Quote Originally Posted by uforgot View Post
I'm a teacher, and a single mother, so I have to think about my purchases and even save for them. I sometimes find things used but I usually support my local lbs. They understand when you can't afford top of the line, and I've yet to see a shop that can't get bikes under $2,000, $1000 or even $500. If you order from a chain, purchase used, you need to factor in labor, parts and other stuff that you will have to pay eventually. Local lbs means better bikes, better service. The shop will also provide support on the bikes you purchase. Sometimes he throws in free labor, sometimes he gives me a great deal, and if I have a question about anything bikes, he responds to emails within the hour. Not sure what I would do if he went out of business due to lack of customer support. I really don't think I've saved anything any time I've purchased used and tried to do it myself. I usually wind up at a shop anyway. As it turns out, Dan is always right (and if you tell him Pyannyplayer, I'll deny it!) and knows what is best for ME. No trial and error.
You can't build a relationship with Craigslist.

Actually, I've built relationships with several people that I've met via craigslist. And I can usually spot the ads of a couple people that I've met buying kayaking or biking things, and vice versa. Some of them I bike or kayak with, or just email on ocasion for advice or suggestions. I bought a bike from a guy back in the spring, he still emails me when he's upgraded something on his new bike and checks if I'm interested in it or just to see how I'm doing with the bike. The president of the local triathalon club sells quite a bunch on craigslist and has a wife that's just about my size - so we're frequently responding to each other's ads or talking about the area. This is on the DC craigslist which is actually pretty huge.

I'm a bit turned off by local bike shops because when I bought my first real mountain bike (maybe 5-6 years ago?), I went to several bike shops, researched, went around and test rode, and eventually bought the bike that the local bike shop recommended. Good components, maybe I got 10-20% off the bike, but I still spent maybe $600 which was an awful lot to me... But I never really got into riding the bike and it was only in the last year that I actually realized why not. The bike was too small for me, given the seat angle I couldn't get to the point where I was far back enough to have an efficient peddling stroke. Now, that's partly my own ignorance at the time and not really knowing what a bike should fit like - but it's also something that a bike shop should have been able to spot and tell me. Or to have just recommended a setback seatpost (I'm not sure a setback alone would have completely fixed it, I just shouldn't have bought a women's specific geometry)

I got my first road bike in an REI online sale for 75% off. Yes, it was a previous years model. But I managed to get a hell of a bike for $500, that I couldn't possibly buy at a local bike shop then or now at that price range, and in graduate school, that was already above my price range. When it arrived at the store, they put the bike together for me and tuned it, and helped me adjust it to me when I picked it up. I did luck out because the bike geometry wise fit me very well and at that discount, I knew that any upgrades to the bike to make it fit me would still have the bike well under anything I was going to find at a local bike shop, and I knew I could return it in an REI store without any problems. My bf & I studied the geometry tables for quite a while and had decided it would probably be right for me. It's still my favorite bike, and I haven't had to change anything about the fit, I've given it carbon handlebars and a nice seat. I did take it into a local bike shop recently for a fitting and they recommended leaving it as it was.

I'm not saying I haven't made mistakes buying used or online, but I've been able to return things or resell things without losing money. And that's fine with me. It's better than the hordes of bikes or parts I see being sold on ebay or craigslist with the description "bought at local bike shop for MSRP, turned out to be too big or too small, and they won't let me return or exchange it"

I'm probably lucky in that my BF has a great eye for bike fit and is also good at bike repairs and upgrades, and I'm fairly mechanically inclined. So typically I'll buy something, install it myself, troubleshoot it a bit if necessary, and if it needs any tweaking he does those for me. So in addition to getting a bike upgrade, I get a challenge, and learn a lot while I'm at it. Yeah, I could pay the local bike shop - but I enjoy the process. I also do all the maintenance & repairs that I can on my car, and in my house.

So I'm sure I'm a horror for local bike shops, and I'm sure there are local bike shops out there that are excellent places and do tons for their customers... And I do run into local bike shops when I need a tool, a chain link, or an innertube or something like that. Or if I need a wheel trued quickly and don't have the time or equipment handy to do it... And I understand the sentiment of supporting your local bike shops, however I'm not at a stage in my life with enough disposable income that the fact that I can pay twice as much for something local as ordering it online makes sense to me or my budget. I should however pick less expensive hobbies.