What makes a Local Bike Shop?

barrybridges

Interesting question:

When is a bike shop a LBS? As in, a proper bike shop? And when is it a 'not quite a proper bike shop'?

Our local town has got a bike shop, but I'm not sure it's an LBS.

Yes, it sells bikes, but it only has 1 road bike in the whole store; it stocks more kids scooters. Almost all of its bikes are Scott. You can't buy a high-end component in there at all.

There seems to be lots of these sorts of places around, catering more for the leisure market than for club cyclists - the sort of 'Action Bikes' type places. That's totally fine of course, but is there some kind of threshold for when a bike shop becomes a proper local bike shop and not just a 'shop that sells bikes to the public?'

E.g. what services does a shop need to offer before it's considered a proper bike shop? If I can't take my wheels in there to get them trued? If it actually stocks more than 3 different road bikes?

teisetrotter

Both. I have kids and a cheapo bike for travelling to the pub and Sainsbo's.

One is for the that, the other is for my road bike requirements. Although it is completely specialised:
http://www.cadenceperformance.com/

simonhead

The best LBS in my area (Surbiton Cycles) have a decent range of bikes across a number of brands/styles and are able to order in pretty much what you want. They stock a good range of clothes, helmets and accesories, offer on site servicing and builds and are happy to let you pump your tyre up free of charge. If you go in there and are just looking that isnt a problem, they will ask if you need any help and leave you to it if you dont.

The staff are what really makes it a great shop, they do the job because they love it and their enthusiasm is infectious. They wont try and sell you the most expensive part or bike, they will give their opinion as to what is most fit for purpose and tell you why.

dwanes

As they say, never judge a book by its cover. As above its the staff and the managements policy that count.
You can get a scruffy bike shop or an imaculate bike shop, but its the staff and what they think the customer wants that matters.
Service is one thing, but there is also pricing. I hate the feeling of being ripped-off, no matter how good the service, and they don't always go hand in hand.
I am lucky in that i have plenty of choice where i live. To me a LBS is just that, a shop local to me where i can visit.

markos1963

Definitely the staff in a shop make it an LBS. We have two shops in Norwich within a street of each other. One sells several well known names and even boasts a 250 strong club from it yet I won't use it. Why? because they don't take on 'difficult' workshop jobs. The other is more run down, back street with only a couple of brands but they are happy to service your local commuter or to do difficult jobs on carbon frames. They drilled out two seized barrel adjusters from a carbon TT frame I had bought second hand. Even I knew how hard a job it was due to clearance issues but they did it, the job was well done and they only charged me a minimal amount. The mechanic even sorted out some other bolts that had seized he spotted and notified me the hanger was bent as well, all without asking or charging. Now they get all my business regardless of job or price.

danlikesbikes

Quite lucky in that we have a few "proper" bike shops in the area as you describe & a few "leisure" type shops also.

For me its about;
Service
Cost - though I don't mind paying more if I get the above (which I have and do get from my LBS)
Mechanical knowledge & good workshop

Made me chuckle the other day as someone described my LBS (they didn't know I shopped there) as snobby because they couldn't get a halfords brand bike in stock for them. Where as I think my LBS have been good with me when buying 2 bikes from them, servicing and sorting out a warranty issue that was in fact out of warranty but they fought my corner & we got it resolved for free and they fitted the parts for fee too. For that reason they will be my LBS for ever and can and have done no wrong in my eyes & I owe them my custom for their actions.

AchillesLeftKnee

<cynic>

"Bike Shop"
A shop wot does a pretty good job of satisfying your cycling-related needs. Somewhere you'd go because it's a good option. Location isn't relevant here, as your nearest bike shop can be, erm, a Bike Shop. Similarly, size doesn't come into it either. The husband and wife business round the corner can very easily be a Bike Shop.

"Local Bike Shop"
Like the above, but crap enough to warrant mentally prefixing it with the word "Local" in order to justify yet another failed attempt to buy such velo-exotica as chamois cream, hydration tablets in any flavour other than Cold Urine, or clothing in sizes other than Tragic Victim of Famine or Giant Haystacks Tribute Act. Again, geography isn't important here. There are no doubt bike shops in Australia that, for us Brits, would still count as Local.

</cynic>

lostboysaint

People.

If you get that right, the rest follows.

Strith

Closest I’ve come to what I would term a local bike shop in SW London is holdsworths. They have a good selection of bikes and gear at decent prices, but more importantly they seem happy to help you rather than squeeze you for every penny. Velosport are good too, if a bit more expensive.

There’s a bunch of shops round here, Southfields, Putney, Kingston, who seem to only be interested catering to the triathlon/race crowd. One shop told a friend to buy a new wheel rather than replace a snapped spoke as the wheel wasn’t worth much. In my mind a proper LBS would at least replace the spoke to see.

My ‘local’ bike shop is wall to wall carbon at max RRP. I won’t spend a penny there as the customer service is rubbish.

Unfortunately it’s tricky finding a good ‘LBS’, but there’s still a few out there and they're worth looking for.

CiB

Danlikesbikes wrote:

Quite lucky in that we have a few "proper" bike shops in the area as you describe & a few "leisure" type shops also.

Yeah. We're spoilt round this way with everything from top of the tree cycle p0rn down to bottom of the heap cycle king.

I see an LBS as non-franchise non-nationally recognised shop. Is it a self-contained business? As we have enough and a wide range on our doorstep here, that does it for me; we can use whichever suits best for what we need, from tassels for the kids bikes to Di2.

marylogic

My LBS used to be Edinburgh bike coop when they were just a single shop. now they've gone big but I think the coop element keeps them "real"

I've moved now and have my own LBS who are absolutely fantastic. I think it's about after care. They may not be able to keep the prices as low as some of the internet shops but when they fit things and do minor jobs for free then you make the saving in other ways.

I would like to add I got "LBS" service from Merlin cycles recently - it feels like they are an LBS with an online presence rather than a big chain.

Anonymous

I get LBS service from Evans and Cycle Surgery in Fulham!

simonhead

An LBS would be a great place to set a sitcom, some of the daft stuff that staff must get asked and some of the characters you see in there.

danlikesbikes

simonhead wrote:

An LBS would be a great place to set a sitcom, some of the daft stuff that staff must get asked and some of the characters you see in there.

To be fair my LBS gets asked a loft of daft stuff by me :oops: