Lbs vs wiggle

equivariant

I have very little sympathy for LBS's in this situation. There are very few other retailers who have their customers sponsored by the revenue ireland to the tune of 42% of the price of their core products.

mo_bhicycle

Don't forget that the BTW middlemen that a lot of big companies use charge 10% to the bike shop on every purchase. My work went with cyclescheme.ie and my LBS wasn't overly happy

moonshadow

So out of curiosity , has anyone presented a new groupset to a lbs for fitting only and if so what was the reception they got and also of course the charge to fit?

Wanderer78

moonshadow wrote:

So out of curiosity , has anyone presented a new groupset to a lbs for fitting only and if so what was the reception they got and also of course the charge to fit?

Purchased rear mech online, lbs fitted it for small money but I know them fairly well. They were unable to offer me same deal for part but they had no issues

C3PO

moonshadow wrote: »

So out of curiosity , has anyone presented a new groupset to a lbs for fitting only and if so what was the reception they got and also of course the charge to fit?

I regularly bring parts into my lbs for them to fit when servicing my bikes. As lots of people have said, I can buy online from Germany at less than they can buy from a local distributor. They have no issue fitting them but (and it's a big but) I also expect to pay a proper rate for their work. In my opinion it is reasonable for a shop to charge €60+ an hour for their time so if I was asking my lbs to fit a complete groupset I would expect to pay at least €100 for the service and I would be paying for cables etc on top of that!

Crocked

I had a LBS supply and fit a new groupset about two years ago.

I'd priced locally with 2 stores to supply and fit, and fit only. Both came back with a similar enough pricing. When I checked online to see what deals I could get for the groupset there wasn't too much of a saving by buying it online and having them fit, so it was easier and simpler to get them to supply and fit. Also easier to get warranty cover if something went wrong by having it all done by one store.

I think the future for the LBS isn't in new bike sales but in local support. The majority of people will still pay to have someone do the work than do it themselves. Even if they can buy the parts online and do it. The time saving is usually worth the cost of a reasonable premium paid to the lbs.

lukegjpotter

Crocked wrote: »

The time saving is usually worth the cost of a reasonable premium paid to the lbs.

This.

I have the basic tools, but I still have mental scars from trying to index a rear mech.

Macy0161

I've no problem paying something of premium. In my own example, if they could supply a new rear wheel rather than just a wheelset, with a similar % price difference, I'd go for it for the pure convenience!

I think the btw examples are just the same as every business - price insulation and you'll end up paying the same whether getting a grant or not - they basically take the grant on top, no saving to the household. Same for water treatment, boilers or anything else with a Government subsidy or grant - consumer pays the same regardless.

Andy Magic

I find it's nearly always the Shimano products that are significantly different in prices between LBS and chain reaction/wiggle.

Techo

There's arguments to use both online and LBS but for mechanical items I'd lean towards LBS. Recently bought a front mech here 2nd hand and got lbs to fit it..they also changed cable and checked rest of bike, cables, wear and tear etc. all for cost of 1 hr labour. Plus they gave the cassette an ultrasonic cleaning for free. This was the first time I used these guys as the LBS where I bought bike had closed down.

Went into them a few weeks ago (2nd only time) for a 105 cassette for the turbo wheel...online and local Halfords was around €40. I went with the LBS which was €60. They did the fitting for free and swapped cassettes between the good wheel and the turbo wheel, and got ultrasonic cleaning done on the old cassette again for free and checked over bike as well for free. I can't complain with that kind of service. I'm sure they'd fit other bits and pieces if I bought online, but for the sake of a few euro, I'd rather throw the business their way, unless there was a huge difference.

brocbrocach

Similar enough situation to yourself I priced a 105 cassette online for about 35e delivered. It was 60e in lbs and they'd charge 20e to fit (to be fair the rear mech needed work as well). In the end I went with a 40e Tiagra and got it fitted for convenience sake. They did a good job, mechanics went out of their way, but the shop definitely haven't earned any loyalty from me I'm afraid.

Macy0161

Well LBS back up in the estimation, as going to argue the warranty aspect. Probably secured themselves a very good fighting chance if I do go for an upgrade on the wheels later on in the year!

rtmie

moonshadow wrote: »

So out of curiosity , has anyone presented a new groupset to a lbs for fitting only and if so what was the reception they got and also of course the charge to fit?

I bought a secondhand groupset on eBay couple of years ago and chickened out of trying to fit myself. Asked lbs , slightly nervously, if they would do it. Was told, of course, that's our bread and butter! Cost was very reasonable, as in at the lower end of my expectation.
Mind you last time I passed it looks like shop is no longer there unfortunately, so make of that what you will!

dvntie

clog wrote: »

The prices that the normal Lbs pays wholesale and what the major online stores can get them for is massive. I was looking at a pair of levers and they were €5 cheaper from Chain Reaction retail than the irish supplier wholesale.

and that wholesale price is excluding vat of 23%

sy_flembeck

When I got my new winter steed on the BTW last year it came with a Tiagra 12-28 rear block. Asked when ordering if it could be swapped over for an 11-28 pre-collection and was told no problem.

When I collected the bike this was done and not only that it was fitted with a 105 block as there was no compatible Tiagra version. And there was no cost to me. Excellent service, particularly as I'd only ever bought a few small bits in this particular shop.

Don't think I'd have got that service online.

Chuchote

Was Sammy Wilson proved right when he forecast massive job losses in Chain Reaction Cycles?

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-37785201

dvntie

Chuchote wrote: »

Was Sammy Wilson proved right when he forecast massive job losses in Chain Reaction Cycles?

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-37785201

And rumour has it that wiggle has opened a base in Germany also

C3PO

Chuchote wrote: »

Was Sammy Wilson proved right when he forecast massive job losses in Chain Reaction Cycles?

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-37785201

Sad ... but hardly a surprise!

Sinbad_NI

Doagh CRC warehouse shop front is closing on the 21/4 I believe.
That sure will be completely gone by September.

Not sure about the Carrickfergus warehouse.

:-(

bazermc

I am in need of new set of Look Keo Cleats - they are €25 in my LBS but only a tenner on Wiggle.

Id like to support my LBS but that is a heck of a difference even with the delivery factored in.

run_Forrest_run

I was looking to buy a wheelset and I noticed the Edge Sports had the ones on their website at a very competitive rate so I popped into the shop to ask.
After waiting over 10 minutes while the young fella was on the phone to his Overlord I was told there was a 'glitch' with the online system and that the online price was incorrect. I laughed then saying I should just buy them quickly online so and he said the system wouldn't have allowed it because the discount was too much...what a load of sh1t.

As an act of goodwill they said they would give me a 10% discount on wheelset so I thought OK, I'll stick with them.

I was also going to buy a new cassette (and probably chain) but when I saw the price of the cassette I thought to myself feck this.

The final straw was being told it would be 5 days before they could take in the bike and do the small amount of work.

In the end I walked and bought everything (plus tools) online (CRC) and did it myself.

I must admit the service from CRC was brilliant, I ordered the stuff and had it delivered the following day (I paid the €3 for next day delivery).

I wouldn't be in a rush to go to a LBS again.