If you can get the same product in your LBS as you can online, how much of a percentage difference in price does there have to be, in order for you to buy online?

This stems from a conversation with a friend who runs a bike shop and recently had a showrooming incident where someone came in, had a look at a saddle bag, asked his advice, put it back on the shelf, then bought it on the line. It transpires through a chance conversation with a mutual contact that the difference in price between the saddle bag in the shop (£12.99) and the cheaper online purchase was £1…

It’s more a matter of selection and convenience for me. I can normally get a better choice and quicker availability if I order online. I never “showroom” though.

1p

Generally if it’s less than the lbs trade we both agree you’d be mad not to. I’m up front but a (hopefully good) customer and probably only shop online once a year. We work it out, I can’t be bothered to trawl 20 sites to get the absolute cheapest.

I have no idea what my LBSs charge for anything, I buy all my bike stuff online.

I feel bad going into my LBS and looking at the price of something, then putting it back on the shelf and walking out. Hence I never do, and just buy online instead.

just buy it on line unless your LBS is a good un.

I can’t be bothered with any local bike shops any more, nearly all are crap and staffed by snooty **** who turn their noses up if you park a beat up (ie used) commuter outside)

sheared qr bolt needed a 5×50 LBS “nah we dont have any of those..”
needed a seatpost shim LBS “nah they don’t make them in that size..”
needed pin spanner to swap axle ” I’d have to order the tools in..”

nothing to do with price for me

waste.of.time.

If I need it now and it’s a pretty standard item I use halfords as they price match the big boys and are open late. Lbs is rarely open when I can get there….

I don’t usually focus too much on price, its about availability, covenience and advice. I recently went to a new LBS having moved and paid £29 for pedals which where £23 online including postage. I paid £5 for GT85 which I assume is cheaper online (EDIT just checked wiggle and GT85 is £2.99 plus delibery with a 2-4 week wait)

Another example, I wanted some juicelube and my lbs didn’t stock it so I boight 4 (min order) “online” from 18 Bikes in Hope which is a shop I like but 100’s of miles away.

I’ve posted this before but I’d add a say 10% online sales tax to anything bought online aside from say travel & tickets

Depends if they have it on the shelf. I have never (and never will) take a shop up on an offer to “order it in”. Pointless.
Paid £15(!) for some DOT 5.1 recently, the owner talked about the car ones not having the same boiling temperatures or whatever (yeh right) but he had it and I wanted it so he made a sale.

None of the LBS round my way bar one open outside office hours during the week . The one that does is well meaning but generally clueless .

Weekends are for riding not shopping .

Internet all the way .

I only use LBS that deliver to my door like wiggle etc.

More convenient than going down the road to the overpriced local shop that is staffed by rude people

Price doesn’t particularly come into it for me tbh. If I want something when I’m online, I’ll buy it. If I want something when I’m in a shop, I’ll buy it.

Only time I’d compare is if it was something like a new bike, I’d probably have it checked out online first, for smaller things, I’m not particularly bothered.

Pretty much exclusively online for me. LBS is shut when I finish work, Saturdays I have other stuff on, and Sundays they close. Never understood shops closing on one of the 2 days per week that most people are free to go shopping

Just depends for me. My LBS are a decent bunch, have very reasonable labour rates, and I get 10% off everything, so I quite like to support them. Bought my shoes from them, bought my dropper from them, but would probably buy brakes/drivetrain stuff online. Getting some new lights with a C2W voucher so will do that through the LBS too.

Same as the posters above – I have no idea about LBS prices on anything as I can’t remember the last time I used a bike shop for anything. Actually, I think I bought a tyre a couple of years ago, a Specialized, as it was the same price as online and I happened to be passing.

Apart from that it’s online for everything as I can get it delivered to work and the choice is infinitely larger than anything a single shop would have – that goes for everything really, not just bike stuff.

0%
Thought I’d give the LBS a go for convenience as I only wanted a couple of inner tubes, was expecting to pay a little extra. Went armed with £15. Asked for two inner tubes and if they had any wet condition muc off lube as I saw they had some muc off stuff in there. They didn’t of course, so I settled for the WD-40 brand wet condition lube, and asked for two inner tubes. Raleigh, and the guy showed me the valve as it wasn’t an extra long one and a funny colour. I reluctantly said ok. Was a bit shocked when asked for £18, so said I’d just take one. Got back home and realized the valve was too short for rims, so took it back and got the £6 back. Ordered two Continental inner tubes with normal length normal colour valves online for same price as one shit inner tube from LBS.

Apart from that it’s online for everything as I can get it delivered to work and the choice is infinitely larger

The point missed by most of the incessant LBS vs online debates is that the above statement is ubiquitous to just about every aspect of my life, and no doubt countless others. I don’t single cycling clobber out for this special ‘turn the screw on the little guy’ treatment. Apart from for food I am struggling to think of the last time I went into a bricks and mortar shop for anything. I think it was about 6 months ago to buy a few cards.

I buy a lot of my gear online, but if there are parts and pieces, tools or clothes that I need/want and I think hey might have, I’ll buy at either Cadence in Bath, Muddock in Bristol or John’s Bikes.

I don’t even think about the price.

I have no idea what my LBSs charge for anything, I buy all my bike stuff online.

Likewise, except for occasional stuff that is more convenient to pricematch then pick up from the Evans near work.

My actual properly local lbs: I have tried to spend money in there, and was prepared to pay for the convenience. They weren’t interested in selling me what I asked for, kept trying to sell me their old stock. I was buying an HD3 and plenty of kit to bolt in. I was prepared to pay 100% up front, they still weren’t interested in helping me

Ended up going to a bike shop 250 miles away, walked in between meetings when I was away working, they were happy to offer a discount, so got the frame order, fox 36 and plenty of other bits.

My LBS saw me riding past the other day and came over for a chat, said that I should have got it through them, seemed surprised when I said I asked them several times to do so and not once did they actually call me back as promised.

My other local shop that’s another 10 miles away is really good and offered straight up good deals without much asking. So I buy shocks and forks from him, unfortunately he doesn’t sell most of the other kit I need so resort to online and don’t waste his time asking if I know he doesn’t stock it. Happy to finally find a decent LBS, in my experience most dont actually want to sell anything, and have better things to do than beg someone to take my money.

My LBS only offers poor customer service. Wiggle doesn’t. Easy choice.

To add to the otherside…
My LBS will get in anything they can (distributor allowing), they can get stuff faster than CRC/Wiggle for me, they will do their best on price and try and balance it up with things like free fitting. They open reasonable hours which works locally. They have a good level of stock on mos things but stick to the lubes/tubes they prefer as it just keeps it simpler.
They offer test rides & demo’s which double as a loaner bike if your new bike needs warranty etc.
They are friendly but will also point out if your asking for something stupid or something that is just not suited to what you are doing.
As an example of flexibility I needed a wheel rebuild, there were no Flows availble locally so I ended up getting one sent from wiggle to them direct so they could build it in a rush for me. No issues. After that I got a SRAM GX groupset – online I would have needed to order from 3 different places, the distributor cocked up and put it in the wrong order box – I was off for a week of work then off to the states so they next day couriered it to me in my hotel with huge apologies for the cock up that wasn’t theirs.

When it came to a full build a couple of years ago they helped me out with a load of stuff at a great price that was take off’s from new bikes that customers had upgraded before riding so I got a great build at internet beating prices all assembled by quality mechanics.

I have no idea what my LBSs charge for anything, I buy all my bike stuff online.

Yep, this again for me.

In truth my decision is more convenience than price based though. I have 2 good LBS’s close to home and 2 close to work, yet still it is normally easier (and yes, normally cheaper) for me to order on line and get it delivered to work. Occasionally, if I need something there and then I’ll go to the shop, buy it and be happy but that is rare. They will also help with any mechanical incompetence I have though again this is rare and I expect to pay full price for the pleasure or this. The only think I have always bought in store is shoes but even this is getting more difficult as they rarely have what I want in the size I need.

I went to the lbs the other day for some brakes he had deore at 65 I said I’d take them as they were only a few quid more than merlin

Then he asked front or rear?? 65 for one I apologised and bought a pair from merlin at 63 they arrived next day proper boxed jobs withinstructions barbs olives and yellow blocks.

Lbs said he can’t even buy them in for that price

I will usually pay a bit more for something if the lbs has it as I’d rather support an independent shop but sometimes it’s impossible

Simon – Member

I have no idea what my LBSs charge for anything, I buy all my bike stuff online.

Indeed…same as that.. I have a couple of LBS’s… I’ve only ever used them for headsets as they can be slightly different in the sizes etc, so just easier to let them faff about with headsets and ordering the wrong ones in etc 🙂

Parts, I generally buy online. Anything I wear, I mostly buy in shops, as I can’t be done with the sending stuff back malarkey.

I spend in my LBS because I like them, I like the rides that are organised from the shop and I like keeping people in the local area employed. It does feel like a charitable act though. I can expect to pay at least 10% more than online and maybe have the pleasure of paying their postage. Anything I want will probably have to be ordered in and that will take one to two weeks rather than the one or two days I can get online.

Sadly my experience is much the same as others…
The lbs’s near me seem to have sloppy mechanics, never return phone calls, even when I went in with a custom build request of a nice bike, with nice bits.
The customer service is generally terrible, the selection is never going to compete with online, and it’s much more expensive.
The final nail in the coffin is that going to a bike shop is generally more inconvenient.

The only one I use/like/trust is miles away so, learned how to do most stuff myself, buy online save a fortune

I’d probably pay up to 10% extra for parts, clothing etc. if I wanted to walk out with at that day, or wanted to try it on, although it’s really only helmets I’d want to try. I never showroom.

As said many times though, it’s convenience and range rather than price that keeps me online. That’s changed a bit recently as I now get the train to work and walk pretty much right by an Evans on my way to the station so have started dropping in there for stuff more. If it was going to be a special trip it’s likely I’d do it online instead.

It’s not about price, just convenience. If I order online it arrives at work next day and I don’t have to leave my desk.

If I’m fixing a bike at the WE and find I need something, then I’ll just buy it from a local shop regardless of price.

I’m one of the fortunate ones that has a really good lbs. He’s realistic though and knows that he can’t compete on price and for most of the everyday things I don’t even try him anymore.

With the big ticket things (wheels/forks etc) I always go in and have a chat and see if he can get anywhere near the online prices. If it’s not too far away I’ll go lbs everytime.

I tend to get all my Hope gear from him though. He’s pretty much as cheap as online and I get the benefit of fitting/fettling for pretty much nowt if needed as well.

My lbs is outstanding, I get 10% off everything that includes a 3k bike i just bought.

Great service, a good laugh and gives some great advice, still shop online for what he doesnt stock but thats it.

Voltz Bikes at Blidworth are mint…!!!!

Online pretty much for everything now, So much easier to compare prices online, and get it delivered to the office.
My LBS is a bit road biased, which isn’t a problem, but they are Kinesis dealers, and between them had not heard of an FF29.
Ok for inner tubes, and small things.
They didn’t want my muddy bike near the front door once, that kind of told me all I need to know.
I would never ask anyone to service my bike. don’t trust them to be honest, and I cant think of anything more relaxing setting up in the kitchen with some good music and a mug of tea.

Evening. I try to buy as much as possible locally however local bike shops that stock hobby mountain bike kit are still a trek away. There are other bikeshops but they stock entry level or older kit.

It’s always been this way pre-internet shopping. I remember having to travel 4miles in my home town to pick up my first roadbike at 11yrs old for instance.

‘LBS’ is a daft term. Unless you are plain lucky or you live in a small village with a hobbyist bike shop then you’ll always have to ride or drive abit. That’s one of the reasons the internet took off. Convenience in a different way (because want it now still helped)..pricing just helped.

Evening.

‘LBS’ is a daft term. Unless you are plain lucky or you live in a small village with a hobbyist bike shop then you’ll always have to ride or drive abit. That’s one of the reasons the internet took off.

Goodnight.

I usually buy from my local bike shop, which is Skyline at Afan.

The value of a good bike shop can’t be underestimated. Good service, advice and a great place for understanding and discussing all things bike related.

Sure, they can’t match some of the big online stores in terms of price, but I always ask for their advice on components that work and servicing issues.

I can just pop in or ring up and get great advice and service.

I would rather pay a little more and have great advice, service and general customer understanding of what my requirements are.

Regards

Denis

My local shops are so bad they’d have to be giving stuff away to tempt me through the door.

would always choose to buy online to avoid human/cyclist interaction.

Definitely prefer to buy from bike shop – if none of us went to bike shops they would disappear which would not be a good thing. I like going in and inspecting the bikes/kit, having a chat with the staff (bike enthusiast obv.) and get advice. I am prepared to pay more for stuff for that. They can order in pretty much whatever I want (which is fine as I rarely need stuff desperately urgently) and if I am speaking to the right guy will, where they can, offer a reasonable discount straight away. The mechanics in the shop are excellent too. Big-up Corridori in Epsom.