Online Bike Shops

Pufftmw

What do you buy from them and why?

EarlofBarnet

I was thinking about this yesterday. Over the last couple of years I've bought everything online. Mainly due to price (being cheaper than LBS) and also because of free P&P. However, I was in my LBS yesterday and decided I'd make more effort to buy from them in 2010. Local business need more support than ever in the difficult economic climate.

supersonic

Most things becaiuse they are generally cheaper. I don't really need the services a local bike shop can provide, but I will still use them from time time.

freeride-mike

I buy majority of my stuff online simply bcoz its cheaper and being at work i dont get alot of time to get to my LBS and can get stuff delivered to work, however somtimes there are small bits n bobs u just have to go the LBS for ie. when building my new frame up i needed 2 of the boss thingys for the v brakes to sit on and coudnt find anywhere online to get some from so my LBS came up trumps and only cost £2

dave_hill

Everything. That way I get exactly what I want, I don't make impulse buys and I don't have some spotty 17 year old "yoof" trying to tell me what I know already.

And I don't have to waste petrol or find a parking space either.

supersonic

Cos you know everything Dave ;-) ;-)

Wooliferkins

dave_hill wrote:

some spotty 17 year old "yoof" trying to tell me what I know already.

Did said yoof have an iphone app with the knowledge on it or did you find the rare one that could be bovvered?

Torres

I get most stuff online now, mainly for all the reasons above, it's cheaper, easyer and for me, quicker.

"Local" bike shops' 15 miles away, and the only time i have time to get to it is at weekends. But i can order something from CRC/Wiggle on monday and it'll rock up wednesday morning, delivered for free.

Pufftmw

OK

What can't you get online then? (Apart from spotty youfs )

biff55

Pufftmw wrote:

OK

What can't you get online then? (Apart from spotty youfs )

human interaction with like-minded folk.
and the buzz of drooling over shiney components in a shop display cabinet
and most importantly a break from sitting in front of a computer screen.

P-Jay

CRC do odd little things you can't always get at LBS's, drop-outs for my Cove, Avid Caliper Rebuild kits and non-biking clobber like MTb themed hoodies and such.

Other stuff it's 50/50, my local shop (in the sense of local pub, because it's not actually the one closest to me) is Sunset MTB and they're pretty competitive, if it's there on the day I'll buy it, if not I'll hit-up Wiggle or CRC.

TBH my Enduro is exaclty where I want it no, so any new bits will be for repairs and it's a case of getting them quick.

My Shocker needs brakes and a fork, big money items so it'll have to be ruthless shopping around or even second-hand for them when the time comes.

The Northern Monkey

P-Jay
Is sunset any good then? I'm down in Cardiff ATM. Usually go to Tredz but the Sunset webby doesn't have a wide variety of parts.
Got my frame ordered from Sunset though

P-Jay

bigbenj_08 wrote:

P-Jay
Is sunset any good then? I'm down in Cardiff ATM. Usually go to Tredz but the Sunset webby doesn't have a wide variety of parts.
Got my frame ordered from Sunset though

Yeah they rock TBH. Been good to me and my mates for the past 4-5 years, put up with our noob questions and our banter. They'll usually 'do a deal' on must stuff.

Yeah their web business is all about whole bike sales, but the shop is a right treasure trove of bits and bobs and the staff know their onions too. I think it was mentioned about about "17 year old spotty kids telling you stuff you already know" you don't get that at Sunset.

And the wheelbuilder (he does 'normal' bike stuff too) is awesome, proper Yoda of the game. Never, once, ever, not even been close to having a wheel fail he built. Worst I've had was 3 bent/stratched spokes after a slam so hard I broke both arms.

Tredz aint bad though, they we're bloody awful when they first opened, very expensive and really stuck in the very light XC end of the market, their saving grace was they were slightly better than Halfords if you got stuck for a bit on a Sunday as they were the open shop that opened on Sundays, but they're really good now.

freeride-mike

Bloody typical this i ordered a set of forks yesturday with overnight delivery and guess what......................... the damn things never turned up!! now i have to go all the way to work tomorrow when they do turn up when its ment to be me day off so i get get me bike up and running for a ride friday. :evil:

"so much for mail ordering being better"

KT1973

I've been buying most of my stuff online- between Merlin and CRC and also bought some new forks from the states on mtbr.com. I buy stuff from LBS (clothes, gloves, cables, innertubes, tools.....) too but it is more expensive. I was just going to replace my forks and then bought new Reba Team 120s with maxle, so I need a new hub, so I'll go for a new wheelset.
Now I'm thinking of selling my bike and just building one up from scatch.

Briggo

So much more choice online compared to LBS's in the area, clothing in particular.

Torres

Pufftmw wrote:

OK

What can't you get online then? (Apart from spotty youfs )

If you have an LBS that are actualy local, then they're good for getting things you forget like cabels, outers and ends. Replacement bolts etc.

Also good to get things that coud save a weekend ride, new brake pads or the likes.

cat_with_no_tail

This year, I've bought pretty much everything online, with the exception of a couple of emergency tubes and stuff like that.

In the new year, I'm using my LBS to build me an entire bike from the ground up. I made a list online of all the parts I needed and the total, then took it to my LBS and told them that if they could come within a couple of hundred quid I'd rather get everything from them and have them build it for me.

Because of the type of build it is, they have actually managed to come in cheaper overall, and as it's going to be very much a one-off build it's going to be really useful to have their support.

All the spares and stuff will have to come from them too because there are only a couple of shops in the UK that stock them.

scale20

I would prefer to use my LBS where I can, however I will buy the more expensive kit online because my LBS cant compete on some Items.

The only thing that pi$$es me off about online shops is items show as in stock on the website, so you order and then get an email saying they are not. Had a classic the other day. Checked Winstanleys for a pace 405 frame for the Mrs, showed they had one in white and a medium on the site. Foned them up to confirm, 'yep we have one in'. I told them we wre driving up from North Wales to Wigan to have a look and probably buy.

After a 2 hour drive and a 30 min wait while they tried to find it, guess what, they didnt have one. Everyone was blaming someone else and the manager, who I spoke to on the phone wouldnt show his face.

scale20

I know what you mean, I like the Crank Bro's cobalt wheels, would never click 'buy' online but when I had them in my hand a week or so back in my LBS I nearly parted with my cash

bones3027

because merlin just delivered my goods in under 24 hours and they were a bargain!

scale20

MatelotFreddy wrote:

scale20 wrote:

Checked Winstanleys for a pace 405 frame for the Mrs, showed they had one in white and a medium on the site. Foned them up to confirm, 'yep we have one in'. I told them we wre driving up from North Wales to Wigan to have a look and probably buy.

Could have been worse, it could have been CRC and you'd got the ferry to NI!

LOL, I don't mind travelling to look at bikes or frames but even CRC is a step too far for me

YIMan

I buy most stuff online because it's cheaper, the range is vastly better and I can shop out of hours - bike shops are open when I'm at work. I've also had some crap experiences with a bike shop chain fairly close to me in Nottingham.

I would like to support the LBS though and will get stuff from them if I need it supplied and fitted - e.g. new bottom bracket etc.

freeride-mike

i gotta say my LBS really got me out the cack yesturday after popping in on the way home from work yesturday (suprised they were open tbh) to grab a star nut i decided to buy a new mongo headset instead but when i went to fit my new forks i realised my frame had a sealed bearing headset in mint con already but i needed to the star nut to fit my forks so a quick call to the shop and he agreed to refund me the difference between the headset and the nut i pinched out the box 8) not to mention staying open till 4 so i cud shoot back down the shop and grab some spacers and my ££ back. think im gonna be using my LBS alot more when i can now

dave_hill

supersonic wrote:

Cos you know everything Dave ;-) ;-)

No, I don't know everything. But I do know what I want when I want it. I went to buy a camera a few months ago, I wanted a Nikon. So I went to Currys and said I want this model of Nikon. The salesman told me I wanted a Canon, so I walked out and went to a camera shop where they were quite happy to sell me the one I wanted.

What I object to is the "I work in a bike/electrics/sports/outdoors shop so I know better than you" attitude, the assumption that because you are a punter you can't possibly know what you want. That pisses me off.

But if I don't know what I want then I'm quite happy to seek advice.