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End of the road for independent bike distributors?

bicycleretailer.com

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Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?

#61

Post by Dangeranger »

jessaustin wrote: post #52
rhinoceraptor wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say wheel truing is the worst. It's tedious and you really want a dedicated wheel truing stand, and you may need spare nipples in case you round one off. Second to that is setting up tubeless tires, it's messy and you might need an air compressor to seat the bead. Derailleurs are easy once you know how to set the limit screws and adjust the cable tension. Disc brakes are tricky, but again if you know the trick th…

Occasionally I imagine that I understand how to set derailleur limit screws. Inevitably, that illusion shatters within a month. b^(

The easiest way to get a derailleur limit setup is to de-cable the derailleur, and back both screws all the way out.

Then the derailleur spring will bring the chain all the way to the highest gear (smallest cassette cog), and since you backed the limit screw out, the chain will want to rub against the frame stays.

Use your fingers to push the derailleur up into a lower gear and then turn the limit screw for the outside limit one full turn. Repeat this until without using your hand to guide the derailleur the chain rests in the highest gear without needing any force, but also doesn't rub against the frame stay.

Then use your hand to push the derailleur all the way to the lowest gear (largest cassette cog) and try to get the chain to fall between the cassette and the wheel spokes. If it can fall over the inside of the gear and into the spokes then turn the limit screw for the inside limit one full turn. Repeat until the chain can reach the lowest gear without using excessive force, but cannot fall off the cog toward the spokes.

Add some lock tight to both limit screws so that you don't have to adjust them again, and you are done!

Now just reattach the rear derailleur cable and adjust the tension if you need to.

Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?

#63

Post by gebeeson »

qaq wrote: post #17
twothamendment wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The world is a big place, even the USA. So many of Amazon's dreams and current services apply only to cities of a decent size. It can't be worth it to them to have their own delivery to the middle of nowhere. Even UPS struggles with overnight in my area. I'm sure Amazon will succeed in their goals, but there will be some pie left for the others.

As you outlined yourself Amazon will be using it's delivery services in high density, high margin areas leaving low margin low density areas to USPS, UPS etc. This will def. hurt UPS and Fedex.

TLDR: Losing volume from Amazon isn't so bad. As I worked support in a UPS hub in Jacksonville, FL, I can confirm that actually, losing some volume from Amazon will help. The facility I worked at was at volume capacity per hour over five years ago. Updating the belt system in the building is problematic due to space available and time lost during the shutdown. Year over year the volume has only grown as more people order more online. The capacity in that hub remains the same which means they have to run more sorts/shifts and the operations start to collide together and so on. A little less volume could be seen as a good thing. As long as revenue holds.

Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?

#64

Post by jessaustin »

This is generally correct, and certainly aligns with larger trends in commercial real estate. On-premise retail of easily-shipped items, with no value-added ties to online retail, is on its last legs. The strip mall of the future has coffee shops but no clothing stores. Bike shops are fortunate that they have this sort of transition to attempt. Lots of menswear shops have an in-house tailor, but it's not as though they can refocus the business around that.

Bike shops aren't the only party trying to hold back the sea, however. Some specialty equipment distributors are so proud of the "network of bike shops" (often with various goofy "badges" and "qualifications") they had to build 20 years ago that they won't ship outside that. As if it's to their advantage to erect barriers to potential customers! Someone should send e.g. Surly a link to TFA. The author has a better idea of how they ought to run their business than they seem to have.

Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?

#65

Post by walshemj »

jandrese wrote: post #37

There's a bike shop that opened near me but I've had the impression that most of their income comes from the coffee shop in the front and the bikes are more of a passion of the owners. They're nice folks, but their bikes start at $800 and go up very quickly from there. I actually did give them a chance and tried out a couple of the bikes when I was looking to replace my tired out commuter bike but I just couldn't fee…

That's about the sensible minimum for a decent long lasting bike I definitely noticed when I went from cheap MTB to one twice the price the stopping power was phenomenal I almost sent my self over the handlebars in a driving rain storm as I was used to the soggy breaks in the wet of my old bike.

Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?

#66

Post by jpao79 »

I'm surprised the bike manufacturers have not stepped up to create their own branded shops as a way to provide/control a more direct 'experience'. Imagine separate 'Specialized' stores, 'Cannondale' stores or "Gary Fisher' stores all with carefully crafted service and support.

It's similar to how the local generic electronics store (including CircuitCity and now BestBuy) got squeezed from the bottom by Target/Walmart on the low end and the high end by the Sony/Apple/Bose Store at your local luxury Westfield or Simon's mall. Even woman's fashion is trending way - Target/Walmart/Costco for the majority and direct 'experience' stores like Coach/Burberry/Tiffany with Macy's and Kohl's getting squeezed out.

Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?

#67

Post by walshemj »

CaptainDecisive wrote: post #21

I live in Edinburgh, and I've personally counted half a dozen of these little, one or two person IBS type shops open up round town in the last couple of years. They have a small retail space at the front, an open workshop at the back, and the mechanic stops working on a bike to have a chat with you when you come in to the shop. Edinburgh's pretty bike friendly, so given the number of these shops springing up, they mu…

Edinburgh is hilly and all those sets (cobbles) make those fat tired MTB's look a sensible choice

Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?

#68

Post by CydeWeys »

Steltek wrote: post #31
sevensor wrote: post #9

I live in a college town with several bike shops, all of them still tied to the traditional retail model. The one I suspect has the worst prospects is the most upscale one. They have a big clean showroom full of expensive sporty bikes, but their mechanics are second-rate. You can tell because their shop is in the basement and you're not allowed to come down and watch them work on your bike. And the one time I made th…

Spot on. Every bike shop has a "flavor". There was the "carbon fiber" shop where I'd get funny looks if I dragged my commuter bike in. They closed up shop and moved even farther into the suburbs. It'd take me an hour to bike there now. Then there's the "commuter shop". Where they charged $0 for labor when I walked in one cold, messy winter night with a shredded tire and a crazy story. That does simple fixes on the sp…

My go-to bike shop is a commuter shop right at the base of the Manhattan Bridge in Chinatown. He's always getting all sorts of walk-ins from, e.g., banged-up people whose brakes failed them on the downward slope into the city. The entire space is the maintenance area, and he's always right in front of you working on bikes.

You can also order bikes online and have them shipped to him for assembly, and his rates are extremely reasonable (something like $45 for a single speed, $75 for a geared bicycle). He did a great job assembling my bicycle.

Poor guy also works something like 80 hours per week, because he's always there during opening hours (which include everyone else's commuting times), and he often works late on the backlog of bikes to repair that's been building up.

Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?

#69

Post by rhinoceraptor »

Dangeranger wrote: post #61
jessaustin wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Occasionally I imagine that I understand how to set derailleur limit screws. Inevitably, that illusion shatters within a month. b^(

The easiest way to get a derailleur limit setup is to de-cable the derailleur, and back both screws all the way out. Then the derailleur spring will bring the chain all the way to the highest gear (smallest cassette cog), and since you backed the limit screw out, the chain will want to rub against the frame stays. Use your fingers to push the derailleur up into a lower gear and then turn the limit screw for the outsi…

Also, if you don't have a cable puller, an easy way to tension the RD cable is to put the chain on the second smallest cog, then tighten the cable bolt. Cable pullers are really worth the money, though. Especially for cantis.

Re: End of the road for independent bike distributors?

#70

Post by walshemj »

dmschulman wrote: post #45
garethsprice wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most people have a bike, but would never bother taking it somewhere fancy like this to get it fixed or serviced. They paid $100 for it at Walmart. As with many other markets, the middle is being hollowed out - there's a large low-end ($100 Walmart bikes) and a niche of high-end pro-sumers who have disposable income and time to spend on expensive hobbies (I believe a "decent" mountain bike starts at $1,000-2,000, go…

This is incorrect in my experience. I live in a city with a high percentage of bike commuters and they all ride bikes that fall squarely in the middle of your price range (anywhere from $400-$1000). There is actually an entire segment of the cycling industry that has sprang up around catering to this demographic, urban commuters who want something functional and hip looking and are willing to pay the premium, but don…

Unlikely in London where serious multimode bike commuters will be riding Brompton's of which the entry levels are about a grand and nice light weight on is more like £1700-1800
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