Does anyone still preference their LBS over online?

No. I would have liked to but they were too unreliable, installed stuff wrong and made promises they couldn’t keep.

If they had been good and reliable on the service front (which should be their USP vs online) I would probably still be using them now. But they weren’t, so I’m not.

Aidy

Could you do the servicing yourself in less than the time it would take you to do two return trips to the bike shop?

That’s my reasons … not to mention how the heck do you get the bike to the shop.

I’ve carried wheels and frames before and then had to leave my bike outside the shop locked to the nearest lamppost (I can’t see from the shop) and waited nervously whilst the front desk staff sell some totally inappropriate POS to some poor punter just to drop off the item.

This can be jumped when you know the head mechanic and have their personal mobile to call them when you’re arriving but its not really very efficient and then why not just pay them direct to do a ringer – this way they may approach a living wage? [He’s now moved anyway and the row of shops being knocked down to build some tower blocks]

relectantjumper

Will’s a decent bloke and good on the spanners but managing his time effectively isn’t one of his strong points!

He’s probably not a natural at time management but I think the main (non Covid) issues are since he started work on the house and the lad going off to Uni whilst single handedly running a charity.

It would be more efficient if he swapped spannering for leaf blowing or trail maintenance TBH but in this mad world he’d probably be liable for someone falling whilst holding the leaf blower.

With so much talk over stock shortages, post-Brexit import taxes does has this driven anyone to value their LBS a bit more?

Nope.

Shop 1: Fitted a hope PF41 BB incorrectly, then claimed they hadn’t. They also fitted a headset with a piece of plastic bag trapped between the cup and frame.

Shop 2: Evans, nope, giving money to Mike Ashley. Also manager is a bit of an ass.

Shop 3: They have a bit of stock, but cater for road/urban stuff. Phoned up asking about a Sram universal mech hanger and was told there was no such thing, despite them being on a number of Trek bikes they have in store

Shop 4: If you havent bought the bike from them, you are treated very differently. Mechanic is alright, knows what a UDH is. Buying a bike from them is a pain in the ass, if its not in the warehouse at Trek/Spesh, they couldn’t work out how to order one.

Quite a few LBS’, some more shit than others. Ordered a bike from Pearce a few years back and they were ace, latest purchase is from blazing bikes, as they were the only ones who knew what was going on with stock at Trek.

Do all of the spannering myself, except for rear shocks, back to TF/Mojo/Sprung. Quicker for me to get the parts in and do it properly, rather than play bike shop bingo which mates endure.

SJS/Merlins/Kustombikes/Biketart/LeisureLakes are the go to, along with CRC

I’ve carried wheels and frames before and then had to leave my bike outside the shop locked to the nearest lamppost

I have never even considered not taking my bike into a bike shop before

In Stafford we’re spoiled for them.

Henry Burton, which has been here since the 1950s but doesn’t seem to have clocked that there are new-fangled things like hydraulic discs, mountain bike wheels bigger than 26″ and stems (quill, naturally) shorter than 120mm. Still useful for bits for my 27″ wheeled pub bike.
Mammoth, (which used to be a Specialized concept store), which is great but pricey, but never mind.
Run and Ride (which used to be Mammoth) don’t really know it
Swinnertons on Cannock Chase – full of stock, related to but rivals to
Swinnertons Stoke – everything you might ever need
Brian Rourke, Stoke – everything you might ever need plus they’ll make you a truly lustworthy frame

And a bunch of others including Sideways Cycles a bit farther away.

But I still order some stuff from Wiggle, mainly because I like seeing the Black Country New Road address on the box and wondering if the band of the same name knows about it.

As far as service prices go: I charge my time at £200 a day. It takes me more than a day to do what’s in that premium service up there.

Yes indeed we are spoilt. Never rated Mammoth since I went in on my way home from work (on my bike) to pick up some replacement spokes (for the bike I was riding) and the guy behind the counter was more interesting in looking at his phone. I have been in since and had a better experience and I’m glad they’re still an option. Run & Ride seem like a decent bunch too. Henry Burtons is ace, proper old school but do worry how much longer they’ll be around…or maybe they’re just doing things right and have a nice USP? who knows. Always pop into Swinno’s on the Chase for bits and bobs in fact I’d probably say that’s my LBS. I’ve been known to stray over the border into Shropshire…the Trailhead is a great shop.

There’s a definitely a rise in the one man band service type places, quite a few around the Cannock/Rugeley area. Fancied doing a bit myself (pre-Covid) but too much competition for a part timer with no qualifications.

Didn’t know if Sideways Cycles in Alsager were still going. Bought a bike off them back in 2002 which I still have. They were very helpful.

Could you do the servicing yourself in less than the time it would take you to do two return trips to the bike shop?

Probably. My LBS is less than ten mins in the car. Whether my wallet would cope or not is another matter. In the past week i’ve fitted and bled two sets of brakes and performed a complete post-winter strip down, clean, lube and re-build.

STANDARD SERVICE £70

Recommended every 12 months as a minimum. All bolts matched to a torque specification. Adjustments and lubrication to drivetrain components. Adjustments to braking components.

Flippin’ ‘eck.

My last car service was cheaper than that – and I got some oil and filters in the price as well.

£70 to break out the torque wrench and the GT85 does seem a bit rich. What’s that, fifteen minutes work (twenty if you’ve got a brew on the go)?

thanks, I thought it seemed pricey but as I’ve been away it could have been the new standard.
Hmmm – either I’ll have to invest in some tools and try to find a decent space, or look for another LBS. shame, this one is less than 200m from where I’m moving to.

Cooksons is the one within a walk of me and I’ll use them for stuff like fork servicing, putting in headsets (I know this is something I could probably do myself but I’m superstitious!) and I’ll buy something small random when I’m in there (although it’s been a while but they were stripped of bikes etc during lockdown so I’m guessing they are ok)

Merlin are relatively local to me so anything internet purchase comes from them first.

My daughter has just got a job at my local bikeshop,she gets a trade price on everything makes up for the meagre wages so looks like I will be buying parts for my/her bike there 🙂