Just coming off a depressing weekend, bike-wise. I’ve had a nagging virus of some kind for several days, which has left me very congested. So, to give my meds a chance to work, I decided to take the weekend off from riding.
However, that meant I could give the bike some attention. I did some adjustments to the brakes and the new wheel, but I’ll have to run it into the bike shop for some repairs that I’m not confident to do myself. Which gives rise to a question at the back of my mind — one that is shared by at least one other reader of this blog:
How much can we lean on our shop for good advice?
It seems that in the shop where I bought my bike they are often quick to want to sell me something instead of helping me work through the problem. I’m just not sure if what they’re telling me is a necessity, or if it’s a way for them to pad their sales receipts.
I like the shop. It’s large, well-stocked, and the service done on my bike is generally done well. But they’d rather have me bring the bike to them so they can work on it — and sell me some parts — rather than discuss possible solutions that I might be able to handle on my own. I understand their motivation for this, but they could enhance their customer loyalty — mine — if they’d answer some questions first.
How’s your relationship with your bike shop? Have you ever been oversold, or can you depend on their advice?