Andrew, I think you are right that is much value in the customer support, durability, serviceability and proper assembly of bikes, and also in the value a good shop can bring to that.
I think the problem for even highly knowledgeable customers, let alone the average customer, is that those things are hard, or impossible to know.
So I think for most customers, it does come down to aspects that you might call less critical: looks, availability, price, component spec level, the sales person they are dealing with, etc, etc.
I just don’t see how we can avoid that.
Some things work, like Santa Cruz calling out their lifetime bearing replacements. But for the rest, how does one know?
April 25, 2022, 8:10 a.m. - Tjaard Breeuwer
Andrew, I think you are right that is much value in the customer support, durability, serviceability and proper assembly of bikes, and also in the value a good shop can bring to that. I think the problem for even highly knowledgeable customers, let alone the average customer, is that those things are hard, or impossible to know. So I think for most customers, it does come down to aspects that you might call less critical: looks, availability, price, component spec level, the sales person they are dealing with, etc, etc. I just don’t see how we can avoid that. Some things work, like Santa Cruz calling out their lifetime bearing replacements. But for the rest, how does one know?