Why as a commuter I like LBS

DonDaddyD
DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
edited January 2009 in Commuting chat
Though I'm suffering Man-Flu this didn't stop my girlfriend dragging me out to do some shopping. Somehow I managed to get to Croydon and visit GB cycles. Something happened, it dawned on me as to why I really like being a commuter in a LBS.

I asked the guy in GB cycles about Conti Attack/Force (Bassjunkie said exactly the same thing and to be honest they're tyres more suited to the Prince and not my Giant SCR3 on Fulcrums 7's). Anyway the chap in GB cycles looked at me as to say "Sir I'm not going to sell you something so excessive" This is a constant I've encountered in LBS all over. I find a good LBS tend not to sell an item or service beyond what is necessary to the customer (regardless of price).

More examples:

DeVer didn't want to sell me my carbon seatpost, told me not to go mad when asked about new wheels and told me not to bother changing my bike from a triple to a double. I like having to put my foot down with sales men in a 'I want to buy this from you' as oppose to a 'I don't want to buy item no matter how much it will benegit my life'.

I find that the minute you tell the LBS people you commute they automatically go into "save you money mode".

Has anyone else found this?
Food Chain number = 4

A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game

Comments

  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    I get that too, the people I'm talking to at Epic on the Viner are sending me list after list of products with the advantages as opposed to the cost, they don't want me to overspend, but want to give me the quality I'm after.

    OK so maybe they're not actually local, but you don't get that service from Chain Reaction... or at least I don't...
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    Yeah, well, let's be honest. If you want upselling advice, you have to ask one of the big fruit and cream tarts on here. You're never going to get that sort of quality from a LBS. :wink:
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

    Bike 1
    Bike 2-A
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    My LBS shops seem to be built on some kind of space time vortex, I go in for a simple part or advice then emerge several hours later having engaged in conversations bordering on the geek levels of a Star Trek conf. or very technical UNIX kernel debate, both parties parting feeling strangely gratified and at peace.

    :shock:
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    my LBS probably doesn't know what a kernal is let alone micro vs monolithic but they do offer to buy a pint at the local...
  • always_tyred
    always_tyred Posts: 4,965
    itboffin wrote:
    My LBS shops seem to be built on some kind of space time vortex, I go in for a simple part or advice then emerge several hours later having engaged in conversations bordering on the geek levels of a Star Trek conf. or very technical UNIX kernel debate, both parties parting feeling strangely gratified and at peace.

    :shock:
    It is the resort of many males to spew technobabble in order to substitute for understanding and intelligence. Lawyers, for example, receive years of training in this.

    Whereas there are certainly guys in bike shops to be found who are absolute gurus who can fix a bike by merely looking at it, not every guy behind the till at an LBS has a clue. Quite often you'll be advised to make do with whatever they stock, which is often not much.

    L-i-T - Online vendors offer me damn good service, but saving me from my own stupidity is not a service they either offer or claim to offer (more's the pity...) Expecting this is like going to a Stephen Segal film and complaining about the acting.
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    I don't have a "L"BS in N. Wales, the closest one is a good 5 or 6 miles away.

    In Manchester there's a couple of Bike shops within 10mins walk/ride.
    I like bikes...

    Twitter
    Flickr
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    Always Tyred wrote:
    Quite often you'll be advised to make do with whatever they stock, which is often not much.

    I've been skeptical of this, so I go in with the attitude "I'm buying the one that I want, not the one that you have".

    *In my experience by the time I've left "The one that I want" tends to be "The one that they have...."

    Other than that, and DeVer is a great example. I find LBS may have a better item but if I don't need it (like my carbon seat post which I really had to put my foot down to buy) they won't recommend it. Same with the seat I have, I was set to buy a £50+ seat Selle Italia because it was red and wasn't Specialized. 10mins later I left with carbon seat post, which I insisted on, a Specialized seat, £30 cheaper than what I wanted to pay and £20 off the total price.... :shock:
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game

Categories