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Small LBS's Going out of business

10337 Views 111 Replies 53 Participants Last post by Space Robot, 4 mo ago

Iranian-Mechanic

Discussion Starter · Nov 7, 2021

Is it me or its really happening........???During the Covid years........

And in general not bike shops but all small businesses are getting wipped out

In order to wipe out the middle classes all over this planet and in all countries !!

And bring equality to the societies by making everybody equally poor.........

Is been nearly a year and a half that there is not much so sell in the shop and im forced to be more of a mechanic than a bike & pars seller ......

And it seems like they are making the parts & bikes and components in a way that they are not that much serviceable or repairable anymore.....And that shows or maybe predicts that being a mechanic maybe not an option in the future either

I think they want every body to be a worker or an employee or large businesses and not owning their own small business.
Whats your opinion on this ? i would like to see if im thinking right or not ?

And for people like me who doesnt like and would not fit in this kind of a system i think the time is comming. to go in the woods and live a simple natural life till i die ...........

Nose Hair Head Chin Smile

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21 - 40 of 112 Posts

G-Choro

· #21 · Nov 8, 2021

my lbs is closing at the end of the month. they are a Giant dealer, and there isn't anything to sell right now. the owner has a separate full-time job. the shop just isn't worth it anymore.

Reactions: 1

Curveball

· #22 · Nov 8, 2021

Grinchy8 said:
I hadn’t been downtown (skyscraper district) since covid started. Almost all the ground level shops are boarded up. Maybe 70% on some blocks. It was a bloodbath for those businesses.
Many companies are forsaking their brick and mortar and going remote or mostly remote. It’s going to be a bad time for commercial real estate, particularly the cube office floors.

That describes Seattle pretty well.

Reactions: 1

345948

· #23 · Nov 8, 2021

G-Choro said:
my lbs is closing at the end of the month. they are a Giant dealer, and there isn't anything to sell right now. the owner has a separate full-time job. the shop just isn't worth it anymore.

You'd figure of all the companies to have supply chain issues, Giant would be the last. They're like the "supply" part of the supply chain.

Sidewalk

· #24 · Nov 8, 2021

G-Choro said:
my lbs is closing at the end of the month. they are a Giant dealer, and there isn't anything to sell right now. the owner has a separate full-time job. the shop just isn't worth it anymore.

This happened to my friends shop, except just a few months before Covid. If he had future goggles and saw what was coming a few months away he could have been making a killing. But he seems too really be happy with his new career NOT being his own boss so good for him. I just miss my hookup

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Prognosticator

· #25 · Nov 8, 2021

I had a long talk with my LBS owner last Friday. He has someone who is immunocompromised in his family, so all business is being conducted outside the front door. He has a tailgate tent set up and a dais. They have a few displays outside also with tools, lubes, sunglasses etc.

We stood outside and chatted. He pointed out that the shop floor only had one row of new bikes. All the other bikes that could be seen through the window on the shop floor were repairs -- 50 - 75 of them. In the same strip as his shop, there is another business that has a a giant storage facility that they don't need. He rents that storage facility to hold new inventory. He is a Giant and Santa Cruz dealer. He told me that he has 200 bikes in the next-door storage facility. I told him how much I admired him for keeping it going.

He's a hard-working guy with a lot of determination and creativity.

But when I tried to buy a chain from him for SRAM 12-speed (I knew it was a unicorn), he didn't have one. I want to another shop in a nearby city. That shop DID have one. I hated buying from a competitor but at least I still supported an LBS.

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bingemtbr

· #26 · Nov 8, 2021

I've seen two new LBS open up between now and mid-2020. I have not yet heard of a LBS going out of business due to lack of inventory. However, quite a few shops had their best year ever in 2020. Most that are having inventory issues are pivoting to offer more service--if you find the part online, they've relaxed their installation policies.

Sanchofula

· #27 · Nov 8, 2021

Is anyone really surprised that small shops of all kinds are going out of business?

First this happened with the introduction of the big box stores, then it's progressed with online vendors, I'm sure sales will continue to consolidate as consumers move their purchasing to the most convenient routes.

Say hello to USA sponsored by Amazon

Grinchy8

· #28 · Nov 8, 2021

Curveball said:
That describes Seattle pretty well.

Winner! I live in Seattle.

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prj71

· #29 · Nov 8, 2021

Nurse Ben said:
Is anyone really surprised that small shops of all kinds are going out of business?

First this happened with the introduction of the big box stores, then it's progressed with online vendors, I'm sure sales will continue to consolidate as consumers move their purchasing to the most convenient routes.

Say hello to USA sponsored by Amazon

Online shopping is where it's at. By not offering, selling and shipping a product through the interwebs a business is really shooting itself in the foot.

I have Amazon boxes delivered to the house a few times a week. I value my time to do other things besides running to the store. Add to cart and the item is at my house 2 days later.

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slapheadmofo

· #30 · Nov 10, 2021

J.B. Weld said:
Also need a few thousand dollars worth of tools and a bunch of free time.

Not really, particularly if you only buy what you need to work on stuff you actually own rather than every bike/component on the planet.
There's also little need to buy top of the line specialized tools for home duty. It's not like we're talking about opening a shop at home, just taking care of your own stuff.

J.B. Weld

· #31 · Nov 11, 2021

slapheadmofo said:
Not really, particularly if you only buy what you need to work on stuff you actually own rather than every bike/component on the planet.
There's also little need to buy top of the line specialized tools for home duty. It's not like we're talking about opening a shop at home, just taking care of your own stuff.

Ok but a fewl hundred dollars for a minimal kit is probably a fair estimate and it isn't hard at all to get into the thousands. Also it does take time, I'm pretty sure most home mechanics will have the better part of a day invested by the time they're done bleeding their brakes, servicing their lowers, overhauling their bb, headset, etc.

Point being that most would rather trade money for convenience. I'm like that with cars, I can change the oil, bleed brakes, install an alternator and other minor repairs but I happily pay someone else to do it so I can have more time for fun stuff like riding bikes. I think DIY is great and more power to all the home wrenches out there but they are a minority group among cyclists.

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Curveball

· #32 · Nov 11, 2021

Grinchy8 said:
Winner! I live in Seattle.

I work in Seattle. It’s a bit disconcerting to see all the boarded up businesses.

OldSchoolMBer

· #33 · Nov 11, 2021

J.B. Weld said:
most would rather trade money for convenience. I'm like that with cars, I can change the oil, bleed brakes, install an alternator and other minor repairs but I happily pay someone else to do it so I can have more time for fun stuff like riding bikes

As I've gotten older the number of DIY projects I'm willing to take on has gone down. I like wrenching on bikes but I'm done with large car repairs. Been there done that

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Bassmantweed

· #34 · Nov 11, 2021

OldSchoolMBer said:
As I've gotten older the number of DIY projects I'm willing to take on has gone down. I like wrenching on bikes but I'm done with large car repairs. Been there done that

Agree - i get lazier the older i get. BUT i like working on my bike and i know its done right not done by some high school kid wearing a park tools apron. Don't get me wrong there are some good mechanics out there regardless of age but most are learning on your bike.

good winter time activity.

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slapheadmofo

· #35 · Nov 11, 2021

J.B. Weld said:
Ok but a fewl hundred dollars for a minimal kit is probably a fair estimate and it isn't hard at all to get into the thousands. Also it does take time, I'm pretty sure most home mechanics will have the better part of a day invested by the time they're done bleeding their brakes, servicing their lowers, overhauling their bb, headset, etc.

Point being that most would rather trade money for convenience. I'm like that with cars, I can change the oil, bleed brakes, install an alternator and other minor repairs but I happily pay someone else to do it so I can have more time for fun stuff like riding bikes. I think DIY is great and more power to all the home wrenches out there but they are a minority group among cyclists.

A few hundred is reasonable, but, sure, lots of people seem to love to spend way too much on **** they don't really need. You could easily spend thousands just to decorate a pegboard with fancy blue tools that never get used, or get used once every few years when it would make a lot more sense to just either may a DIY version or find a way to use tools you already have.
There are also a lot of people that feel that there's way more "maintenance" required than their actually is. Number of times I've "overhauled" a BB on any of my personal bikes 3 decades is near zero. Same with headsets. Servicing lowers isn't exactly something that needs to happen often either; probably once every few years realistically.

The overwhelming majority of MTB building, adjustment and maintenance can be done easily at home using basic tools far more quickly than going through the hassle of dropping off, waiting, then picking up from a shop, and definitely a lot more cheaply. For certain things, maybe not, and of course you need some sort of basic mechanical knowledge, but not all that much IME. Plus, you never really can be sure that the guy working on your bike at the shop is any better than the guy doing it in his garage. You'd be surprised how many times I've had to square away bikes that had been going back and forth into LBS' for the same issue over and over until the owner finally gives up and asks me to take a look at it. Usually something pretty simple.

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J.B. Weld

· #36 · Nov 11, 2021

slapheadmofo said:
A few hundred is reasonable, but, sure, lots of people seem to love to spend way too much on **** they don't really need. You could easily spend thousands just to decorate a pegboard with fancy blue tools that never get used, or get used once every few years when it would make a lot more sense to just either may a DIY version or find a way to use tools you already have.
There are also a lot of people that feel that there's way more "maintenance" required than their actually is. Number of times I've "overhauled" a BB on any of my personal bikes 3 decades is near zero. Same with headsets. Servicing lowers isn't exactly something that needs to happen often either; probably once every few years realistically.

The overwhelming majority of MTB building, adjustment and maintenance can be done easily at home using basic tools far more quickly than going through the hassle of dropping off, waiting, then picking up from a shop, and definitely a lot more cheaply. For certain things, maybe not, and of course you need some sort of basic mechanical knowledge, but not all that much IME. Plus, you never really can be sure that the guy working on your bike at the shop is any better than the guy doing it in his garage. You'd be surprised how many times I've had to square away bikes that had been going back and forth into LBS' for the same issue over and over until the owner finally gives up and asks me to take a look at it. Usually something pretty simple.

Well all I know is I fix creaks and squeaks every day by overhauling neglected headsets and bb's. People bring us these bikes because they couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from and even if they did they don't own the tools and/or knowledge to do it. Sure they could easily learn and buy the necessary tools but as mentioned they don't want to. Nothing wrong with that.

I don't know how you get decades of service out of unmaintained headsets and bb's, even my road bike headset is completely full of crap after about a year of riding.

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slapheadmofo

· #37 · Nov 11, 2021

J.B. Weld said:
Well all I know is I fix creaks and squeaks every day by overhauling neglected headsets and bb's. People bring us these bikes because they couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from and even if they did they don't own the tools and/or knowledge to do it. Sure they could easily learn and buy the necessary tools but as mentioned they don't want to. Nothing wrong with that.

I don't know how you get decades of service out of unmaintained headsets and bb's, even my road bike headset is completely full of crap after about a year of riding.

I'm usually not much of a fanboy, but I've got a number of Chris King headsets that have lasted longer than the frames they've been installed in, with no maintenance.
Some of them have outlasted multiple frames. Not that they've all been ridden hard continuously for decades by any means, but I've put a beating on them and they just take it to the point that I'm replacing bikes more regularly than finding I need to do any headset work.

345948

· #38 · Nov 11, 2021

One thing that drives me nuts about local bike shops - the smaller ones you'll walk into and they still seem to only stock club fit, 1/2 zip jerseys that look like they came straight out of 2005. And they charge $79.99 for them.

Bassmantweed

· #39 · Nov 11, 2021 (Edited)

J.B. Weld said:
I don't know how you get decades of service out of unmaintained headsets and bb's, even my road bike headset is completely full of crap after about a year of riding.

I don't think that means he has decades on one bike. I think what he means is that over the couse of 3 decades with several different bikes.

The longest i have kept a mountain bike had been about 6 years. it seems like things were evolving so fast that it was worth upgrading and making huge leaps forward. I don't see the need to touch headsets or BB's. on my bikes but i dont ride trails when they are wet and muddy as in the north east that is a bit of a no no. I also dont spray my bike with a hose BUT thats a whole different thread!

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J.B. Weld

· #40 · Nov 11, 2021

Bassmantweed said:
I don't think that means he has decades on one bike. I think what he means is that over the couse of 3 decades with several different bikes.

The longest i have kept a mountain bike had been about 6 years. it seems like things were evolving so fast that it was worth upgrading and making huge leaps forward. I don't see the need to touch headsets or BB's. on my bikes but i dont ride trails when they are wet and muddy as in the north east that is a bit of a no no. I also dont spray my bike with a hose BUT thats a whole different thread!

It also depends on what you expect from your bike and how much you ride. Most every bike I jump on that isn't mine feels at least a little clapped and usually worse.

I rarely wear out bb's or headsets either but it's nice to pull them apart once or twice a year to blow out all the crud that accumulates (and sometimes causes annoying creaks), I like a lean, clean, mean, silent machine. Some people could care less. Different strokes.

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