What makes a bike shop a part of the community?

What do the best shops offer that bring customers to the shop and keep them coming back?

Nowadays bike shops aren’t part of the community. Decent coffee shops with bike sales and servicing sidelines, maybe.

To be part of a “community” you need to give something back, not just take, I don’t think many bike shops do this.

This is a part of our community:
https://www.accessbike.org/
it doesn’t take much though.

I’m not a Bristolian but my daughter lives near the Bristol bike project.  Fantastic place, the very definition of “part of the community”.

When the people that work there are competent,nice humans that are passionate about cycling ,and involve themselves  in local cycling events/races.

It’s also a big bonus if they trade small fixes for biscuits 😉

Very lucky in Shrewsbury to have 3 amazing LBS; Dave Mellors, the Trailhead and Trek. They are heavily involved in the local clubs, support local race series (and racers), hold free guided/led shop rides (including ladies specific) & demo days and have hosted open evenings to meet distributors/get more insight/talks & presentations. But most of all they make the effort to know and remember the locals and engage with and help them out.

A lot of the community ones near us are effectively charities, selling refurbished bikes, running maintenance courses, cycle training etc.

A couple try to be community based with their own clubs/rides and fancy coffee, but they are their own self sustaining community.

Sadly I think scale is the issue. Small enough to be essentially a one man band with hangers on can be part of the community, because the owner is part of the community. Scale that up and it becomes increasingly faceless. The only snag with small is maintaining a living beyond the bread line is practically impossible. It becomes a passion project for someone with alternative means (armed forces/ emergency services pension etc)

Ian at Auldearn Bikes is a fine example of a fine man, running a fine business. Rides with the locals, is active on local rider whatsapp groups, well liked and does a good job at a fair price. Selling stuff is a minor sideline however. https://nairnbikerepairshop.co.uk/

One of mine is right next to a trail centre. The owner is the state and national women’s enduro champion and turns up to some events  as a free mechanic. She sponsors trails and events and I think that high visibility and a very cool logo help.

The Spin Project

To be part of a “community” you need to give something back, not just take, I don’t think many bike shops do this.

Equally though, you’d be amazed at how many riders within “the community” will buy something online to save £2 over the price tag in the shop but still expect to turn up at the shop at 4.45pm on a Saturday with a “can you just…?”

I guess, similar things that make any of us part of a local cycling community. Helping younger or less experienced riders out, helping them learn. Passing on used bikes and parts for further use not only for profit. Hanging out and making connections. Riding out and making connections. For a shop, just being a focal point for all this or helping to facilitate it is a lot of it.

@crazy_legs, exactly .. community is a 2-way thing.

@qwerty +100 on the Access Bike project here. I called in a while back after a house move to donate boxes of parts and tyres and stayed there a while, a great place. There were kids building project bikes diving on a box of coloured grip samples. Bike designers of the future. Or coders / investors / artists of the future if they’re wiser ; )
Interestingly there was a bike shop near here that did many of the same things especially for encouraging younger rider’s interests and providing weekend jobs. The owner probably didn’t make a lot from the shop but it was very much a community shop. It closed when the owner retired and is much missed.

Could copy word for word what Hoppy wrote for MB Cyclery in Haslemere.  Except maybe the ladies specific rides, but there are two ladies covering that side pretty well in the local area.  Great support for a bunch of very rapid kids as well.

Last weekend’s annual party/ demo:

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To be fair, for the average STW dweller with a garage full of tools and spares and the ability to confidently buy random spares online a good local bike shop probably is far from vital.

For the ‘average’ commuter, weekend warrior or beginner having that local support and advice there on tap is a much bigger deal, I grew up in a town without a bikeshop and it was definately a barrier for the less dedicated.

We have a certified bike mechanic (electric too) as part of our club which is all we need as we usually buy our bikes on-line.

The thread title and opening post text are different questions.

To be fair, for the average STW dweller with a garage full of tools and spares and the ability to confidently buy random spares online a good local bike shop probably is far from vital.

That describes me.  I probably last went into a bike shop 20 years ago only to find out they knew less than I did about the specific thing I was after so walked off and bought it online.

Saying that, The Woods Cyclery in Lyndhurst seems to be trying with group rides around the Forest but looking at what they sell may be frequented by wannabee hipsters (as you can’t actually be a hipster in the New Forest)

Local mainly roadie/commuter shop do a membership scheme so you pay £15 a month and get one basic and one premium service over the year plus collection/delivery service and discounts on other stuff. Higher tier also gets you a bike fit a year (plus minor checks or consults through the year), free labour on minor adjustments, loan of bike travel boxes, and they’ll come out in their van to pick you up if you have an accident or mechanical problem.

People don’t have to worry about a big service cost all at once, shop gets them coming back for minor things and also should catch any mechanical issues early. That rolling income is handy for the shop and when the workshop is getting quiet they can just book in some servicing.

To be fair, for the average STW dweller with a garage full of tools and spares and the ability to confidently buy random spares online a good local bike shop probably is far from vital.

Oh I can buy random spares online and I’ve got a decent range of tools. However in terms of time and effort (and to an extent, effective working space), I’d far rather pass the bike to my (excellent) LBS and have them sort out the issues. I know it’ll be done properly and to a high standard and I also know that I won’t end up with brake fluid or tubeless sealant all over my kitchen floor!

Anything above minor cleaning and maintenance jobs, I’d rather just support my community bike shop – I can afford to pay him, he enjoys working on decent bikes, he earns money (and I’ll always take in a proper coffee and some cake from the local cafe so I get to support two community businesses in one go!)

And that goes both ways – because I support him, he’s actually willing to do the occasional “can you just…?” job without me taking the piss.

No LBS around here that I feel welcome in , the last one I frequented the co owner set up on his own purely doing servicing . He was glad to get out of the showroom model .

We’ve had some corkers over the years ?

The thread title and opening post text are different questions.

Yep. Two different topics being conflated here.

The OP is a bit special 🙂

OP is more than special, he is youneek

Does posting on STW not count for anything these days? ?

What do the best shops offer that bring customers to the shop and keep them coming back?

I’ve always ended up choosing a bike shop based on which one is the least bad.

Perfect, thanks all

Not bike shops but a general observation.

All* the independent shop owners round me proudly display shop local signs etc. they are quite happy to queue up in Costa though, I watch them from the independent and actually nice coffee shop directly across the road.

*Most.

I must be lucky, number of really helpful shops in our area (Midlands). The one I favour runs a great club with lots of socials and racing mixed together.

Stage 1 Cycles in Hawes is pretty damn good on this sort of thing… loads of kids activities, good cafe and bike shop, good advice on routes etc. Proper job.

https://www.stage1cycles.co.uk/products/wensleydale-bike-club-sunday-morning-group?srsltid=AfmBOooYGo8_rzCqaVJnLMknblWLBrBEqMeXqmMOL0glB5fZ6U2GCAsZ