bruised

If have what might be an unfounded and irrational concern about taking my bike to the LBS.

My closest LBS is a Trek dealer, and my bikes are not Trek. They know me (by sight) at the Trek dealer as I've rented a bike from them and stalked their store for a while before deciding to buy Salsa. My Salsa dealer is located a 3 hour round-trip from me and I rarely make the trip for any reason other than bikes. If I have to drop the bike off and pick it up another day, that's 6 hours in the car, plus fuel costs.

So I'd like to take the bike to the local Trek dealer and have them do basic stuff like BB maintenance, truing wheels, a basic tune-up etc. I do buy from them occasionally - gloves, helmet, clothing, accessories etc. They did perform a tune-up on my old GT bike, but I was less than satisfied with the outcome and I couldn't rid myself of the thought that the poor service work may have been related to my underlying concern.

Is there some ethical faux pas in taking my Salsa to a Trek dealer for service, or is it perfectly reasonable? Of course I understand that they're not going to turn me away, but is it the potential source of an unwanted 'tension' between both parties?

On the one hand, it's business, and I'm sure they're appreciative at some level of the revenue. On the other hand, there's bound to be some reaction to the fact that they know I'm a local yet chose to go elsewhere for a new bike....

What are your thoughts? Have any of you worked in or owned bike shops - if so, how do you feel about this little dilemma?

RonH

There are no rules about what bikes a shop will work on. When I worked at Intown Bicycles in Atlanta the majority of the bikes we worked on were bikes we did not sell. A bike is a bike.

TenSpeedV2

Any bike shop that won't work on a bike that you did not buy from them is a bike shop that you don't want to go to. Any shop should gladly work on any bike, regardless of where you bought it from. The LBS I frequent sells Norco and Cervelo. Most of their revenue stems from repairs of all brands, regardless if they came from a shop in California or the local Wal-Mart. Like mentioned above, a bike is a bike. Take it where you feel comfortable taking it.

ShortLegCyclist

IMO, the only tension would arise if you bought a model that your Trek dealer carries, but got it elsewhere and then expected him to service it.

Bike shop owners know better than anyone that sometimes a certain bike just feels better and they won't hold it against you if you choose a bike they do not carry.

Plus, based on the other thread, it sounds like their profit margin is higher on the accessories you buy at the closer shop anyway.

A completely separate concern, though, is if they simply aren't very good at bike maintenance, and I bring that up only because you mentioned you were not happy with the work they did on your GT bike.

Tundra_Man 

The only time I've ever encountered where a shop that won't work on particular brands of bike are those sold via department stores. Not because the person didn't buy the bike from the shop, but because department store bikes are notorious for not holding an adjustment. Often times bike shops will "tune up" a box-store bike only to have the customer returning a few days later complaining that the original problem has returned. Or when a customer is shocked that their repair will cost them more than what they paid for the bike new.

A local shop near me has a sign on their door: "We do not work on bikes purchased at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, etc. If the store where you bought your bike doesn't want to fix it, we don't either." Kind of harsh, but they've obviously been burned enough to warrant hanging the sign.

But a quality brand bicycle purchased elsewhere? Never had a problem.

bruised

Thanks for this and for the previous comments.

I'm probably being overly sensitive and picking up on something which isn't there. I'm also trying hard not to link together the poorly performed service work with any feeling of resentment for bringing in a bike sold by a competitor. The two are probably not connected.

imi

Uh, why don't you ask them? I'm pretty sure the answer you'll get will be "no problem, we're more than happy to work on your bike", and a smile...
Otherwise, well at least you'll know.

Why not buy some tools, do some you-tubeing and get your hands dirty? Everything is a mystery until you've done it... then it's a piece of cake...

corrado33

I fully support this. I've worked on many wal-mart bikes. They SUCK to work on. You can never get things quite right. After working on wal-mart bikes, any bike above $400 is a dream to work on. Everything just FALLS into place. Some really cheap brakes don't even allow you to toe in the pad.

But in reply to the OP. It would be absolutely fine to bring in your salsa to those guys. You may have received a less than optimal tune up on your old bike because sometimes older bikes are hard to work on. Sometimes they just need another $50 thrown at them to make them work well, and often times the customer isn't willing to pay that. (On many older bikes, if you replace cables/housings the bike shifts and brakes like new, but many people don't want to spend the money to get that done.)

rydabent

Here is another bike shop I would have nothing to do with.

TenSpeedV2

Harsh, but it is a reality. I don't blame them, and applaud them for taking the stand on it. I would give them my business.

SpeshulEd 

Some shops might be hesitant if your bike requires special tools to fix. For example, the new shop I go to carries Giant, Felt, and Colnago...I have a Cannondale. They don't have the proprietary Cannondale tools so they were a bit worried about fixing some of the issues with the bike. Fortunately, I had the tools they needed and all was well. They fixed the bike and only charged me for parts... I brought them a six pack of craft beers and spent another $100 on various other crap in the shop when the bike was complete.

Darth Lefty 

I've never had a second thought about this.

I have gotten some bum work from shops that are not C&V respectful; specifically a couple of graceful DB spokes replaced with big straight gauge spokes for which they drilled my Campy hubs to fit the gauge.

bruised

I suppose the direct approach is often the best. But I don't imagine anyone would refuse to work on my Salsa unless it was due to an absence of brand-specific tools. The question was more about the 'attitude'. I never expected a shop to flat out say 'no'.
@Tundra_Man points to a case where certain brands are being precluded. Whilst I understand the differentiation between big-box brands and quality products, it does still infer the kind of attitude I was alluding to with my original post, kinda...sorta.

Noddy

A shop I've visited has the following statements on their web site:

"If your bike has been sourced from a big box retail store it may be impossible for us to make a reliable or economic repair."
"We reserve the right to decline to service or maintain bicycles supplied by big box stores and discount warehouses or not shown in the list below on the grounds of not being able to maintain the quality of workmanship and safety which we regard as a priority."

ShortLegCyclist

I once wandered far from home on a Schwinn Sidewinder big box store bike and the front derailleur cable came completely undone at the derailleur about 40 miles from home. Had a multi-tool on me but not any kind of wrench.

Happened to be less than a mile from a local bike shop though, and not only did they work on the big box store bike and re-attach the cable, they adjusted the limiting screws and they didn't charge me a nickle.

I'm sure even the stores with that sign would make an exception for cases like that, but since then I've made a point of giving accessory business to that store whenever I'm in their neck of the woods.

Wilfred Laurier

All shops I have worked at (one of them I insisted on it) usually asked for pre-payment or at least a down-payment when someone drops off an X-Mart bike for major repairs, knowing that the bike might be abandoned with us once the customer realized they could get a new POS bike for less than repairing the old one.

bruised

Now that I can understand. But I wonder if turning down work on box-brands isn't something other than 'they don't always stay adjusted', or 'they're a pig to work on'.

Wilfred Laurier

I think it is part frustration, part not wanting clients to associate their bike's shabby performance with the work the shop did on it, and possibly part resentment at the box-store-bike industry and the attitudes that perpetuate it.

LGHT

Do you have any local bike mechanics in your area? The last time I took a bike in for service the service was bad, it took a long time to get the bike and when I went to get it they couldn't find it not to mention it was expensive. I found a guy who works out of his garage and has twice as much experience as a retired bike mechanic. He's faster, cheaper, and does a much better job and could care less about why brand the bike is.

Noddy

So you'd prefer that all LBS be "forced" to work on everything even the stuff they can't get parts for, can't make a profit on and will likely be married to? All of that extra time comes off their bottom line making it even harder to survive in an already extremely tough business climate. Let's face it: the only reason many LBS survive is because of protection from the bike manufacturers and the repair service they offer.
(just in case people don't get the married comment it's a service business worst-case customer - the ones who keep coming back so often - usually with complaints that have nothing to do with the work you did - you feel like you are married to them)

Bottom line is that things that are built to a (low) price point are often not repairable or even serviceable and you can't force a craftsman to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

fietsbob

May have heard The bill to repair it costs 'more than I Paid for the Bike in the first place' far too often ,

and have a bunch of them abandoned after spending the time and money on them, and losing on the effort.



Our LBS, here assembles boxed Bikes direct bikes , for a fee.

And gives the owner some call backs as the Cable adjustments settle in.

Is a Trek dealer , but also Orders QBP's bikes when asked to ..
its the warrantee service with Specialized and other brands Not Carried that won't be done.

Also helps out Cycle-tourists from around the world riding the coast ,
and took in the boxed bikes Shipped here ,
from the people starting here to do the self supported race to Yorktown.

etc.

bakes1

Impossible to reply correctly as you are asking strangers on the internet to help you question the morals of other strangers. Seriously?

Tundra_Man 

Which is the beauty of capitalism. We as customers have the freedom to select with whom to do business based on their policies/performance.

If enough potential customers feel the same as you that it adversely affects the shop's bottom line, then they will change their mind and figure out a way to make it profitable to work on such bikes. I have a feeling that if they were making money working on X-Mart bikes then they wouldn't have that sign hanging there in the first place.

corrado33

That's definitely a nicer way to say what was said above.

This. A lot of times I'll see box store bikes that were just assembled by a monkey. The BB will be far too loose, headset far too tight. Hell, the other day I found one with the pedals on the wrong sides, obviously cross threaded. All of these things cause permanent damage. People don't like to be told their bike "can't be fixed" even if the real reason is that it "can't be fixed economically." If a LBS takes in x-mart bikes, can't fix half of them economically, they're going to get a reputation of being a shop with shoddy techs.

At our CO-OP, we get a lot of x-mart bikes. Even though we get lots of things/parts for free, sometimes it's STILL not economically favorable to fix them. The great thing is though, they're REALLY heavy, which is good when you go to recycle them.

pavemen

If you are paying for the repairs, who cares where you bought the bike? Now expecting them to give a free tune up is asking a lot when the shop has made no money off you in the past. But a simple adjustment or question is good business practice on their part.

edit: assuming its a quality bike and ignoring the big box store junk