What do you think will happen to the UK bike retail industry?

[Tom B]

Cycle parts are nearly always cheaper somewhere on the internet.

And often just as quick.

There is an LBS at the top of my street, I know if I go for an 8 or 9 speed chain or cassette he'll have to order it in and it'll be a few days, and probably more expensive and take longer than if I order it online myself. The there is the issue I'm out of the house at 6am and back at 6pm while he's open 10-5.

If I want a 12 speed or 13 speed chain I might have more luck.

I doubt he'd have 26" tube. He didn't have a couple of nipples a few weeks back, well the day after I needed them, he was closed on the day.

So I ended up in a skip at the tip for some.

Yup, been a long time since I bought a new bike, 2016 I think !

Likewise.

The LBS mentioned above was taken over about 3 years ago. The previous owner was the steroid typical LBS owner and ran the usual stereotypical LBS. I used to spend easily £25 a month with him, on bits and bobs, bearings, outers, the odd inner tube and equally I'd get him to true my wheels a few times a year. He was friendly and approachable you'd regularly see him outside the shop showing people how to fix punctures and what not. He was also great with the posher stuff and at reconditioning suspension etc. More than once I'd take the wheels up for truing and he'd say come back at 5pm and they wouldn't be done, I'd end up taking them back a few days later but it was always good.

That chap got a offered a job 9-5, Monday to Friday in the bike industry with holiday and sick pay, doing what he loved so bit there hand off as it made

The guy that reopened the shop isn't interested in normal bikes that cost under a few grand. He doesn't keep stock, everything is ordered in for all the jobs that are pre-booked. He has no interest in truing my wheels, preferring to sneer "you need better wheels than that", he doesn't want to fix the kids or passing trades punctures. I asked him to do the BB on my MTB but he said "I don't really do jobs like that".... so I bought the BB and the tool. I just don't darken his door.

... next buy will be a truing stand.

 

[simongt]

There's a place called 'Bicycle Links' in Norwich which is an LBS, but is more of a people's cycle shop and does all repairs, upgrades etc., being perfectly happy to work on older bikes. Has a second hand parts sales area and also services Bromptons a lot better than the local agent - ! Only minor drawback is that they take your Brommy in, do a check and list the parts you will need to order for the actual service, but that's not really an issue for getting a great level of service at a decent price - !
Plus there's a decent caff about three minutes walk away where you can have a cuppa and a bun whilst they're doing the pre service check - !

 

[Punkawallah]

And often just as quick.

There is an LBS at the top of my street, I know if I go for an 8 or 9 speed chain or cassette he'll have to order it in and it'll be a few days, and probably more expensive and take longer than if I order it online myself. The there is the issue I'm out of the house at 6am and back at 6pm while he's open 10-5.

If I want a 12 speed or 13 speed chain I might have more luck.

I doubt he'd have 26" tube. He didn't have a couple of nipples a few weeks back, well the day after I needed them, he was closed on the day.

So I ended up in a skip at the tip for some.



Likewise.

The LBS mentioned above was taken over about 3 years ago. The previous owner was the steroid typical LBS owner and ran the usual stereotypical LBS. I used to spend easily £25 a month with him, on bits and bobs, bearings, outers, the odd inner tube and equally I'd get him to true my wheels a few times a year. He was friendly and approachable you'd regularly see him outside the shop showing people how to fix punctures and what not. He was also great with the posher stuff and at reconditioning suspension etc. More than once I'd take the wheels up for truing and he'd say come back at 5pm and they wouldn't be done, I'd end up taking them back a few days later but it was always good.

That chap got a offered a job 9-5, Monday to Friday in the bike industry with holiday and sick pay, doing what he loved so bit there hand off as it made

The guy that reopened the shop isn't interested in normal bikes that cost under a few grand. He doesn't keep stock, everything is ordered in for all the jobs that are pre-booked. He has no interest in truing my wheels, preferring to sneer "you need better wheels than that", he doesn't want to fix the kids or passing trades punctures. I asked him to do the BB on my MTB but he said "I don't really do jobs like that".... so I bought the BB and the tool. I just don't darken his door.

... next buy will be a truing stand.

Lidl sold me mine a few years ago - recommended.

 

[Fastpedaller]

And often just as quick.

There is an LBS at the top of my street, I know if I go for an 8 or 9 speed chain or cassette he'll have to order it in and it'll be a few days, and probably more expensive and take longer than if I order it online myself. The there is the issue I'm out of the house at 6am and back at 6pm while he's open 10-5.

If I want a 12 speed or 13 speed chain I might have more luck.

I doubt he'd have 26" tube. He didn't have a couple of nipples a few weeks back, well the day after I needed them, he was closed on the day.

So I ended up in a skip at the tip for some.



Likewise.

The LBS mentioned above was taken over about 3 years ago. The previous owner was the steroid typical LBS owner and ran the usual stereotypical LBS. I used to spend easily £25 a month with him, on bits and bobs, bearings, outers, the odd inner tube and equally I'd get him to true my wheels a few times a year. He was friendly and approachable you'd regularly see him outside the shop showing people how to fix punctures and what not. He was also great with the posher stuff and at reconditioning suspension etc. More than once I'd take the wheels up for truing and he'd say come back at 5pm and they wouldn't be done, I'd end up taking them back a few days later but it was always good.

That chap got a offered a job 9-5, Monday to Friday in the bike industry with holiday and sick pay, doing what he loved so bit there hand off as it made

The guy that reopened the shop isn't interested in normal bikes that cost under a few grand. He doesn't keep stock, everything is ordered in for all the jobs that are pre-booked. He has no interest in truing my wheels, preferring to sneer "you need better wheels than that", he doesn't want to fix the kids or passing trades punctures. I asked him to do the BB on my MTB but he said "I don't really do jobs like that".... so I bought the BB and the tool. I just don't darken his door.

... next buy will be a truing stand.

If you are handy it's possibly best to build your own - plenty of videos online showing them. Can be built from wood or metal!
I've been using a DIY one for over 40 years.

 

[craigwend]

Not just the bike industry...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c624nzepd59o

 

[Dogtrousers]

Not just the bike industry...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c624nzepd59o

Zoinks! Homebase!

Hope they can sort something out

 

[Fastpedaller]

But on the plus side for bike retail (some may differ in their view) Dave is back!
Dave Loughran (Founder of Planet X) has returned with an outlet called Banana Industries - Lots of bargains of course!

 

[PaulSB]

Not just the bike industry...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c624nzepd59o

Hardly surprising as Homebase has been on the slippery slope for a decade or more. That some point management decided to offer a dysfunctional product range consisting primarily of products of very low quality.

A long way from its heyday.

 

[craigwend]

But on the plus side for bike retail (some may differ in their view) Dave is back!
Dave Loughran (Founder of Planet X) has returned with an outlet called Banana Industries - Lots of bargains of course!

Oooh - more like old planet x...
https://www.bananaindustries.co.uk/
And founded 2013..

 

[Drago]

But on the plus side for bike retail (some may differ in their view) Dave is back!
Dave Loughran (Founder of Planet X) has returned with an outlet called Banana Industries - Lots of bargains of course!

I bet he won't be bidding on any more ex-celebrity bicycles at auction.

 

[tyred]

Well I'm doing my bit! 4 new bikes in the last 2 years!

You're doing my share.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Where I now work we do mostly customer repairs, and we're rammed: we have a 3-4 week waiting list for repairs, although that's partly due to organisational issues. We've now got a city centre workshop which does repairs in 24h.

-My colleague went to a bike shop to fix a puncture, got charged £20. I don't have loads of spare cash at the end of the month, and I wouldn't be cycling if I got a shop to do all the maintenance/repairs on my bike.

-I think the only type of physical shops that are likely to survive in the future are ones that offer some sort of excitement and 'experience'. If a bike shop just literally sells bike stuff, what's the fun in that?

Ironically this is why I started learning to fix my own bikes; I couldn't afford shop prices (and I need my bike tomorrow, not in three weeks) Mind you, 20 GBP isn't far from what we charge for a puncture repair, so I doubt a different kind of shop will be able to do it much cheaper these days.

What sort of "experience and excitement" would work? I ask because our workshop is frankly awful on the customer facing side and offers no real "experience" except walking into a draughty old warehouse. It was set up by a bike mechanic and a social worker, and neither profession is known for their artistic genius. I'm going to start making suggestions at some point, so any thoughts are welcome.

No chance.

Not because the government think they shouldn't, but because of the practicalities involved in registering all the ones already out there, including finding a way to fit a readily visible number plate.

It would cost a fair bit more to implement than the returns.

Don't tell the UKgov, but It wouldn't be that hard: Insurance offices can sell the plates for a fixed fee, say 50 GBP, the customer has to fill in their details and description of the bike, and the insurance office enters the data on a central database. The plate is valid Jan-Dec and the new plates are a different colour.
Hey presto a database and lots of unregistered Ebikes getting stopped by over-zealous policeman. We use a similar system here for E-Scooters small motor scooters, and Ebikes capable of 25km/h+

 

[wiggydiggy]

'Decline in cycling cited' as Halfords profits fall.
Store chain sees profits drop 25% year-on-year
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/decline-in-cycling-cited-as-halfords-profits-fall

So it's our fault.

Halfords will hate me then, all my new bikes have been on Cycle2Work though one of them did come from Halfords.

I think the money is going to be in decent quality servicing and repairs. I used my LBS this week after a brake pad change went wrong. I suppose the saying 'use it or lose it' applies so whilst I'm certainly still going to do basic maintenance anything more complicated is going to them.

 

[Fastpedaller]

Oooh - more like old planet x...
https://www.bananaindustries.co.uk/
And founded 2013..

Looks like he just 'had it ready' as another company ready for an opportunity?