If you’re going down the coffee and a sit down route check out this bike shop http://www.lakelandpedlar.co.uk.

What I want from an lbs is a really good mechanic, including wheel building skills, lots of clothing, shoes and helmets to try on, and at least try to knock a little off rrp, even if it’s through some kind of loyalty scheme.

Aside from this I reckon cheap bikes and kids bikes with the odd bit of serious kit.

Oh, and offer proper demos.

Getting involved in the community side of things can’t hurt either.

Good mechanic – not some yoof who doesn’t give a toss
Pay them well, so you keep them too

Tyres, pads and lights, good midrange stuff

Clothing wise, whatever you do , just do lots of it
Not just the odd bit here and there

Kids bikes, get a rep for doing good kids bikes and you build
Lots of future loyalty, kids bikes offer smaller profit than niche/high end
But parents will buy kids new bikes as they move from 20-24-26 wheel sizes
Repeat custom & potential spanner ing

In these cash strapped times I also reckon more focus on the mid range bikes and being a bit less
Dismissive of these is a winner eg giant trance x2/3

Interest free credit would be a bonus too
Good luck 😉

Consumables at decent prices.

As someone who’s worked in LBS’s for a few years, I’d say be careful what you stock.

Don’t buy things from distributors because they are on a deal- no one else is buying them for a reason. Also never buy too much of anything, regardless of how good it is because you will end up sat on it. Buy the next big thing, not old stock.

Buy staples that people like- cheap, simple, black Endura jerseys like the Cairn etc. Don’t buy them in daft colours like that mint green they’re doing just now and don’t buy in team kits. Be careful with stuff with hundreds of options- chain devices is the best example I can think of because whichever size and model you stock it’ll be wrong. You’ll have ISCG05 in 34T, they’ll need ISCG Old in 36T.

And be careful with shoes too- don’t buy a new brand to shoes like Bontrager. People are wary of them- pick 3 models of shoe (cheap, mid, expensive) and always have the most popular in stock. While I mention Bontrager- don’t get in kit that is linked to a manufacturer as it dramatically decreases your market IME. Trek riders and the small percentage that aren’t brand led will wear it, no one else will.

Once it’s old stock get rid of it. Don’t sit there with it with only 15% off for 2 years because once it’s old it will only lose value and you won’t get any money for it, rather than getting rid of it for a smaller hit straight away.

Don’t stock brands such as Merida, Orbea, Felt etc- they look like you’re scraping the barrel and the other shops got the good brands. And yes the £300 cheapies will be the ones you sell most of, but don’t be afraid to stock something half decent too.

I don’t go in for all this coffee nonsense. You’re a bike shop, unless you’re going to really dedicate it like the Lakeland Pedlar it’s just going to be a daft side show.

Right, haven’t read the entire thread so don’t know if these has been mentioned. But…

I’d have staff that respect any level of knowledge in the punters. Nothings winds me up more than being made to feel stupid if I don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of what I’m asking about.

This however is the second issue to having a great notice board. Make it a prominent thing that people go in for to meet people, organise rides, share routes, share meets etc. Really the best thing that can be done.

just my two penneth!

Cow

It might already be above, but room inside for people to bring their bikes in, and a sign on the door encouraging it.

If I’m browsing I don’t want to have to keep one eye on the scrotes outside.

esher that workshop is sweet man good work.

Mechanics should be fixing bikes not doing a half job then a bit of sales then back to fixing bikes forgeting what they were doing.When do you ever see car mechanics working in the sales department?

Don’t whatever you do hire……….
x
y
and z

Better not, forget I said that.

Seriously…chase down references for people you are going to take on as staff….there are some bloody nightmares out there who will cock everything up, upset customers and ruin your business.

Thinking about it, there are a few bike shop owners like that and all…… But they are entitled to behave that way because they own the business…..

Keep the shop visualy interesting but don’t go and shell out loads of dosh on a Titanium this and that frame or sundry other stuff you cannot shift. A blue Pig frame hanging up will create more interest than a Lynskey and it won’t cost you so much to hang it there. You will sell Joysticks, you won’t sell so many Max Daddies.

Keep your Full Sus fleet down to Demo models if you can and sell off the back of that while making a bit on day rentals for hiring those out.

And make sure you keep repair customers in the loop and on side. Best to tell them the truth up front at point of contact than slide them into a £300 repair by a series of fumbling findings of extra things wrong with their bike.

Good luck

In fact…Do what Munrobiker says………….

Whilst it’s no harm pooling opinion from STW bear in mind that they represent the serious/enthusiast rider, even if they wouldn’t self apply those terms.

Cycling is exploding in popularity, but the average beginner/ learner knows nothing. NOTHING. So if you decide to cater to this market be prepared to have your staff tied up for hours explaining what size tube, how many layers to wear, what various tyres do etc etc etc to every other punter.

Speaking of staff, pay peanuts, get monkeys. Regardless of what most stw members think, working in bike shop can be extremely demanding and if you want knowledgeable professional staff you will need to pay them more than McDonalds, don’t tax them on purchases, accomodate their riding as much as possible or they will piss off and pursue that thing they were studying at university before they got sidetracked into bike shops.

These guys will struggle to cope with explaining how a pump works 300 times a day too, so try and have part time or junior staff deal with the time drainers.

Also, whilst sunday opening seems appealing it will crush the morale of your staff. If they are of any use they will be riders, and if they are they will want to ride sunday. Furthermore the majority of sunday punters are tyre licking zombies with no intention of buying, killing time while their wives buys clothes. Or they will be returns. If you’re closed sundays people will work their schedule around this.

If it was me I’d either try and cater to the beginner ie sub 1k bikes or I’d go the complete other way, very elite. If you try and be all things to all men you will spread yourself too thin and fail at everything. Remember, cycling is now road, tt, tri, commute, kids, bmx, xc, am, dh, dj, hybid, cx, cruiser, retro etc etc..

Speaking as a customer, what I’d want would be a decent atmosphere ie music I like, mtb vids on plasma screens etc, no pressure to purchase. Serious staff knowledge, hi end bikes I’d really love to own. I’d actually want a bike shop to be like bike shop, not fancy modern “hey how are you – have a nice day” retail. Oh and a great workshop, highly skilled mechanics who ride at a very high level.

Working on Sundays is why I left my last job. And I was a pretty good staff member. Saturdays you can just about live with, but Sundays isn’t on for me and while I still worked as hard as any other day I’d want to be somewhere else and I’ve no doubt the quality of my work slipped as I’m only human.

Oh, and something that STW members won’t like- 29ers aren’t selling. 26ers are still 99% of the market. If I were setting up a shop now I’d get one mid-range full bouncer 29er and a cheapy like the Fisher Cobia. But in 5 years in shops I personally have sold 2 29ers, both for people who weren’t really going to use them off road but wanted something beefier than a hybrid. The last shop I worked in was a BIG store with pretty massive turnover and they just weren’t shifting.

RE what others are saying, yes, new riders don’t know a great deal. A good staffer who rides bikes a lot and loves it and wants to see more folk on bikes will care and be good at this. A bike snob who’s in it for cheap bike bits won’t.

Saturdays is for drop in mechanicals, people don’t wannna hear “we cant do anything until next week” like that Donkey at West End says. We’ll pay a premium and RRP on parts if you offer that just to get rolling later that day. This is particularly true if you are just visiting and area.

Have a good website!

I like bike shops that apply …

1. Common sense.
2. Friendly.
3. Reasonably priced.
4. Don’t talk porkies.
5. Knowledge of fixing bikes.

… a coffee vending machine is fine for me.

🙂

I’m not sure of the practicalities of this, but what about a washdown area. Charge a small fee to cover the maintenance of the equipment and have a pressure washer and brushes, cleaner etc. You’ll get people in fresh off rides when they’re keen to buy new parts to fix holes in their riding, plus you’ll get all the bearing replacement work off the back of it!

I’m in the US, so I’m not sure how similar things are, but these are my wishes:

– A different brand of bikes. Big names like Trek, Giant, Specialized, and Cannondale, are everywhere. Pick brand or two that aren’t available in your area to set yourself apart from your competitors.

– The big name shops also carry the same family accessory brands from the their bike manufacturers (i.e. Trek/Bontrager). Find a brand or two that the other shops don’t have (no one around me stocks Fox clothes or Dakine, for instance) again to set your shop apart from the others.

– Pay attention to the details when servicing. I had my fork and shock serviced earlier this year at a new shop. They wrote down all the settings (air pressure, rebound, compression settings, etc.) and restored those settings after the service so I didn’t have to start all over again. I was impressed! Even if they were a couple psi or a click off, it would still be real close to my normal setting so I wouldn’t have to waste a lot of time dialing them back in. Or even worse would be me not adjusting the settings and blaming them for a bad service!

– The same shop repacked a rusted lower headset bearing during the fork service and politely told me about it. They didn’t give me a hard sell for a new one. I knew that it was rusty, but hadn’t decided to get a new headset yet. A short while later I found what I was looking for in the Works Components headset (1-1/8″ x 1 degree) and had them install it for me.

– Reasonable hours. If your closing time is only 30 min after I get off of work, don’t huff at me when I arrive 10 minutes before you close when I have to drop off a bike for service or whatever. That’s the soonest that I could get there. I don’t expect you to be open 24/7, but if your hours aren’t convenient, you can’t expect my business. Customers that arrive 5 minutes before closing and are “just looking” are a different matter though…

– Lastly, have some sort of system for tracking customer orders. I had a nightmare of a time ordering some bushings for a shock at another shop. They were ordered, no one called to tell me they were in. I called; they told me they had arrived. Went in, after 10 minutes of looking around to find them the bushings were the wrong ones. They ordered again – oh no they didn’t as two weeks later I called them and the order hadn’t been placed. So then they ordered them. They called that they were in. Went in to pick them up – no one could find them (again!). All that it would have taken would have been some simple tracking system (clip board, computerized, post-it notes, or whatever) and keeping all customer ordered parts in a spot where all of the employees knew where they were. Not exactly rocket science…

I hope this helps.

My local LBS has just set up a series of Park Tool School workshops. They are offering these on one Sunday permonth and will cover everything from wheelbuilding basics to suspension,brakes transmissions etc.

Coupled with improved discounts on tools, consumables I feel this is a great way to engender loyalty and improve customer base.

Whilst their bike brands are not for me, I have used them for tyres, saddle, clothing etc that whilst can be purchased cheaper online, I’m prepared and happy to pay retail for the advice I receive.

Good luck!

don’t huff at me when I arrive 10 minutes before you close when I have to drop off a bike for service or whatever. That’s the soonest that I could get there.

Doubtless you expect shop staff to respect you and yet you won’t respect the basic fact that they have homes and families to go to and are not getting paid to wait around all night on you.

Customers that arrive 5 minutes before closing and are “just looking” are a different matter though…

No, they’re not. They are exactly the same as the self important guy who arrives 10 mins before closing and expects the red carpet. Time wasting ignorant tramps. They’ll both keep staff an extra hour before they get home while they act like the big man/ special kid in the toy shop. The type of person who does this generally believes they are a big deal, or a big spender but the reality is they are wasters. The real big spenders don’t get a kick out of making people on minimum wage stand around waiting on them for free, they have manners and respect and it’s reciprocated.

don’t huff at me when I arrive 10 minutes before you close when I have to drop off a bike for service or whatever. That’s the soonest that I could get there.

Doubtless you expect shop staff to respect you and yet you won’t respect the basic fact that they have homes and families to go to and are not getting paid to wait around all night on you.

You see he had a valid point
If you’re open till – say – 6 and someone turns up at 5 to
You’re still open, so deal with the customer, if that takes you a few minutes over 6, so be it
Closing at 6 means that’s the time you stop trading, it isn’t the time that you pull the shutters down and run
You can’t expect customers to 2nd guess your closing time, if you want to close at 5:45 – say so

If you’re open till – say – 6 and someone turns up at 5 to
You’re still open, so deal with the customer, if that takes you a few minutes over 6, so be it

It will invariably take half an hour over 6. As above, the people who take liberties will take big ones and milk it as much as they can. They get a kick out of it.

Closing at 6 means that’s the time you stop trading, it isn’t the time that you pull the shutters down and run

That’s what closing is. Pulling down the shutters and leaving. Especially if staff are only paid till 6.

That’s what closing is. Pulling down the shutters and leaving. Especially if staff are only paid till 6.

So the boss stops back if no one else will

jeez, no wonder so many LBS are struggling if that’s the attitude to paying customers
I couldn’t even imagine putting the phone down on a customer at the stroke of 6 if they had the nerve to call at 10 to and couldn’t conclude their business by 6
I’d sack myself, before someone else did it.

Mostly been said already but will help you keep a tally of what matters to “us”. This is also the view of an experienced cyclist who knows a lot about parts/brands/etc and does all his own spannering rather than a beginner.

I go to bike shops to touch, feel and try things I might be interested in buying. If I can’t do any of that then I may as well order on line. And saying you can order it in doesn’t cut it either. By the time it gets from the distributor to you and I’ve made it back in to the shop I could have ordered it online and sent it back if it was wrong without having to leave my desk. Seems unfair but that is what you are up against.

If you plan on selling higher end bikes and/or frames only demo bikes are a must. I’d also rather see a good range of bikes from 1 or 2 manufacturers suited to local/UK riding than a couple from 5 manufacturers that all do the same job.

Hours – must be open all day sat and sun and open earlier rather than later at the w/e. Close tuesday and wednesday if you feel the need or don’t have the staff. Open early enough and/or late enough during the week for people who work to drop bikes off.

Service – Staff need to know that when they don’t know the answer they should say so and not spout BS.

And staff should be be friendly, polite, well paid, return calls/emails and not on commission.

Something I always would have liked before I had the space and experience to do major repairs would have been a workshop and tools that could be hired along with someone to ask if I wasn’t sure what to do.

Online presence – even if you don’t sell mail order you should have a complete, searchable, up to date list of things that are in stock, right down to the last bent washer. With a bit of forethought this is a doddle to set up and saves people a lot of hassle.

Clothing and bags – Don’t carry the same as everyone else. Stock something other than Endura, Altura and Camelbak. And if possible have bags and higher end clothing designed to fit ladies too. Every woman I know who bikes is constantly told “we don’t stock it because there’s no call for it” when it comes to bags or the more technical end of manufacturers ranges. Take a leaf out of Minx girls book.

Make sure your stock of bits and spares is good, esp for stock/brands you carry. Make sure you always have all brands of cleats, spacers, sfn, cables, all sizes of tubes (HQ and budget), bearings, etc.

A well stocked selection of good tyres rather than a pick and mix from a manufacturers entire range

Bike rack inside the shop for customers if you have the space.

jota180

So the boss stops back if no one else will

Ha hahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ha aha a haha ahaha ahahahahah.

jota180
jeez, no wonder so many LBS are struggling if that’s the attitude to paying customers

Sorry, how many times do I have to spell it out, you don’t get paying customers at that time of day. You get someone who holds ten people back for half an hour and maybe, if your lucky buys a tube.

jota180
I couldn’t even imagine putting the phone down on a customer at the stroke of 6 if they had the nerve to call at 10 to and couldn’t conclude their business by 6
I’d sack myself, before someone else did it.

Would you work to half six everyday if you were supposed to clock off at six? With no oevertime, no flexi time, no bonus and no thanks? That’s the reality for people in your lbs. That’s why they aren’t happy to see you at 5.55

Sorry, how many times do I have to spell it out, you don’t get paying customers at that time of day.

Given that you were originally replying to someone wanting to bring their bike in for service 10 mins before closing – you may want to re-think that?
just a thought

You’re far too bitter towards paying customers muddyfunster

perhaps retail isn’t for you?

Given that you were originally replying to someone wanting to bring their bike in for service 10 mins before closing – you may want to re-think that?

That’ll be an on the spot service though.

You’re far too bitter towards paying customers

You see, the operative word there is paying. Paying customers are great and I have much time for them. Believe it or not they are very easy to distinguish from the non paying type.

perhaps retail isn’t for you?

I may have woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Anyway you didn’t answer my question as to whether you’d work an extra half hour for free every day?

Anyway you didn’t answer my question as to whether you’d work an extra half hour for free every day?

Well,

I’m salaried not hourly paid, I’ve no real idea though as I don’t tally them up
I’m actually doing a couple of hours now, to save some time in the morning

I’ve had a cup of coffee now btw, I take it all back. I love the world.

I think its a fair point on “user friendly opening hours”

If you’re providing a service, make it a service that your customers can actually access! consider opening 12-7/8 or similar one or two days a week (Thursday/Friday? people who need their bike fixed for the weekend will be are willing to pay for the convenience factor, just make sure you leave friday workshop schedule free for these “urgent” jobs so you can actually deliver for them!)

Other than that – strongest piece of advice would be: set a specific time for, or get a specific person to, sort the paperwork and invoices, even if it means closing for one morning a week to do it.

Biggest failing of many, many shops I deal with is them pissing off their customers because a part hasn’t come through when expected, because the customers account is on stop due to late invoices, and experience has shown me its not because they can’t afford to pay the invoice, its just because they are not organised.

An issue with “user friendly” hours is staff rotas- if you open your shop at 9 then close at 6 you will need to have more staff to cover two shift patterns. 10-6 is the obvious answer to this problem.

We have 4 LBS’s in a 2 mile radius, none of which open on Sundays. Open Sundays, you’ll be a fool not to, they have missed a fair bit of business because of this.

My LBS is on Facebook, Twitter and replies quickly to problems. This is a major plus over other LBS’.

When I take my bike in for a job I can’t do, I would like to see/help it being done, so I learn. I realise this may not be good for business tho.

My LBS really took off when they employed 2 youngish (age 25-35) mountain bikers who liked road riding. Seemed much more level headed, had the passion and quite knowledgable. Getting the right staff is one of the major things you need to get right, from a customers point of view.

esher that workshop is sweet man good work.

Any clues to where you are nowadays esher? It’s always good to know where there is a shop with excellent mtb knowledge in London.

In the shop i work in, it’s not worth opening sundays.

You may get 1-2 bike collections, a biked dropped in for service and maybe sell a tube. People only normally arrange to come in sunday because they can, not because it’s the only time they can do it.

What this thread says to me is a LBS is going to discriminate 75% of customers any which route it takes. Just fighting a losing battle.

All a LBS can take from this is that they MUST return calls, have a good mechannic. Any other choice they make is going to lose some customers.

Not read all the replies so apologies if I duplicate anything, we spend a reasonable amount on bike bits, it being our main hobby and there are a number of bike shops around here some we use and some very rarely use.
There’s one little old style shop we use for virtualy all repairs I don’t do (AW Cycles Colliers Wood) why? because they do a good job for a fair rate and they are freindly but as a bike shop they seem to specialise in this aspect. It’s a very, very old style shop with no browsing area and little if any clothing or bling kit but as said they get lots of repair work and are always good for tubes, oils and emergency bits. Of the other many shops around here by far the best (altough it is a roadie shop) is Geofrey Butlers in Croydon, great range of stock (bikes, tyres, tools, clothing and foods) in a large shop, including lots of ladies clothing (mrs k spends lots and lots more than me on kit beacuse when she see’s decent kit she buys it as there seems to be a derth of it) backed up with a decent website and again freindly knowledgable staff.
There’s one mtb shop near me which is supposed to be good but I’ve never realy taken to them, the layout of the store, narrow and cluttered, mean it’s not somehwere I’d go to browse and for that reason I tend to buy a lot of stuff of the web or at a more freindly shop near work rather than wander up to them. Thinking about them now it’s abit odd that I get peppered with e mails from othe services i’ve used but from them, having bought a full susser, two dropper seat posts which weren’t cheap – not a peep so that may be a marketing tool to explore.
Local clubs can be good for publicity but they might expect a club discount, we supposedly get 10% off at a loacl shop and some people seem to use them a lot because of this.
Cheap inner tubes will always get me into a shop!
Not bothered about Sunday opening.

I’ve not read the whole thread to be honest, but how about some sort of cafe within the shop? That way the shop becomes a good place for a pre ride snack or a post ride cake and a brew. If riders are coming into the cafe they’re bound to have a wander round the shop while they’re there and maybe make some purchasers. The shop/cafe would also serve as a natural start and end location for any shop organised rides. Combine this with some relevant magazines on the tables and Life Cycles playing on a tele in the background, I think it would be good. I guess, it would give people multiple reasons to visit the shop and get them through the door.

Would you work to half six everyday if you were supposed to clock off at six? With no oevertime, no flexi time, no bonus and no thanks? That’s the reality for people in your lbs. That’s why they aren’t happy to see you at 5.55

Oh the humanity, I didn’t know such exploitation still existed in our day and age. I’ve not known such hardship since I finished my last paper round. I’m sure there is a charity out there to fight such injustice.

Make it comfortable for the ladies. Go for interested, knowledgeable female staff who ride, with a good range of practical, comfy, affordable stuff they can try on somewhere safe and appropriate. I know lots of girls who would ride, but don’t as they are just put off by bike shops. It’s a logical next step on from ‘just’ shopping for kids bikes.

I like the idea of an open evening / Sunday workshop session maybe once a month. No idea how you’d work through the liabilities, but maybe some kinda community based thing? If you’ve got the space, maybe look at something like a bike-film night every so often too ?

Shop rides and advocacy are good ways to get involved with building a community around the shop.

Online sales need to be managed 100%, so either limit that to what you can actually reliably deal with, or just don’t go there, as it’ll raise expectation that’ll then fail. Only ever list what you actually have in stock, unless it’s rare / obscure, and then be realistic about when you can get it.

Alternatively, maybe just have a decent informational website, times of opening, what’s new, what’s on – perhaps even more of a rolling shop-blog kinda thing?

esher that workshop is sweet man good work.
Any clues to where you are nowadays esher? It’s always good to know where there is a shop with excellent mtb knowledge in London.

@timmys

a well known bike shop opposite Waterloo Station in London SE1 😉

AS an addition, when I was down in Somerset I used to go here.

http://www.bicyclechain.co.uk/ourshops.asp lower floor was new bikes, top floor was second hand. Not sure how it worked but you bought off the shop using their tills. I don’t think they bought/owned the bikes themselves though, merely displayed them.

http://www.bicyclechain.co.uk/ourshops.asp

I bought two bikes off them while I was down there. When I was looking for a road bike second hand, i’d pop in about once fortnight to have a look. I’d normally pick up some pads, cables, gels etc. at the same time. Really good idea IMO if you have space