LBS versus Amazon

[Cyclist33]

By the time you return them and buy another pair etc, you will have paid 3x the postage and had the hassle of returning it though. Whether it is worth it depends on your priorities I guess.

When I last bought shoes, I tried on maybe 4-5 pairs, ended up with a pair that fit very well. To buy online you kind of miss out on that comparative process.

True, although both Amazon and Wiggle do free delivery so you'd only be paying postage once.

I bought on-spec from Wiggle and my shoes are probably on the small rather than the large size, although I prefer the snug fit. Next time though, as you say I'll probably get more expensive ones and do a bit of window shopping now that I've found a few LBSs to try!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

One of my LBS proprietors quite happily says "go and buy such-and-such on the interwebs, I can't get it at that price, and I'll fit it for you"

 

[Moodyman]

One of my LBS proprietors quite happily says "go and buy such-and-such on the interwebs, I can't get it at that price, and I'll fit it for you"

Sounds like a happy medium.

 

[Rob3rt]

I once bought a bike online (I knew it was the right size) but on receiving it, it had a different headset to that in the image so I was unsure if something was not fitted correctly of if they had changed the spec to an integrated headset on the new model, I felt like a right scumbag taking it into the LBS for them to confirm if the spec of the headset changed on the bike since the previous model (I wanted a 3rd party to confirm).

I had to buy something just to relive my guilt, so I bought a lockring tool, lol!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Sounds like a happy medium.

I think it's the future, and so do lots of his customers.

 

[User6179]

As you already know, I am thinking about using cleats so went to my lbs yesterday to price it up, including shoes. The guy behind the counter quoted me £40 for M520 pedals and £70 for shoes.
Same pedals are £18.99 on Amazon and I can get shoes for £45.00 so guess where I am going to buy from?
I understand local shops have higher overheads than internet providers but, as a customer, I also have to watch where my money goes. Sorry LBS, but I can't afford to support you in this instance.

Make sure the ones from amazon come with cleats as i nearly ordered pedals off amazon that were 10 quid cheaper but were without the cleats so would of worked out more expensive in the end , btw if your buying shimano shoes make sure you know your size as ive never seen an accurate size chart for them.

 

[MrJamie]

How are you going to try the shoes on at Amazon?

I tend to buy my first pair of shoes/trainers from a real shop, then order the exact same ones online at half the price for successive pairs. Running shops are even worse, like £130 for trainers I can find £60-70 online and half the time the assistants are lazy and just tell everyone to buy "support" trainers. Just bought a pair of Catapillar thin soled trainers from Amazon for cycling on flats, exactly like my previous pair

 

[mrandmrspoves]

I don't rate any of the local shops - no real specialists. I buy mainly from eBay - but most of the retailers I use have established shops too - Such as Rutland Leisure, St James Street Cycles, Derek's Cycles from Skegness - so, best of both worlds, knowledgeable retailers offering excellent service at excellent prices......or I could go to the nearest cycle store...... Hellfrauds.

 

[HovR]

More recently I've needed to buy clipless pedals and a new rigid fork. My LBS offered me a pair of M520's for £35, so I went home and bought a pair of M530's for £25 including cleats from Merlin Cycles online.

On the other hand they offered me a much cheaper price than online for the forks, so I bought them from the LBS.

I'll support my LBS when I can, but I can't afford to spend £10+ extra on a purchase that's much cheaper online.

 

[Herr-B]

Following my recent cross-threading incident it turned out fitting a helicoil wouldn't work so needed to buy a new chainset. LBS phoned to say that they could only find the exact matched size for £129, I'd seen it on Ribble's site discounted to 66 squid. He told me to buy it from them and he'd fit for a small (and I think reasonable) fee.

I hate going in and being disappointed at the prices, I really want to support my LBS.

A for shoes, I gambled on Ebay, and won. A huge saving, used but still smelled new.

 

[400bhp]

One of my LBS proprietors quite happily says "go and buy such-and-such on the interwebs, I can't get it at that price, and I'll fit it for you"

Very very sensible.

Pragmatic solution.

It doesn't matter how you make your money, the key is to make money.