local bike shop vs online

[fossyant]

What's your local shop's name - I'd guess a few folk on here could let you know if they are good or not ?

 

[summerdays]

What's your local shop's name - I'd guess a few folk on here could let you know if they are good or not ?

Or point you to a nearby reliable one

 

[e-rider]

How do you get a bike serviced, fixed or accessories fitted online?

You must live in an lbs black spot, all the ones around me are decent. Got excellent service from Evans on Sunday and had a great chat in another couple on Saturday

well, in my case I service, fix and fit everything myself. I appreciate that not everyone can do that. I have tried many shops in many cities - they are always crap. Perhaps My expectations are too high no doubt.

 

[cyberknight]

Yep, absolutely. You might save a bit of cash online, but the aftercare and future help/lend of tools/advice is invaluable.

Nuff said !

 

[mark c]

Local Lbs for all our Bikes and Servicing but tend to use the internet for consumables.

 

[fretted]

My local bike shop would be in crystal palace in London or Evans tower hill

 

[vickster]

Cadence in CP which is very race oriented, there's an LBS on the one way system too, dk what it's like. Bromley Bikes gets good feedback on here, that's not far away

Plenty of bike shops around central london, so you won't be restricted to that Evans

 

[slowmotion]

I don't think it's a good idea to buy without going for a test ride so I bought my first two bikes from shops. For my third, I was lucky because a friend had the model and size that I was interested in so I borrowed it to try it out and then bought online at a very big discount. By that time I was confident enough to do the servicing and my own bike fit so it worked out quite well. Actually, the online seller was also a proper bike shop, not just a warehouse...Spa Cycles.

 

[biggs682]

Does the service and aftercare from local bike shops make it worthwhile to check out my local bike shop for my first bike?

it wont do any harm to make a visit and try to make an assessment and go from there , must admit my lbs only sell "basic" bikes but do top quality repairs and service

 

[SpokeyDokey]

There's a problem with the likes of Evans and Halfords - neither will swap stems/saddles/tyres if you either want or more importantly need the former two items to improve fit/comfort. Poor service really.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

First bike, test ride - what's that going to achieve?

 

[fretted]

Cadence in CP which is very race oriented, there's an LBS on the one way system too, dk what it's like. Bromley Bikes gets good feedback on here, that's not far away

Plenty of bike shops around central london, so you won't be restricted to that Evans

Cadence looks pretty intimidating for a newbie

 

[RebornBumbler]

Cadence looks pretty intimidating for a newbie

Unless I missed it somewhere, they don't actually seem to sell bikes either

I can see how some of the services might be well worth the cash though - £25 isn't too bad for figuring out the right saddle for you - I spent over double that on what turned-out to be the wrong one when I (re)started.

 

[vickster]

They sell giant

 

[SpokeyDokey]

How can someone charge £25 to fit a saddle for you? You sit on a gel pad, sit bone width gets measured and then you buy a saddle that suits your sit bone width.