Bicycle Shops

[blackdiamond]

My bike shop is the best but they hold no value in a rat rod.
For my 1963 missile/1993 westport i bought a ton of parts from them over 100$ for the bike.
when i wanted to sell it he would only give me 50$...I didnt sell it.

now it looks only something like this.
(same tires, rims, paint but no fenders , wald apes, a patina'd rack, a rusted springer, no reflectors, 52tooth sprocket,no chaing...)

 

[subadrew]

I'm lucky. We have one shop that really REALLY knows cruisers, and some other shops that are pretty darn helpful. I don't need to go to the shop, but when I do it's because I need part of a part that I don't know what it's called and don't know if anyone would really have it. They always do and it's always from the back room (never seen). They'd prefer I buy a bike, but they'll sell me the smalls and not argue about it. I recommend them for all my cruiser friends. They'll happily rebuild that model d skiptooth. An old bike to them has a rod brake and shaft drive.

Rich knows his stuff and he knows it =)

http://www.cycleanalystinc.com/

 

[XC204]

Drew I gotta check this out when I'm in Denver at the end of July Emily says its a good place also . See ya then. Oh is Cobraon trike Austin W ?

 

[DHrider]

nice to hear a few good stories.
ive got about 2-3 shops in my area that are on my radar... then there is probably 2-3 others that i dont often set foot into. the ones that i dont go to very much always reassure me when i have a lapse in judgement that," YES i am making the right decision to avoid them at all cost, and what the hell am i doing here."

then there is the other 3 that are over the top friendly, will enable my ghetto fixes, talk any talk with me and provide any other helpful information. i wish i had the money to dump into their shops. they are the best....

thanks to my select local bike shops.

 

[rydr1]

too funny "what is it going on?" I get that question too and once i try to explain it to them they get even more confused they look at me like this :shock: . then I tell them "just get me this", "this" being the part I need.

 

[X-RAY]

im always hearing "suport your lbs", but, as many have said, they dont always fit my style. i got a computer, phone, and credit crd, so telling me you can order it doesnt exite me at all when i can do it myself. dont get me wrong, i believe in buying local. some guys were complaining that bike shops dont help them cause they dont have what the shop is selling. remember chicken wings firework shop in the movie joe dirt? its about what the customer wants, not what the shop wants to sell. most shops i go in have lots of new bikes and few parts. i realize the cost of overhead, but dont they make more profit on parts and accesories than new bikes? i heard that once, maybe it isnt true. anyhow, im not trying to rip on any shop, just felt the need to give my excuse foor looking to the net first instead of localy.

 

[Hay Burner]

Jerry that's cool to hear that about Knobbies and Slicks. When I first saw their website I thought they were just going to be another snob bike shop I will have to go check them out.
If the first shop you are talking about is where I think it is, go to their location in the mid cities and talk to Russ or Richard. Those two guys are golden their mechanics are hit and miss. Sometimes I get one that is pretty interested in cruisers and a couple that I just want to throttle when I see them. Normally those are the younger ones and they don't stay long.
Quick story about Russ. I was telling him about a '60 model Schwinn middleweight I was working on that the rear dropouts were out of alignment. He told me to bring it by and he would take a look at it. Just to save space the frame was a little more messed up than I thought but Russ took the time to get it as close as possible. Then when I asked what I owed he told me nothing, so I picked up a couple tubes. Another time I went in with my Felt frame and I wanted a seat post and clamp. Richard took the frame and disappeared in back for what seemed like 20 mins, and came back with both. I will not tell the bad as the good more than makes up for it.

 

[lucha_mike]

My LBS is pretty much only good for buying new, complete bicycles. If I want parts or anything else, I pretty much have to buy online. It's sad, because I would rather buy from them, but they just never have anything or really even seem to know anything about older bikes. Last time I went in, I wanted a pair of 1/2 pedals, they only had one type to choose from, they didn't have a single speed chain in stock for some reason, and the bearings they sold me ended up being the wrong ones and I had to return them. I ended up buying all that stuff online...

 

[Bicycle808]

ok, i gotta start with a disclaimer, which is: i don't support local shops much, and i don't have a lot of love for shop owners/drones in general. But, looking at this thread, it seems that alot of you have unrealistic expectations.

1-Used Bikes. I love em, but any shop that sells them is going to be accused of selling stolen goods. Some ARE selling stolen goods,others aren't . but any shop selling used bikes needs to decide whether the hassle of dealing with that rep is worth it. I, for one, can't fault a shop for only stocking new stuff.

2-Stuff in Stock. It's tough to know what to stock in a shop. Sitting on a bunch of inventory is no fun if no one is ever going to buy it. Now, this isn't meant as an insult to the citizens of RRB; i hold y'all in high regard for this very reason, but y'all have some very bizarre needs as far as bike parts go. I've worked in a shop, and in the new millennium, you almost never get customers looking for 21.1mm stems and 20" white walls, and when you do, they want to spend minimal amounts of $$$. True, it's a sad thing when mechanics don't know that there are 21.1 and 22.0 and 22.2 flavors of 1" quill stems out there, but when i emailed the ppl at profileracing about their wedge stem, the guy told me "1" is 1", end of story". He was cool once I set him straight, but it still told me alot about modern typical bike ppl. For the record, the wedge stem is 21.1mm, and to the profile guy's credit, the 21.1mm will fit in any 1" steerer tube (although I'd use a shim in a 22.2mm steerer tube if i were to go that route.) Point is, you can't expect the small local bike shop to have any sort of massive inventory, especially in oddball parts and outdated sizes. (be nice if they did have it, though.)

3-"What is this going on?" Yes, this is a very arrogant-sounding question, but the guy needs to cover his butt. When ppl ask for a part in a bike shop, and the employee just sells it to them without question, there is a pretty good chance (33%?) that the customer will come in the following weekend, trying to make a return, and p'ed off that no one told him it "wouldn't work" for his application. Worse,the component in question is likely to be damaged by hamfisted attempts to make it work, and things turn ugly. So, the wise lbs employee will ask, to make sure that ugly scene can be avoided. Deal with the same shop enough, and they'll eventually learn that you're one of the guys they don't have to ask.

The fact is, if you're on this site, you probably shouldn't be going to the bike shop much. You already know what the part is going on, what part you should be buying, and even if you're buying the "wrong" part, you know the right way to "make it work". Bike shops are for ppl who don't know what they need, or don't know how to install parts or fix bikes. Or, for rich ppl who don't want to get their hands dirty by wrenching on a bike, so they have the shop do it for them. (Hence, the tendency for shops to cater to high-end roadies and mtb guys.) None of us are one of those guys. You KNOW what you need, you KNOW the shop won't have it, you KNOW you can order it yourself for way less online, and you KNOW how to install it yourself. And, frankly, you know you WANT to install it yourself. The LBS is an essential thing for neophyte and/or pampered cyclists, but it is an unnecessary middle-man for the RRB/DIY/crusty&greasy types who post on here...

I've been hitting the local bike co-op lately for weird shhh i don't have on hand. I bring parts i don't need anymore or stuff i've trash-picked in as donations, and in return, i can count on them should i ever need a 21.1mm stem or an s-6 rim...free of charge.

Sorry to write a book, but i do feel some sympathy for the scheisters running bike shops, and the clowns who work there. I don't shop at Victoria's Secret for underwear; they don't have what I need in-stock. But i'm not mad at Victoria's Secret about it, and i think that's a pretty good analogy for my attitude towards the LBS.

-rob

 

[KJV]

Mark, go to Bishop's.
their showroom is full
of cruisers.

Yeah I've been there too & they are the same way

i had a guy stop by yesterday; i had told
him to go to Bishop's; he was looking for muscle bike parts.
they pulled out the catalog &
he order a whole bunch of stuff @ cost.
they must not like you. :lol:

 

[DHrider]

very good points BICYCLE808 i do agree with many of them.

 

[jerrykr]

Hay Burner,

"If the first shop you are talking about is where I think it is, go to their location in the mid cities",

yeah, I've had about 50% "happy" at that one, and much better at the mid-cities one, (they do own the CABE, after all).

as always, it really depends on the guy you get to wait on you.

my expectation in my story about the steer tube thread chasing was simple. I asked if he could do it, a simple "I don't have the die tool" would have been totally satisfactory, but he said that they had the tool and shot me a price I thought was way over the top, and I said so, and then he acted like I was stepping on his toes or something. I did buy a Park tool I needed before I left, and I let him know in no uncertain terms that I was spending money in his shop.

funny how you forget the good service, and never forget the "bad".

 

[Bigcam59]

I've found that bike shops are like bike riders...no 2 are the same. I live within at least 3 shops. 2 are shops that feature higher end bikes, but my fave is Erlton Bike Shop, a shop that's been in business and run by the same people since 1971. Lots of old parts in stock and a bunch of actual bike guys that appreciate old, rusty art.
PS Sadly, they don't sell used bikes. They can't cover the liability. New bikes are covered by a manufacturer"s warranty, and good brands will cover their dealers pretty well. Something happens on a used bike and it's all on the shop's shoulders.
PPS Don't be upset when a shop asks you questions...being in the business I can attest to how many people are clueless about the bikes they ride. Maybe they just want to make sure you're getting what you need... 8)

 

[Lavagasm]

My local bike shop is great. I'm a newbie when it comes to bikes, and they are really helpful. Plus their services are extremely inexpensive. They've been around for 50 years and they stock a ton of bikes both new and used.


http://libertybellbicycles.com/about/ab ... s-pg62.htm

 

[Bicycle808]

Erlton is a decent shop, BigCam, and yet another where the help makes all the difference. They hold on amid all the newer, bigger shops with top names due primarily to service, i reckon. I sort of lurked around, listening in, while the old feller sold a kid&his mom a bmx bike. It was the sort of sales pitch that one can be proud of--honest, straightforward-- a rarity these days. I asked the younger dude if they had any hyperglide rear hubs with 126mm spacing in the back. They did! I asked how much--free! Very cool. I didn't end up using the hub itself, but the freehub body i pulled off it came in handy. Pretty cool shop, overall. The thing is, I like a lot of the local shops a whole lot (D&Q, not so much), but I still can't bring myself to pay such a massive markup over mail-order in most cases.

-rob

 

[c.p.odom]

As a young man I did my 20 years in the bike biz, mostly in shops bending wrenches. These were older shops with tons of experience and old parts. Not a single one of these shops still exist.
The experience is just gone, now when some kid tells me he is the best mechanic in the world because he works on the "Pro" bikes, I don't go back.

 

[Hay Burner]

Yeah Jerry I have gotten to point that I go to the two guys I mentioned if I want something specific beyond tubes or tools. The rest can get my tubes. I cannot tell you how many times I have wanted to pound the little guy that did not try to keep my business. ( I am not a little person) Dealing with what we are I am used to blank stares and we can't/don't, But I do not tolerate the little show off like you mentioned. I agree he should have just said he didn't have the tool if he didn't want to do it. From my understanding their shop rate is $10/hr so charging two hours to chase some threads is bull. However he may not have understood the simple term 'chase threads'.

 

[Hay Burner]

As a young man I did my 20 years in the bike biz, mostly in shops bending wrenches. These were older shops with tons of experience and old parts. Not a single one of these shops still exist.The experience is just gone, now when some kid tells me he is the best mechanic in the world because he works on the "Pro" bikes, I don't go back.

QFT, I just don't take my bike to that one