Author Topic: My LBS has just closed down  (Read 19541 times)

LEE

  • "Shut Up Jens" - Legs.
My LBS has just closed down
« on: 01 September, 2018, 08:50:05 pm »
Bollocks and Arse!!

The best shop my town ever had, in any category, has been forced to close.  Abbots Ann Cycles of Andover, along with it's in-house cafe, TUBS, has finally given up the fight with the on-line retailers.

This is a real shame as it had become a real hub for cyclists in the area.

Unfortunately shops like that can't compete with the bulk-buying power of online warehouses like the Wiggle-ChainReaction group.

It's the way of the World so there's nothing else to say except, "It's a damn shame".
Some people say I'm self-obsessed but that's enough about them.

Torslanda

  • Professional Gobshite
  • Just a tart for retro kit . . .
    • John's Bikes
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #1 on: 01 September, 2018, 09:36:28 pm »
It's worrying. I'm relying on the fact that the one thing the internet can't do is actually fix your bike.

I've never understood the 'if you bought it online I ain't fitting it' attitude from some people. To me that's cutting the nose off to spite the face. With me it's the total opposite. Fitting parts is simple and helps the cashflow. Maybe I'm strange.
VELOMANCER

Well that's the more blunt way of putting it but as usual he's dead right.

LEE

  • "Shut Up Jens" - Legs.
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #2 on: 01 September, 2018, 09:44:23 pm »
It's worrying. I'm relying on the fact that the one thing the internet can't do is actually fix your bike.

I've never understood the 'if you bought it online I ain't fitting it' attitude from some people. To me that's cutting the nose off to spite the face. With me it's the total opposite. Fitting parts is simple and helps the cashflow. Maybe I'm strange.

I think the repair/mechanic side of the shop was busy but the owner wanted it to be more than that.  Unfortunately that requires staff and a steady flow of sales.

I still think there's an element of the public who think bicycle repair/maintenance should cost 10% of the price of car repair/maintenance, despite it taking just as long and requiring identical spanner-twiddling. 

2 hours spent on a car and a bill for £160 +VAT would go unnoticed but try giving someone a £160 bill for 2 hours spent on a bike.
Some people say I'm self-obsessed but that's enough about them.

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #3 on: 01 September, 2018, 09:57:09 pm »
 not so much the time spent as the tools as well, talking to a chap at my LBS they are really pissed off with the plethora of ever changing "standards" requiring new stuff.  No wonder they need to charge what they do
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

PaulF

  • "World's Scariest Barman"
  • It's only impossible if you stop to think about it
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #4 on: 01 September, 2018, 09:59:26 pm »
Was that the one on Weyhill Road?

LEE

  • "Shut Up Jens" - Legs.
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #5 on: 01 September, 2018, 10:43:12 pm »
Was that the one on Weyhill Road?

Yes
Some people say I'm self-obsessed but that's enough about them.

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #6 on: 01 September, 2018, 11:06:19 pm »
I’m still grieving over the loss of Samways in Derby two years ago. 84 years they’d been going.
 :(
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #7 on: 02 September, 2018, 12:03:58 am »
It's worrying. I'm relying on the fact that the one thing the internet can't do is actually fix your bike.

I've never understood the 'if you bought it online I ain't fitting it' attitude from some people. To me that's cutting the nose off to spite the face. With me it's the total opposite. Fitting parts is simple and helps the cashflow. Maybe I'm strange.
I think the repair/mechanic side of the shop was busy but the owner wanted it to be more than that.  Unfortunately that requires staff and a steady flow of sales.

I still think there's an element of the public who think bicycle repair/maintenance should cost 10% of the price of car repair/maintenance, despite it taking just as long and requiring identical spanner-twiddling. 

2 hours spent on a car and a bill for £160 +VAT would go unnoticed but try giving someone a £160 bill for 2 hours spent on a bike.

This.

not so much the time spent as the tools as well, talking to a chap at my LBS they are really pissed off with the plethora of ever changing "standards" requiring new stuff.  No wonder they need to charge what they do

And this.

Perfect storm innit :-(

Pedal Castro

  • so talented I can run with scissors - ouch!
    • Two beers or not two beers...
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #8 on: 02 September, 2018, 06:34:08 am »

I still think there's an element of the public who think bicycle repair/maintenance should cost 10% of the price of car repair/maintenance, despite it taking just as long and requiring identical spanner-twiddling. 

2 hours spent on a car and a bill for £160 +VAT would go unnoticed but try giving someone a £160 bill for 2 hours spent on a bike.

Surely you are paying for knowledge and experience not just time. Most cyclists can do their own maintenance/repairs whereas most motorists can't. Back in the day I could fix most things that went wrong with my car, even changed a whole engine once (with the help of a mechanic friend) but cars are not so simple now, are bikes going the same way?

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #9 on: 02 September, 2018, 07:32:58 am »
LBS in my local town has gone too. He especially cites the attitude of the distributors to small shops. Small shops get very poor credit terms, and often have to pay the distributor before the customer has paid the shop. He’s going to work at another shop locally, but this one has a bigger turnover and can get good discount and credit terms.

It’s also interesting to note that a significant number of “LBS” s are now actually owned by the distributors - typically a move when the shop owed the distributor more than they could quickly pay.

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #10 on: 02 September, 2018, 10:09:03 pm »
In recent times I have actually moved from buying online to going to the LBS. Only I won't ask him to order stuff that is going to take him too much time and give him no margin, that I will find for myself, it's kinder on both of us. Fortunately there isn't much that comes in that category. He goes racing so he has a decent spendy clientele with the local clubs (and he's a nice bloke and knows a bit about touring stuff, which is a rarity here).

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #11 on: 04 September, 2018, 04:52:15 pm »

I've never understood the 'if you bought it online I ain't fitting it' attitude from some people. To me that's cutting the nose off to spite the face. With me it's the total opposite. Fitting parts is simple and helps the cashflow. Maybe I'm strange.

From one local (now closed LBS) The problem would be that the bike would be bought on the web (cheaper than they could do it) Then as a dealer, they were expected to set it up for free

Torslanda

  • Professional Gobshite
  • Just a tart for retro kit . . .
    • John's Bikes
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #12 on: 04 September, 2018, 05:06:52 pm »
That's just a pisstake.
VELOMANCER

Well that's the more blunt way of putting it but as usual he's dead right.

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #13 on: 06 September, 2018, 01:05:35 am »
Pretty much all of my LBSes have gone in the last few years (W.F.Holdsworth, Putney Cycles and even the local Halfords, [EDIT] plus the Evans in Wandsworth has gone).

From the ashes of the Holdsworth shop Elswood Cycles has risen, but just doing spannering and selling accessories, no complete bikes.

The only other bike shop left is Velosport. I don't think I can even afford to step in the place though. A bit further away is Strattons, they'll get my next commuter purchase.
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #14 on: 06 September, 2018, 08:26:46 am »
Boo, Putney Cycles was my LBS when I lived there (15+ years ago mind...) I suppose London rents outweigh the greater number of cyclists there, especially in the more desirable bits.

Was Velosport always that? I vaguely remember there being a couple of bike shops on the Upper Richmond Road, but my memory may be faulty.

telstarbox

  • Loving the lanes
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #15 on: 06 September, 2018, 09:30:58 am »
From Lewisham we are blessed with 4 LBS within a 10 minute ride, plus a Decathlon and a Halfords. One of them doubles up as a flat white/Macbook type cafe (London Velo) with the workshop in the back.
2019 🏅 R1000 and B1000

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #16 on: 06 September, 2018, 09:47:13 am »
We have lost two in my area in three months, could be partly down to my fault by buying online and looking at the condition of bikes around here most ride them till they drop and buy a supermarket replacement.

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #17 on: 06 September, 2018, 10:23:28 am »
Was Velosport always that? I vaguely remember there being a couple of bike shops on the Upper Richmond Road, but my memory may be faulty.

Streetview from October 2008 has it as KallKwik business design + printing. Can't remember any other bike shops along that stretch (apart from Putney Cycles which had its second shop on URR up by the Station).

(Blimey, looking along the road according to old Streetview brings back some memories.)
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #18 on: 06 September, 2018, 10:39:21 am »
I’m still grieving over the loss of Samways in Derby two years ago. 84 years they’d been going.
 :(
Have they built the 39 student flats on the site yet?  Apparently developers had been after it for a decade, there must be several long established businesses whose property assets outweigh their profitability.
Meanwhile elsewhere in Derby - another LBS closed down, Holts, positioned opposite the old Rolls Royce works, ideal in a time when so many rode to work, a bit of an oddity since.  Recent additions - Two high end road bike shops.  Two from the other end of the spectrum whose main business is second hand and repairs.  A unit on an industrial estate specialising in repairs and servicing (Including building up and checking bikes bought online) A new Cycle Republic in the city centre offering the same sort of range as Samways used to. Another new LBS getting a reputation as the go to place for those interested in e-bikes.  A bike parking and servicing center in the city (The attached bike shop and cafe didn't last).  Plus another long established LBS that somehow manage to keep going, though I have no idea how.  Then of course there's Mercian, who although my most local don't rely on locals.  There's also a couple of home based businesses, wheel builder and mobile repairs.  There's more cycling businesses locally than at any time in the last couple of decades, it's not all gloom.
Independent cycling retailers seem to have had a pretty good run compared to many other businesses.  I come from a family of shop owners, though none of them close or recent, among them a hardware shop that couldn't compete with B&Q and a carpet shop that went bust in the 80's when Allied Carpets opened in the town.  Things change.
 

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #19 on: 06 September, 2018, 11:11:14 am »
The bike shops in Oxford seem to be permanent fixtures.  Only Walton Street Cycles and the Oxford Cycle Workshop (which was a bit of an odd business model) seem to have changed/gone in the last 15 years or more. A few bike repair type places are relatively new, and there are a couple of mobile bike repair types too. Oxford is a bit of a special case though.
I'd be really curious to see what the scene is like in Newport now. Growing up, there was Halfords in Cwmbran or Newport, or if you wanted something good you went to Martyn Ashfield in Risca. I'm guessing that the existence of the velodrome and the general uptick in cycling in the last 20 years means there are a few decent bike shops around now (google shows a few).

menthel

  • Jim is my real, actual name
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #20 on: 06 September, 2018, 12:37:54 pm »
We are fairly lucky in K-Town. Down the road is one of the two branches of Bright Cycles (the other was in Raynes Park where we previously lived), Kingston has Neil's Wheels, Evan's and Sigma and across the park is the newer of the Pearson's. Just on the other side of Kingston is Surbiton Cycles which does some excellt Frog bikes for the boy.

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #21 on: 06 September, 2018, 01:47:12 pm »
...
Meanwhile elsewhere in Derby - another LBS closed down, Holts, positioned opposite the old Rolls Royce works, ideal in a time when so many rode to work, a bit of an oddity since.  Recent additions - Two high end road bike shops.  Two from the other end of the spectrum whose main business is second hand and repairs.  A unit on an industrial estate specialising in repairs and servicing (Including building up and checking bikes bought online) A new Cycle Republic in the city centre offering the same sort of range as Samways used to. Another new LBS getting a reputation as the go to place for those interested in e-bikes.  A bike parking and servicing center in the city (The attached bike shop and cafe didn't last).  Plus another long established LBS that somehow manage to keep going, though I have no idea how.  Then of course there's Mercian, who although my most local don't rely on locals. 

I don't recognise all of these references. Holts, Mercian, Bikeworks (though they seem to be selling bikes - new and used - again, which is news to me), Cycle Republic, Bike Back and the Bike Shop I know about.

And when I list them like that, I feel a lot less  :( about Samways. You're right, it's not all gloom. :thumbsup:

But are there some in your list that I don't know? Who are the "Recent additions - Two high end road bike shops.  Two from the other end of the spectrum whose main business is second hand and repairs."?

And who is the "long established LBS that somehow manage to keep going," (or is that The Bike Store on Monk St above?).

Things change.

Right again.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #22 on: 06 September, 2018, 02:09:49 pm »
I don't recognise all of these references. Holts, Mercian, Bikeworks (though they seem to be selling bikes - new and used - again, which is news to me), Cycle Republic, Bike Back and the Bike Shop I know about.
But are there some in your list that I don't know? Who are the "Recent additions - Two high end road bike shops.
Velo Bavarian in Duffield
Prima Velo in Darley Dale
I think there's also one in Mickleover that used to be on Midland Rd - Bespoke?
Quote
Two from the other end of the spectrum whose main business is second hand and repairs."?
DD Cycles on Harvey Rd
Bargain Bikes on London Rd
Quote
And who is the "long established LBS that somehow manage to keep going," (or is that The Bike Store on Monk St above?).
Yes

If you didn't get them, Big on Bikes is the ind est service centre and the e-bike store is Cyclo Monster in Spondon

Quote
Bike Back... I know about
I'd forgotten about them, I'm never sure where their line is between community or commercial, I ought to find out more.




ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #23 on: 06 September, 2018, 07:16:16 pm »
we have one remaining LBS in Ely, which does pretty well as far as I can see.

Even in Cambridge however they can struggle with one turning into this http://www.oldbicycleshop.com/. At least they serve some decent beer
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

mattc

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Re: My LBS has just closed down
« Reply #24 on: 06 September, 2018, 07:27:17 pm »
The bike shops in Oxford seem to be permanent fixtures.  Only Walton Street Cycles and the Oxford Cycle Workshop (which was a bit of an odd business model) seem to have changed/gone in the last 15 years or more.

It's sad to note that those two made up the lowest end of the market :(
Has never ridden RAAM
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No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles