What do you think will happen to the UK bike retail industry?

[Oldhippy]

Inevitably and sadly they will die out due to Internet competition. It's a no win situation. There are those thankfully that try to diversify offering other things to people who cycle. Bike charities for example deserve more exposure, especially in the magazines and advocacy groups instead of all the new 'bling' and 'entry level' and you can't go gravel, road ride, tour, delete as applicable without spending thousands on a bike and 'specific clothing nonsense. How many of us in past times built our own bikes without all this and went to bike shops for bits and bobs for the latest upgrade. You can get anything next day now and knocking up your own bike as a kid is near extinct if not already.

 

[Punkawallah]

Darlington is pretty good for bike shops and has been for as long as I can remember (Chris Thompson & Skinnergate Cycles when I started out). Don't forget Northern Bikeshed, they have a lot of older stuff in, including a selection of what could be described as 'modern classic' road bikes, although the skinny tyres give me the heebee geebees these days. The place that surprises me is Byker (appropriately) ~ three bike shops in the town centre and Recyke Y' bike, which is an Aladdin's cave of a place.

I was including Bikeshed - is there another shop I’m not aware of?

 

[Windle]

I was including Bikeshed - is there another shop I’m not aware of?

Not that I know of, I'm aware of Wheelbase, Iron Horse & Northern Bikeshed, plus Cash Converters and CGX (obviously Evans has gone now).
There used to be one at the top (East) end of Yarm road too, years ago.

 

[Punkawallah]

Not that I know of, I'm aware of Wheelbase, Iron Horse & Northern Bikeshed, plus Cash Converters and CGX (obviously Evans has gone now).
There used to be one at the top (East) end of Yarm road too, years ago.

Yeah - young Syd worked there (when he was not playing) iirc. Would you be a resident?

 

[classic33]

As is happening already.
Folk go into a bike shop, study the bike / equipment / clothing they're after and then buy it off t'net as it's almost invariably cheaper.
Sadly, they invariably are the type of folk who don't give a monkeys about the survival of local retailers.

I'm the other way round.
I'll look online for where ever has what I'm interested in, then I'll go to the shop(s) and buy from there.

 

[VinSumRox]

Innerleithen near me is a small town/village but its economy has been transformed by mountain biking - down hill and cross country. Also quite a few popular road bike routes pass through. Because of this it has 4 bike shops and a few cafes.

 

[All uphill]

I want a bike shop that helps people gain confidence riding safely, sells people bikes that are guaranteed, but cost £150, that trains people to gain new skills, that is good for the environment.

Sound familiar?

Now if they'd just serve a perfect cappuccino too I'd be content.

 

[bikingdad90]

Darlington is pretty good for bike shops and has been for as long as I can remember (Chris Thompson & Skinnergate Cycles when I started out). Don't forget Northern Bikeshed, they have a lot of older stuff in, including a selection of what could be described as 'modern classic' road bikes, although the skinny tyres give me the heebee geebees these days. The place that surprises me is Byker (appropriately) ~ three bike shops in the town centre and Recyke Y' bike, which is an Aladdin's cave of a place.

Northern Bikeshed when I went in, was very poor quality, particularly the kids bikes. It was all reconditioned stock but done on the cheap and overpriced. You can get better quality bikes (less bashed up, less scratched) from eBay and Facebook marketplace. Yes you are paying for a warranty and the shop overheads but if you are ok with fettling, then not worth the premium added.

It’s just a shame down the road in Teesside there isn’t any bike shops now. Paul Curran has retired, Westbrook is not open at weekends and leisure lakes in GoOutdoors is premium pricing. Skinnergate is ok, a tad pricey on the upper end of middle of the market pricing but they do a good job and quality has always been great.

 

[Punkawallah]

Northern Bikeshed when I went in, was very poor quality, particularly the kids bikes. It was all reconditioned stock but done on the cheap and overpriced. You can get better quality bikes (less bashed up, less scratched) from eBay and Facebook marketplace. Yes you are paying for a warranty and the shop overheads but if you are ok with fettling, then not worth the premium added.

It’s just a shame down the road in Teesside there isn’t any bike shops now. Paul Curran has retired, Westbrook is not open at weekends and leisure lakes in GoOutdoors is premium pricing. Skinnergate is ok, a tad pricey on the upper end of middle of the market pricing but they do a good job and quality has always been great.

Perhaps the reason your ‘Goldilocks’ bike shops no longer exist is because of economic realities?

I can pick up a bike off eBay for 99p, dismantled it, clean it, rebuild it with parts replaced and bearings serviced then sell it on Facebook as a £40 ‘work bike’ that would see the new owner recoup their investment in two weeks of saved bus fare. Sometimes my ‘profit’ is zero, because it’s costs me £40 to do the job, sometimes it’s £39 because all it took was elbow grease and a fraction of cleaning materials etc, sometimes I make a loss because it cost more than £40 to complete. But my time was not costed in these situations, and I can afford to wait for a 99p bike to appear.
A ‘bricks and mortar’ business can not run on the same principles, as you have already pointed out.

The shop Bikeshed now trades from used to be a charitable concern, had stock donated free of charge, was selective about what it would put on the shop floor (it had free use of a factory floor that was full of bikes ultimately scrapped because they were not up to standard), replaced ‘consumables’ as a matter of course and had free labour from volunteers. It it tried to sell second hand bikes in a ‘nearly new’ condition, and went out of business because it could not survive without charitable funding. It was as near to Goldilocks as you could get, and didn’t work.

 

[Drago]

Let's be honest. Mike Ashley will eventually end up owning the retail bike industry, probably along with every other high street retailer. Oh joy.

 

[Punkawallah]

Let's be honest. Mike Ashley will eventually end up owning the retail bike industry, probably along with every other high street retailer. Oh joy.

Well, I really liked his ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, so there’s that at least.

 

[wakemalcolm]

It’s just a shame down the road in Teesside there isn’t any bike shops now. Paul Curran has retired, Westbrook is not open at weekends and leisure lakes in GoOutdoors is premium pricing.

What about Colin Armstrong, Ken Stubbs and the Askey brothers: they were going like a fair the last time I went bike shopping down there?

The market's changed. The beginner bottom end of the market is serviced by Ashley, Decathlon and Halfrauds.

The top end of the market want premium gear and there's enough margin to maintain a shop front presence. The customer 'experience' might encourage people to travel especially if it's to a hub of activity such as Innerliethen. People drawn to activity centres will also be happy to pay over the odds for required spares en passant.

The 'knowledgeable' middle market is toast. Previously, I'd research what I'd want by reading press or talking to other cyclists. There wasn't a hope of my local bike shop having everything all the time, but I'd go in once to order and again to collect (possibly impulse buying other stuff too). Now I'm researching and buying on line taking a link out of the 'value' chain. Why would I involve a shop who has no better access to what I want than I do?

What is emerging is a need for 'Bicycle repair man' and there's loads of operators near me with a decent tool kit, a van or cheap unit, and a pair of nitryl gloves meeting that demand. That's the future, and it's not on the high street.

 

[Drago]

What about... the Askey brothers

Unchained Melody was brilliant, but they can only lunch out on that for so long.

 

[biggs682]

Perhaps the reason your ‘Goldilocks’ bike shops no longer exist is because of economic realities?

I can pick up a bike off eBay for 99p, dismantled it, clean it, rebuild it with parts replaced and bearings serviced then sell it on Facebook as a £40 ‘work bike’ that would see the new owner recoup their investment in two weeks of saved bus fare. Sometimes my ‘profit’ is zero, because it’s costs me £40 to do the job, sometimes it’s £39 because all it took was elbow grease and a fraction of cleaning materials etc, sometimes I make a loss because it cost more than £40 to complete. But my time was not costed in these situations, and I can afford to wait for a 99p bike to appear.
A ‘bricks and mortar’ business can not run on the same principles, as you have already pointed out.

That's the same thing I have done with the last few projects I have done

 

[PaulSB]

What about Colin Armstrong, Ken Stubbs and the Askey brothers: they were going like a fair the last time I went bike shopping down there?

The market's changed. The beginner bottom end of the market is serviced by Ashley, Decathlon and Halfrauds.

The top end of the market want premium gear and there's enough margin to maintain a shop front presence. The customer 'experience' might encourage people to travel especially if it's to a hub of activity such as Innerliethen. People drawn to activity centres will also be happy to pay over the odds for required spares en passant.

The 'knowledgeable' middle market is toast. Previously, I'd research what I'd want by reading press or talking to other cyclists. There wasn't a hope of my local bike shop having everything all the time, but I'd go in once to order and again to collect (possibly impulse buying other stuff too). Now I'm researching and buying on line taking a link out of the 'value' chain. Why would I involve a shop who has no better access to what I want than I do?

What is emerging is a need for 'Bicycle repair man' and there's loads of operators near me with a decent tool kit, a van or cheap unit, and a pair of nitryl gloves meeting that demand. That's the future, and it's not on the high street.

This is interesting. I'm not sure about your fourth paragraph. I know several riders who match the description and if buying a bike they all buy from local bike shops (note plural). I don't know what they do about spares, if anything. I say "shops" because we are fortunate to have several great quality bike shops within 25 - 30 miles. Does this qualify as local? I feel this depends on one's view.

For me the LBS is one that I can pop into inside 20 minutes travel, which is why the shops I mention above don't get my servicing and "bits" business. I've been using the same LBS for +/- 25 years, the same mechanic (he moved when my first LBS closed) for 30+ years.

I feel I'm knowledgeable middle market. My LBS can't supply the bike I want. I didn't want to take a chance on what they could offer. I did my research, narrowed it to two bikes and approached an LBS who stocked both brands. I told this LBS I wanted to buy the frameset, I told my LBS I wanted them to do the build. I also said to both if you're not happy with the deal please say so. We all agreed and I have a beautiful machine.

Possibly I'm unusual but I value my LBS and wanted them to benefit where possible. Equally I wasn't going to rip off the other LBS's knowledge without recompense.

Thinking about your fifth paragraph. Yes, we get a lot of these "mechanics" springing up. They come and go, the quality of work is highly variable as is the customer service. There's one who is prepared to travel from Todmorden to Chorley to service your bike. That's 30 miles, one hour minimum and a pretty grim journey. This smacks to me of a desperate attempt to build business, this immediately turns me off.

Saying all that I know one guy who I would trust implicitly with my bikes, who also happens to be a personal friend. If it wasn't for my LBS he would have my business.