MisterK

well i went to a LBS close to my place cuz i was thinking of getting a new stem and handle bars...
bottom line, he told me to stop spending money on my bike, my bike is pretty much crap, save my money and ride it into the ground.
i mean i know my bike is crap but yah :\ fixed my derailleur for free tho....
Raleigh Matterhorn...im disappointed in you today...more than usual

ilmooz

That might be the last visit I paid to that shop. Junk or not, for whatever reasons you have if you'd rather upgrade than buy a new bike they should be working with you.

Then again, I haven't seen your bike. If it's damaged or in such disrepair that it's a danger to ride then you might have been given some good, honest advice. Harsh, maybe, but nevertheless it might be worth evaluating.

StephenH

Could be several things going on. One is, they may be more interested in high end work, or in selling you a new bike. Or, it could be a safety issue as pointed out. It could be a matter of not wanting to fix something knowing it's going to go wrong again promptly. It could be that they just feel like they'd be doing you a disservice by taking your money and working on it.

annc

I doubt it's a safety issue if the he told you to "ride it into the ground." Perhaps he was trying to tell you that the new stem would be worth more than the entire bike?

Panthers007

I've been told my vintage PUCH A-D Steyr built with Reynold's 531 double-butted frame & fork, with Campy SR crankset and so forth - in mint condition - was too old to ride safely anymore. Then the ****er tried to sell me some piece of flashy garbage or other. I didn't pay attention to this dork. I just wanted a patch-kit. That shop is inept and crooked. I wouldn't trust them to build a tricycle for a 5 year old.

Oscuro

...I half expect that kind of service with my shed-fresh Nishiki!

Course, only been to the Re-cycle sorta place, and one of the LBS's, need to take the bike back to where it was originally from!

Siu Blue Wind

Awww that's messed up. I would never go back there if I were you. It would be different if the bike is dangerous but apparently not.

Granted he was being honest with HIS personal opinion, it doesn't justify him insulting you.

Panthers007

My PUCH is a frame-set from Austria in 1982-3. I've been building and rebuilding it ever since. People's eyes pop out of their head when they look at it. Quite frankly, it's beautiful. That ****er at the LBS was reading off a script. If I'd wheeled in a $10,000 carbon Whatzit, his monologue wouldn't have changed.

As I was standing in line, a guy asked me if I'd bought it here (I'd wheeled it through the door and half-rode it to the part's counter). I looked at him and laughed. I said: "I wouldn't let these idiots so much as put air in my tires."

By the way, those new Park Tool glueless patches are great!

wunderkind

OP's bicycle is selling for a cool CDN$99 at Canadian Tire atm. I guess that LBS is too good for the bike? I won't shop there even if I have a Madone! That kinda attitude will never get my business.

underdonk

Yeah, they wanted you to buy a new bike from them. Last time I would visit the store.

Cyclist01012

I am going to have to chime in fro the owner here. We have had to explain to customersthat there bike is not worth fixing. Why put a hundred bucks in parts in a bike that costs 70.00 retail and then figure in the price of labor. (not saying you bars and stem was 100.000). Somwtimes ths stuff isnt worth it.

bluegoatwoods

Is it worth it to put a $100 in parts on a bike that cost $70.00? If the buyer is going to sell the bike, then the answer is no. But if the buyer is going to ride the bike, then the answer might well be yes.

I have a feeling that the real problem is that LBS shops can't pay their bills on customers who spend $25 every 6 months or so. But if the bike shop's business model is squeezing 3, 4,5 hundred bucks out of people who didn't really need (or want) to, then they are crooked.

TryingMyBest

Because the alternative is buying a $2,000 bike?

This is where Americans are having problems. They buy cars every 3 years instead of keep cars for 10+ years.

Cyclist01012

Who said any thing about buying a 2000 dollar bike?
Not me.

wahoonc

So explain it to the customer and let them decide what they want to spend their money on. I ride an old Raleigh Sports beater with a brand new Brooks saddle that cost more than 5 times what the bike did, so I guess I am an idiot? BTW nothing says the parts I put an old beater bike today won't end up on a new build tomorrow

Aaron

TryingMyBest

So what do you think the alternative is? A $1,000 bike? A $700 bike? You tell me.

probe1957

Having been in the automotive repair for 30+ years, it can be a fine line to walk telling a customer their car just isn't worth what it will cost to repair it. The LBS guy didn't walk that line very well. That said, there was a message that had to be delivered and he delivered it.

EraserGirl

Embrace it!

my 95 trek is beaten and unsexy and i watched the boys at the LBS make a face when i had them replace the shifters. so i used my cafepress account to make a sticker for it
"My other bike is a 'p o s' too." if my bike was actually WORTH anything, i'd have to sell it.

think of it as a great bike in disguise.

LesterOfPuppets

From what I can tell, the Matterhorn is pretty low-end, and I agree with the bike-shop-dude's advice. I don't think I'd personally spend money on new stem and handlebars for it. If you find used stem and handlebars for free, that's an option I might consider. I figure a low-end stem+handlebar+labor at LBS prices would be $60 minimum. That really should go into a savings account for a new bike.

Fixing your derailleur for free is unbeatable service. I'd return to that shop ALL the time.

I guess it kinda depends on the reason you're looking for new bar/stem. Current ones broken, don't fit right, you just don't like 'em????

LesterOfPuppets

I kinda like having what most consider a ***. Most folks see the Mongoose name and figure my Mongoose is a piece, but it's one of the sweetest MTB frames I've ever ridden.

Sawtooth

Well Said.
Attached is a photo of my 1982 Peugeot P8 ($40 from a thrift store). The only original things on it are the frame/fork, BB, post and headset. The new parts on it regularly migrate from bike to bike. Buying new parts and putting them on an old bike that you love is fun and often makes the most sense. Plus, the parts are easily swapped to another bike later.

joe_5700

I think the LBS offered good advice in my opinion. The same advice can be true for cars too. Sure, you can avoid payments while driving an older payed for car, but you can also get nailed with monthly repairs for older cars too.

ilmooz

The first answer that comes to mind is for sentimental reasons. There could be any number of reasons why a bike's sentimental value could far exceed monetary value. That's for no one but the owner to judge.

joe_5700

why were you wheeling your bike around an LBS if you only wanted a patch kit? Park bike outside store, get patch kit and leave. I don't see where sales pressure would be applied unless you were somehow showing off your vintage bike.

njkayaker

We have no idea exactly how the LBS informed you that your bike is "crap".

While there is nothing wrong with an inexpensive bike, it really might make more sense putting real money into a better bike. The LBS (if they did so politely) might be doing you a service telling you that!

People with old classic bikes have a different problem (more power to them!).

Of course not. Many LBS sell bicycles for much less than that.

The real question is why he is patronizing a shop he thinks is "inept and crooked"!