Who only buy to the cheapest place and don’t give a damn about loyalty and service.
And who always buys at the same place regardless of the price and “downgrading” its purchase if necessary to keep this place on business?

I’ve always looked for the cheapest sensible deals but recently I’ve been paying over the odds on some stuff to support my local bike shop which opened in November.

I do a 40 mile round trip, by bike to my favourite bike shop, and will always buy something when I go.

I crashed on some diesel about 15-16 years ago towards the end of a training ride, and limped to the shop. That was my first visit, and I was sat down, washed, plastered, coffeed, and my bike straightened up for nothing.

Since then I’ve spent my money with them.

Internet for everything and the cheapest I can find for each individual piece

A mix for me. I try my LBS and see if their prices are OK and usually they are. I would go to the internet if the was a huge price difference.

Mostly on price, but I don’t need any advice or service from a LBS.

A mix. I buy local if it’s sensible, or the internet if I could do with it being delivered cos I don’t have time to get to the shop, or the price difference is insane

I like to make an informed choice and choose the item I want from a range of options. Sadly I’m yet to have a lbs that’s big enough that I can do that often or where the owner/worker is prepared to listen to my needs, realise it’s not what is immediately on offer and suggest an alternative that they can get in. If I moved and found I had that level of service I’d probably have that financial decision to make and I hope I’d go the (probably more expensive) lbs route.

for me, it’s a choice between my local bike shop – who over the past few years have become good friends, fix my bike (and on occasion me), make nice coffee, organise road & mtb rides / trips, get bikes in for me to try, (and always have a good selection of kit to ogle) offer plenty of advice (sometimes about bikes!), have the occasional demo days and bike related evenings and sometimes buy me a beer

or save a few quid on the internet

Mostly on price, but I don’t need any advice or service from a LBS.

Why am I not surprised…
I am the same than crickey (only in metrics). I buy everything from my lbs. I have done so from the last 12 years. I can count on the finger of my hands the times I wanted specifically something and they couldn’t order it for me. If I can’t afford what I want at their price, I don’t buy it. I wait until I can afford it or downgrade (couldn’t afford XT 9 speed so went for deores). The service they offer is just not valuable. They organise trips, rides, motorbike rides, they are very knowledgeable, are rarely wrong, they know every singletrack around, they support my club (ok it’s my club because they support it), they build and maintain trails. They always have coffee, biscuits and tea. Last one, one of the two owners gave me his son’s former bike for the wee one. It needed some TLC but the total was under the 100€ mark. Not bad for a now brand new 20incher for kids 😉
I quite don’t get why people would actually want to buy online. For me the difference in prices usually goes in the tax pot money and hence pays for hospital school and so.

cynic-al you sound as though somebody once hurt you, if you want to open up to the collective STW members we could share your pain and sooth the hurt inside.

a mix, there are some things i would buy from a shop where i can, clothing, tubes, gels, bikes, etc.

Then there are things i buy from the net, components, tyres etc.

And if the item needs ordering i will probably just order it myself.

Depends on price and whether i am ever going to need the item serviced/repaired/warrantied.

Try to support LBS, but when they can take over a week to get me simple things like hope brake pads (not mega £ I know). I can get them in a couple of days online.

crc for most stuff, cos i am lazy.

I quite don’t get why people would actually want to buy online. For me the difference in prices usually goes in the tax pot money and hence pays for hospital school and so.

Even forgetting price for a moment, for most people without a decent LBS, they can order something online, and within a day or 2 it will be posted through their letterbox. If you have an LBS that can get almost everything you’d ever want in that sort of time frame, you’re a lucky man!

Right now for some balance… I buy most things second hand. My LBS are a good bunch of guys that I wholeheartedly support, and they do me a flat 10% off anything I buy there (mainly cos they know I recommend them to everyone), but with so many people out there selling off their old kit at good prices when the latest must haves come out, it’s MUCH cheaper buying decent 2nd hand kit than either online or the LBS. There are a couple of exceptions though, I would always buy wheels (or the components to build them myself) new, and last time I bought some wheels, my LBS was the cheapest for the ones I wanted anyway! I also always buy things like cassettes, chains and mechs new, and will usually order online from whoever is cheapest at the time.

Anyway, if we all bought from our LBS all the time, for everything, there would be no online companies providing price competition which would mean prices go up, and there would be no 2nd hand market either. I like to see myself as doing a service, buying mainly 2nd hand parts to reuse myself and keeping that side of the loop going… 😉

I wonder if its because of the competition in Edinburgh – a good few good bike shops.

One of the reasons I use my LBS is they have what I want in stock generally – I can see it before I buy and I can cycle there and buy it in half an hour – at prices similar to the internet – I have checked.

Brake pads as in the above example – off the shelf – same price as crc

I agree about supporting your lbs

I just need to find one worth supporting

Normally go with whatevers cheapest, i can’t afford lbs prices and will only go there for a service i’m too mechanically inept to do myself (forks and wheel building)!

It depends. I recently bought quite a bit of stuff from my LBS to build up my new bike because they will fit them right for no extra charge. Actually, I spread the love and buy stuff from two different shops although I have my favourite.

Buying odds and sods as needed also gives me an excuse to visit the shops and look at bikes and talk bolx about bikes. But both shop owners accept that I will buy from Merlin/CRC where there is a big discount.

I believe in supporting local business. I don’t practice it enough.
Where there is a skill involved, ie technical, craft or knowledge then I believe in supporting the little local guy, otherwise he wont be there when you need him.
For most bike bits I buy online since I trust my own mechanical skills over those of most bike shops.
So I buy my bikes from Planet X and my brakes and wheels from hope, but source them from online normally.

Despite having numerous trade accounts I usually go to one of my local shops to actually look at, feel and generally assess the item, unless it’s a something like a chainset.
It’s also handy as usually I need it at that moment to go for a ride, it’s also nice to get a coffee and have a chat

I have to say, juan, that your English is still excellent, but it is interesting to read; you can tell that you are not here anymore…

😀

I have yet to find an LBS in Newcastle (home) or Durham (work) that I want to spend my money with. That’s even before I get to look at their stock or prices. So far customer service has been largely awful, they all seem to want to stock the same stuff and for the few bits I’ve asked for I get told that there isn’t enough demand to keep in stock (shoes in size 12 seem to be as rare as rocking horse poo yet all mftrs make them, and apparently XT rear mechs are a bit niche). True it may be but it means they lose my custom as it is easier, faster and more convenient to buy on line.

Most big purchases get done on price only over the web as a result, small bits and clothing from Evans at the Metrocentre as they are the nearest and have actually been the most helpful (bet you never thought you’d hear that!).

If anybody knows of any decent ones in the area I’d like to hear from you!

Bit if a mix for me. Some brands/products just aren’t available from my “preferred” shops, some stuff I buy 2nd hand. If it’s something I need to try for size, or to check something about before I buy it, I’ll do that in a shop. But we are all counting pennies and for some “commidity” products it can be both cheaper and quicker to buy online.

That’s not to day that here aren’t downsides. Often, one of the reasons products are cheaper online is that customer service has been sacrificed.

Leisure lakes in dav is my most local really (30 mins away) and I can’t think of a single thing I have bought from them ever. Mainly because they stock very little and it’s always “we can order it in”.

If I wanted to order something in I would go on the net and order it in to my own house

i wish i had a LBS that was worth going to and was actually local. Pedal and spoke is about 60 miles away and i have been in there twice in 6 months, so i guess that counts.

tbh, a LBS is never going to be able to stock exactly what it is that i need, so don’t normally bother going in. The fact that my local to me LBS’s seem to be owned my miserable barstewards or incompetent idiots doesn’t help.

Saying that i have found good shops on my travels, such as P+S, 18bikes, and one in minehead that had some brakepads in, i just wih they were a bit nearer.

I have to say, juan, that your English is still excellent, but it is interesting to read; you can tell that you are not here anymore.

Yes I know 🙁 I am reading English book, watching English/American TV program and play English DS still I know I am loosing my touch.
May I ask you what have “shocked” you?

A mix really.

Fairly generic things like pedals and tyres I will buy on line, from Planet-X most recently.

Clothing and things that I like to touch and try, saddles recently, from the lBS.

I would guess that if you ignore full bike purchases I would have spent about the same online as at my LBS.

Define commodity product Colin? You mean pads and tubes? Surely they are going to be the same price?

At the moment I can’t be arsed with either of my lbs, they generally don’t carry stock (even fairly bog standard stuff) and when they do it’s expensive. I don’t mind paying Premium rates for good service, but generally the turn around is longer than online and it costs more. Even then I wouldn’t mind but the last few times when I’ve used them for repairs, because they didn’t have the tools I needed, they’ve dicked me about too. When they can’t even be civil when I’m giving them custom and I’m paying over the odds and it takes ages then really what’s the point.

i use mine all the time (lbs) get loads of things from them…cheek/service/help/shop rides…im freinds with one of the mecvhanics now and the owners pretty cool too.only ask for a deal if its something big but if they cant do it ill still buy…had too much hassle on tinterweb over the years

thanks cycleworld!! 😆

I’m not ‘shocked’, and what you write is easy to understand and well written, but the way it is phrased shows that you are thinking in French.

Come here more often!

Juan – whilst I appreciate that you get a warm and fuzzy feeling from self-rightousness, I’m with Al on this one. I’m really glad that you get great service from your local shop but not everyone needs advice from the lbs (in fact the closest one to me only seems to offer advice that is just plain wrong).

In my experience shops such as Merlin offer an excellent service so I am very happy to support them… In your world does that mean I only know the price of everything and the value of nothing?

Can’t say I feel particular loyalty to any specific bike shop & I’ll happily go online. That said I will buy from them if the product is in, its reasonably priced (ie not more thatn 10% more), I want to try it on first, or I have a specific question about what I’m buying and need advice. If not I’d go elsewhere.

I must say I struggle to understand this bond between biker and LBS. maybe I’ve not been around long enough or maybe I’m to skint to be frivulous with my pennies and always look for a bargain. One thing I would say is that I’ve spent over 3k in my LBS over the last 12 months (2 bikes, various clothers components etc) and can’t say I feel particularly more valued than the bloke standing next to me looking to replace the breakpads on his Muddyfox for the first time in 20 years. Certainly never been offered a discount…or even a cup of tea for that matter…

Not complaining about that either, but certainly don’t see why I should show loyalty to them at the expense of my wallet..

I only used to use online shops as they are cheaper than my lbs and have a lot more variety but for the last couple of months I have been solely using my lbs and will continue to do so.
Most people I know moan about it, but if they went bust or something no doubt they would moan there is no bike shop around our parts.
I dont mind paying an extra fiver for a pair of shorts as I get to try it on and see the product in the flesh etc.
Also the Mrs is easily blagged by the bloke who works there so I always end up coming out with extra stuff I want but would usually get moaned about buying online.
Win win IMO.

People do know that most LBS will pay postage that is why they usually order once a week to get free post. Some importers won’t actually use the post but only private transporters. If you break your rock shock compression knob, it cost 5€ to get a new one. Plus 12€ postage, what is the shop supposed to do?