I have a moral problem, I am looking at getting a new set of pike forks and a reverb stealth for my bike

I have been quoted 315 for the reverb
and 750 for the forks

I cant or don’t know how to fit them me self, but if I buy from wiggle
the forks are 630 and the reverb 230

its a big saving online but I have always or tried to buy from Cookson cycles in white field as I find them very very helpful

what would you do, I am thinking to ask them to price match but they don’t offer it, should I ask any way

I’d say I want to buy them from you but it’s a bit cheaper online, how much to fit the parts.

Fork fitting = Fit, cut steerer, fit brake and align, test.
Reverb Stealth fitting = Fit, adjust, cut hose and reconnect, set up on bar.
Other thing to check is that the reverb online is a full retail one with bleed kit etc. rather than an OEM one.
Your looking at a £200 saving bought online less what it costs to get them fitted. Try and meet halfway if they include fitting. Most people would rather know that your not getting it from them if price is the deciding factor but expect to pay full rates for fitting and setup etc.

Are you going to end up paying then to do the fitting anyway? Will probably eat up most of the saving. If you’ve been a loyal customer, always worth asking if they’ll do the parts at a discount.

I’d buy online and fit myself, but I reckon you can get even better than Wiggle prices if you but from the continent (Fr or DE).

Loads of vids online showing you how to fit but if you really don’t want to do it buy them online and take them to that or another bike shop, if you were quoted £20 for each item it’ll still save a ton.

If items are significantly more at LBS I buy online, I can’t afford to pay an extra 40-50% to keep a shop going on moral grounds…I wouldn’t be able to afford the item most probably.

If there is not much in it I speak with my LBS and by the time you added fitting prices and deducted the small discount they’re usually willing to offer then there is little in it and I would use LBS.

I am a loyal customer and they are very good (in my opinion), and if I buy from them it keeps the guys in a job, but 200+ saving is a lot, but I think I will just put it to them and see what they can do if anything, if they cant budge I will have to have a re think, but best to give them the chance, the thing about buying from a shop is you can take it back if it goes wrong, if I buy from abroad it might be a faff, but its a lot of money for me to spend

If you were a customer of ours, I’d hope that you would do just that – come and have a chat and let us know what you’re thinking. We certainly wouldn’t hold it against you.

On some things we’d be able to discount a little and meet you in the middle – on others we’d rather you bought online and brought to us for fitting. We’d prefer to know in advance and have the opportunity to win the business if we could.

Of course you don’t owe your shop a living but no harm in giving them a shot I’d say.

I will do just that drover, good advice and fair

Talk to the shop, if they havnt got the parts in stoke they willmost likley understand, or try and make a better offer (maybe not match online but may nock10% off and throw in fitting).

If they cant im sure they will be great full for the business of fitting and any future business of repairing and servicing.

I buy online but would use my lbs if they deserved it but personal finding a good one around here is difficult.

Youtube is your friend when it comes to doing simple bike jobs.

That said, if your not confident enough to have a go. The LBS wouldnt turn down the work to fit what you want.

Have a look at Winstanleys for Pikes. I just got a set from them and they still appear to be the cheapest (including the Germans).

Buy the pikes from the shop and let them fit them then you can always take them back if there’s any problems.

The other thing to keep in mind is there are many options in terms of steerer diameter, shape etc and seat post diameter etc.

If you buy from your your shop it’s their problem to get that right and also no worry for you about damage /loss in the post.

Decide what you think is a reasonable price for fitting/peace of mind, add the wiggle price, and go in and start with that figure. They want your business.

Before I buy from the internet I ask the LBS owner if he can match the price, if he can or I want to have an easy time with any warranty related issues, I go with them. Like the guy from Drover writes, they probably won’t have an issue or hold it against you should you choose to shop elsewhere.

Most won’t, anyway…

A couple of points to follow up…

Bike maintenance is not rocket science, but neither is it something that every (wo)man and his/her dog can do successfully after watching a couple of Youtube videos. Most shops would not let a junior mechanic at this sort of work without supervision. It also requires some reasonably specialist tools to do a proper job. While plenty of keen home mechanics could do the job just fine, that doesn’t mean that the best thing for the OP is to have a crack himself to save a few quid.

Secondly regarding the recommendations of the European sites for purchase…. Again this might be a good option if you know exactly what you want/need and are happy not to have a full retail product. A lot of what is being sold is (allegedly) OEM leftovers – so you won’t/may not get seal kits, bleed kits etc as you should. It also means that the SRAM tech centre won’t (supposedly) touch it with a barge-pole so you’re left with sending it back to the continent for any warranty/after-sales support. Should the original retailer go bust, you may have no rights whatsoever with SRAM as it’s been bought through an unofficial channel.

This won’t always be the case – I know that some of what comes from these sites is full boxed product. But worth being sure you know what you are getting before deciding that it’s such a bargain.

For some people this won’t matter – for others it will. Worth knowing the full picture before deciding which route to take.

It is often the case that the LBS can hardly get stuff like Reverb seatposts or forks as cheap at trade prices than they are being sold for on line and with that in mind they may well be happy just to get the fitting of the items .Bear in mind with the reverb there are different lengths , drops , even the position of the lever is left or right specific so it is possible to get it wrong . With the stealth post you may well need to bleed it after fitting , it’s not that simple and some on line posts don’t come with a bleed kit which I think cost getting on for £50 . I would have a chat to the LBS but bear these things in mind before trying to get a rock bottom price .

Are you going to end up paying then to do the fitting anyway? Will probably eat up most of the saving. If you’ve been a loyal customer, always worth asking if they’ll do the parts at a discount.

Really £200 to fit a fork and a reverb?

Just be up front OP ask your LBS how much to fit the interweb sourced parts… The worst they could say is no.

Speak to the shop, we try our best but sometimes online prices are lower than trade prices so they cannot be matched.

I bought a cheapy Reverb from Wiggle last year and it came in a box with the bleed kit etc.

They’re a piece of cake to bleed. Only had to do mine once and it was super easy.

What about buying the tools to fit them yourself? Cutting guide, good saw, race installer etc. I’ve bought the Cyclo stuff from Wiggle and it’s fine for the occasional use. It’s not hard to fit some forks etc.