The small local bike shop (LBS) has historically played a crucial role in bike culture, supporting local scenes, sponsoring riders, hosting events, and serving as a community hub. However, shifting consumer habits and tough times post-pandemic have led to many bike shop closures. As a result, only the most passionate independent shops have survived and flourished. In this video, Owen Coutts visits one of these standout shops, Friction Cycles in Bristol, England.
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28 Comments
Let the chat know where your favourite bike shop is and what makes it so great! Let us know if there is a special bike shop you'd like us to visit. 👇
growing up it was by far Leisure Lakes Bikes near southport and merlin cycles in ormskirk , tbh not many good ones here in my part of E sussex now
Id love to be able to use my LBS more to keep them going. However, generally, wherever I've lived the LBS are relatively expensive and they arent open when im not at work (e.g. weekends).
So i do my own mechanics and buy stuff online.
This isn't a dig at shops. I understand they need to make a profit and have decent working hours at the same time.
Problem is in the modern world where everyone is so busy, cost of living is high and information is so easily attainable (e.g. watch a video on how to fix things), the USP of the LBS is becoming less…unique.
Is their money in concentrating on selling consumables and labour, or do shops need to sell high end kit to survive?
Not so bad here in Herefordshire, especially in the town, there's 3 locally run bike shops that are still doing well, they seem to have targeted that "Jack of all trades" when it comes to bikes. Ones reasonably new maybe 10 years old and more like a chain store, large with bikes everywhere, another shop has been around since 1980 and does a fantastic service and the granddaddy of them all has been around since 1953!!! The two older stores both sell MTB but in limited numbers (I bought a GT Avalanche from one in 1993) both will service your bike, the one will sell you parts that are maybe slightly higher end, like Hope components while the older shop has that family friendly knowledgeable staff, and will happily order you any parts or just sell you a mud guard for an old bike you found at the back of the shed. I much prefer stumbling into the smaller shops, the staff just seem to be a lot more knowledgeable than a big chain even when it comes to modern Mountain bikes, it's as if they do their homework for the customer.
No bike shops in my town 🙁 I use Chiltern Velo 10 miles away when needed. My first job was as a Saturday boy in a bike shop, long snce closed, I loved it and learned lots. The owner though would not buy decent tools so used lots of my own.
Brilliant video.
My go to local shop is monkey werks they carry Kona and used bikes
The problem a lot of bike shops have is that they are run and operated by elitests. When I first started riding, I went to a few bike shops for repairs, parts, advice, etc. I was treated like an idiot that they didn't have time for pretty consistently. Like how dare I not know about tire choice or going tubeless after only riding for a month! After that, i pretty much swore off bike shops. Learned to do everything on my own and buy from online retailers. I dont need to be talked down to every time I need chain lube.
https://youtu.be/9Mt0XehgWuw?feature=shared
2 Wheels Only Tamworth
My LBS is Wolverton’s in Reading PA, they’ve been a part of the community since the early 60’s. They were a Schwinn dealer and now they sell Trek, Specialized, and a variety of brands and they service what they sell…the shop is always busy, it’s family friendly and they cater to every type of rider.
The bike shop business is dealing with challenging times so it is really nice to see this bike shop not only adapting to those challenges but offering amazing customer service to a wide audience. Years ago, when I wanted to get into MTB, the mechanic in that shop gave me the right advice on bike choice and it shaped me to this day, The 'backroom' mechanics are always the best guys to consult!
Don't use bike shops or mechanics to many rip-offs and bad experiences Brought everything in house and learnt to do it myself
Nice job Owen!
I think the title should read that many businesses are closing, both Mom&Pop shops, and National chains. I thought this was a great story, and hope that it brings light to all of the local shops around. Thanks for sharing!
Many years ago there was an MTB oriented second hand bike shop in South London called ReCycle, easily one of the best bike shops around at the time. Imagine an Ebay/Marketplace bike section but in a shop, it was awesome!
I got my first set of Maguras from there for £40 and they even lent me some tools so I could swap them out outside the store. When I remembered that my levers & shifters were combined, they did a straight swap for a set of XT rapidfires without batting an eyelid.
Miss that place still even now, always said if I won the lottery I'd open another one with the same concept as I'm pretty sure somewhere like that would work really well nowdays.
Iv literally never had a good experience in a bike shop. After going to a whyte dealership to get some bearings and being told I'm wrong about what I need for 30 mins until he actually checked and realised, i was, in fact, correct I decided never to bother again. Learnt how to service suspension/linkages/breaks and have never looked back.
Bike shops should offer a loyalty card so wether it be purchasing bikes or parts or servicing etc they can therefore create more business through the door rather than online or do both to keep businesses alive for the long term.
Interesting video and seems a great shop, but the thing I can't move past is please tell me they don't put oatmilk in the tea, that's a crime.
Wish I had that shop around!
I don’t know for a fact but I can say their selection and prices can’t beat Amazon. And I’m not taking about off-brand tools, parts, accessories, and clothes.
When I shop for these things I’ll do price comparisons. If the bike shop is <$10 in price I will buy from them. Fifteen dollars is pushing it. And if the difference is <$20 then I’m buying on Amazon or other online store.
Bike shops charging the same for a bike service as a main dealer car service 🤷🏻♂️… And people are wondering why they are going out of business.
You guys should highlights different bike shops if possible once a month it’s nice seeing how important they are for bike enthusiasts
Is Alfie the Stag?
I'm in the states, near Portland, Oregon. There is one pretty good LBS within 10 km of me, which I mostly use to get parts since I do all my own work – though they do build great wheels which I've bought several of. Another one 30 km away does great suspension service. There used to be more good shops, a great local one with several shops – great bike selection etc., but Trek bought them all and now they just carry/service Trek.
I think a big reason that bike shops are struggling is that the cost of getting into cycling has skyrocketed since COVID and doesn’t seem to be relenting. You can’t get into a decent bike now unless you are willing to spend $1000-$2000. The days of adorable entry level bikes have really taken a hit. Also, lots of bike shops in my area have terrible customer experience. Mechanics in my area especially. It’s like they are being punished if they have to talk to a customer.
That new Orbea in the last frame looked rad!
I believe that the image of mountain biking should be changed from extreme sports to a more general cycling, commute, trails, exploring and showing that the bike can climb hills in the mountains and in a city ride. This way consumers will not be intimidated in buying a hardtail mountain bike and progress in riding. Mountain bike is a bike that offers almost all areas of cycling, it can use for commuting, weekend ride, bike packing and climbing. MTB also offers comfort and flexibility in riding. Mountain bikes are also low maintenance and can use the non expensive part to deliver as a bike.
Wanna be and elitist bike shops during covid turned super arrogant because they were busy, I experienced this with 2 of 3 of my local bike shops in north east england even after i have spent a lot of money with them over 20 years or more, I think people have learned to not trust the shops and learned to fix they're own via @youtube Our UK prices are now ridiculous for anything imported which most everything on a modern mtbemtb is and once the shops add they're bit why bother when you have online retailers a 3rd of the price cheaper.