards the tyre department.

So my additional would be “Acknowledge your customers

You describing these guys http://www.twenty3c.co.uk/ ?

Wemt in there with a £1K C2W voucher with “orbea aqua” pencilled on it, they couldnt be @rsed to open the catalogue or even look up prices “oh I think we’re at end of model year not sure”. 🙄

So I went here http://www.epic-cycles.co.uk/ who gave me terrific service. I effectively mail ordered the bike from them, then popped in on-spec whilst out on a motorbike jaunt into wales. Despite effectively already having my money they spent an hour talking road bikes to a skinny-tyre noob without once being patronising, just enthusiastic.

They are over 100 miles from me, but a colleague has just bought his second bike from them, and spent about £6K doing so. Loyal customer retained by level of service.

everyone seems to have awful or amazing stories.

Would people be happy with a place that just did a good job fixing their bikes for the going rate?

some visible cycle related scars or trophies on the cunter help here!),

sorry, it made me laugh. I’ll get my coat.

Only a little thing but stock mech hangers for the bikes you sell.

That would be lots of little things 🙂

Ditto the opening hours comments.

I personally don’t often have the need to shop late, but on the odd occasion I’ve needed to pop into to Evans (boo hiss) after work the place has been heaving. These weren’t just people buying inner tubes either (well I was) there were quite a few eyeing up bikes. The staff are usually pretty hopeless though. It’s quite amusing/alarming listening to their sales jargon or dealing with a pissed off customer.

It applies to all shops – independents are missing a trick. Supermarkets are rammed between 6 and 7 on weekdays, yet your local butchers and veg shop will probably be shut. case in point!

Where a proper lbs can win hands down over Evans is to offer decent customer service, but not if they’re shut.

The last 2 times I’ve needed tyres I’ve tried several of the local shops. Not one has had enough selection in anything like a suitable size. And I’m only after 26×2.2 (ish) in something fairly nobbly that I can run tubeless. So, yet again this week I’ve ordered online.

So, I’d say I’d like shop that stocked tyres. Having a couple of odd sizes and saying “we can get you some for next week” is insufficient.

Avoid having merchandising materials displayed for things that aren’t normally kept in stock.

We tried the late opening for a few months, and all we had was the odd straggler turn up, kick tyres, then shuffle off. Strangely though, we’re open from 9:30-6:00 officially, but often in between 8 and 7 to do jobs without being disturbed, and the phone is frequently ringing out of hours(the manager’s had calls at 10:30pm before, “just wondering if you were still open”).

Would people be happy with a place that just did a good job fixing their bikes for the going rate?

That’s actually a good question. Would I be happy with just that? For me and my needs. No. But I’m a pretty much fully fledged home bike mechanic now.

But i’ll be honest, I struggle to balance my ideal bike shop use ethics, (buying stuff from them), with my financial reality time and time again. But then truth is, I probably can’t afford, by high street economics to run 3 bikes. I hope to get some of the groupset for my new build from lbs, and in my defense they don’t sell any of the bits I’ve bought so far…