I DO want to support local businesses but...

[yello]

I'm after new shoes so checked out another bike shop in the nearby biggish town. They had the Sidi Energy 2 on the shelf which was damned exciting because it's a shoe I want to try out.

The display pair are a size 43, I ask if they have a 41. 'No' comes the reply 'but we can order them for you if you want to buy them'. Well, I don't want to buy, I want to try the correct size for fit first - but no doing.

Now, I can understand it from a small shop's perspective. They're not a cheap shoe and they can't really have all the sizes, all the colours, just sitting in the shop... but equally isn't it unrealistic to expect people to shell out cash on something they can't try for size first?

It's classic impasse; and I've still got my London head on, I know. Life is very different elsewhere.

 

[stedlocks]

Ive just had the same hassle with getting a bike...........I want to try one/none around, we can order one scenario......

found one in the end, but had to travel 80 miles odd to get it......then did the trip twice

 

[fossyant]

Certainly with shoes it's important to try them on, and had they got the right ones in, you would have probably bought them.

I got my Spesh Pro Carbons from Harry Halls in Manchester - went down on a Sunday just after New Year - sale (15% off and if you bought 5 items of clothing, one item free.....) Let's say I saved a fair amount of money, they also got a fair amount of business off me too !!

 

[Blue]

I'm after new shoes so checked out another bike shop in the nearby biggish town. They had the Sidi Energy 2 on the shelf which was damned exciting because it's a shoe I want to try out.

The display pair are a size 43, I ask if they have a 41. 'No' comes the reply 'but we can order them for you if you want to buy them'. Well, I don't want to buy, I want to try the correct size for fit first - but no doing.

That's a pity. My LBS has often let me order on the basis that I could cancel if the fit of an item wasn't right - as they can return goods to their wholesalers quite easily. On the downside, the delivery times are dire.

 

[Smokin Joe]

The trouble with most LBS is that if you need a small item which isn't in stock they won't order it individually, but wait until they send their weekly or monthly order to that particular supplier which leaves you in limbo.

Virtually everything I buy for the bike comes from online retailers.

 

[Mr Pig]

I agree with you. I bought a new bike a few months ago and it took me ages to find a shop that both had the bike I wanted to try in my size and would let me take it for a test ride. I traipsed all the way up to Stirling to a shop that stocked the bike only to walk away because they wouldn't let me try it out. They expected me to spend nearly £600 on a bike without even trying it.

You're quite right, you need to try them. I bought a pair of Specialized cycling shoes years ago that ended up lying in the bottom of the wardrobe because they didn't work the way I wanted them to. £60 wasted.