Hello, have I arrived in the wild west?

hanoi1

Hi everyone

Been out of the saddle for over 15 years. I was made aware of the cycle to work scheme, so signed up.

My choice of bike was limited to what Halfords had to offer. However as one of the choices was the Boardman HT Pro, I looked at reviews I have taken the plunge.

I have really enjoyed the last 3 weeks. After the initial red faced, lung busting, wobbly wheeled and feeling that I have been on the edge of a coronary. I am now feeling fitter and more confident. I dunno how many of you know the area, I live pretty much on the Lickey Hills in the West Mids and getting the bike means I can enjoy them.

Now anyway, why the title for this post?.. I have been looking into buying my son a bike. Having looked at reviews and looked at the poor bikes for children offered by Halfords (and the flaming that Halfords seem to attract from the forums). I popped into a localish Bike shop. It was just like a scene from a western. I walked up to the door it creaked as it opened and the conversations stopped dead . There were 5 or six fully lycra clad blokes glaring at me and my lad. I was half expecting "this is a local shop for local people!" After the initial uncomfortable minute or so (felt like 10) I did manage to get some good advice from the Guy behind the counter, pretty much confirming my selection. So far so okish. I then lit the blue touch paper. I mentioned the Boardman, I have never heard so many Tuts in my life. He said I know where the frames are made!. Not a happy chap, bearing in mind I was going to be putting £150 in his coffers.

I am sure it was just that local pub type moment and after few return visits I will be welcomed into the clan or perhaps tolerated.

Oh well once again hello everyone and I am looking forward to getting on my bike with my lad..

rob_mafia

hanoi1 wrote:

there were 5 or six fully lycra clad blokes glaring at me

LMAO OMG are you sure you didn't walk into S&M parlour

Hello mate, yes admittedly Halfords do get a grilling or 2 but after all they are about the business not the passion tbh, but the boardman is a good bike I know there are a few fans of them on here, You probably walked into a roadies c.o.c.k bashing contest to be honest, it's not like that here so pull up a chair and have a brew, enjoy your stay.

Oh just out of interest what bike did you get your son?

hanoi1

Hi

It,s his birthday next month. He will be 6 so the Trek jet20

deffler

Quality tale, I can just imagine the scene

Si78

lol, yes a good story.

I get the same sh!t about my Boardman. Just point out that the frame is probably made in the same Taiwanese factory as theirs is lol

The Pro is a seriously nice bike. I reckon they were just jealous

I had a similar sort of experience when I went into a well known bike shop in Chester.

They could tell I wasnt one of their kind... Bought some padded lycra shorts and gloves. The look on the guys face made me wonder if maybe I had inadvertantly asked him if I could have sex with his mother and his daughter...

snig

just a note on the halfords cycle2work ,I'm about to get a bike on it and halfods say they will source ANY bike you want if they don't stock it,I'm after a cannondale so I hope they are as good as their word.

littlebear

If they were roadies then they should be praising the Boardman, seeing as he was a track cyclist.
The cycling purists can be a little much sometimes, i can vouch for that... and some of them spout as much sh1te as the bike they cant ride.

Never be intimidated by a bike shop. If the guy behind the counter is not giving you the service and advice you would expect.. then try elsewhere. Its always good to gt a second opinion anyway. That said if your son is gonna grow out of his bike in a year then why spend a fortune on one, go to Halfords!

Mate buy him a small BMX so he can develop very important skills and strength, if you want him to be a good all round cyclists in the future. XC and Road cycling can be learnt later when hes board of being dangerous

Anonymous

Sounds like you need to find a friendlier, more relaxed shop.
There used to be one around here, run by a bunch of elitist road cyclists, who looked down their noses at anything that wasn't Campag equipped with 700c wheels.

They soon went out of business when some friendlier shops opened up.

Now, we have a fantastic one in town, where everyone is treated with equeal respect and warmth, regardless of their abilities, knowledge, or even how much they're intending to spend.

Unfortunately, some shops are still run by unfriendly wastes of space.

Northwind

Cycling attracts fanboys and label elitists like few other things (only thing I've come across which is worse is aaargh game consoles, EVERYTHING BUT WHAT I HAVE IS RUBBISH11!!1!ONE!11, but cycling can be a close second. Nothing to be done about it I'm afraid, just ignore the fools where you can.

asquithea

Worth going in with some other customers, too. It gives you a few minutes to look properly while they're dealing with the others, but you also get to see how they treat them.

I couple of months ago, I was in an LBS getting a replacement bottom bracket, when this guy comes in wanting a small part -- think it was a seat post clamp. He wanted to know if he could bring it back if it wasn't the right size.

"NO."

"Could I just hold it up against the bike without taking it out of the plastic bag?"

"NO. If you buy it, you can't bring it back for a refund."

Can you imagine getting this sort of service from any other kind of shop?

Anyway, next time I wanted some work done, I went elsewhere. If you want to get bad service at rip-off prices, Raleigh Cycle Centre in Guildford is the place to go. :twisted:

GTi-R23

Northwind wrote:

Cycling attracts fanboys and label elitists like few other things (only thing I've come across which is worse is aaargh game consoles, EVERYTHING BUT WHAT I HAVE IS RUBBISH11!!1!ONE!11, but cycling can be a close second. Nothing to be done about it I'm afraid, just ignore the fools where you can.

Haha! +1, internet fanboys I can handle, but when they're looking down their nose at you in a bike shop when all you want to do is spend your hard earned cash really gets to me. Don't let one experience put you off though, there are some good shops out there who have friendly, knowledgable, helpful staff who don't have a lycra fetish, so if you don't get the service you exepct, just try elsewhere.


Oh and by the way, PS3 ftw

darth chilly

I had a very similar experience when I got a puncture on my old Carerra MTB.

I dragged it to the shop and asked for an inner tube and if I could use their pump.

The guy said "bring it in and fix it here otherwise you cant use the pump, people have gone off with them before" - nice!

The owner then stood behind his counter, his mate sat on a sofa and watched me as I changed the tube on my tyre - this must have been the first time I had done it in 10 years and I quote "making a meal of that arent you? - snigger"

Pair of snooty tw@ts!

mongoosed

Not every shop is like that though,my local bike shop is friendly and help me out all the time,even bringing my bike up home for me,but some other shops can be very unfriendly.

wiltsforester

I have bought bikes for both my wife and myself in the last year and I would have loved to have supported the local bike shop but they never seemed like they wanted my business - so they didn't get it. Ok I wasnt spending lots of money on top end bikes but £500 still £500.

They closed down last weekend - I wonder why ??

Beardface

A couple of months ago, I was in an LBS getting a replacement bottom bracket, when this guy comes in wanting a small part -- think it was a seat post clamp. He wanted to know if he could bring it back if it wasn't the right size.

"NO."


Anyway, next time I wanted some work done, I went elsewhere. If you want to get bad service at rip-off prices, Raleigh Cycle Centre in Guildford is the place to go. :twisted:

Asquithea, agreed, that is an awful shop.. you may know about them already, but you could try cycleworks over Merrow/Burpham way, they're always happy to help in there..

Otherwise, Beyond MTB's is another great shop, at Smithbrook Kilns (heading to Cranleigh)

Hope that helps mate

Alex

darth chilly wrote:

The guy said "bring it in and fix it here otherwise you cant use the pump, people have gone off with them before" - nice!

The owner then stood behind his counter, his mate sat on a sofa and watched me as I changed the tube on my tyre - this must have been the first time I had done it in 10 years and I quote "making a meal of that arent you? - snigger"

Pair of snooty tw@ts!

So, instead of saying:
"I say sir, I'm slightly f*cking inept having left the house without kit enough to keep my bike rolling down the street, would you mind assisting me with this not so onerous task in exchange for tokens which you may later exchange for a beery beverage?"

You said:
"Oi mate, lend us a pump so I can fix my bike on my own for free with your kit"

It's no wonder they had you do it in the shop, at least they got a laugh out of it.

Salsa

There was a snotty LBS near me, I went in as I was going out riding for the day with my then new air forks. I asked can I borrow a fork pump to add some air to my forks? No, well can I pay you to pump my forks up ? No, were too busy.
Went to another LBS I normally used on occasions but was out of my way, walk in & the boss says hi J, hows your dad etc? Ask can I borrow the shock pump & he says sure take it with you so you can experiment finding the best setting for your forks & bring it back in a day or two.
That shops still going, the others closed down!

hanoi1

Update....

I have paid a visit to a LBS in Bromsgrove. Much better atmosphere, no spitoon in the corner.

Bought a Gary Fisher Astro 20". The guy there couldn't have been more helpfull.

I even mentioned the Boardman. His response "Nice kit for the money" I waited for a but or However.....silence.

P.S Just been for a blast on the bike. White bikes still look good even when plastered in mud Got the Hell out of there when the lightning started :shock:

GHill

Glad you found a better LBS.

yearofthegoat

@stav83 Thanks for the tip - am also in G'ford and am looking for a LBS to help me replace the front forks on my 16yr old GT all terra (recently re-discovered after a week's cycling in the Cotswolds!)

robmanic1

hanoi1 wrote:

Update....

I
Bought a Gary Fisher Astro 20". The guy there couldn't have been more helpfull.

A Fisher????

Only joking, my LBS is run by a bit of a miserable git, but since getting to know him over the past few years and buying bits'n'bobs off him, having a bit of a crack with him, he's much better now and really can't do enough. I think it's a bit of an old-fashioned view of customer service but sometimes you just need to see through it. On the other hand some folk just don't deserve your custom.

Luckily over the years I've built up enough knowledge about bikes not to be initimidated when going into these places, even when I've taken my bike in bits for them to put right a bodged repair gone wrong (hardly ever happens :oops: )

supertwisted

I've experienced similar, disinterested or overtly hostile receptions in some local bike shops.

Ironically, some of the best service I've received has been my local branch of Evans. They've been more than happy to let me poke around their bikes and kit, zero pressure approach to selling and no 'comic store guy' attitude problems.

As some have said, sometimes it's the case that these shops can be a bit old fashioned and cliquey, once you get to know them they're probably quite friendly.

Unfortunately, i'm quite old fashioned too and if I don't get good service for my money from the off, I'll never step foot in there again.

On the up side, I'm a lot more self-sufficient these days so do virtually all my own work on the bike and buy my spares online for less.

JamesBrckmn

Quote:
''Anyway, next time I wanted some work done, I went elsewhere. If you want to get bad service at rip-off prices, Raleigh Cycle Centre in Guildford is the place to go. Twisted Evil


Asquithea, agreed, that is an awful shop.. you may know about them already, but you could try cycleworks over Merrow/Burpham way, they're always happy to help in there...''

I agree - the Raliegh place is so overpriced. Once I went to the raliegh place, guilford halfords and cycleworks, trying to get something fixed -the bolt attaching the rear derailleur to the frame had come loose and worn the thread away on the frame- Raliegh and halfords had no idea, cycleworks sniggered at my raliegh hardtail, told me it had 'taken a lot of abuse' , pointed out the forks had a lot of play, wobbling back and forwards, then offered me a new frame and new forks at around £160 each. They then basically said I may aswell get a new bike so they offered me a specialized hardrock for 300. I didn't buy anything, took the bike home and asked a friend for advice- he told me to put a bolt through from the other side and put a nut on the other side- it works and i've had no trouble since- with the derailleur or the forks.