subaqua
What’s the point
- Location
- Leytonstone
a bike shop that doesn’t stock spokes.
“ we can order them sir”
“ we can order them sir”
Halfrauds laughable
- Thread starter subaqua
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Do they even stock bikes?
rogerzilla
Legendary Member
I'm amazed they can order them.
OP
OP
subaqua
What’s the point
- Location
- Leytonstone
Went to decathlon at Lakeside as going to 7th circle of hell ( Ikea) . Can I buy spokes here at your service area or are they upstairs .
Certainly can here sir what size ..
3 spokes , £1.20 ...
Certainly can here sir what size ..
3 spokes , £1.20 ...
Last edited:
Cycleops
Legendary Member
- Location
- Accra, Ghana
Can't be a proper bike shop then if they don't stock spokes.
Reminds me of when I managed a Hobbystores shop for Ripmax. Every year one of the senior directors at head office used to get one his minions to phone around around all the stores pretending to be a customer whilst standing behind them asking for basic modelling items. If you didn't have you were in for an ear bashing.
Reminds me of when I managed a Hobbystores shop for Ripmax. Every year one of the senior directors at head office used to get one his minions to phone around around all the stores pretending to be a customer whilst standing behind them asking for basic modelling items. If you didn't have you were in for an ear bashing.
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Yes, disposable ones, use seven times then abandon. You get them with your weekly shop.
D
Deleted member 26715
Guest
Not defending them, but why would they? In my 50 years+ of riding a bike I've never needed one.
Smokin Joe
Legendary Member
- Location
- Bare headed cyclist, Smoker
I doubt if Halfords or indeed many LBS sell bikes with handbuilt wheels now. Even traditional long term dealerships have their truing stands gathering dust in the corner of the workshop.
LeetleGreyCells
Un rouleur infatigable
- Location
- Whitehaven Mansions
I had my road bike wheels trued a week ago at my LBS.
gbb
Legendary Member
- Location
- Peterborough
[Star Trek mode engaged] It's a bike shop, but not as you know (or would like ) it Jim.
TBF, Halfords is about the last place I'd go for spokes, wouldn't even remotely expect them to stock them....its just not that kind of shop. Argos sell bikes, Toys R Us sold bikes but they sell what they sell....in a very limited way.
Horses for courses
Yellow Saddle
Guru
- Location
- Loch side.
I'm 100% behind them for not stocking spokes.
A bike shop cannot turn a profit from spokes. There are too many variations and not enough demand. To get an idea of the variations, you need to be a statistician, but I'll try.
2 x colours.
4 x styles (at least). Straight gauge, double butted, Laser/Revolution and bladed.
Lengths in mm increments from 248mm through to 303mm i.e. 55 lengths.
That's 2 x 4 x 55 permutations.
Wholesalers only supply in boxes of 72 or 100.
That excluses proprietary spokes like Ksyrium, Campag, Shimano XT, etc etc.
Customers are fussy and will turn away if you supply even just 1mm out of spec and they will definitely not compromise in colour.
Further, if your bike shop, like Halfords is not really manned by expert mechanics, customers would expect spokes to be fitted in the shop, while they wait. This is not practical.
Smaller shops who turn a profit from mechanical work can perhaps get away with a limited supply but invariably they end up with thousands of pounds of dead stock - 98 x 274mm spokes because someone needed 2.
The only way to do it is to get a spoke threading/cutting machine that costs 2500 pounds and cut spokes on demand, from blank stock. This way you only need a few blanks - straight gauge, silver and black, DB silver and black and Laser silver and black - 6 blanks. But, that doesn't pay unless you do high volumes.
I think is makes perfect business sense not to stock them and help customers by ordering them from a central store as and when necessary.
swee'pea99
Legendary Member
Yellow Saddle
Guru
- Location
- Loch side.
There is no wheel hub bearing standard. It is a similar story to the spoke game above.
Have a look at the list of hub bearings available from Enduro Bearings (.com, I think) to get a feel for "standard". I bet there's 400 variations in there.