Locally this couldn't be more wrong. The local bike shop is a complete rip off, only out to make money every time I go I get the hard sell, they tell me I need repairs I don't really need. There are others that are ok at best, I find them arrogant know it alls who scoff at you for not knowing as much as themIf people stop buying bikes from halfords...what are we going to put in all the landfill sites,what will eBay and the car boots do with out any stock!and on a more serious note the independent bike shops will be hit really hard as repairing halfords bikes is very nice business,bikes shops would never survive relying on repairing the products they sell themselves.
One of our lbs did a service on a mates road bike and didn't re thread the gear cables through the guides under the BB! They all make mistakes.
why is it rubbish just because its from halfords?
My experience has been the opposite, great value also compared with lbsIME thats a bit like asking "Why is it shoot just because it came out of my arse?"
A large proportion of the stuff I have had from Halfords have been in someway defective or just poor quality. Ok for inner tubes but even these I will buy elsewhere nowadays. I simply wont go to Halfords for anything.