March 2, 2016, 8:15 a.m. -  muldman

#!markdown A couple of comments on this: First, "you can’t tell how good a bike is from the computer screen." True. It would be ideal to see the bike, take it for a test ride, and be able to make a decision that way. Except that the last 2 bikes I have purchased at the LBS I needed to pre-order several months in advance sight-unseen, hope my decision was correct, and not have any idea of when the bike would actually show up. All I could go by was online reviews and the details on the manufacturers website. So not much different from a pure "online" bike company. Second, it appears that most of the new direct-to-consumer companies are not shipping you a bike that needs assembly, like the majority of brands do when they ship to the LBS. They are doing full builds of the bikes just like your LBS would, then taking off the wheels and handlebars and shipping it to you. There is less assembly involved in one of these bikes than there is when you pack your bike to ship it on vacation. Third, if a component craps out under warranty, I would expect the direct-to- consumer company to deal with it. Yes, I have bought a bike like this in the past. A shifter died. I send them a photo, they FedEx'd me a new one and offered to refund the cost of having it replaced at a bike shop if I couldn't do it myself. I doubt all companies have that level of service, but it's not an insurmountable problem. (I don't know if they would have been as accommodating if it was a shock that died, but it couldn't have been worse than the 4+ weeks it took to get it repaired through my LBS and distributor when it happened at the start of the season…) I absolutely, 100% want to buy my bikes from my LBS. I want them to be there when I need service. I want them to be a part of my community. But the direct- to-consumer guys are making it so easy to stray…