Halfords Business Model

[abo]

Looks like their more 'premium' bikes can't avoid the Halfords effect:

Voodoo Marasa

 

[smokeysmoo]

Looks like their more 'premium' bikes can't avoid the Halfords effect:

Voodoo Marasa

That's one dynamic guy filming that video

I will never defend Halfords, but he's moaning about the seat and seats are such a personal thing, you can spend £3k and still have to change the seat to suit your own @rse.

The crank is Shimano, basic, but Shimano, and I think what he's moaning about are the smaller teeth that all chainrings have to assist in moving the chain between the rings.

Pedals, again a personal thing to a large extent, and a £400 bike is never going to come with quality pedals, perhaps I should contact him and tell him none of my bikes even came with pedals despite costing £1000's!

At the end of the day he sounds like the kind of guy who spends the minimum amount on a bike and expects it to be the same level as a bike costing 2-3 more than he's prepared to spend. He's clearly not does his homework on this occasion and would be best served to attempt to get his money back and investing it in a better quality used bike.

I'm the first to agree a product must be fit for purpose, but I think visually this bike is and he's just regretting his purchase decision.

 

[abo]

That's one dynamic guy filming that video

I will never defend Halfords, but he's moaning about the seat and seats are such a personal thing, you can spend £3k and still have to change the seat to suit your own @rse.

The crank is Shimano, basic, but Shimano, and I think what he's moaning about are the smaller teeth that all chainrings have to assist in moving the chain between the rings.

Pedals, again a personal thing to a large extent, and a £400 bike is never going to come with quality pedals, perhaps I should contact him and tell him none of my bikes even came with pedals despite costing £1000's!

At the end of the day he sounds like the kind of guy who spends the minimum amount on a bike and expects it to be the same level as a bike costing 2-3 more than he's prepared to spend. He's clearly not does his homework on this occasion and would be best served to attempt to get his money back and investing it in a better quality used bike.

I'm the first to agree a product must be fit for purpose, but I think visually this bike is and he's just regretting his purchase decision.

Yeah a lot of that was personal to him, the seat for example like you say. But, those *do* look like broken teeth on the chainrings?

 

[dellzeqq]

I've seen somebody trying to get redress for a bent chainring in Halfords. It wasn't bashed, it had just folded.

He had no chance!

 

[Ian H]

There are still lots of 'proper' bike shops out there that are profoundly unwelcoming to novices or those wanting workaday bikes. Halfords is a less intimidating option for those people.

 

[abo]

I've seen somebody trying to get redress for a bent chainring in Halfords. It wasn't bashed, it had just folded.

He had no chance!

Bent the big sprocket on the rear cassette of my second bike from them, first time I tried to crank it. They sorted me out with a different bike after that, guess it depends on the shop

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Hey guys, let's not get all dreamy eyed about Decathlon, OK? Alright, they may be better than Halford's, but here in France they have such a hold on the market they are in a position where they can sell almost anything, and provide whatever service they want, and we all have no choice but to keep going there. I have bought such shoot in that store - I no longer trust it at all. All their stuff, or practically all of it, is now their own mark but with fancy names like BTwin for bikes, Quechua for camping and walking, Tribord for sailing...and so on. All their own brands are built by slaves in China or Vietnam and is generally medium quality at best. And now it's what practically everyone buys - because there's now very little choice here. Almost all the bikes, all the tents, all the walking shoes, horse riding equipment...everything is made and sold by Décathlon. Look in the camp sites in France - practically every tent is Quechua - and I can tell you the quality of most of these tents is lousy. Look at the bikes - they're all BTwin! And because they're so strong, they no longer care about the quality of their produce. OK, so you may come across the odd one or two things that are of a respctable quality, but the general trend over the years has been to reduce the quality of the produce whilst keeping the prices the same. Really, you do not want Décathlon in the UK! If you want good service and want to be sure that your equipment will last, go to a 'real' bike shop. Trouble is, here in France there are fewer and fewer 'real' bike shops - I now order most of my stuff online - and it usually comes from the UK.

 

[Jimmy Doug]

They started off that way in France too - but even whilst I've been here I've seen the standard slipping. Once a company becomes a monopoly, it no longer needs to provide a good service.

 

[Jimmy Doug]

13 years ago, when I first arrived in France, Décathlon was brilliant. I'd find everything I needed under one roof. I was simply staggered by the place - and indeed, Halfords compared poorly with it (and still does - I'll grant you that). I bought a tent there - it was a La Fuma mountain tent. It was simply superb - it stood up to the worst weather that Scotland could throw at it, and is still in perfect condition to this day - despite 12 years of use and abuse. Then I bought a waterproof coat for my wife - also LaFuma. She still has it today. You could find a whole range of makes for all sports - from the cheapest to the best quality. Then, gradually, we noticed that they started replacing everything by their own stuff - and it's still happening. You can still buy decent stuff there - and their own brand can be good - but we notice a lowering of standards. Last year I bought a water bottle holder there - simple product but there you go! It was fantastic (Zéfal Spring) - the best waterbottle holder I've ever used. This year I wanted to get two more - they don't sell it anymore, just B'Twin cheap copies. Last year I bought a fantastic LED light set - this year they've stopped selling it...and replaced it by B'Twin. I've bought B'Twin stuff that has lasted well - my cycling shirt and shoes for instance - but I've also bought B'Twin stuff that has lasted ten minutes - and wasn't cheap either. I bought their best quality B'Twin paniers - they lasted one tour before they were ripped and and the zip got jammed (I'm careful with my stuff!). On the same tour, I bought some B'Twin tyres - they didn't last long. I've bought a tent there that couldn't cope with the weather...the list could go on and on, but I'll spare you it.
Now, to answer your question, why don't they sell crap in England - well, in England there's simply much more competion than there is in France. To take an example, in Amiens we have two bike shops - and one dirty great Décathlon; in Bath, where I'm from, there are 14 - and Amiens is twice the size of Bath! And when I compare the Décathlon uk site and the Décathlon fr, I see that the fr site has a lot more products in it. Perhaps Décathlon UK is more choosy in its product range because the competition means they have to get it right. In England there are some real quality chains like Evans and the Edinburugh Co-operative which don't exist in France. That's not to say there are no quality shops here, of course there are, but they're harder to find. And that's why I think you should avoid Décathlon - because when you too have practically nothing else, then all those good quality chains and a lot of the small high street shops will start closing.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

[QUOTE 1422973"]
They've not killed the lbs. [/quote]

indeed. my lbs makes a small fortune fixing the problems the local halfords' bikes come with…