Quote:
|
Originally Posted by soulspinner
Im open and give em a shot. If he comes close I let him do it. Back when I had more disposable $, I was willing to give em more profit. My guy does quickie truing and other easy fixes gratis. Two way street  . I also know his favorite beer and what he likes on his pizza. |
As a bike shop guy I could not agree more. Give 'em a shot, if they come close, you don't pay for shipping and the problems that go along with mail order vanish as well. We get those work orders all the time - customer gets the parts mail order and we put the bike together. If the front derailleur clamp is the wrong size, what should the shop do? It's really not their fault, nor should it be their problem. It's reasonable to call the customer and tell them they supplied the wrong part. Then it's time to box the thing up, send it back and wait for the new one. In most cases I would have the mechanic swap parts with what we have in stock, as long as it's not the last of that size. In plenty of cases the customer wasn't even close, and the mail order place never picked up on it. The 31.8mm bars with the 26.0mm aero bars is a classic case...
I would like to think that the added piece of mind and good advice you can get from some LBS guys makes up for the difference in price - I could be wrong there...