Drivetrain Model Differences, Everything Handlebars, How To Start A Local MTB Race...MTB Podcast 83

My last bike I built myself. I ordered the frame at a local shop, bought the tires there and had them do a final tune on the bike. I bought all the other parts from Worldwide, Chain Reaction and Pros Closet.

I’ve never been in a bicycle shop but maybe that’s my fault

I have 3 Canyons and a Commencal, love 'em

Bike shops will become more service providers. Not just servicing and personalizing (think running shoes where you now go get your cadence etc checked) but also bike clinics etc

I work at a LBS. Our profit margins from most bikes are so small that there's not much of a point even having them (i.e. maintaining them, making space for them, etc). Most of our revenue comes in via rentals and maintenance

It’s not unique to bikes. Lots of online used car dealers now and likely DTC for new cars in the future (which have much more entrenched brick and mortar relationships with the local dealerships). But hey, Tesla and newer electric brands are doing it for obvious reasons

No guarantees in the business world unless you’re dealing with the top 1% of the top 1%. This is how the “free market” works, right?

The local shop is t be he best part of these “non team sports”. It’s where the culture lives. Talking bikes, riders, trails, videos and other story is the life blood of MTB, skate, surf whatever. Remove the shop and you kill the scene…in my opinion.

here's my argument for going consumer direct. my closest bike shop is 4 hours away.

You can still go pay a store to tweak a bike bought direct and save thousands.

Just bought a YT decoy. I went to stores and didn’t have great experience because I was not the typical cyclist.

I've gone full online bike purchases from bikes direct. I just ordered my fourth bike from them. Where else can I get a 12 speed Ultegra Di2 road bike for $3000? I have no issues with assembling my own bike. If I need service that I can't do then I'm happy to give my LBS business. I want LBS stores to be there for people who need help selecting the bike and size they need. Not everyone can shop online and know what they need/want.

I like Fezzari. Small American company located in Salt Lake City Utah.

Online and local are 2 different industries. "Value" varies greatly. Local shops will only survive if they treat their customers like they would want to be treated...which doesn't always happen.

I dont mind online shopping for small things although i like to support local small shops. As for buying a complete bike. I like to test the bike first to make sure it fits my body.

not sure what algorithm masters you're paying off, but its working. these videos are great. keep it up.

I think its all good! I purchased an item from your online company. And!... the experience was great!!...' Its the future of doing business... ... ..like it or not !!!!

Your business will continue to thrive because you're open minded, realistic about how the world of retail is changing, and don't get angry at the consumer for seeking out the best value proposition. I used to work retail in a sporting goods department before the internet was part of retail, and our store had to compete with big-box stores (e.g. Walmart) moving into the market. We were able to stay competitive through customer focus and experience. Sure, some people would just talk to our sales reps and drive down the street to Walmart, but they were the minority. More often, customers would get tired of being treated like garbage at big-box retailers and stop dealing with them altogether.

My favorite bikes are treks and canyons

what kind of bike chain is on the mountain bike behind you??? Thanks

FEZZARI!!!!!!!

Honestly I'd go with a consumer direct brand like yt because your actually getting the value. And if I had trouble setting something up on it Id just rather just go to a local shop and get done properly

nice video you seem like a cool dude

Anyone remember Bike Nashbar?

Cheers for making a video that doesn’t just say “support your local bike shop”, it’s all about providing value to the consumer.

Surely profit margins are in paid servicing, not putting a small mark up on the same branded products as everybody else

I bought my Commencal direct but buy parts from my LBS since it’s usually quicker than online assuming it’s in stock. If it’s not in stock I go to worldwide. That being said I would have bought a Kona from my lbs but they don’t have any in stock in what I want

Ok... so the only truly unique part of any bicycle is the frame. The rest of the parts are basically common. Retailer's should 1) stock tons of spare parts, especially the little ones (2) concentrate on service. Every shop employee should be able to handle simple mechanical repairs and one or 2 Experts.

2021 polygon xtrada 7. Full Shimano deore 1x12 drivetrain, suntour air fork, tubeless ready rims, very nicely finished frame with excellent welds.. $919. Can't beat it. Anything in the store at same price is Acera and other no name or off brands with crap forks. I got 2 Xtrada's, 1 for each of my daughters and they have quality, durable bikes with many advantages. I did feel guilty about it and I did go to several stores but was pretty dissapointed... I ride a full XT Specialized EPIC Carbon Comp FAR and Giant TCR 2 Advanced full ultegra.... so I fully appreciate what a fine bicycle is. Also I do most my own work and having higher end stuff usually means better tune stability and durability and less work for me.

Most bike shops are going out of business or about to go out of business

Went to the local Giant dealer. Was told they might get new stock around Christmas 2022... It's May 2022. How are they going to stay in business? Are they staying open by service and (overpriced) accessories only? How can I not turn to CD? Even if there's a month wait, it still beats 7 months for a bike that costs 1/3 more.

I like sitting and feeling a bike before buying it. I like the lifetime warranty instead of the five that’s offered with direct, nearly free service as well as moving to the front of the line since I purchased at the shop. Also the relationships you make with taking your bike in or shopping there.

Only in American do you see people buy more bikes than they can ride at any given time. It's like buying shoes.

Having a LBC is still extremely important. As noted below, mechanic work and the real time availability of parts. I was at a race and ripped a tire in practice…went to the LBC and they had my tire of choice and mounted it (with cushcore) in 30mins and I was back up and running for the race.

I personally think that LBS demise is predominately due to the ones that only sell x,y and Z brand.

This is a very similar occurrence with the auto industry. Ford is transitioning to only sell electric vehicles direct to consumer. Dealerships will soon just be repair/service shops. I think it will change to a franchise model for both bikes and cars where a shop is branded as the bike brand but is managed by a smaller company. Similar to fast food and hotels, it will be more of a service than goods.

If all the brick and mortar stores disappear then we lose bike mechanics to fix bikes for either inexperienced riders or riders who aren't inclined to fix things, or for people like me who go to them when I can't figure out a problem.

I personally think the local bike shops will stay. Reasons: rentals, servicing, parts, demo, etc. I do think direct sales also will stay. Reasons, the ability to purchased for less, direct warranty, etc. i personally think both ends need to help consumer. I went to a bike shop the other day and they asked me they didn’t want to service it as I had not bought the bike from them. I thought it was crazy. A bike is a bike and anyone should be able to take a bike to the local bike shop regardless whether or not they carry a particular brand,

Love my Yeti bikes

So repetitive. Get to the point.

will bike repair/ retailers survive? for the novice not-so-enthusiast bike buyers, they will need to get their box builds assembled and shocks sag calibrated correctly anyways. we will always need repair shops, but maybe not retailers.

I bought a Trance x for that very reason. new to the sport and wanted to have a retailer to fall back on. Im sure in a few years I'll have all the tools I need to fix/build it myself.

I do all my own work … i have 2 good bike shops by me they both sell different brands … I bought my bike at one and bought my upgraded my fork at a he other … I’m looking in to new bikes I’m torn if I want to go directly consumer brand or not but price and components on them is pushing me in that direction for sure

i do agree with you. though you would have to agree with me, if i say that people tend to generalize. and as you said it yourself at the end of your video is, yeah tech retailers big gross retailers Walmart, amazon etc do get the highest margin and yet people involved and manufacturers get tiny portion. yet again, then customers get the low quality products for big buck. but, then again hey it is capitalism and it was never intended to get the highest value for the price, but was invented to get highest profit for the less amount of work invested ;)

I thought brick and mortars shops make money through service and not sales?

Glad you brought this subject up. I think of awesome brands like Priority and Co-Motion and how more they would cost if bike shops sold them.

Brick and mortar will attrition their selves out of business. Everyone shops on line. My friend that ownes the LBS bitches about online shoppers as he is perusing the internet and ordering parts for someon online.

Four years later and the industry is worse off all around, especially for traditional retail brands; but I think it's just the pendulum swinging back to benefot the consumer. Wiggle/CRC has filed for bankruptcy, Trek is trimming its line by 40%, and the other big brands have been offering sales to move product and might also scale back their product lines.

I for one don't feel bad for them. They've been gouging the customer for a while, and have focused on $10,000-15,000 bikes that only 1% of cyclists are able to justify. They also leaned real hard into the covid sales as if that wasn't going to ever stop. Brick and mortar shops are kind of caught in the crossfire, but they weren't helping themselves by pushing overpriced bikes and trying to sell bikes that weren't what would be best for the customer solely because they had something in stock that they wanted to get rid of.

The way I see it bike shops are going to have to start focusing on maintenance and repair to make money since more people are going to keep shifting to the direct to consumer brands. You say that those brands don't have local support, but are shops really going to turn away business simply because they don't sell that particular brand? That kind of business mentality deserves to fail.

What are your thoughts on direct to consumer bike brands? Let us know below!