I’ve just found out that my LBS, Massif Bikes, has closed down. I’m gutted.

The bloke that owned it is a properly serious biker and always good to chat to about bikes and has been looking after my road and mountain bikes for a good few years now. On top of that, his prices were pretty much on par with Wiggle for the stuff I wanted to buy, so he was the first option.

Apparently, the main reason was that the rent on his shop being to high. So instead of dropping it a bit and keeping a well known and well used local business going, it’s going to be a Barclays Bank (apparently).

Gutted.

I’m working an an LBS that’s closing before Christmas for pretty much the exact same reason.

If he had that good a rep then surely the shop could have moved somewhere cheaper, no?

EDIT – bad news PP. Got a replacement job lined up?

My LBS/place to hang out/partime (was going to be fulltime) employer closed its doors around a month ago.

RIP Boneshakers of Harrogate

Got a replacement job lined up?

Hell yes. I’ve had 2 offers and will be starting as ‘Workshop Manager’ no less, at Moores Cycles in Isleworth on 16th December.
It’s soul destroying here right now. No trade, low stocks. I’m a rat leaving a sinking ship 😉

Hell yes. I’ve had 2 offers

Forum Whore works wonders on a CV doesn’t it?? 😉

Hope it goes well.

Some good shops closing, but also some good ones opening.

Good luck at Moores, hopefully you’ll do well there.

My girlfriend won’t go in there anymore, she had a shifter problem but was told she had weak thumbs!!!

The Holey Grail, Machynlleth is closing in the new year.
Sad times.
Yes CRC,Wiggle and the Germans are cheap but they’re killing your local bike shop.

My LBS/place to hang out/partime (was going to be fulltime) employer closed its doors around a month ago.

RIP Boneshakers of Harrogate

I noticed that and thought it was a shame. Don’t the same people own the Specialized shop?

Also noticed Psyclo Sport in H’Gate has shut.

Add to this my LBS for the last 14 years in Skipton closing soon and it’s been a bad year for shops I like. 😥

Yes CRC,Wiggle and the Germans are cheap but they’re killing your local crap bike shop.

Good shops are being finished off by high rates as above. Plenty of independents that over excellent service and will easily survive against the online crew.

all the best paul (stripe) from massif cycles

Singlespeed_Shep – Member

Good shops are being finished off by high rates as above. Plenty of independents that over excellent service and will easily survive against the online crew.

Most LBS cannot buy trade what the online giants sell to Joe public.
How are they supposed to compete?
It’s bugger all to do with them being “crap” as you say.

We’ve got over 10 shops / repair places serving Sheffield

Plus I’ve seen 2 Starbucks & a Greg’s close.

We seem to be the opposite of most places

That’s a shame, the guy seemed really nice when he fitted a headset for me a couple of months ago.

My girlfriend won’t go in there anymore, she had a shifter problem but was told she had weak thumbs!!!

Let me settle in and try again with me 🙂 I’d never say that.

Most LBS cannot buy trade what the online giants sell to Joe public.
How are they supposed to compete?
It’s bugger all to do with them being “crap” as you say.

Offering other services, creating a community etc many options.

Good business will always survive.

Its not all about who has the cheapest rear mech, its a factor but there are many other opportunities for shops to make money and thrive.

I noticed that and thought it was a shame. Don’t the same people own the Specialized shop?

No, they parted ways 9-10 months ago. Spesh (IMO) seemed to have made it their mission to get BSers closed down.

Add to this my LBS for the last 14 years in Skipton closing soon and it’s been a bad year for shops I like

You are getting a Trek concept store in Skipton though….

Concept stores haven’t helped either…

I’ll tell here to try there again after Christmas, she uses Evans in Brentford in at the moment.

It’s only her commuter bike but it’s at here flat

my girlfriend won’t go in there anymore, she had a shifter problem but was told she had weak thumbs!!!

You should get her gripshifters then encourage her to strengthen her wrists through regular ‘exercises’

was told she had weak thumbs!!!

Well, does she?

my LBS closed down a few months back because the rent had risen astronomically, plus the Evans moving in on the next street probably didn’t help. it’s currently being turned into a creche.

No, they parted ways 9-10 months ago. Spesh (IMO) seemed to have made it their mission to get BSers closed down.

So Specialized got the bike shop round the corner to set up a new shop for them then sent them packing back round the corner to a business they knew they’d knackered? Won’t be going in there again then.

You are getting a Trek concept store in Skipton though….

Concept stores haven’t helped either…

From speaking to the lads at my LBS this bloody concept store was the final nail in the coffin. I don’t like concept stores and have no interest in Trek what so ever. Gaaar.

So Specialized got the bike shop round the corner to set up a new shop for them then sent them packing back round the corner to a business they knew they’d knackered? Won’t be going in there again then

Bit more to it than that, which I don’t really want to go into on a public forum, but you aren’t far off.

It’s a shame to see bike shops, or any other shop for that matter, having to close down, but….

Yes CRC,Wiggle and the Germans are cheap but they’re killing your local bike shop.

What if someone, me included, doesn’t have a LBS that we can justify the expense of travelling to? The online stores are the obvious viable and cost effective option. The closest decent shop to me is around 60 miles round trip. I certainly can’t justify the travel costs to go there for a pot of lube or a chain or whatever over buying online.

Singlespeed_Shep – Member

It’s bugger all to do with them being “crap” as you say.
Offering other services, creating a community etc many options.

Good business will always survive.

Its not all about who has the cheapest rear mech, its a factor but there are many other opportunities for shops to make money and thrive.

I totally agree. Unfortunately the Holey Grail has this community and all who know Tegid will bed saddened at the news. This shop is one of the main contributors to the setting up and management of the Dyfi Enduro.

As a Skiptonite, can I ask WTF is a concept store, out of interest? Will it broaden my mind?

As a Skiptonite, can I ask WTF is a concept store, out of interest?

It’s a one-brand store that doesn’t actually have to make a profit.

clubber,

If he had that good a rep then surely the shop could have moved somewhere cheaper, no?

This is Cambourne we’re talking about. There is nowhere cheaper. It’s all new builds and there’s sod all retail space available right now.

Will it have all the normal bike shop stuff in it, or have I just lost my LBS and gained a high-end showroom with sofas, giant wall-art and polo-necked staff prancing about?

Will it have all the normal bike shop stuff in it, or have I just lost my LBS and gained a high-end showroom with sofas, giant wall-art and polo-necked staff prancing about?

It will have a beautiful workshop, with safety-step aluminium on the floor, and a huge toolboard with every Park tool on it.

It will only be used for PDIing brand new bikes, and will always be spotless.

It will only be used for PDIing brand new bikes

Steady on! They’ll fit (Bontrager) accessories too.

have I just lost my LBS and gained a high-end showroom with sofas, giant wall-art and polo-necked staff prancing about?

You got it.

have I just lost my LBS and gained a high-end showroom with sofas, giant wall-art and polo-necked staff prancing about?

Pretty much, which is what the vast majority of the ‘buying public’ want.

Not to go into a dingy old shop that smells a bit funny, to be served by someone who looks like he plays too much world of warcraft & is covered in grease & oil from bleeding brakes and fixing bikes.

Those shops exist for STW customers. Who then go & buy everything from CRC, or whoever is doing the latest PSA deal…

The Holey GTrail, Machynlleth is closing in the new year.

Nooooooo! Always dropped in to spend a few bob whenever I was in Mach. Teg and his team are ace people, so I hope it works out OK for them.

we have lost about six bike shops this year in (Leeds/Harrogate/Skipton) area.
buy hooray we got Evans in Leeds and a Trek concept store.

Rents and Rates I believe are a major factor in all of them.

Rents & Rates are killing all sorts of businesses daily, it’s the number one reason I hear for businesses closing down. Even in rural Herefordshire………

That rates thing is an absolute killer and another example of Gideon doing alright by his rich mates while shafting the little guy – stopping the revaluations has meant:

Prime retail locations (big shops in affluent places) have avoided a big increase in costs while sub-prime ones (where the last valuation was significantly higher than the current, post-downturn, post-sucking-the-life-out-of-town-centres market rents) are still paying high rates based on valuations that are significantly out of whack with the reality.

CRC,Wiggle and the Germans are cheap but they’re killing your local bike shop.

No, CRC, Wiggle and the Germans are not killing your local bike shop, customers choosing to not buy are the ones doing that.

You can make a choice. I’ll buy stuff from my LBS that I know I could get cheaper online, but I also know that if I break something on the Saturday morning of a bank holiday weekend, Wiggle et al won’t be able to get me back riding that day, but my LBS might well be able to (and have done before now, in that exact scenario).

Plus I’ve seen 2 Starbucks & a Greg’s close.

Don’t read too much into that, it’s part of their (certainly Starbucks) strategy. It’s got some name I can’t recall, “grand encirclement strategy” or somesuch, it goes something like this:

Starbucks comes to your town / city. Rather than working out what is sustainable, they open an outlet in any and every suitable location they can get, flooding the market. The local independents can’t compete and close down. Starbucks have now grabbed the market and close the excess stores, keeping the profitable / sustainable ones.

Subway have also done this with great success.

Will it have all the normal bike shop stuff in it, or have I just lost my LBS and gained a high-end showroom with sofas, giant wall-art and polo-necked staff prancing about?

It will have a beautiful workshop, with safety-step aluminium on the floor, and a huge toolboard with every Park tool on it.

It will only be used for PDIing brand new bikes, and will always be spotless.

You obviously haven’t been into the glasgow concept store! Definitely no polo necks and a far from immaculate workshop!

Has anybody actually seen the (any) fruits of Mr Osbourne’s recovery yet?

Most LBS cannot buy trade what the online giants sell to Joe public.
How are they supposed to compete?

By offering services that cannot be bought online. My LBS offers bike fits, fitness assessments, skills coaching, physiotherapy and advice from a former national champion.