My local ones have been / are all great!
I only went on Trek once, but they were super helpful (@awildt) 
TSC was mint. As is Pinarello.
Rick Green is also good - theyāre often same price as Merlin! I bought a chain there a while back and it was actually cheaper 
But I only nip in for a natter and some bits, I like to do all of my own fettling where I can. Internally routed cables and disc brakes scare me 
And now theyāre in Bramhall so not that convenient for you but a nicer spot. Iāve heard Rick Greenās is good.
@GRamsay there is a Trek in MK. Just not sure itās on the right side of town for you. And who knows who is in that store now.
One for the politics or finance thread really. The underlying principle of what you say is correct but the practicalities of eliminating business rates are way way harder than what you suggest. The BRC have been arguing for reform for years, and it just doesnāt go anywhere.
At my last company, business rates were basically thr biggest tax paid, along with employers NIC. Both go hand in hand with physical storesā¦it takes a lot more employees to run a collection of nationwide shops than it does to run on online distribution warehouse. Thatās the reason the high street is dying. But coming up with the fix is not easy. Business rates are basically a fixed income stream for the government. Replacing that with a variable income stream, and doing so āfairlyā (whatever that means) is hard. Which is why successive commitment for business rate reform ultimately just get kicked down the road.
For the LBS, various business rate relief schemes for small business probably mean itās not much of an issue. But it will be part of the reason why, say, Curryās canāt compete with the prices of Amazon, etc.
Yeah I know the trek store, its not very big. The building used to be a Borders with a Costa upstairs, when that went bust it was taken over by a few different shops and sort of became like a co-operative, Up and Running, Cotswolds and Trek had a small corner of it.
Its the other end of town by the train station, but then most of the shops are the other side of town from me. We used to have an ok ish bike shop nearby that had a cafe but it closed down and is a chazza shop now
Our local bike shop is JE James, they have a shop obs & have an online shop. They will price match aginst uk online prices too.
Just been talking to the owner of a LBS
Didnāt really need anything but always spend when I go in there, heās bailed me out a few times when my mechanical skills failed me !
Heās says itās ā hard going ā at the moment, he didnāt say he was glad wiggle has gone but when people can buy off the net cheaper than he can get stuff trade price ā¦ that canāt help.
Iāll be taking my antiques in for some fettling next week.
I wondered if they were still in business, I bought my giant TCR frame off them.
This is the killer of the LBS. They are reliant on middle man who do not help the stores at all. And thereās no āsale or returnā in the bike industry. The manufacturers expect shops to commit to at least a dozen bikes per season - then itās the shops problem to shift them. The market is a mess.
Most shops do this - if they can! But it kills the margin.
My mate used to complain about people going into his shop and trying stuff on and then trying to get him to match the price of the cheapest internet retailer, or worse still leaving the shop and ordering online.
Walk of shame here ā¦ I did that with a bike !
Test rode it ( Quintana Roo seduza) at a bike shop then went and bought a second hand one that had upgrades for 700? Quid less.
I wouldnāt do that too him.
He is a Colnago agent.
Big profit when they sell ( 14 k for a bike!) but itās not that often he says he actually makes more per year on the Orro ? Brand as they are much cheaper
Thatās called āshowroomingā and is pretty much the sole reason you wonāt find Assos in any LBS in Sydney. They had to open their own shop in the end.
Awful practice. LBSā have my full sympathy there.
He has quite a bit of assos stuff.
Every so often all the clothing gets heavily discounted and tight tramps like me get a few piecesā¦ I have never seen the assos stuff discounted ?!?
Le col, mavic, craft, even nike/ adidas generic stuff but never the Swiss stuff?
Itās rare. TriUK used have a sale now and then but you had to be quick!
Same as what Mr had in his shop - for the short time he had it. Colnago and Kinesis go hand in hand from Fishers.
He might make some money on the Ā£14k bike but heās had to pay Ā£7,500 to get it in the shop. And if he doesnāt sell it then heās down Ā£7,500 plus heās got a bike that wonāt shift. The agents also get them stuck with delivery charges for minor items so keeping stock is hard work. Itās not designed for the independents.
Iāll ask him ?! He will think Iām hinting !
Obviously I only go there in person, he does quite a bit on flea bay now but Iāve never even looked at his site IIRC.
Itās just Iāve seen all the other makes discounted , I wonder if they come and take it back ?
Yes ā¦ he has that make too, and heās mentioned delivery ā issues ā before.
Everytime I ask him ā howās the shop ā he usually replyās I sold a c64 last week!
So worth his while I guess.
He has a very good reputation, with people travelling long distances to get bikes ( he does a free bike fit too)
Proper old school set up.
But a very good reputation in this dept too, I would be genuinely upset if it shut!
To be fair to the distributors - they were good people. Itās the system that messes things up for the LBS. Managing accounts and payments was a very tricky business that was difficult to do on spreadsheets because bike shops donāt have the money to invest in accounting systems.
Letās also not forget that all the prices got hiked during/after COVID.
You canāt blame people shopping around when the industry is screwing them.
Appreciate the LBS were only a small part of that but the consumer sees it from their / our point of view
Trek MK moved to Campbell Wharf a couple of years ago. Good store, great people, but Trek prices. Special offers do come up though. They do a lot of group rides, basic mechanics talks etc.