Testing bikes-Etiquette

[pooks]

Don't worry -- I wasn't protesting your mention of REI. I was just mentioning my experience at the Dallas store.

I wondered if perhaps the guys who worked in bikes were all cyclists who support their habit by working there part time to get the discounts! (But that was just a guess. I was simply surprised that each one I spoke to knew so much and from personal experience.)

The primary thing we've bought there has been clothes -- we discovered that the guide shirts and pants (with zip-off legs) are the greatest travel clothes ever, and in fact my husband wears the guide shirts every weekend. He loves them, and REI has the best selection. (And yes, they're expensive! Fortunately they wear like iron!)

[plantluvver]

Your post reminded me that this forum is a PUBLIC place. This is something I forget when I am sitting at my PC in the wee hours. There is a big chance of being misunderstood, and I forgot that. What I said was a casual remark, and I wouldn't want someone to misunderstand, and walk away with a bad impression of a company from a casual remark.

I am not a lurker. I tend to join a forum and just barge right in. So I think that I am having a conversation with just two or three people. I am glad that you brought up your positive REI experience. It is important to have a balanced discussion.

[pooks]

I tend to join a forum and just barge right in.

Clearly I do, too! I've only been here a couple of days and look how much I'm posting!

[bikerbarb]

yesterday my daughter broke her front derailleur cable. we took it to our LBS where we bought two higher end bikes this year and havegiven them a lot a business. they looked on their computer and said replacement of the cable will be $22. After leaving the bike, I called our local REI store and asked them their cost. It is $ 8--$3 for the cable and $5 for labor. (The have an itemized price list you can pick up, too.)

[plantluvver]

After reading another post on LBS purchase and service, is it possible LBS price includes later adjustment for cable stretch and REI price doesn't?

Though if so the LBS should tell you to come back in a few weeks.

My dad was a plumber, and he always fixed everything himself, (though working on bikes with pipe wrenches really messes with their paint jobs. ) I've inherited his DIY or is it DIX gene. I figure I need to buy a tool ONCE, but I gotta pay someone else EVERY TIME.

[btchance]

plantluvver, you sound like me. Anything I have that stops working WILL be taken apart to see if I can fix it before I let anyone else touch it. (my grandfather, dad, and two of my brothers are the same way). and you know what, I enjoy doing it!

[bikerbarb]

Well, in this case, if the LBS included a check back for free to see if the cable stretched and REI did not and one was required to pay again, the cost for 2 services at REI would add up to half the cost of the one service charge at the bike store in question.
I'm glad REI is here, it is now a LBS in our neighborhood. I'm feeling less warmly toward the original bike store given several recent experiences (I won't rant about them all) that include catching them at things like downgrading the saddle my new bike is supposed to come with and then charging me extra for the saddle they put on it.

[KnottedYet]

Ooooh, that's nasty. That sounds like Quillfred and her pedal problem.

(did I mention how much I love my LBS? www.recycledcycles.com )

[bike4ever]

I do believe you will find across the country hits/misses with REI. Some are run more as a local business with others appearing to be the straight corporate line. You do have to shop around with your LBS. Some shops will give you the complete/total attention with others ignoring you waiting for the thousand dollar bike sale.

The shop I manage rewards their employees by encouraging positive costomer service. We receive 1% of the sale if the transaction has a specific amount of items on it. This offers the employees the opportunity to explain the benefits/safety factor of the accessories - helmets, lights, bottle cage, etc. This also encourages the employees to really get to know their customers - where do they ride, how often, what are their goals.

[Bad JuJu]

I like REI for their large and varied inventory, not to mention that nice little dividend every year. But I also have noticed big differences among different REI stores. In comparison, once you've built a good relationship with an LBS, that's usually something that sticks. I was off my bike for most of last year, but the LBS folks remember me and still provide good service plus a few little perks since I've been doing business with them for so long--nothing huge, but enough to make me keep going back there (free bungees when I bought a car rack, a free tube when I bought two new tires, accepting a 15% deposit on a layaway bike instead of the 25% they usually require). Add that to the happy circumstance that they are at the trailhead of the local rail trail, and you can see why I wouldn't go anywhere else.

On the other hand, if you live near enough to a well-run REI store that is friendly and responsive to your needs, and that can become your LBS, that's great, too.

[Brandy]

I haven't read all of the replies, but when I was buying my bike off of Craigslist, I called a LBS and was totally upfront with them. I just needed to make sure that the Trek 1000 54cm was indeed my size and I told them that I was planning to buy used. They were totally cool with letting me try out the bike for size and I bought my pedals from them a few days later.

[spazzdog]

The only thing I would add to the "try bikes" mantra is:

Don't go to the LBS on Saturday and expect them to be able to give you as much un-harried time as they could on a weekday afternoon.

The place I bought mine (in MA) was an absolute zoo on the weekends, so I did all my business with them while the rest of the world was at work (M-F, btn 9-5).

spazz

[bikerbarb]

I spent six months researching what kind of new bike I wanted and tried out quite a few. I settled in on a bike that felt great and was listed as fast, but you could comfortably ride a century. What cinched the deal was that the dealer quoted me a price for the bike I test rode at $900 less than the MSRP.
The bike was over my price range, but it seemed like such a good deal that price, I thought I'd make the stretch.
Well, there have been several things I have not been happy about--swapping out the handle bar for a WSD that I didn't ask for and then reluctantly after weeks giving me back the one it came with and charging me for rewrapping tape. ("This time we won't charge for the labor involved.") Putting a computer on of their choice w/o asking me ("It's great, it's the one that I have."), not giving me the cleats (yet) for the $160 pedals despite asking 3 times (finally got on the 4th trip). And charging me $50 for a seat. (oh, we did? that was a mistake.) I asked why they didn't put the saddle on that was in the specs and they said that the catelog might say it came with that but that wasn't always what they came with--that seat might not exist. When I wanted a comparable saddle w/ti rails, they wanted another $100.

But on top of that, what I've discovered is that they gave me an '05 bike instead of an '06. Now the bike I may have tested may have been an '05 and I didn't know it, but the owner stapled the price quote on his business card to the page of the bike I bought in the '06 catelog. That's what I took home and carefully researched and considered for 2 weeks.

I've looked at '05 models on line and the price I paid was comparable to what last year’s model is being offered for now. When I brought it up to the owner, he shrugged and said “you still got a great deal”. I believe I was defrauded. I sincerely think I was treated this way for being XX. This is a high-end purchase--and the second bike my family bought there this year. Of course I’m really soured on them and will not give them any more business. And I’m not giving them a ringing endorsement when people ask where I got my bike. What would you do?

[pooks]

I blogged about my most recent experience at REI yesterday.

I took my bike in (a shaft drive bike that clearly was not purchased there) and paid them to install the bike computer I bought from them three weeks ago. (My husband never found time to install it, so .... 20 bucks to REI.)

However, without charging extra they also adjusted the wheels which they realized were rubbing the brake pads a little, did some other tweaks, watched me ride and said my pedals were fine but the handlebar wasn't, and adjusted that.

All on a bike they didn't sell, at no charge.

I'd be surprised if they charged extra to adjust work they'd done themselves, but maybe this is just a local thing. All I know is that the Dallas REI rocks.

As for the coop part -- I love getting that 10% dividend at the end of every year.

[pooks]

By the way -- I'm very impatient. All the different kinds of bikes confused me. I wanted a bike and I wanted it NOW, and the thought of doing months of research would never have crossed my mind!

I admire those of you who are doing such a great job. I do realize it's a large expense and worth all the time put into it. In my case, I was just convinced that I needed "a bike" to ride around for my health, and didn't expect it to go beyond that.

Well, it hasn't gone beyond that YET, but my interest in biking sure has!