A workmate is just getting going biking, and depsite me saying for him to go to shops, try and buy things, he's bought everything online. Everything. Helmet, pedals, shoes, bike, clothes, lock. The shoes and pedals he's subsequently found a better deal and so is sending them back.
I've asked him if he's been to any bike shop in the process and he said "yeah, decathlon".
Is it just me, or is this just a bit sad?
It means that he almost certainly won't have got the best stuff, maybe the cheapest, but I'll wager he could've found a better fitting helmet, shoes or clothes if he'd been into a shop!
A workmate asked me about bikes, then decided ignore me and buy a full suspension monstrosity off Argos online instead of going to a bike shop.
He asked me to try and help him assemble it, which I did, but there was a few serious problems with it - ended up sending it back.
My advice was to buy a bike from a bike shop!
I know that many people find bike shops pretty daunting clique places, maybe thats why he bought on-line.
Maybe he went to JE James first 😉
JE James first? Nope, he's been to Decathlon only.
I never was very good at getting sarcasm across 🙄
Or is it irony?
Anyway, there have been a number of threads on here about poor service and a snooty and cliquey manner at aforementioned shop. Not all LBS's are friendly places that welcome you
Is it just me, or is this just a bit sad?
Depends on your view about whether the world owes anyone a living I guess. If bikeshops don't give the impression that paying extra is worth it then that's their own fault to my mind...
the only thing i would never buy online is a helmet - you need to get a good fit,
did he do any reading behind the things he bought? or did he just go for the cheapest?
did some reading yeah, but still - i think despite what a review says, things like helmets and shoes are such a personal thing
Pook - true,
It's lghtly better than going to a LBS, trying everything out, making some excuse and then buying online.
And in my experience, how a shoe feels in the shop has next to nothing to do with how it feels after riding for an hour...
Helmets are easy to get online once you know your size (though most company's measurements are pretty accurate)
Does anybody else share my view that when you buy something online where you don't know EXACTLY what model you want, you end up getting just too much choice - whereas if you go to a bike shop they've only got one or two but which are perfectly good for what you want?
whereas if you go to a bike shop they've only got one or two but which are perfectly good for what you want?
If you're lucky. Otherwise they don't have anything suitable in stock and offer to order it in for you, at which point you wonder why you didn't just get in online yourself.
Bit of a catch-22 there of course, the won't hold a decent amount of stock without people buying it, and people won't buy if there isn't a decent amount of stock...
Do your research at your LBS, then buy online - you'll save a fortune!
i know the feeling. a friend of a friend wanted a full sus and had about a grand to spend. he just bought the first bike he liked the look of on Ebay, even though the reviews only pitched it at a 3.5/5 rating (felt, either a compulsion or redemption) Now he's complaining because the brakes are a bit crap and the chain rubs on the front mech. I've told him he can fix all this pretty easily but he dosen't seem to take it on board. It's as though he just wanted his hands on a new bike as soon as possible.
a felt virtue in fact