The High Street

chippyk

neeb wrote:

ChippyK wrote:

Say this to the non cyclist and you hear cries of what about the disabled, elderly, pregnant etc forgetting that it’s not about totally abolishing the car, simply reducing its use.

And of course the irony that it seems to be taboo to mention is that probably half of the disabled have acquired their disability through unhealthy lifestyle choices and about half of the elderly would probably still be active if they hadn’t had a lifetime of inactivity..

I often wonder about really morbidly obese people in mobility scooters, I mean it’s great that they’re able to be out and about and all that, but what came first, the mobo cart or the belly?

navrig2

thistle (MBNW) wrote:

Moonbiker wrote:

Yet there is a waitrose nearby but thoose same customers you don't see walking up the high street. Extreme class segregation.

Not class segregation but we had a new Tesco open a few years ago around the back of the high street in the town/village which killed off our high street including the Co-Op, it's pretty much a ghost town now.
Tesco claimed at the time that everyone would do their shop at Tesco then walk over to the high street shops - unlikely even if there was a way to walk between the two.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Sainsburys opens just down the road, in a much more car friendly location and near the big housing estates

Haddington per chance?

What happened to keep the T in Town campaign?

superkenners

Navrig2 wrote:

Superkenners wrote:

Amazon margins are pretty low, they might dodge tax but the savings are passed on to the consumer via lower prices, so effectively they are providing you with an ability to reduce your tax burden.

The cynic in me suggests that this will not last. In a few years when the High Street is more than decimated we might see online prices gradually rising and Amazon et al generating stupid amounts of profit........

Yes you are probably right. After all Chain Reaction /Wiggle merger already seems to have killed off some of the better discounts!

Vino'sGhost

Superkenners wrote:

Navrig2 wrote:

Superkenners wrote:

Amazon margins are pretty low, they might dodge tax but the savings are passed on to the consumer via lower prices, so effectively they are providing you with an ability to reduce your tax burden.

The cynic in me suggests that this will not last. In a few years when the High Street is more than decimated we might see online prices gradually rising and Amazon et al generating stupid amounts of profit........

Yes you are probably right. After all Chain Reaction /Wiggle merger already seems to have killed off some of the better discounts!

Sigma sports is your friend, great online shop, knowledgable staff (that you can actually talk to) and jelly beans. "Fusion retail". (copyright me just now)

proto

Well, the bike shop in my town (Thame, Oxon) is closing at the end of the month. Smallish shop selling basic to mid range bikes, plus the usual accessories and servicing/repairs. Good guys, knew their business, jus5 couldn’t make enough money.

From what I understand, business rates are increasing 60% this year, which made their existence precarious. Final killer blow was landlord increasing the rent £7k per year. Basically he believes he can find another tenant easily enough and wants them out.

So, town (and near villages) population of 20000 (guesstimate) can’t support the only bike shop within a 15 mile radius. And I think the only bike shop in Aylesbury (Bucks Bikes), a much bigger town, has gone too.

Sad times.

proto

PS in recent years

The bakers closed, now a Costa coffee shop
The record shop closed, now a cafe/coffee shop
The sports shop closed, now a cafe/coffee shop
The sweet shop closed, now a deli/coffee shop
The art gallery/shop closed, now a c@fe/coffee shop

pastryboy

The result will be less cycling. Because if the average person buys a bike, then has a problem with it they can't fix themseves, it will most likely end up rotting in a shed because there's no local bike shop to ask for help from.

neeb

pastryboy wrote:

The result will be less cycling. Because if the average person buys a bike, then has a problem with it they can't fix themseves, it will most likely end up rotting in a shed because there's no local bike shop to ask for help from.

This reminds me of something I've been thinking about recently as regards social media and the way in which we interact with people and communities on diferent scales.

There's probably someone within half a mile of me right now whose bike gears don't work or whose wheel needs truing. Maybe they make their own amazing homebrew or could fix my boiler. But I don't know about this potential opportunity for non-monetary exchange because the means by which I might (electronic media) encourages me only to interact with people on a non-geographical basis, either on the basis of an already-shared interest nationally or internationally, or on the basis of a previous relationship (friends etc).

I think there's a massive potential for social media to be used to encourage local barter economies, which would have all sorts of benefits for the local as well as the wider environment and social cohesion.

navrig2

pastryboy wrote:

The result will be less cycling. Because if the average person buys a bike, then has a problem with it they can't fix themseves, it will most likely end up rotting in a shed because there's no local bike shop to ask for help from.

There is a living to be had just fixing bikes and selling a small selection of stuff which people need at short notice or on impulse. Our LBS is largely a repair shop with some retail. He can do C2W but he orders on demand so you need to know what you want. It doesn't look to be particularly lucrative though.

If we lived somewhere more inland and near or on a crossroads of cycle routes I reckon a repair shop with really good cafe and a large screen TV showing cycle videos would be a good mix. We are on a couple of cycle routes but tend to be a destination route rather than be a cycle through route.