I like really nice bikes and I like my really nice bikes to run really well.

Sporting goods stores provide me neither of those things. Ok, so REI does carry Cannondale and Ellsworth, but not in many stores or in any great quantities. Also precious precious few have good mechanics.

My LBS provides both. High end bikes and extremely high end mechanics.

So, I want my LBS to be there when I want that bike or I need service. Thus, I will go out of my way to purchase other things from them, including having them order things I could walk into REI and pick up. This does not typically include clothes that I want to try on/see/feel first and that I typically only by at steep discounts.

This would NOT be the case if my LBS did not try to be reasonably competitive with pricing. Typically I find that they are not much (if any) more expensive than internet retailers or REI unless one of the later has NOS or unpackaged manufacturer stock at an insane discount.

REI does get more than it's fair share of my money for other things, and no, I don't set foot in sporting stores like ****'s or Sports Authority often, if ever.

I also think there is a place for outdoor or sporting stores to carry bikes. For the most part the bikes are better than Walmart bike shaped objects, and to some extent they fill the gap between those at $65 and LBS bikes at $350 with a little overlap (more overlap in REI's case).