[NBjunkie]

anybody bought a bike from them?<br><br>
They have decent prices--I was thinking of buying one and having my LBS put it together for me (if they will do that)<br><br>
are these decent bikes and will LBS put them together for you and repair them, if needed? (I read somewhere on the web that LBS dont like to deal with bikes from bikesdirect.com)? -----thanks <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">

 

[TheProFromDover]

I just looked at the Motobecane $995 bike. Seems like a pretty good package for the money. No pedals of course. What I'd do is...<br>
1) Do more homework on the bike. Check reviews. See if any are around to test ride. This could be the single most important thing. Some bikes just feel right. Kind of like running shoes.<br>
2) Ask your LBS if they mind fitting a bike you get elsewhere. Tell them you have deal you just can't pass up. You will pay them to fit the bike, 100 to 200 dollars. If they are dead set against it, perhaps that shop is not the one you want to work with.<br>
3) Get sized first so you get the right frame size. And make sure BD will take it back if it's defective or just the wrong size. I would guess a similar bike is $1500 at the shop.<br><br>
ps the bars and aerobars are not the latest or best, but it's a small issue.

 

[jroden]

Why not just get the bike from the LBS? They will support you in your learning process, are sponsors for local races and teams and feed their family and make your community a better place by paying taxes and employing kids with pony tails.<br><br>
Any LBS will be more than happy to assemble a bargain basement bike you bring in, it may cost $100 and you might need a few odd parts. At any shop, there is always "The guy who always comes in and tries on shoes so he can buy them mail order" if you can live with being that guy, go ahead.

 

[Tri_coach06]

The guy at bikes direct has a family and kids and supports the area he lives in. He is just smarter and has a lower price for his bike. I'm all for buying stuff at the LBS, but if they are gonna price themselves out of the game, then I have to go where I can to get the most bike for the buck.<br><br>
Maybe you have money growing on the tree in the back yard, but most of us don't and need to find the cheapest/best way to get the bike. Additionally, the LBS will make money on a 5 minute bike set up that they will charge a 100 bucks for.<br><br>
CS

 

[Tri_coach06]

Sorry, that came across mean, my bad.<br><br>
CS

 

[NBjunkie]

I would LOVE to support my LBS--I just cant afford it--they cheapest bike they wanted to sell me was $850--and I dont have that much money to spend. So I am planning to bring in a couple bikes I found on Bikesdirect and see what their opinion is on it, and see if they mind assembling it (I want to try and support my LBS some way--i.e paying them to assemble it)

 

[jroden]

In general, if you compare across the lines at the LBS and the online, the things you want to look closely at are wheels, stem, crankset, seatpost, bottom bracket and saddle--these items are outside of the "group" and are the place where money gets saved by using some knockoff junk like Weyless. the wheels can be the main problem for the average rider, many of the cheap bikes come with real trash wheels.<br><br>
Sheldon, I do spend my money at my sponsoring shop, even when it costs me more. They take care of me when I mess up home repairs or need some help and they came to my dad's funeral, set my kids up with their first bike and helped me when I needed prizes for the races I put on. In the end, it's just money and I want to see my money came back around to our cyclin and multisports community. I realize not everyone is as fortunate as I am, but in the end multisport events are an expensive leisure activity with entry fees in excess of $100 a weekend and crap for prizes, so I doubt I'm lining up with people who lack for money, especially from what I see in the parking lot and the bikes that people buy.

 

[Tithers]

I use my LBS mostly for repairs and a few odds and ends purchases. I get most of my other stuff online. $ Talks, or Tithers walks.

 

[Tri_coach06]

I'm willing to bet you wouldn't be so resolute if the words in bold weren't true. Your loyalty is admiral, but I'm willing to bet if someone else offered you a better sponsorship, more money and a better bike, you'd jump ship in a second.<br><br>
It may be "just money" to you, but to me, It's my money, and I want the most for my buck. I live in a time where I can buy stuff online for less money, and I plan on taking advantage of it. I also live in a town that the LBS doesn't do anything for the community except pay taxes. most important is the fact that unless your a hard core biker, most of them intimidate the crap out of you and make you feel like your nothing if your not on a 10,000 dollar bike and cruise at 30mph. In fact, your probably screwed if your a woman who doesn't have the confidence of a bull.<br><br>
In the end, it's my money. I work hard for it and I want the most for the least, period. Your right, spoken like a true roadie I might add, most of the triathletes out there are spoiled rotten, but I can guarantee they didn't get rich by spending money just because the guy at the LBS was nice.<br><br>
CS

 

[Tithers]

Triathlons are kinda like golf...a "rich" person's sport.<br><br>
I gotta budget carefully to play.

 

[jroden]

I think in part our different perspectives are part of our communities--here in Buffalo, people either leave town for better opportunities or just stay here forever, I guess I'm the later. The cycling community is small and our shops don't scratch out much of a living. When I see block after block of boarded up and burned out buildings in the city, I see a town that has long since collapsed in the wake of the Bethlehem Steel leaving and the slow erosopn of the tax base. In the end, it was simple economics that killed our city, better products were made elsewhere and we said goodbye to the money. Perhaps in time bikes will become so modular that the average consume will be able to avoid the local shop completely, who knows. Building up a bike takes a fraction of the time and skill compared to 10 years ago, perhaps the chain will be direct from the manufacturer to consumer, who knows.<br><br>
In any event, as you noted I am a roadie and perhaps bow to tradition more than I should. Throughout my time on the bike, I have always had a cup of coffee waiting for me at some shop in some town and for those memories I am grateful and in those memories, I am wealthy, beyond anything in my bank account.

 

[RunningForT3]

I kind of agree with Sheldon. The guys at my LBS are great, and they're the sponsor of my Tri club, but their prices are outrageous. You cannot get a bootie or a winter glove under $60, so I guess I'll buy them online. Also, I asked the owner about trainers and she said they have some Cycleops fluid ones at $500. How do they come up with these prices??

 

[Tithers]

Crap-the bike shop that sponsors our group gives us 10-20% off.<br><br>
Even WITH the discount I can buy at performance for cheaper.

 

[jroden]

That's kind of excessive, they are a $300 trainer, no? What kills me about the industry is how they will use outfits like Nashbar to liquidate stock to consumers right after they have sold it to bike shops at normal wholesale prices, it's like the industry is hell bent on eating it's own distribution chain. Why would someone buy tires for $65 at the shop when they are $19 at Nashbar, clearly about what the shop paid or less? Most industries have more sense than to liquidate direct to consumers this way, but the bike industry seems to be designed to make business difficult for local retailers, it's an odd model.

 

[Tithers]

It's a good thing you don't own a bike shop...just sayin'

 

[jroden]

I know everyone in town that does and they make about what a public school teacher does, w/o health benefits--nobody's getting rich in retail bike business here.

 

[Tithers]

As a teacher...I'm not getting rich either...just sayin'

 

[jroden]

That's my point. Our teachers get a decent benefit package, in New York I pay about $12,000 a year for heath insurance for my family, I'd have to sell a lot of inner tubes for that!

 

[Tri_coach06]

Your assuming that fact? The LBS here have glitzy stores in expensive strip malls. They aren't the old time bike shop for sure. They cater to the old guy that wants the best bike so he can ride with the group at 12mph.<br><br>
You have an old time bike shop where you go in an talk to the mech. sit with a cup of coffee you got from the coffee maker on the counter. Here the coffee is at the Starbucks next door, and please don't bring it in the shop. Little dogs in purses welcome.<br><br>
CS

 

[Tithers]

There ain't a purse big enough for Bailey!<img alt="sad2.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/sad2.gif">