Ode to MY LBS

[damcyclist]

I am not the best LBS customer, not even close. Just like the forum here - I'm an LBS lurker. I blow through occassionally, looking for deals & checking out all the pretty bikes that are way out of my price range. Oh, I'll occassionally buy a tube or some widget - something that just can't wait for the mega-mail order delivery. I do all my own wrenching, they don't make a penny on servicing my rides. I haven't bought a new bike since 1996. Even though I have bought 5 or 6 used in that time period; My last purchase of frame & fork I got right here (MXleader! yea-baby).

It's not that I have anything against these shops, it's just that I try to squeeze every cent out of my bike dollar. The group rides are mostly too fast & the other customers too young (for me). The apparell either doesn't fit, or isn't for me, other than the occasional pair of socks - Being in the bike biz has got to be a tough way to make a buck. Not only do my local LBS's have to compete with the mega mail order shops, but there are no less than 6 shops within 10 miles of my house, more than double that within 20 miles - and these include 2 performance and 2 REI shops. There's bound to be a shake out of this industry soon. Anyway - one of my local shops has shown me such tremendous service, I just wanted to shout out their name -

Reality Bikes Cumming GA.

These guys (Todd & Eric) spent almost 2 hours with me just to make sure that the shoes I bought fit properly and the cleats were properly adjusted. And this wasn't during off-peak shop time. This was on a busy Saturday afternoon, while their shop was packed. I had purchased a pair of SIDI 5.5 carbon from this shop earlier in the week - half price, of course. I rode these on the trainer exactly once and discovered that SIDI is not for me. So, I took them back for exchange. Rather than grumbling about returning sale merchandise, Todd surprised me & said - Hey let's find out what's wrong with them - bring your bike in, we'll see what's going on. Wow, what a concept! The problem we discovered is that Sidi's just don't fit my feet (narrow in back, wide in front, hi arch - who knew) In the next 100 minutes or so, they discovered that I had a leg length discrepency (new this year). So they shimmed the cleat. They Checked the bike fit, saddle height, reach, my pedal stroke, and the thingy that measures whether your feet are level or not (forgot the name). They did everything there was to do to make sure I walked out of there, not just with shoes that fit, but with the right shoes and that these were set up properly. Man - what a difference! And then, just to put the icing on the cake - they discounted the shoes I did end up buying by 15% since the 50%off Sidi's didn't work. In essence, they matched Performance's price on these same shoes - even though I did not ask for any discounts (unusual for me).

Now, I'm not saying I'll start buying $70 conti's from them when I can get them for $25 from megaEuroCycle. And I probably won't be buying the $5K Damocles real soon, but I will spread the word to anyone that asks - or even if they don't ask - This is the place to get involved with cycling. These people will treat you right. I will start showing up for some of the weekly rides, and hope they have a C or D group, even if it's just me - and I will do whatever I can to help them support the local cycling community.

Here's hoping everyone has a Reality Bikes in their community -

Cheers,

DAMcyclist

[gforce]

Nice write up - glad you are showing the love for a shop that helped you out.
Maybe this shop will justly be one of the survivors you speak of.

[CNY rider]

It's great to hear your story and how well they treated you.
It has to be damned depressing though for anyone running a local shop.

Just to be clear: Given the level of excellent service, why wouldn't you make some purchases there to maintain a working relationship with them and continue to enjoy the value-added they bring to the transaction? (I mean purchases more substantial than inner tubes.)

I can tell you that living in the "opposite" world isn't any fun either: I have zero LBS's around. Closest full service shop about an hour away. I wouldn't mind spending a few extra frn's now and then to have a quality shop nearby.

[dekindy]

My LBS does this for me all the time and I try to buy everything that I can from them. Right now though I am tempted to purchased some Conti's from ProBikeKit. Still struggling with that one. But my LBS has saved me so much money from keeping me from making bad decisions and other great advice and not nickel and diming for things that I really feel disloyal if I don't buy from them.

[damcyclist]

It's great to hear your story and how well they treated you.
It has to be damned depressing though for anyone running a local shop.

Just to be clear: Given the level of excellent service, why wouldn't you make some purchases there to maintain a working relationship with them and continue to enjoy the value-added they bring to the transaction? (I mean purchases more substantial than inner tubes.)

I can tell you that living in the "opposite" world isn't any fun either: I have zero LBS's around. Closest full service shop about an hour away. I wouldn't mind spending a few extra frn's now and then to have a quality shop nearby.

I still have limited funds for this obsession... and while I will buy more from them, It just wouldn't make sense to buy a single [fill in the piece] from them when they are available elsewhere substantially less. Now - how do I define 'substantially less'? I guess if I had to put a value to their service ... I would say, that they need to be within 30% for anything under $100 - maybe 10-15% for anything $100-$300 ... and so on... Does anyone else do this?

I don't think that Reality, in any way, tried to buy my patronage by providing me with great service - it is just what they do, it is their business model, it is their way - whatever. As I said originally - I am not a good LBS customer. And even with the huge number of shops in my area, very few carry what I usually buy (consumables of Conti Tires @ 25mm & campy bits). Reality did secure a portion of my meager bike dollars, but more importantly I think, a good deal of word of mouth from a great experience.

[rounder]

My favorite bike shop is gone forever (over 10 years ago). I used to go there regularly to see what was new and drool over the stuff i already knew would be there (serottas, merkx, etc). Got hooked on bikes and bought lots of stuff. The guys there referred to the owner as the wizard, and he was, he could fix anything or make everything right. People would come from miles around for him to tune their bikes. Cool frames hung from the ceiling. His dog would come out to greet the customers. You always got good advice and attention. One day, while in a hotel away on work, i was reading a local bike mag. It said...store is closing...big discounts. Bought a serotta...glad to have it but wish he was still in business.

[old fat man]

I still have limited funds for this obsession... and while I will buy more from them, It just wouldn't make sense to buy a single [fill in the piece] from them when they are available elsewhere substantially less. Now - how do I define 'substantially less'? I guess if I had to put a value to their service ... I would say, that they need to be within 30% for anything under $100 - maybe 10-15% for anything $100-$300 ... and so on... Does anyone else do this?

I don't think that Reality, in any way, tried to buy my patronage by providing me with great service - it is just what they do, it is their business model, it is their way - whatever. As I said originally - I am not a good LBS customer. And even with the huge number of shops in my area, very few carry what I usually buy (consumables of Conti Tires @ 25mm & campy bits). Reality did secure a portion of my meager bike dollars, but more importantly I think, a good deal of word of mouth from a great experience.

i have similar feelings when it comes to patronizing any of the 6 or 7 area bike shops that i can choose from. i can just as easily sit on my couch and order the items i want, usually for considerably less money and since i can do all the work myself, i don't "need" the shops very often.
the hard part is that these shops are the foundation for cycling in the community and in many areas serve the under appreciated role of cycling advocates keeping local roads and trails accessible to you and me and uniting the cycling community. some areas of the country are seeing more specialty studios that service the needs of cyclists that cannot be met by online retailers (i.e. custom frame design, fit issues, coaching, etc.) while leaving the mainstream buyers to shop online or at the big box stores like REI or Performance.
as people become more and more conscious of their pennies but also more conscious of their environmental impact it will be interesting to see what separates the lbs's that survive/thrive from those that go out of business. one would think service quality and pricing will be among the leading factors.

[93legendti]

It's great to hear your story and how well they treated you.
It has to be damned depressing though for anyone running a local shop.

Just to be clear: Given the level of excellent service, why wouldn't you make some purchases there to maintain a working relationship with them and continue to enjoy the value-added they bring to the transaction? (I mean purchases more substantial than inner tubes.)

I can tell you that living in the "opposite" world isn't any fun either: I have zero LBS's around. Closest full service shop about an hour away. I wouldn't mind spending a few extra frn's now and then to have a quality shop nearby.
And to help keep them in business.

[bhungerford]

yeah, its very true you can usually buy whatever widget you want from mail order, and some mail order places have gotten very good lately. but what you get from your lbs (or a good one anyways) is their vast knowledge of all the widgets out there....example: you want widget A, call your lbs (a good one that is again), talk to them about it, why you want it, what you read about it that's good, etc, etc. they'll go on for a long time talking to you about widget A also, and maybe they'll say to get it, and maybe they'll get within the % you see their advise as worthwhile to support them. but maybe, the 'wizard' at the lbs will tell you about widget B that you didn't know about, and is 1/3 of the price of widget A. and buy buying either widget through the lbs (a good one, get the hint) they'll be sure to have that widget installed/fit/working perfectly so that all you have to do is ride.

basically i know times are especially tight, but the lbs (good ones that is) have a huge value to your cycling experiences that are worth just about any premium on the widget price over mail order.....the trick is to have a good lbs, as most are crap.

[EastCoastRoadie]

My LBS is outstanding, and has saved me a ton of money with their brutal honesty. I have bought 3 bikes in 3 years (I should be done for a while-road, mtb, and cx), and feel they have put me in the perfect setup each time. When it comes to tires, tubes, cleats, shoes, etc., they actually tell me to buy the stuff on-line because they can't match the prices. When it comes to new components, the expectation is that if I buy them at the LBS, they will get installed at a fair price. Even if I don't buy anything, it is always appreciated when I stop by with a 6 pack. I learn something every time...