Are Local Bike Shops evil?  We answer a question from rec.bicycles.misc

Eric D. wrote in a message on rec.bicycles.misc newsgroup-

During my recent bike-buying odyssey, my opinion of the LBS's in my city took a nosedive. Why do bike dealers have to try to emulate used car salesmen??? I visited nine bike shops in the Dallas area and there were only maybe two where I didn't feel either patronized, under-appreciated, or more knowledgeable than the salespeople.

About six months ago, I first started looking at new road bikes. I walked into a couple of shops and told them I was in the market for a $800 to $1,000 bike. The ones who didn't lose interest when they found out I was shopping for one that was less than a grand immediately pointed me to the $1,200 to $1,500 range and said I would be much happier if I would spend "just a little more money."

I went back last month to the same shops, having worked out my budget (after doing much cyber-research) and said I was in the market for a $1200 to $1600 road bike. The ones who didn't lose interest once they found out I wanted to spend less than $2000 immediately pointed me to the $1800 to $2500 bikes and said I would be much happier if I would spend "just a little more money" (apparently $800 to $1000 is just a little money to some people, but it seems like a pretty good chunk of change to me).

Sure, I'd like to ride a Trek 5500, and I could stretch my budget to afford one, but I got annoyed at having my budget limits always ignored by the saleguys. (And, like a friend of mine pointed out, "I don't want to be the one in the club ride that everyone points to and says, 'What's that fat old guy at the back of the pack doing riding a Lance Armstrong signature bike???'")

I was also distressed to find so many sales guys (and one gal) who seemed to stress gruppos over all else -- a bike with Ultegra components was automatically more desirable than anything with 105 -- regardless of frame, fork, geometry, etc.

I won't even go into all the contradictory statements I got -- I would be told that this aluminum model was the "sweetest-riding" bike in my price range, but when I expressed interest in a steel bike, I would be told that, "Yeah, those aluminum frames will knock your fillings loose."

Then, of course, there was the frustration of having a salesperson extoll the qualities of a particular model at length and when I asked to ride one, was told that they only had a size 48 and a 60 (I ride a 54) -- this happened something like four times.

I finally bought a 2001 Cannondale R600 double, which has a great frame/fork combination and I plan to upgrade components as my budget allows.

But I wonder about those who don't do a lot of research before heading to the LBS to make a purchase -- like first-time buyers. It must be even more frustrating.

I don't know why it's like this -- are road bike buyers such a rarity that the LBS doesn't know what to do with them, or is this just part of the general decline of American retailing as a whole?

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Mike from Chain Reaction responds-
Hmm. At first I'm thinking, hey, this is TERRIBLE!!! But then I read it again, and out of nine shops, he did, in fact, find one or two that knew their stuff and treated him well. My guess is that this isn't too unlike situations you'd find in other businesses as well, and if people are
reasonably intelligent, those two shops should prosper and the others fall away.

But...that's probably making too many assumptions about the world being a reasonable place etc. The reality is that bikes are just like many things these days, with the majority of people buying them being relatively uneducated and thus placing far too much emphasis on price beyond all else. And if a low price alone is what gets the sale, then the dealer who basically is doing quite a disservice to their customers (by not properly fitting them, helping them select the right type of bike, skillfully assembling it *and* taking care of things that aren't quite right down the road) is "rewarded" by making the sale, and another dealer, perhaps one that does all the right things to ensure that the bike is going to be ridden and not hang in the garage, loses out because he/she has to charge a bit more.

I have no easy answers for this one. We do what we can to educate customers via our website before they even step foot into our store, and so far, it's worked out well. I'd be lying if I said that all of our salespeople were always on top of their game, or that every single person has the experience of the more knowledgeable people in this newsgroup. But if the customer can be educated in an unintimidating fashion and have a clue what's going on before they come in, the process goes a whole lot better.

There will *always* be times when you know more than the salesman. You, as a customer, may be very well focused on a particular thing and have devoted a fair amount of time to learning what you can about it. The salesperson has to try to understand the virtues of maybe 40 different models of bicycles they sell, which, frankly, is almost impossible to do. The better salespeople are the ones that know how to get to the answers quickly, admit up front when they're not sure of something, and be more interested in listening than talking. The ones you need to watch out for are those that seem to have a quick answer for EVERYTHING. There is no quick answer for everything. Situations and people are different. You need a solution that fits YOU, not one that simply fits the salesperson's (or your own) knowledge. QUESTIONS are a good thing.

Just another piece of mindless drivel from a guy who spent a good part of the day in standing-room-only conditions with a lot of people buying bikes today...and very thankful that patience seemed to be a commodity in ample supply.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Someone asked:
In my continuing quest to choose a frame for my impending reentry into the road world, I continue to look at materials (Steel, Alum, Ti, Carbon, Paper).

I would like to start a survey:
What material do YOU use on your road frame?
Are you satisfied with your choice?
What make and model?
====================
Our reply:
I don't think it should matter much what others think, and it almost shouldn't matter what their reasons are.  What matters is what *you* think when you ride it.  I'll bet proper fit trumps almost all other considerations when it comes to how the bike feels when *you* ride it.  Of course, there's a lot more to a bike than mere function...aesthetics count for something, as well as durability.

Aesthetics are entirely personal.  Some people like fat tubes, some people prefer slim tubes.  Some have an affinity for old-school ways of building frames (lugs) while some prefer the sleek, smooth lines of a carbon frame.

Durability should be a major consideration, right?  Most would agree with that.  What's significant however is that the material chosen has very little to do with frame durability.  It's all how the material is used.  You can make an incredibly tough frame out of steel, and you can make one that won't survive an impact with a Philadelphia pothole.  You can make an aluminum frame that will last three lifetimes, and you can make one that will be likely to fail under just a couple season's hard use.  Same thing for carbon & titanium.  There's no magical material that, if pushed to the limits, won't fail.  At the same time, used conservatively, you can build a frame that would meet most riders' expectations of longevity out of steel, carbon, aluminum or titanium.

The question shouldn't first be what type of material would be someone's first choice, but rather what type of bike is their first choice, and why. The answer to *that* question will illuminate the various reasons people choose their bikes...aesthetics, perceived value, reliability, etc.

--Mike--     Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com