#!markdown
In Vancouver, but yeah.
This feels a bit deja vu for some reason. We might have had similar
conversation in a previous thread. 🙂
I haven't been to a shop - yet - but I'm totally willing to believe there are
those shops - that will let me take one of their babies out for a real ride. I
have paid for demos (I liked the 24 hour demo of a Pivot Mach 6 at Obsession
for example) but I would surmise that's a bit different from a normal test
ride. It took paperwork and planning and $42.
I get that shops don't want $7k worth of new bike being ridden down Boogieman.
Or worse yet, stolen with fake id/Credit card. Totally understandable. As
manufacturers put together their own demo days, it's starting to feel like the
advantages that LBSs have over direct market (i.e. a demo fleet) have
evaporated. My experiences may be entirely atypical of course. I'll throw that
caveat out there.
It feels like those LBS/direct market barriers are starting to fall as many
LBSs, even ones that are frequently touted as really good, have also
frequently failed my customer service requirements whereas the manufacturers
(even when I purchased at a bike shop) have been bend-over-backwards helpful.
All that being said, I still bought my bike at a bike shop.
March 7, 2016, 1:26 p.m. - qduffy
#!markdown In Vancouver, but yeah. This feels a bit deja vu for some reason. We might have had similar conversation in a previous thread. 🙂 I haven't been to a shop - yet - but I'm totally willing to believe there are those shops - that will let me take one of their babies out for a real ride. I have paid for demos (I liked the 24 hour demo of a Pivot Mach 6 at Obsession for example) but I would surmise that's a bit different from a normal test ride. It took paperwork and planning and $42. I get that shops don't want $7k worth of new bike being ridden down Boogieman. Or worse yet, stolen with fake id/Credit card. Totally understandable. As manufacturers put together their own demo days, it's starting to feel like the advantages that LBSs have over direct market (i.e. a demo fleet) have evaporated. My experiences may be entirely atypical of course. I'll throw that caveat out there. It feels like those LBS/direct market barriers are starting to fall as many LBSs, even ones that are frequently touted as really good, have also frequently failed my customer service requirements whereas the manufacturers (even when I purchased at a bike shop) have been bend-over-backwards helpful. All that being said, I still bought my bike at a bike shop.