RoadieTim

Hi guys,

I am looking to buy a new road bike, and in that process I was wondering what your experiences and preferences are in terms of buying online or offline?

I can see some obvious benefits and drawbacks from both, but I am curious on whether you would generally recommend someone to buy online or offline and why?

Cheers,
Tim

DaveQ24

tagaproject6

I prefer to shop where I get the most for my money. Online or local business, doesn't matter.

Wilmingtech

Hmmmm.....

Craigslist... offline?
And my last big purchase was from a local vendor in Portland about an hour and a half from where I live. I made that purchase online and had it delivered because I didnt have the time to drive down there. Is that online? Or offline?

If its conveinient to buy local for a few dollars more, I will. Most of the times, for the things I need, Ill have to call 3 or 4 different places, take an hour or two (sometimes more) and drive into town to get to those places and then you get there and they dont have what you need. Its easier to just order it online and continue on with your busy day.

700

I kind of forced myself to buy locally by asking for gift certificate at LBS last Christmas. (Wife wanted to know what in-laws could get me.) I still haven't used them completely. I do want to support my local stores, but the prices and selection for accessories... SMH.
I just decided to pay too much for some items that I sort of needed to get.
It's much better to look online, find what I want, and shop for the best price and have it delivered.

pdlamb

You can save a fair bit of money buying a new road bike online IF:

1. You know what size bike you need to fit you.
2. You know how and what to adjust or replace to make the fit work.
3. You know how to assemble a bike.
4. You know how to adjust the brakes and derailers.
5. You know how to repair the bike after you've ridden it a while.

On the other hand, if there are gaps in your knowledge, you'll end up saving money by going to a good bike shop to buy that road bike. Oh, you may pay more up front, but saving, for example, $200 on a $1,000 purchase you ride twice and park in the garage forever is NOT saving you anything. Not really. Getting a bike that fits you, is fun to ride, is set up well and works well -- those are the things that can keep you riding your new bike.

Doctor Morbius

Newbs!

jefnvk

Pretty much what @pdlamb said.

Is this new as in you are new to the sport, or new as in a new bike and you know exactly what you need? If the former, saving $100 online may get you into something completely wrong for you. If the latter, not only do I (generally) save online, I don't have to deal with an LBS employee questioning my choices (which I have generally thoroughly researched and deliberately chosen) or trying to steer me towards stuff they have in stock.

124Spider

It's not that simple for me.

If I've used a brick-and-mortar store to help me decide what to buy (e.g., I've ridden one of their bikes), I'll buy from that store.

If I'm in a hurry, I'll buy from a store.

If I already know what I want, and am not in a hurry (e.g., new rear cassette), I'll buy online.

fietsbob

you need to be a better skilled bike mechanic, with the tools of your own,
and know what you want , size , components
if you are going it alone and ordering a bike in a box delivered to your door

As a part time worker in the local shop,( older ) I have worked full time in them in the past

buying a bike in a shop you have service after the sale.. and staff will help with your choices..
fit accessories , & so on..



Here, 1st 6 months that's free..



...

TiHabanero

Buy locally. I like my neighbors and really like it when they are working. If the shop closes, they are unemployed for a bit, and that is not good. Support your neighbors. Buy local.

wipekitty

Yes, exactly.

Also keep in mind that assembling a bike is not quite like putting together an Ikea bookshelf. You'll need a few tools as well as a few skills (or the willingness to learn them).

Wheel truing and derailleur adjustment are not rocket science, but can be frustrating if you just want to go ride. It's helpful to have a torque wrench, and almost necessary if you're working with carbon fiber components. To make things even more fun, derailleurs often need adjustments after a few hundred miles.

All that, combined with getting fit right, can make buying in person seem like a better value. (That said, I tend to buy online for myself.)

jefnvk

Not really.

It really isn't that hard to set up a bike out of the box, even for someone who hasn't done it before. It will take some time and fiddling, but it really isn't that bad if you are at all mechanically inclined. Bikes are rather simple devices. If it incurred any damage in shipping, that may change, but there isn't much to be done to get a bike up and running out of a box.

Wilmingtech

Tim - Sorry.... my post before was just looking at buying anything bike related online or off. Good posts here. Some things to take into consideration -

1. If you buy online and get a great deal... usually its a closeout, old model, slightly used. Pay attention to the support offered from the seller. I see bikes (and parts) sold cheap online because there is something not quite right or the vendor is not taking any returns or just trying to dump old stock (And lets face it... are you really going to take that bike completely apart, stick it back in the box, pay for the shipping, label the box, drive it to fedex or UPS to ship back and wait the ....who knows how long before you get a refund or repair done to get that bike back) So make sure you are getting what you want and won't need to send it back.

2. As mentioned above, if you have some skills and tools and space and are completely capable or tearing a bike down and putting it back together then you might find some good deals online. Make sure you take into account the costs for parts and pieces you need though - New seat, pedals, stem length.... take a look at the wheels you are getting (I have seen some listings where the stock wheels were removed and lesser wheels put on to sell the bike cheaper) If you have a good LBS thats willing to support your purchase you may be able to get them to work with you and roll some of these things into the price.

3. I recently got a pretty good deal on a bike (850 less than list on last years model) but ended up spending another 300$ or so on new tires, seat, upgraded brakes, longer crankset. And after I got the bike I just didn't have the time to do all the assembly work so it was about 3 weeks before I was able to go out and ride it. If your time is valuable a good LBS might make this less frustrating for you.

4. Last - Make sure you have a good LBS. I unfortunately do not. I am over and hours drive away from an LBS that can work on my bike and at no time in the year can they work on my bike in less than a weeks time (They do good work and they are very busy). So for me its almost 3 hours of driving to drop off and 3 hours of driving to pick up and a week or more of down time.

PaulRivers

Buying a bike, I almost always buy locally. I return a lot of stuff I buy online via amazon etc when it shows up but doesn't quite work. A bike is way to much hassle to send back. In person I take it for a test ride and get an idea of:
- If it's the right size
- How the ride feels - I've test ridden a few "knock your teeth out with chatter" bikes and one "expensive super smooth riding bike" that had a very mediocre ride

I don't really care about the cost difference. I feel like the really big cost differences a lot of times comes with a crappier bike. Like yeah you can buy a much cheaper full carbon bike online, but how does the cheapest model ride? You can make a carbon fiber frame that rides really awful.

For accessories and parts...a lot of times I buy them online despite that I'd theoretically like to buy them in person. Some things like bike locks the price difference is huge. A lot of other times they just don't have what I need. For example I wanted to buy a "Planet Bike Grateful USB Bike Tail Light" because I read they added a reflector for it for times when it's not on. My closest bike shop doesn't sell it at all. The next one you can order it online, but only if they ship it to the store, so I'd have to order it, wait for it to arrive, drive to the store during business hours...I gave up and went and order it on amazon where it will be on my porch in 3 days.

sdmc530

Well spoken...typed but this is the truth.

fietsbob

If you work all day at a computer for your job , may have influence on your choices.

Probably posting here rather than working , now, Right?

Phil_gretz

RoadieTim

Thank you all very much for your helpful input! Great posts.

Having read through all your comments, I am still curious on a couple of things: It seems like you can have most bikes delivered as 95% assembled these days + they will come with instruction videos and the required tools. I guess they should be fairly easy to assemble in these cases? Also, there are many bike brands that offer a click-and-collect model (such as e.g. Trek or Felt) where you can order online and pick it up in the store, fully assembled Have you had any experience with ordering in this way? I guess that is the best of both worlds, judging from what I hear you all say?

Leinster

Nachoman

I've bought all bikes, except one, for me, my wife, and kids, at local bikes stores.
And the one bike I bought on-line for my wife, even though I thought I knew her size, ended up being too big.

JonathanGennick 

If the brand plans ahead for consumer assembly, then putting the bike together should be straightforward. I've seen both ways. Last year I unboxed a bike that clearly had been assembled with the idea that a shop mechanic with all the tools at hand would finalize the build. Since then the brand seems to have upped their game (and their pricing) to target consumer assembly a little bit better.

[quote[Also, there are many bike brands that offer a click-and-collect model (such as e.g. Trek or Felt) where you can order online and pick it up in the store, fully assembled Have you had any experience with ordering in this way? I guess that is the best of both worlds, judging from what I hear you all say? [/QUOTE]

Click and collect is a good model. There are also brands that partner with mobile services like Velofix and Beeline for the final assembly. I personally would be happy if the box contained just a frame and a pile of parts, but the typical customer is going to benefit from assembly by someone with some practice and some expertise.

jon c. 

I'd prefer to buy locally, but price and availability sometimes dictate that one must purchase online.

Litespud

KraneXL

Bike: LBS
Clothing/Accessories: Online