Timber_8

Do you go out of you way to support the local shop. My LBS tends to be more of a road bike shop with lots of carbon. I have had great experiences with them over the years. I find the things I want on line and usually have them order it for me. They are kinda far from the city so the don't do a lot of commuter business. They do tend to like what I order and try stocking it to see if it will move. I go out of my way to give my business to them and they treat me well even though I am not a carbon supporter

Little Darwin

The LBS I go to is pretty balanced. They definitely have the plethora of road bikes, but some hybrids, and plenty of knowledge and interest in vintage bikes too, which is good for me.

TamaraEden

The closest LBS to me is pretty famous, Orange20. It's not for me so much. The Hybrids they carry I can't afford and the rest seems pretty road bikey and hipster.

I bring my business to Budget Pro Bicycles. The guys there are amazing. Always very kind and don't make me feel like an idiot. They are a Trek dealer and have, what I think is, a lot of hybrids. Of course there are all sorts of "fast" bikes there as well. It's not close, about 10 or so L.A. miles which is far

Sixty Fiver

We have a great number of bike shops as despite the northern locale our cycling community is a large one.

Aside from the specialty road and mtb shops we do have several large and well established shops that carry pretty much everything in the way of hybrid and city bikes.

The service can be hit or miss depending on the shop.

My closest LBS is my own and the the guy who works there is a bit of a retro grouch sometimes.

KShep

For bicycle components, tires, wheels, etc. I will order from the LBS. Suprisingly there is only one bike shop in this university town of 16K college students. The shop carries three brands and seems to cater to road bike clients more than MTB or urban/path cyclists.

The courteous and knowledgeable staff is comprised of the owner and two mechanics. The owner recommended the Trek FX series for a fitness bike that met my criteria. Left to my own devices there is no telling what I might have selected. They answered all my questions, fitted me for the bike and informed me about local clubs and meetings.

Cycling apparel I usually buy from Internet vendors.

terraskye

I have three LBS...well ok four, that I peruse( or stalk ) on a regular basis They are all good in their own ways and what one store doesn't stock one of the other three usually do.

My only beef that I've come across a few times is that even though they may not sell a competitors bike brand they should know enough of that brand to tell me why yours brand is better than that one. Luckily I tend to over-research before buying anything

Panthers007

Having checked out The Old Spokes Home up here, which I found to be an excellent shop with more-than-reasonable prices, I'll give this LBS a go next time I need something. And I have a lead - thank you marvelous, on another LBS up here I have yet to check out. With the crooked shop that didn't do work for me that I paid for - I was strictly internet unless it was a big-ticket item. Like a patch-kit.

rumrunn6

how is this hybrid specific?

Sixty Fiver

It is specific in the sense that many bikes shops do not cater to the needs of average cyclists very well be that because they lack stock or because they lack product knowledge or interest in what they are selling.

One of our local shops stocks an impressive selection of urban bikes but their staff are very mountain bike and road oriented so getting information can be a pain... I will say that they have been improving as more and more people are moving away from dedicated road and mountain bikes and looking for a more urban friendly design.

At one time the city / hybrid bike was almost an extinct species here as every shop thought a mountain bike was the solution to people's riding needs.

Knowing what shops cater best to this is good information to have.

TamaraEden

Ok, are you in Hybrids JUST to question every post and how it's hybrid specific. Seriously, check the other forums, it's natural to go off topic a little because we're groups of people with common interests so other common topics will show up.

rumrunn6

of course but apparently I can't go off topic without getting moved ...

you know what? I think hybrid owners in genersal have a chip on their shoulder cuz they're and have been discriminated against ... think so?

TamaraEden

The chip on my shoulder is towards folks who are elitist and think that their bike is better than someone elses. Isn't the point simply that we have bikes, ride, etc. I just don't see a point to taking time to purposely bash and be the person who you mention, you know the one, the discriminating one. One thing is for sure, I won't go into another forum and bash a roadie or a fixie or something. Frankly, I don't care if anyone likes my upright comfy city bike. HELL, I live in a freaking huge city and ride and crowded city streets...

Anywho...this will be my last response because responding to you is, umm, err, unproductive.

WCoastPeddler

Only if the topic is off-topic to begin with.


That's not the reason why. We have chips on our shoulders because we are better than everyone else.

Mr Danw

I support one shop around here. It is basically a one man operation. The owner is a little curmudgeonly, maybe even a retro grouch, but he really knows bikes and has a decent line of bikes and accessories.

TamaraEden

(thanks Danw for getting us back on track ) Or bike path so have you.

WCoastPeddler

I have three shops in my neighborhood. All of them sell well known, respected brands of bikes.

One caters primarily (but not exclusively) to road bike enthusiasts. I've bought a few things there and find them pretty good, if not a wee bit on the expensive side. All of the staff at this shop really know what they're talking about -- not only with road bikes but with all other bikes as well.

Another one is a local chain that sells primarily to families -- not bad prices but I've found them to have mostly young kids working there who really don't know as much as they ought to. Their prices are pretty good for most items.

The third is a store that specializes in new and used sports gear but is also a bike dealer (they carry three brands). I purchased my bike from this shop because they sell the brand that I was interested in buying. They didn't have my size in stock when I bought it but ordered it in and I had it in a few days. Their service so far has been pretty good but again, they have a lot of young kids in there who don't know as much about bikes as they should. I find that most of the time I talk to the owner or the bike mechanic -- both of whom know their stuff quite well. The mechanic is exceptionally knowledgeable and is always willing to discuss bikes and offer sound advice.

So far I've made a few of my purchases from the first LBS and most of my purchases from the 3rd one where I bought my bike.

In all honestly, I think that all of them are decent shops but I tend to go where I feel the most comfortable with the people who work there, so it tends to be the shop where I bought my bike.

I've never purchased bike stuff online and doubt much that I ever will -- I'm a big proponent of supporting local businesses.

TamaraEden

I guess there are 2 stores we frequent and 1 in our neighborhood which we don't go to but is popular.

For my bike I go to Budget Pro Bicycles (as I mentioned earlier). They are so nice there so efficient and AMAZING customer service. They are Trek and Gary Fischer dealers and don't sell a whole lot of things that TerraSkye and I love like bells, baskets and bags ) The are just over 8 miles from me No clue why they have no website so Yelp is all I got, besides one bad review, all good.

My husband bought his bike from Performance Bikes. It's a little further than my shop at 9.1 miles away but they had a bigger selection and he loved a bike he found before looking at my shop (boo on him). The sales people there are blech in my opinion. At my shop I get lifetime tuneups, I'm not sure if his are for a year or lifetime but truth be told, when he got a flat, we took it to my shop. We definitely prefer to support our LBS.

Now, the closest store to us is the infamous Orange 20, a hipsters paradise This is 1.7 miles from us on a cool hip block that includes one of my fave vegan restaurants and homemade ice cream spots. And to tie this all together, Orange 20 has a nice selection of "urban bikes"

rongarcia

Calmar in Santa Clara, CA is my LBS and I try to buy all my bicycle stuff from them.

hagbard

My LBS is awful. There are some not so LBS that are good not too far away.

Panthers007

I'm glad I found a good one across my city. The other one - that sent me scurrying to the internet - wouldn't know a cone-wrench from an earwig.

enine

We have several. Roll: is the closest, they have a small store just a mile or so away from me, then they have another store in another mall called Easton. Then we have two bikesource stores within 5 miles and one more downtown. Plus a couple others that I haven't been in yet like the trek store and a triathlon specialty place. The four I've been to have raised my credit card balance enough already.

imstumpedru

imstumpedru

one shop gets my undying recomendation every time. the owner even recognizes my voice on the phone always seems to have what i need, does little things like removing a stubborn pedal for free. and trades stuff with me like vintage bikes i do not want/need for stuff i do want/ errr need yeah thats it neeed shiny

moneal

I live in a small town so the the nearest bike shop is 40 mins away, but I have bought a lot from them. They are so friendly... it really makes me want to shop and support them. I tried buying another brand (Jamis) at a college town bike shop that is an hour away, but the difference in customer service is pretty huge. The salespeople there seem fairly disinterested so I'd rather shop at my main store.

I do buy from department stores on occasion... My LBS isn't cheap and if I'm buying something small like mirrors or maybe gloves, I will sometimes buy elsewhere... plus the hours are better at the department stores. But that's only a sometime thing as I like the guidance that the LBS gives me and I want to keep that good relationship going.

baldsue

I try really hard to use my LBS but they just don't seem interested in my money so I've turned to the internet.