The Bike Shop Advantage

I am always excited when I see new people getting excited about riding a bike or getting back on a bike. As many know the bike is an ideal activity for the young or old. In this area there are so many places to ride, one can enjoy a different venue on a weekly basis. These are just a few of the reasons the bicycle is ideal for fun and fitness.

However I do get concerned when new riders start with a department store bike. My concern is that their experience won’t be as good as it could be with a bike shop quality bike. The other day I had a customer come in who was getting ready to ride a bike after a long absence. They had just purchased a bike from a mass merchant/department store. The customer was very excited to be getting back into riding but had some very basic questions they needed answered such as how to use the gears and what the proper saddle height should be.  

The customer had purchased a department store bike because they wanted to make sure they enjoyed riding before investing in a bike shop quality bike. I certainly respect that people want to try it first before jumping in headfirst and was glad that this customer came stopped by to gain some more knowledge and pick out a few accessories.
 A bike is not like a piece of electronic equipment that you bring it home it either works or it doesn’t work. It is also not like other sports equipment such as baseball bats or gloves. There is a lot more to a bike. A bike comes to the store in a box and at my store requires anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half of professional assembly depending on the bike. Each bike goes through an eighty plus point checklist before being delivered or placed on the sales floor. Most of the bikes I have seen that come from the department store aren’t properly assembled when purchased some don’t even come assembled. At a minimum department store bikes require a full tune-up from the local bike shop and often more then that before they should be ridden. Many if not most bikes from department store even when properly assembled by a bike shop professional will never work even as well as an entry level bicycle shop bike.  When you start to add up the overall cost of ownership of a department store bike the ownership cost is higher then a bike shop purchased bike in many instances. You have the initial purchase price, the initial adjustments that should be made by a professional shop to ensure the bike is assembled and adjusted properly. Finally all bikes have a break in period and require follow up adjustments after the first hundred or so miles of riding or when the bike stops shifting and braking as well as it did when originally purchased. Ad it all up and in many cases the costs is more then a starting price of $260 – $320 for a bike shop purchased bike.   Another difference between a bike shop bike and a department store bike is the fitting. Bike shop bikes come in a variety of sizes that allow the store to properly fit you to and position you on the bike. This is the most critical piece when purchasing a bike. A properly fit bike will lead to more enjoyment and comfort when riding the bike.  Most of the department store bikes are a one size fits all. Everyone is built differently and therefore one bike size isn’t going to accommodate or fit everyone. Even with bike shop bikes it is sometimes necessary to change out stems and or seats to accommodate the rider and ensure the perfect fit. Other adjustments may need to be made such as the reach to the brake levers, saddle fore and aft position and saddle height all need to be adjusted. 

You just can’t get this sort of fit from a department store. All riders need to be shown how to properly use their new bike. With the customer I spoke about earlier they had no idea of how to use the gears on the bike. Something like this should and mostly likely never would happen at the bike shop but happens everyday at the department store. 

If a user isn’t properly fitted to the bike and shown how to use it they most likely won’t have a positive experience with cycling. That experience could lead them to quit riding and move onto another sport or activity.  

From a simplistic and fun standpoint the coasting product from Shimano has been in part developed to put the fun back into riding a bike again. See my other post on the coasting product.  

For me this is one of the biggest issues that bicycle stores need to address: The poor experience that many people have when purchasing and using a department store bike leads to them getting turned off to cycling and never riding a again.   

Stop by your local bicycle store if you have any questions you need answered. A properly fit and adjusted bicycle can lead to hours and hours of enjoyment for the rider!