49
votes
I purchased a "new" bike from my local bike shop that is five years old--should they have disclosed this?
If it's actually used, as in previously owned with real mileage, they should have disclosed that. If it's in new condition, or new condition with some amount of the discount being for shop wear or due ...
- 88.2k
33
votes
Bike shop did too much work on my bike - do I need to pick it up?
Law Stack Exchange could surely help you from a consumer law perspective. The New York Times’ ethicist column or similar could also advise. However, from a cycling perspective, I would expect a bike ...
- 36k
26
votes
Bike shop did too much work on my bike - do I need to pick it up?
I'd agree 100% with the other comments and answers about this being beyond unreasonable.
I'd give the shop a call and ask to talk to the owner or manager (in that order). Talk through the situation. ...
- 1,581
15
votes
Accepted
LBS won't Service Shimano Dual Control Lever
I've successfully destroyed several right-hand levers by attempting to fix them once they've started acting up.
One was a broken basket in the shifter, and I forget the actual failure in the others. ...
- 131k
12
votes
I purchased a "new" bike from my local bike shop that is five years old--should they have disclosed this?
I'm trying to put myself into your shoes if this were to happen to me with the LBS that I frequent. I own two bikes, which almost sounds like the start of an inverse Twelve Step Program--one that ...
- 971
11
votes
Am I freeloading at my LBS?
Spending $30 / month at your LBS seems perfectly reasonable. Your LBS is grateful you buy from them instead of from Amazon.
If you sometimes go to your bike store just to talk, that probably OK, as ...
- 75.9k
9
votes
Bike shop did too much work on my bike - do I need to pick it up?
I'd like to not pick it up - how should I go about doing this?
Well, if your mind is already made up then don't pick it up. Are you just looking for affirmation for your idea?
If your mind isn't made ...
- 247
9
votes
Bike shop did too much work on my bike - do I need to pick it up?
Typically there are laws that govern how much a service business can charge you beyond their estimate in situations like this, if anything at all. The number varies by location so in terms of who has ...
- 88.2k
8
votes
Accepted
Am I freeloading at my LBS?
1) "am I freeloading, or am I a (financially) valued customer?"
Depends. Most bike shops I've been to are happy with giving some of advice -- helping the person find the right part and them do it ...
- 46.4k
7
votes
At what level of carbon fiber damage should you have it checked at your LBS?
Although one cannot make a definitive judgement based off a few photos, I think in this case it is exceedingly safe to say that this damage is not a problem. Scraping your bike against a fence is ...
- 17.4k
6
votes
LBS won't Service Shimano Dual Control Lever
The answer depends a little on the exact model and how deep you need to go.
In general the problem is that replacement parts aren't available new if something is broken, and if nothing is broken then ...
- 88.2k
5
votes
LBS won't Service Shimano Dual Control Lever
A small addition to this that I don't think has been fully covered:
Internal parts for Shimano shifters aren't available. As previously noted, they are also disturbingly difficult to disassemble. This ...
- 16k
5
votes
Am I freeloading at my LBS?
It may be helpful to know that according to the NBDA*, most bike shops actually lose money on bike sales. The average profit margin is -3%. Where the profit margin on parts and accessories is +7.5%....
- 51
5
votes
Bike shop did too much work on my bike - do I need to pick it up?
What the bike shop has done is not normal practice and beyond absurd. Every shop I've ever used (whether it's a bike shop, auto mechanic or whatever) will do a detailed assessment and confirm anything ...
- 564
4
votes
I purchased a "new" bike from my local bike shop that is five years old--should they have disclosed this?
The thing that would give me pause about this would be if there were a generational shift in technology during the intervening years, and it might be harder to get replacement parts (like the ...
- 30.6k
3
votes
Bike shop did too much work on my bike - do I need to pick it up?
Going counter every answer you received and playing devil's advocate role, I would say that if the Trek bike from the 90s was a top of the line bike, fitted with very good parts, the shop may have ...
- 3,770
2
votes
Bike shop did too much work on my bike - do I need to pick it up?
Just to play devil's advocate, let's run through the story from the bike shop side using the info you've supplied.
The bike has been outdoors for some amount of time and the extra work they have had ...
- 16k
2
votes
I purchased a "new" bike from my local bike shop that is five years old--should they have disclosed this?
It is interesting that "new" is used as an antonym of "used"; logically speaking, "used", "old", and "pre-owned" are all distinct concepts that have been conflated for simplicity, and only some of the ...
- 121
2
votes
Repair service specifically for bike commuters?
There is velotooler.com**
They are all over the US, but also have a presence in Canada. They will be expanding to the UK and Europe in 2017, but they have already started their mechanic recruiting ...
2
votes
I purchased a "new" bike from my local bike shop that is five years old--should they have disclosed this?
If a bike is stored in dry, warm conditions, as it was probably done by the shop, it does not degrade in quality much. The only parts that may suffer from age are:
Plastic parts like the brake pads, ...
2
votes
At what level of carbon fiber damage should you have it checked at your LBS?
Could asking the manufacturer be an option here? They do test their forks for things like this, right? Could they provide details about what kinds of forces and impacts, outside normal use, is the ...
- 2,079
1
vote
LBS won't Service Shimano Dual Control Lever
If the tool is the one I'm thinking of, it mainly allows you to take the whole main assembly out of the lever. That assembly is available, at least for some models, as a spare, costing about the same ...
- 62.6k
1
vote
I purchased a "new" bike from my local bike shop that is five years old--should they have disclosed this?
I don't agree with some of the comments that a discount is an indicator for an old bicycle. Discounts can be applied for various reason such as clearance (better model just arrived shortly after the ...
- 215
1
vote
I purchased a "new" bike from my local bike shop that is five years old--should they have disclosed this?
IMHO .. if it's sold at fair market value, regardless of age .. no.
The point of any retail operation in a capitalist country, is generally, to sell for as much profit as possible or at least .. fair ...
- 111
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