I do my part! I can get gel, tubes, seatposts cheaper online but the bike shop is right by my work they know my bike and I get the instant gratification. I have them wrap my bars, sure I could do it myself but I am not patient. Today I had a catastrophic failure on my bike- my seatpost broke on the trail! So Tess is at the shop getting all snazzied up. DH could put on his own chain but really, they charge $8 we will jsut let them.

Zen- I find Tiagra when kept in tune works just fine. Maybe not quite as crisp as 105 but isn't completely awful. Just support the LBS by getting regular tune ups!