Price premium to support local bike shop

Unrealistic

Apologies if this has been covered here recently and I haven't found it but the previous discussions I did find were many years old. I thought it was worth re-visiting as the market has moved a lot since then.

I'm in the market for a new bike and it is going to cost many times more than I've ever spent on a bike before as it has to serve as a car replacement. The model I'm looking at is one of the Cube range. My local shop is a Cube dealer, and has it for €4,500, but discount-bike.de will deliver the same model to me in Ireland for €3,800. I've bought four sub-€1000 bikes in the same local shop over the last four years and I'm in there once or twice a year for some sort of service work. Even with a 'regular customer' discount I'm not going to get it for less than €4,350.

€550 extra seems like a lot to pay just to support my LBS. I guess it would put me on a stronger footing if I ever had to make a warranty claim on this bike. There's also a sign up in the shop saying that they 'don't service bikes bought online or in toy shops' although it's not clear if 'online' refers to anonymous brands only or if they would also refuse to service models they sell but which they know were bought online to bypass them.

I'm having a tough time making a decision here. Anyone got any recent experience?

pairofpears

With that saving I'd buy online. You will still need to get the brakes changed over if you run UK spec brakes but that's too much money to not save in my opinion.

Brake change over could be €100 and new bartape but I had to have the brakes changed with the last bike I bought in Ireland but I made it part of the deal.

I've bought 2 bikes online and never had my local shop refuse to service them for me.

cletus

The only other thing is whether you're comfortable building up the bike you get online.

Personally, I'd be happy to do that, but if you need the LBS to build it up, change the brakes and retape the handlebars, you might want to check the cost of that

07Lapierre

Have you spoken to your LBS and asked them if they will match or come close to the on line price?

Unrealistic

Thanks for the responses.

It's a hybrid for commuting, rather than a road bike, so no taping to be done.

I'd be comfortable enough finishing the assembly.

The €4,350 price is the LBS discounted offer after my first visit but I'll call in again for another discussion before pulling the trigger one way or the other.

Unrealistic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122695664#Comment_122695664

Yes, an ebike.

€3,800 is delivered price, including Irish VAT, so it's an apples to apples comparison.

Invincible

Just out of curiosity, how far have you to cycle to warrant getting an e-bike ?

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122694909#Comment_122694909

what’s this about ?

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122695805#Comment_122695805

I presume they mean swapping left and right brakes. Not sure it would be even close to 100 and it certainly will be easy enough if hydraulic (which at that price it most likely is).

magicbastarder

i can think of several possible reasons shops might refuse to service bikes bought online - my LBS refuses to service fiido bikes (except puncture repairs). he reckons they're junk, but i suspect sourcing non-standard parts could be an issue.

but i can see how it'd stick in their craw though, turning up with a new bike you didn't buy there, asking them to service it; in a way it's asking them to support a model which is helping to drive them out of business.

magicbastarder

decathlon ship bikes with brakes 'a la mode francais' and AFAIK don't change them over as standard. i'd be curious if they charge to change them over.

someone here (cletus, i think?) had a trip to A&E with his son after his son grabbed a handful of what he thought was the back brake on a decathlon bike.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122695970#Comment_122695970

do they actually have the brakes the opposite way?

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122696694#Comment_122696694

Yup. My sisters LaPierre (bought here) is like that.

MojoMaker

Popular among racers and for sure when cycling on the continent it makes a lot of sense.

I got used to it pretty quickly, but am comfortable with either configuration - much like driving a lhd or rhd vehicle.

07Lapierre

me too. I have 4 bikes and I couldn’t tell you which one has brakes setup for UK or EU. I just “know” which is which once I’m on the bike.

cletus

Bikes from Decathlon will be set up a la mode francais. My eldest fella took a bad fall on his bike, because we didn't know this.

Paddigol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122697208#Comment_122697208

I'm the same 😂 If in doubt, don't use the brakes 😁 Or pull on both equally hard!

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122696694#Comment_122696694

Yes, sometimes. The likes of Rose would ask you which way you prefer. Personally, I find it easy to flick between the two but I am on a bike 2 hours a day, 5 days a week and flick between both and a fixed gear so I am not normal. If it is your only bike though, not sure you need to switch as you will acclimatise very quickly.

Also not a big job at home to swap if you are handy enough and a bike shop will do it for very little.

secman

Same here, across 4 rim and 1 disc, no idea what side they are on,I know for sure one rim is different to the other 3, cant remember the set uo on the disc. I tend to use both front and back simultaneously anyways, always have .

fatbhoy

It's my understanding that a (Cube) dealer here in Ireland is obliged to honour the warranty even if you buy it online in elsewhere (Germany bike-discount.de).

magicbastarder

from cube's website:

"Who can I contact if I have a problem with my CUBE bike?

• Your first port of call should always be the CUBE shop where you bought the bike. Only the CUBE dealer with which you have the original sale contract is committed to processing complaints and warranty queries. Other CUBE dealers can process complaints handlings on a voluntary basis, but are not obliged to.

https://www.cube.eu/de-en/support/customer-support/contact

CantGetNoSleep

I think Cube have different rep's for different countries which might in part explain the price difference. You can check on their website although not sure if they have an Irish one (different prices between France and Germany for example)

Large bottle small glass

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122697714#Comment_122697714

They will if it's a simple swap.

Factor in the bullsh1t that is integrated cockpits and internal cable routing.

Lbs where owner is over 40 years in business, can build wheels in as little as 20mins, gave a full day doing a swap over.

Customer was charged and paid €300.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122699904#Comment_122699904

A fair point, I wasn't thinking of integrated cockpits. Personally, I would just get used to them being the other way around. I think like most here, I probably have at least both configurations and never seem to struggle swapping over between the two.

Wishbone Ash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122697942#Comment_122697942

It's fine when both hands are free to brake but, when on a steep descent, and having to signal a right turn, I'd prefer my other hand to be pulling on the rear brake when I've only one hand on the bars. Hence the reason why I always have left/rear, right/front set up. (When turning left on a descent, signalling is not as critical as when turning right).

traco

You would think they would apply the same as motorbikes where right it the front brake and left is the clutch. I believe thats the same all over the world and auto scooters have teh left as teh rear brake but not 100% on that.

MojoMaker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122702826#Comment_122702826

And this is why the configuration is as it is on the continent - where sport cycling was born.

Bikes brought in to Ireland are usually prepped for the opposite config or changed over when they get here. Or in Decathlon's case, making no apology for selling off the shelf with the front brake on the left.

They probably should leave a note on the bike before a customer climbs aboard however.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122702826#Comment_122702826

Not going to get into the ins and outs of why I prefer the Euro set up but in the scenario above, road position is more important for indication than anything else in my opinion.

Wishbone Ash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122706156#Comment_122706156

Indeed, but on a busy road one may need to indicate to get into that position.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122702826#Comment_122702826

...without trying to give you an earworm, you put your right leg out...

I would unclip and lift the relevant leg if I couldn't take my hands off the brakes.

Wishbone Ash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122706266#Comment_122706266

LOL - I would have never thought of that.

(Don't worry about giving me an earworm - I've a bloody one in my head for about 3 weeks now - day and night!)

Unrealistic

Update: I've just bought the bike from my LBS. I'm still paying hefty enough premium to keep it local but a good bit less than half what it was in my opening post above. I believe the bike shop has very little wiggle room on the margins they get. I know in my case the owner had to ring the distributor to get a concession on my order, which is something they can only get on a handful of orders per year.

magicbastarder

discount-bike.de may be getting bulk order discounts that your LBS is not.

Unrealistic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122708179#Comment_122708179

Yes, I'm sure they are.

CramCycle

Add in your first free service and that typically if you are a regular, you will get slightly better value servcign as well, the option to go for your LBS will pay dividends.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122706185#Comment_122706185

I can indicate and use my front brake or as is my preference, indicate well in advance of the turn, merge over and then use the other brake if needed.

fat bloke

I suppose it doesn't matter hugely which way around you have your brakes, it just matters that you know which one is which.

Unrealistic

Update after 3 months ownership:

I love the bike but I've had to get 2 warranty issues taken care of. There was one minor design defect which was easily corrected by installing a small new part that the manufacturer had produced to remedy the issue. Then I had another small part failure, which brought the bike to halt. Even though it was easy to remedy I would have struggled really hard to diagnose it myself. My local bike shop took care of both quickly and had me back on the road in a couple of days. If I had been chasing a German webstore I could have been off the road for months. I'm definitely happy I chose to spend the extra few hundred to buy locally.

tomasrojo

On the left brake/right brake conventions: the Dublin bikes used to and I think still do have left brake lever activating the front brake. I made note of it for cycling in the ice, when you want to use the rear a lot more than usual.