Bike Tree in Sheffield – another LBS bites the dust

Bike Tree near Dore just announced via their Facebook page that they’re shutting down next week 🙁

I bet it’s being picked over by the bargain hunters as we speak…

Wrong side of town for me, I never got around to popping in. Shame, I got the impression they were getting well sorted out with everything.

Bugger. They seemed like nice guys. I didn’t spend much money there but it was always the shop I would go to first if I needed something.

Those two comments probably sum up a couple of the reasons for its demise.

Indeed. I spend very little in any lbs nowadays. Like many others I do all my own maintenance and only buy stuff when things need replacing. Last thing I bought from the bike tree was bearings for rear hope hub after the original ones seized up after only 7 years. Bike tree had some knocking about in a cardboard box so I didn’t need to order off katec on eBay for a change.
Maybe the location was wrong? Can’t see rents being that cheap in dore either. Whereas we’ve had a new Evans and a giant shop open within spitting distance of jeJames in the last couple of years. Never been in the giant shop but recently went to Evans with a mate to help him choose a new bike and it seemed pretty busy.
Perhaps there are too many shops fighting for the same customers in sheffield.
Bike tree also more mtb than road biased and we all know that the Johnny come latelies are buying road bikes not mtbs.

They sorted my suspension bearings recently when I just couldn’t get them out and what I liked was you spoke to the guy who was going to do the job not just drop off at the counter with the Saturday lad. Still, how often do people need that kind of work? Like others here I do my own maintenance and buy about half my spares on line. No LBS is going to get rich on us.

I don’t exactly feel guilt but obviously if more people took the trouble to support it they’d still be a float. Over an hour for me to get there though, and with the little people at our house these days my lbs frequenting bikes/parts buying is not what it used to be.