Jameshow
Veteran
Don't post that I'm traumatized!😳🤣🤣🤣
What do you think will happen to the UK bike retail industry?
- Thread starter Cycleops
- Start date
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Don't post that I'm traumatized!😳🤣🤣🤣
cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
Hydraulic brakes require more tools, and discs have a lot of variables and fine tolerances, but as soon as you have an Ebike everything is more complex: electric cables running every which way, gear cables routed through the motor housing, and the mysterious "fault" that comes up on the computer and requires a diagnostic test by a licensed workshop; even without a fault you are supposed to "update the software" at least once a year.
teeonethousand
Senior Member
Yes..sorry...brifter... .fatt thingers meens I tipet it rong😂
sevenfourate
Devotee of OCD
- Location
- Lowestoft, Suffolk
My LBS specialises in servicing, second-hand bikes they ‘polish / fettle’ some extra value into. And new bikes Custom made / sized / spec’d / set up: via frames they have specially made for them.
They’re doing ok (This from the owner) - going this route and not competing for small margins from sales of big brand bikes. Which is clearly never going to work in an area such as Lowestoft……
They’re doing ok (This from the owner) - going this route and not competing for small margins from sales of big brand bikes. Which is clearly never going to work in an area such as Lowestoft……
midlandsgrimpeur
Active Member
I really don't know what the future is. I used to have five independent shops within 20 miles, now there are none. I would regularly travel to Cycle Division in Staffs which was a great shop with a busy workshop and they closed in Feb. I though they were pretty much as solid a bike shop from a financial perspective as you could be. I think now you either have to have a big online presence coupled with a good store range like Sigma or Balfe's or have a niche offering to a strong local customer base. Anything outside of that and you are struggling.
Tom B
Guru
- Location
- Lancashire
I think perhaps the LBS industry is coming towards the end of a transition.
Years ago the LBS was where we bought our bikes, as a kid, my LBS had 40-50 bikes in his double fronted shop. When new bike time came, you'd rock up, choose one, if he had the right size in stock you could either walk away with the display model, or he would order it for collection the following week, you'd ride it for a while and take it back for a refettle. The world was a lot less instant. The shop was about 65% bikes 15% parts and the rest workshop. The shop carried a selection of cassettes, derailleurs, pedals, as well as smaller parts and a bit of clothing and lids
Nowadays the workshop is well over 50% of the shop, he sells very few new bikes, but has a selection of second hand bikes that he's acquired and refurbed everything from the odd classic to BSOs. They carry very few parts, even down to a limited array of tubes. It seems repairs are the name of the game and where the money is made with parts being ordered in for prebooked repairs. This shop will work on anything and help anyone out. If your buy a bike online they'll gladly assemble it for you, at their standard workshop rate. If you bring your own new or used parts, they'll gladly build them into your bike. Muddy dirty bike/parts, they'll deal with that, all at the workshop rate. Some folks will pay it, some folks will moan, some folks wont pay. As the song goes "some folks loves ham hocks and some folks loves pork chops, And some folks loves vegetable soup"
I think this is where the future lies for LBS and they seem to be doing pretty well - and it smells like a bike shop.
Another LBS has just shut up shop. He took over the shop from something like the above where the previous proprietor did repairs on anything, I was a regular visitor to raid his parts bin or for wheel truing. I might not have spent hundreds per visit, but over the year I did and usually dropped him some beers off when he helped with advice, pointers or bits of scrap. When the new guy took over, all the stock went, the tool rack contained only Park Tools, inter-tubes were all top of the range stuff and £8+ he was only interested in selling new top of the range bikes and the big thing seemed to be doing custom bike fits. He wasn't interested in truing my wheels, or selling me bearings, cable or a cable guide, usually the local facebook moan groups contained a story of him refusing to fix a puncture for one of the local kids/passing cyclists - even Halfords do that. The previous owner could often be seen outside changing tubes / fixing punctures with local kids - his future customers. No bike shop smell.
In the last 15 years many of the old boys have shut and retired, others who have tried to maintain the older model have fallen buy the wayside. Those who have adopted the more modern "bike service shop" models seem to have coped and to an extent are thriving. Locally there is also a bunch of people doing mobile servicing or working from a home/mill unit workshop without the faff of a shop.
I think the collapse of Wiggle and CRC have left a bit of a gap in the market. Istill find myself faffing about trying to find what I would historically have gone straight to CRC. I think the industry as a whole is still trying to normalise after Covid.
I know I said the world was less instant years ago, but I think that too has now gone full circle. We are almost prepared and conditioned to order online then have to wait for something as opposed to going to a shop and getting it immediately. Covid has conditioned us to an appointment culture too. Personally it's not something I am a fan of, one of the reasons I don't give blood as much as i used to do is because the NBS now insist on appointments at their donor sessions, as opposed to just rocking up and waiting. I can hit a 2 hour session window, but not a 5min slot.
Years ago the LBS was where we bought our bikes, as a kid, my LBS had 40-50 bikes in his double fronted shop. When new bike time came, you'd rock up, choose one, if he had the right size in stock you could either walk away with the display model, or he would order it for collection the following week, you'd ride it for a while and take it back for a refettle. The world was a lot less instant. The shop was about 65% bikes 15% parts and the rest workshop. The shop carried a selection of cassettes, derailleurs, pedals, as well as smaller parts and a bit of clothing and lids
Nowadays the workshop is well over 50% of the shop, he sells very few new bikes, but has a selection of second hand bikes that he's acquired and refurbed everything from the odd classic to BSOs. They carry very few parts, even down to a limited array of tubes. It seems repairs are the name of the game and where the money is made with parts being ordered in for prebooked repairs. This shop will work on anything and help anyone out. If your buy a bike online they'll gladly assemble it for you, at their standard workshop rate. If you bring your own new or used parts, they'll gladly build them into your bike. Muddy dirty bike/parts, they'll deal with that, all at the workshop rate. Some folks will pay it, some folks will moan, some folks wont pay. As the song goes "some folks loves ham hocks and some folks loves pork chops, And some folks loves vegetable soup"
I think this is where the future lies for LBS and they seem to be doing pretty well - and it smells like a bike shop.
Another LBS has just shut up shop. He took over the shop from something like the above where the previous proprietor did repairs on anything, I was a regular visitor to raid his parts bin or for wheel truing. I might not have spent hundreds per visit, but over the year I did and usually dropped him some beers off when he helped with advice, pointers or bits of scrap. When the new guy took over, all the stock went, the tool rack contained only Park Tools, inter-tubes were all top of the range stuff and £8+ he was only interested in selling new top of the range bikes and the big thing seemed to be doing custom bike fits. He wasn't interested in truing my wheels, or selling me bearings, cable or a cable guide, usually the local facebook moan groups contained a story of him refusing to fix a puncture for one of the local kids/passing cyclists - even Halfords do that. The previous owner could often be seen outside changing tubes / fixing punctures with local kids - his future customers. No bike shop smell.
In the last 15 years many of the old boys have shut and retired, others who have tried to maintain the older model have fallen buy the wayside. Those who have adopted the more modern "bike service shop" models seem to have coped and to an extent are thriving. Locally there is also a bunch of people doing mobile servicing or working from a home/mill unit workshop without the faff of a shop.
I think the collapse of Wiggle and CRC have left a bit of a gap in the market. Istill find myself faffing about trying to find what I would historically have gone straight to CRC. I think the industry as a whole is still trying to normalise after Covid.
I know I said the world was less instant years ago, but I think that too has now gone full circle. We are almost prepared and conditioned to order online then have to wait for something as opposed to going to a shop and getting it immediately. Covid has conditioned us to an appointment culture too. Personally it's not something I am a fan of, one of the reasons I don't give blood as much as i used to do is because the NBS now insist on appointments at their donor sessions, as opposed to just rocking up and waiting. I can hit a 2 hour session window, but not a 5min slot.
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Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
I've heard similar here: the sales used to support the workshop, now it's the other way around. We are a bit different because we're part of a large (theoretically) church based charity which has deep roots in south German culture. We are unusual in Germany for selling used bikes, and the only reason we can is that most of our labour comes "free" as part of a scheme run by the Job Centre; most shops only deal with new bikes.
Most local shops won't repair older bikes or new online bought bikes, because, again, it's not economically viable for them and liability issues. We will generally try and repair old bikes, but we are equally cautious about cheap online bikes and especially online bought Ebikes.
Our city centre shop will do "same day" repairs, but this operates under contract with the city in a city owned building, and in partnership with another charity; it's... complicated.
The workshop I work in has a long run time for reasons connected to our purpose as a place for training and teaching young people and how that fits into the legal system here: all bikes have to be checked by someone with a state recognised qualification, and so at the moment we only have two people who can check bikes.
Another legal quirk is that we can't fit components a customer brings in, again because of liability issues.
Tom B
Guru
- Location
- Lancashire
The LBS I mentioned essentially works on the same basis as a car garage / workshop, or even a plumber fixing a leak, essentially its the hourly rate +parts.
To extend that... surely the bike itself is a part, or collection of parts the customer has brought in.
My friends father is a car mechanic, years ago he wouldn't have fitted parts brought in by customers, unless there was a good a reason, essentially because he'd charge a % on parts fitted owing to him getting trade discount.
These days consumers can buy parts at pretty much the same price as he can, so if they bring them in, its less faff for him, he's just not bothered. He just charges his hourly rate and sundries where appropriate.
Punkawallah
Ãœber Member
Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
That's essentially how we work too.
That's why, when a bike comes in, we put it in a stand and do a preliminary check with the customer present. We show them any issues, explain if they are safety related or a legal requirement, and if they don't want those things repaired we note it on the work sheet which the customer signs before they leave.
If we notice anything later, we call the customer, and calls are (in theory) documented on the work sheet. Any defect that the customer doesn't want to be repaired is noted on the invoice they get when the bike is completed.
Different legal system possibly. I (thankfully) don't own a car, but I suspect a car workshop would be equally reluctant: If I fit an inner tube or worse still, a brake that a customer has dug out of their cellar, and these parts fail because of a defect I don't notice the organisation is still liable for the consequences: in the case of a state registered mechanic, they are sometimes personally responsible.
Occasionally the manager has fitted parts known regulars have brought in, but this is always written on the form and invoice.
