Topic: Bicycle Shops

[Triple Bob]

I know the current post-COVID inventory is low, but OMG if buying a bike isn't an awful experience!

Has someone gone around and sold every single local bike shop some sh!tty platform to host their stores?!? And most of them don't even sell online, they just show what they have and link to a manufacturer's site.

Holy sh!t is this a market ripe for disruption, the online experience is really terrible.

[rrocket]

I know the current post-COVID inventory is low, but OMG if buying a bike isn't an awful experience!

Has someone gone around and sold every single local bike shop some sh!tty platform to host their stores?!? And most of them don't even sell online, they just show what they have and link to a manufacturer's site.

Holy sh!t is this a market ripe for disruption, the online experience is really terrible.

This is a sign that you should buy another motorcycle!   

[Great_Big_Abyss]

If only there was some sort of easy to use, one-stop-shop, e-commerce platform that one could use to create a website and sell bikes, in addition to brick and mortar. 

Oh Well.

[Triple Bob]

Fill the need.

You could be the next Corbetts of bikes.

Tell me when you’re setting it up and I’ll invest.

100%. I thought about it for music for a while. L&M have 80% of the market, you could easily undercut them by being online only.

People think that stuff like bikes needs a physical shop so people can sit on them, it's BS, they just want to up-sell you gear. All you need is a really good sizing system and a customer friendly returns policy.

If only I had the time/money...

[Great_Big_Abyss]

You'd need a deal with a chain to build bikes, too.  Some people can build a bike, but fine tuning them is a skill.  Local Bike Shops can and will charge $50-$100 to build a bike that isn't bought from them.  If you're trying to sell mainstream at the $450-$650 price, that's a decent extra charge.

Sport Chek, btw, employ decent bike mechanics, and have a wide network of stores.  Would likely be hard to strike a deal with them, though, seeing as they sell their own bikes.

Anyway, it's something to think about, and IMO, the biggest drawback to buying a bike online.

[Arthur Dent]

A friend of mine is big into bikes. He gets his parts from the UK rather than US. Less (or no) duty so they end up cheaper somehow.


Bike shops are an odd beast. The store is usually not interested in selling you what you need. They want to maximize the price and sell what they have. On the customer side most don't want to buy what they need but often will massively over buy. Do you really need the ultra light weight fork that saves a few ounces when the rider is many pounds overweight? (in general not saying this is your case) 

[Triple Bob]

You'd need a deal with a chain to build bikes, too.  Some people can build a bike, but fine tuning them is a skill.  Local Bike Shops can and will charge $50-$100 to build a bike that isn't bought from them.  If you're trying to sell mainstream at the $450-$650 price, that's a decent extra charge.

Sport Chek, btw, employ decent bike mechanics, and have a wide network of stores.  Would likely be hard to strike a deal with them, though, seeing as they sell their own bikes.

Anyway, it's something to think about, and IMO, the biggest drawback to buying a bike online.

I would only focus on $750+, could do a deal with Velofix to tune.

[HeliDriver]

I came across this the other day and thought it was interesting. Not new bikes, but used: https://www.theproscloset.com/

I think this was the article where I read about it. It’s a good write up on the history of the company and how the process works: https://www.bikemag.com/gear/mountain-bikes/buying-selling-used-bike-the-pros-closet/

[dirtyjeffer]

i always thought (if you were handy) it would be neat to go the police auction (twice a year?) and buy up a ton of bikes for cheap...take them back to your shop, fix them up and sell them and used bikes...there's often some pretty decent bikes at the police auction and they go cheap.

[Gurgie]

I've gotta shed full of bikes... what do you need? LOL!!

Covid really messed up the supply vs the demand... no one has much stock. Two years ago I bought myself a new mountain bike from Bike Zone & picked up a previous year model for $800 off... no such luck this year. Maybe they'll build more bikes for 2021.

Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

[dkaz]

I bought my bicycle from Costco at the start of Covid. It's been a fantastic bike so far for $429.

[Triple Bob]

I think the demographic I'm going for is $1K+

[warp]

I bought my bicycle from Costco at the start of Covid. It's been a fantastic bike so far for $429.

When the gyms in Ontario closed in late March, I bought a $160 supercycle from Canadian Tire, basically as a "disposable" bike for the summer. After riding it for about a 1000 km during April, May and June it needed a rear tire and so I took it to the nearby Trek bicycle store. Very snooty, but they condescended to change my tire and do a tune up. A few weeks later I had to take it back to change a rusted hub and also bought a longer stem. Total spent in repairs, parts etc. so far $275 for a $160 bike, but totally worth it given the Covid circumstances.

With colder weather imminent and the gym situation uncertain and risky I ordered a Peleton (the regular bike not the fancy Bike+ with monitor, classes etc.). Oh boy, is it back ordered!! I ordered it in the last week of September and delivery is scheduled for the last week of November!!

[Great_Big_Abyss]

I bought my bicycle from Costco at the start of Covid. It's been a fantastic bike so far for $429.

When the gyms in Ontario closed in late March, I bought a $160 supercycle from Canadian Tire, basically as a "disposable" bike for the summer. After riding it for about a 1000 km during April, May and June it needed a rear tire and so I took it to the nearby Trek bicycle store. Very snooty, but they condescended to change my tire and do a tune up. A few weeks later I had to take it back to change a rusted hub and also bought a longer stem. Total spent in repairs, parts etc. so far $275 for a $160 bike, but totally worth it given the Covid circumstances.

With colder weather imminent and the gym situation uncertain and risky I ordered a Peleton (the regular bike not the fancy Bike+ with monitor, classes etc.). Oh boy, is it back ordered!! I ordered it in the last week of September and delivery is scheduled for the last week of November!!

A $160 Supercycle is NEVER worth it under any circumstance.  Actually, ANY bike bought from Walmart or Canadian Tire isn't worth it, unless it's a kids bike for a kid under 10. 

If I was looking to buy a budget bike, I'd go to Sport Chek.  They actually carry decent budget stuff.  This one looks good for a cheap bike: https://www.sportchek.ca/categories/shop-by-sport/cycling/bikes/city-hybrid-bikes/product/diadora-modena-700c-mens-hybrid-bike-2019-332708515.html#332708515%5Bcolor%5D=332708515_99.  Sport-Chek also hire actual bike mechanics, so their bikes are actually assembled and tuned properly, unlike Walmart/Canadian Tire, whose bike assemblers are the same people who stock the toilet paper on the shelves. 

When I worked as a bike mechanic at a bike shop, I always dreaded seeing cheap Wal-mart or Canadian Tire bikes come in for tune-ups.  They're impossible to tune properly.  I would spend an inordinate amount of time trying to fiddle with them, and they would never end up perfect.  Contrast this to even a cheap bike store bike (starting at about $450), or even a cheap Sport-Chek bike like the one I posted, and they would be pretty easy to bring into tune. 

[Arthur Dent]

I bought this SportChek bike used on Kijiji about 10 years ago. Its gone through several seats, tires, bearings since. I have maybe 6k kms on it (maybe more). I bought a more expensive one about five years ago. It was stolen after about a month so I prefer my cheaper one. I have about $70 in it including repairs.

[warp]

I bought my bicycle from Costco at the start of Covid. It's been a fantastic bike so far for $429.

When the gyms in Ontario closed in late March, I bought a $160 supercycle from Canadian Tire, basically as a "disposable" bike for the summer. After riding it for about a 1000 km during April, May and June it needed a rear tire and so I took it to the nearby Trek bicycle store. Very snooty, but they condescended to change my tire and do a tune up. A few weeks later I had to take it back to change a rusted hub and also bought a longer stem. Total spent in repairs, parts etc. so far $275 for a $160 bike, but totally worth it given the Covid circumstances.

With colder weather imminent and the gym situation uncertain and risky I ordered a Peleton (the regular bike not the fancy Bike+ with monitor, classes etc.). Oh boy, is it back ordered!! I ordered it in the last week of September and delivery is scheduled for the last week of November!!

A $160 Supercycle is NEVER worth it under any circumstance.  Actually, ANY bike bought from Walmart or Canadian Tire isn't worth it, unless it's a kids bike for a kid under 10. 

If I was looking to buy a budget bike, I'd go to Sport Chek.  They actually carry decent budget stuff.  This one looks good for a cheap bike: https://www.sportchek.ca/categories/shop-by-sport/cycling/bikes/city-hybrid-bikes/product/diadora-modena-700c-mens-hybrid-bike-2019-332708515.html#332708515%5Bcolor%5D=332708515_99.  Sport-Chek also hire actual bike mechanics, so their bikes are actually assembled and tuned properly, unlike Walmart/Canadian Tire, whose bike assemblers are the same people who stock the toilet paper on the shelves. 

When I worked as a bike mechanic at a bike shop, I always dreaded seeing cheap Wal-mart or Canadian Tire bikes come in for tune-ups.  They're impossible to tune properly.  I would spend an inordinate amount of time trying to fiddle with them, and they would never end up perfect.  Contrast this to even a cheap bike store bike (starting at about $450), or even a cheap Sport-Chek bike like the one I posted, and they would be pretty easy to bring into tune.

Lol!! Understandble as I now realize it. Considering the kind of bikes the Trek Store people dealt with normally, they were pretty good to me. In fact when I went to collect my bike the second time around with kerbside service the mechanic asked me what bike was mine. I told him "the cheapo bike" and he grinned and understood immediately what bike to bring out!!. He also explained to me, as you have, the difficulty of tuning the cheap bikes. At that time the cheapest bike they had in stock was $2750!!

Anyway the supercycle has served me well for the past 6 months. Let us see where we are at by next summer. In the meantime I have my Peleton on order for the winter.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

I bought my bicycle from Costco at the start of Covid. It's been a fantastic bike so far for $429.

When the gyms in Ontario closed in late March, I bought a $160 supercycle from Canadian Tire, basically as a "disposable" bike for the summer. After riding it for about a 1000 km during April, May and June it needed a rear tire and so I took it to the nearby Trek bicycle store. Very snooty, but they condescended to change my tire and do a tune up. A few weeks later I had to take it back to change a rusted hub and also bought a longer stem. Total spent in repairs, parts etc. so far $275 for a $160 bike, but totally worth it given the Covid circumstances.

With colder weather imminent and the gym situation uncertain and risky I ordered a Peleton (the regular bike not the fancy Bike+ with monitor, classes etc.). Oh boy, is it back ordered!! I ordered it in the last week of September and delivery is scheduled for the last week of November!!

A $160 Supercycle is NEVER worth it under any circumstance.  Actually, ANY bike bought from Walmart or Canadian Tire isn't worth it, unless it's a kids bike for a kid under 10. 

If I was looking to buy a budget bike, I'd go to Sport Chek.  They actually carry decent budget stuff.  This one looks good for a cheap bike: https://www.sportchek.ca/categories/shop-by-sport/cycling/bikes/city-hybrid-bikes/product/diadora-modena-700c-mens-hybrid-bike-2019-332708515.html#332708515%5Bcolor%5D=332708515_99.  Sport-Chek also hire actual bike mechanics, so their bikes are actually assembled and tuned properly, unlike Walmart/Canadian Tire, whose bike assemblers are the same people who stock the toilet paper on the shelves. 

When I worked as a bike mechanic at a bike shop, I always dreaded seeing cheap Wal-mart or Canadian Tire bikes come in for tune-ups.  They're impossible to tune properly.  I would spend an inordinate amount of time trying to fiddle with them, and they would never end up perfect.  Contrast this to even a cheap bike store bike (starting at about $450), or even a cheap Sport-Chek bike like the one I posted, and they would be pretty easy to bring into tune.

Lol!! Understandble as I now realize it. Considering the kind of bikes the Trek Store people dealt with normally, they were pretty good to me. In fact when I went to collect my bike the second time around with kerbside service the mechanic asked me what bike was mine. I told him "the cheapo bike" and he grinned and understood immediately what bike to bring out!!. He also explained to me, as you have, the difficulty of tuning the cheap bikes. At that time the cheapest bike they had in stock was $2750!!

Anyway the supercycle has served me well for the past 6 months. Let us see where we are at by next summer. In the meantime I have my Peleton on order for the winter.

I don't want to disparage your choices or anything, but I find it amusing that you chose to buy the absolute cheapest bike possible for actual riding, but for off-season riding, you're willing to drop $3k + subscription for one of the most expensive spin bikes out there.

I'm guessing the bike store you went to must have been extremely low on affordable bike stock, because most bike shops will stock lots of entry level bikes in the $500 - $750 range.  Many factors at play here, though.  It's late in the season, and most bike shops don't replenish that much stock in the fall.  They would have gotten hammered hard this season because of COVID, and the demand for bikes being at an all time high. 

[warp]

I bought my bicycle from Costco at the start of Covid. It's been a fantastic bike so far for $429.

When the gyms in Ontario closed in late March, I bought a $160 supercycle from Canadian Tire, basically as a "disposable" bike for the summer. After riding it for about a 1000 km during April, May and June it needed a rear tire and so I took it to the nearby Trek bicycle store. Very snooty, but they condescended to change my tire and do a tune up. A few weeks later I had to take it back to change a rusted hub and also bought a longer stem. Total spent in repairs, parts etc. so far $275 for a $160 bike, but totally worth it given the Covid circumstances.

With colder weather imminent and the gym situation uncertain and risky I ordered a Peleton (the regular bike not the fancy Bike+ with monitor, classes etc.). Oh boy, is it back ordered!! I ordered it in the last week of September and delivery is scheduled for the last week of November!!

A $160 Supercycle is NEVER worth it under any circumstance.  Actually, ANY bike bought from Walmart or Canadian Tire isn't worth it, unless it's a kids bike for a kid under 10. 

If I was looking to buy a budget bike, I'd go to Sport Chek.  They actually carry decent budget stuff.  This one looks good for a cheap bike: https://www.sportchek.ca/categories/shop-by-sport/cycling/bikes/city-hybrid-bikes/product/diadora-modena-700c-mens-hybrid-bike-2019-332708515.html#332708515%5Bcolor%5D=332708515_99.  Sport-Chek also hire actual bike mechanics, so their bikes are actually assembled and tuned properly, unlike Walmart/Canadian Tire, whose bike assemblers are the same people who stock the toilet paper on the shelves. 

When I worked as a bike mechanic at a bike shop, I always dreaded seeing cheap Wal-mart or Canadian Tire bikes come in for tune-ups.  They're impossible to tune properly.  I would spend an inordinate amount of time trying to fiddle with them, and they would never end up perfect.  Contrast this to even a cheap bike store bike (starting at about $450), or even a cheap Sport-Chek bike like the one I posted, and they would be pretty easy to bring into tune.

Lol!! Understandble as I now realize it. Considering the kind of bikes the Trek Store people dealt with normally, they were pretty good to me. In fact when I went to collect my bike the second time around with kerbside service the mechanic asked me what bike was mine. I told him "the cheapo bike" and he grinned and understood immediately what bike to bring out!!. He also explained to me, as you have, the difficulty of tuning the cheap bikes. At that time the cheapest bike they had in stock was $2750!!

Anyway the supercycle has served me well for the past 6 months. Let us see where we are at by next summer. In the meantime I have my Peleton on order for the winter.

I don't want to disparage your choices or anything, but I find it amusing that you chose to buy the absolute cheapest bike possible for actual riding, but for off-season riding, you're willing to drop $3k + subscription for one of the most expensive spin bikes out there.

I'm guessing the bike store you went to must have been extremely low on affordable bike stock, because most bike shops will stock lots of entry level bikes in the $500 - $750 range.  Many factors at play here, though.  It's late in the season, and most bike shops don't replenish that much stock in the fall.  They would have gotten hammered hard this season because of COVID, and the demand for bikes being at an all time high.

Actually prior to buying this supercycle in the last week of March, I did now know much about bikes at all. The supercycle purchase was done on the spur of the moment at the nearest CT to substitute for the closed gyms. When I bought this bike the CT had over 200 bikes in stock, a week later when I went to buy some chain lube, every single one of them alongwith helmets, bike pumps, lights etc. will all sold out. The shelves were bare!! After buying this bike I started reading up on bikes etc. and then realized where the supercycle I bought fit into the overall totem pole in bikeland. So the last 6 months have been a process of education on all things bike related. And that is why with winter around the corner, my approach to a spin bike was the polar opposite of buying a street bike i.e. go for the best possible quality and hence the Peleton.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Welcome to the hobby.  May your fascination with cycling be long and productive. 

[dirtyjeffer]

i know very little about bicycles, but you can get a "treadmill" for one, which allows you to use your road bike as a stationary bike for home use...just a thought since you mentioned a Pelaton (which are expensive, although perhaps more suited to what you want).