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[Midorimage]

Went to the LBS that I pass everyday on my commute to work looking for some Nitto trekking bars. The shop is very high end.. many nice Italian rode bikes and have a bunch of Moulton bikes. One of the Moulton bikes priced more than what I paid for my car :shock: Anyways, they have a display case full of Nitto parts.. so I asked if they had or could get the Trekking bars.. The owner told they don't have any and when I asked if he could order them... he told me that he wouldn't because he had know idea how long it would take. (BTW, I live in Japan and Nitto is a Japanese company)

So, I bought it on=line, and it will come to me within 24 hours. I'd rather buy at a LBS.. it is easier for me to hide my purchases from the wife.

 

[Woz]

cantis should not be a problem even for the freshest of mechanics what with the massive upturn in CX bikes over the last 4-5 years

Well said! New bike with new cantis!

 

[B77]

Cost of labour per hour in my LBS ( any job that takes less than an hour is charged at the hourly rate)......75 euros
Cost of service for forks including new oil/seals.....287 euros
Cost of Fox 650lb spring (4 week wait for delivery)....99 euros

Sod em.

Most stuff I can do myself but was a bit hesitant on changing oil & seals, an hour on the net and got all the info needed, job done.

 

[tom l]

Two LBS experiences

earlier in the year went to my lbs to buy my (very excited) daughters first bike, and a couple of helmets. No one else in the shop and three members of staff, explained what I needed (total cost about £200ish). Given a vague wave and a grunt towards the back of the shop where the childrens bikes were hidden behind a row of adults bikes. "move them out the way" was their instruction to me before heads went down again. left shop soon after...

Had stupidly rounded the backs off my deore II chainring bolts. went to another shop near my parents in Hunstanton. Young mechanic spent 20 minutes removing the bolts and put on a new set free of charge. Was given the same level of politeness and customer service as man buying £3000 ti racer at same time.

I know which one i will use in future...

 

[Jussa]

I think i am very lucky to have a great LBS close to me, in fact several but the closest is Pauls Cycles (Dereham) several reasons, that whilst they are a very well stocked outlet for new MTB's and some very high end, but they also stock the lower end MTB's yet still retaining quality and value for money. Often the prices of the new stuff is well below normal RRP. They carry a good selection of spares, and a workshop that can cater for any type of repair or tweak. One of our fellow retrobiker's Carl (Mrgrumpy) works at this shop and has been nothing but helpful when it has come to sorting things out on my retro rides, from sorting out Headsets, BB's and Crown Races for forks, to bolts, nut, & washers. Even when Carl is not around the rest of the staff are helpful, honest and wont give you the fob off. I appreciate the good LBS is on the decline, and that's part to the attitude and desires of today's purchasers, disposable lifestyle, off the peg, simple purchases these are all catered for by today's outlets, you break a wheel, they sell you a new one not offer you a repair. Sadly for us Retroriders unless you have the 'Know how' to repair, fix and make good we are out on a limb, unless we are lucky to have a good LBS which can cater for oldschool

Anyway good to hear that there are still some good LBS's up and down the country and we should continue to support them, and if you have to go into some of the other bike outlets, bear in mind that the young lad may not have heard of Kleins other than the underwear he may be sporting outside of his saggy jeans, and he may think that Canti's are something Horses do, but that's not his fault, its just the way things are sadly going

 

[DM]

I avoid LBS as much as possible, which is sad because there are many in my neighborhood. But the only reliable one is an hour away.

My case:
I had a rear puncture but also I needed to have a headset crown race installed and the steerer tube shortened on a new alu/carbon rigid 29er fork. Rather than do it myself with improvised tools, I wheeled the bike to the professionals, who are a few streets away. They're a main dealer for Nicolai, Rolhoff, etc., and have a large workshop staff. So I had high expectations.

1. They put a ding in the alu crown of the fork, so **** knows how they installed the headset race;
2. They forgot to pre-tension the headset before re-attaching the stem;
3. They didn't repair the puncture;
4. The bike (which has QR skewers) was parked on the street with many others, with one skinny cable lock running through their rear wheels.

I wheeled the bike home and finished the job properly myself. Customer service is non-existent in this country, so complaining would have been pointless.

I attached an honest review to their Google Maps entry. Google deleted it. Twice.

I'm useless at wheel-building. But for all other jobs, I have decided to buy the tools and do the job myself.