LBS - love them or hate them?

[Tater]

I had a bit of trouble with the LBS where I got my Giant. They were always pushing upgrades or replacement parts without asking about my riding style, just assuming. (You know, replace the chain at 3000 miles. Not all of us have to do it right then!) It got tiresome. Then we had a bike shop move into our downtown area early last year. The owners are great! Krista makes it a point to stock women specific goodies and is about the only one in the area who does. Two excellent mechanics that love working on vintage as well as modern bikes, round out the team. I don't get all my cycling related things there, but I do as much as I can to support the local business community.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I hate crappy LBS's.
I love good LBS's.


I also love bacon, but try to only have it as an occasional treat.

[Bluetree]

[fidlfreek]

Love the German Shepherd!

My LBS is great, but only because the guys there are great. If you don't know them I'm not sure its a good situation. They excel are giving newbies and Freds attitude!

Sometimes LBS give you the best possible deal. For instance, yesterday I bought a 1398 gram Easton EA90 SLX wheelset for the bargain price of $540. Oh, and since it was at Performance Bike i got another $100 in store "points" to spend on tires etc. WOW right. It pays to stop by the local shop periodically...

[Cataboo]

Love the German Shepherd!

My LBS is great, but only because the guys there are great. If you don't know them I'm not sure its a good situation. They excel are giving newbies and Freds attitude!

Sometimes LBS give you the best possible deal. For instance, yesterday I bought a 1398 gram Easton EA90 SLX wheelset for the bargain price of $540. Oh, and since it was at Performance Bike i got another $100 in store "points" to spend on tires etc. WOW right. It pays to stop by the local shop periodically...

The ea90 slx's sell for $355.90 on chainlove.com when they pop up:

http://gearattack.com/items/11109

[fidlfreek]

Yes, but sold out....And the deal was available 5 months ago and for 2 minutes. So.

[Cataboo]

Yes, but sold out....And the deal was available 5 months ago and for 2 minutes. So.

Yeah, but just as I don't expect the local bike shops to always have their sales & clearances in stock - I don't expect online places to as well. Chainlove had the tubular ea90 slx's on sale 16 days ago, and the ea90 aero's about a month ago.

[Eden]

Love the German Shepherd!

My LBS is great, but only because the guys there are great. If you don't know them I'm not sure its a good situation. They excel are giving newbies and Freds attitude!

Sometimes LBS give you the best possible deal. For instance, yesterday I bought a 1398 gram Easton EA90 SLX wheelset for the bargain price of $540. Oh, and since it was at Performance Bike i got another $100 in store "points" to spend on tires etc. WOW right. It pays to stop by the local shop periodically...

ummm Performance isn't exactly a LBS..... kind of like saying K-Mart is a local variety store or your Micky D's franchise is a local restaurant....

I think if you want to call it a LBS it should be owned by a local small business owner and probably should have no more than a few locations in a relatively small area (so I wouldn't consider REI to be an LBS here, even though they are based here..)

[cycling_sarah]

I answered love. I have my favorite shop where I bought my bikes and DH's. I have 3-4 others that I also stop at every so often for gear and I like the people at those although I don't know them as well as I do the folks at my favorite shop.

[GLC1968]

I don't really have a true L BS, so we don't frequent one. We do our own work and usually order online. If we are heading into town (by car), there are a few that we'll shop at...but it's such a rare occurance that it's not worth the vote.

And I don't like bacon, myself.

[Zen]

And I don't like bacon, myself.

You are not of this planet, are you?

[msincredible]

You are not of this planet, are you?

I'm another non-bacon-loving alien.

Oh, and I'm happy with my LBS.

[GLC1968]

You are not of this planet, are you?

Probably not.

[Miranda]

That's too cute and funny! Btw, I do LOVE bacon. Hmm, maybe if my lbs had someone in the foyer cooking up some free bacon I could tolerate the bs better.