[skatetokil]

So i went to about 5 bike shops in the last 2 days looking for very basic parts to give my bro for last min xmas gifts.

Deep cup headsets, mech disk brakes, short stems, riser bars, 20mm t/a front wheels - your normal, non exotic freeride parts. They had literally nothing, and these guys in the stores kept looking at my like i was out of my mind. It was like I had just walked into a hardware store and asked for a thrust capacitor or something.

This one guy at citybikes kept pulling out 2 bolt XC stems (all 100mm+) and asking "You sure this isn't short enough?" YES I'M SURE! Have you ever even SEEN a downhill bike? This experience only reinforces my committment to buy my own tools and never set foot in these places again.

I don't expect a lot of variety from these sorts of small retail establishments, but come on.

 

[mattmatt86]

I feel your pain man, I only know of one bikeshop in harford county and they suck. I brought in my DH bike once and they looked at me like i just came out of a flying saucer. The closest thing they have to freeride would be a bmx bike. I actually went in there a couple of days ago for the first time in years and they didnt even have a chainstay guard, I swore to myself as I was walking out that I would never set foot in there again.

 

[_bp]

Man, guys. You have got to get to Germantown Cycles. We have all kinds of everthing you just listed.

germantowncycles.com

 

[whale]

seriously, all your pain and xmas woes would have gone away in one quick and easy (just like the guys that work there ) stop at germantown cycles...

they are the most diverse and well-stocked shop in the NoVA (mid-atlantic?) area... AND they are just 20 minutes from one of our favorite local riding spots!

 

[skatetokil]

been there once in search of dh tubes. seemed ok, but the prices hurt me pretty bad. guess you cant win em all, but $14 for a 2.5 tube? those are resort prices. must be the lack of competition I have just encountered.

 

[VDfree]

cost on some brands are $10-$11. don't forget we have to pay the rent, payroll, utilities, insurance and the cost of goods. We have regular tubes for 4-5 bucks and some (giant and specialized brands) dh tubes for $7-$9.

 

[whale]

been there once in search of dh tubes. seemed ok, but the prices hurt me pretty bad. guess you cant win em all, but $14 for a 2.5 tube? those are resort prices. must be the lack of competition I have just encountered.

i hope you didn't look at the citybike prices... in an emergency, i once bought a pair of time control z pedals for $125

 

[MC peepants]

ill vouch for germantown cycles. i think they had 20% off everything or most things so you would have come out with the goods at a good price.

 

[skatetokil]

every business has costs. maybe i'm just used to the friend prices i was paying in california. makes me appreciate what a good thing i had with that shop.

 

[Robusto]

I know how you feel, this morning I went to 3 different shops in Rockville looking for a 38 or 40 tooth chainring for the bike me and my friend are building up. None of them had them in stock, and when I finally asked if they could just order one for me, the guy wouldn't order because he wasnt sure what I was asking for. Is it really that complicated?????? I woulda gone to Germantown, but I didnt really have time to make it all the way down there. Ill prolly be there tomorrow...

 

[skatetokil]

I just hate that conversation. NO, I need one that won't instantly break. No, that's for a road bike. No this is not going on a singlespeed.

Corey, the awesome manager of Coates Bike Shop in Pomona (spam) California would whip out the book from his distributor, we'd sit there till we had found the exact part I needed, he would pick up the phone and order it on the spot, and it would be there in time to install and ride that weekend. Is that really so hard?

 

[zerossix]

well theres alot of dumb people that work at bike shops. obviously when you find a good one that likes you and you like them your going to prefer it. you cant rule out all bike shops in the area simply because they dont stock freeride stuff. ive worked at a shop here in arlington for nearly 4 years now and we stock zero freeride stuff. i get requests for stems and such every couple months at which point i'll usually do exactly as you described, sit down with the customer and dig through the books to find the exact part they needed, wouldnt typically get there by the weekend because most distrbutors are west coast based so in cali they can get it quick, we cant, thats just not our fault.

from a buisness prospective it just doesnt make sense to stock expensive freeride stuff when you only get asked for once every three months. it would just sit there for extended periods of time, take up space that could be used to stock parts that will sell quickly. not to mention if we bought just three diablous riser bars or somethign in the summer when they would sell most likely, they just wouldnt move until the beginning of next year until after the new parts are released. it just doesnt make sense. thats why germantown is so awesome though. undoubtedly phil makes alot less money then the shop i work at does (not meaning to take a shot at you,offend, or anything phil) but phil is a much cooler guy and the money doesnt matter to him as much as it does my dick of a boss.

i'd love it if we could stock that type of stuff, no buisness wants to turn away customers, however it just makes sense why they don't carry that type of product.

 

[skatetokil]

Did freeriders go to mailorder cause bike shops suck or do bike shops suck because of mailorder? The world may never know.

 

[Transfer]

Germantown Cycles or the net for me. Germantown is far and away better than any other shop here but... If you paid $15 for a DH tube there it's probably because they have like $50k worth of frames and forks on the walls. Pretty sweet, but yikes that's a lot of MSRP merchandise to try and move.

 

[hardtailer88]

i second that motion... other than germantown, i gave up on local shops for anything a longg time ago.

 

[novarider]

I..n..t..e..r..n..e..t

 

[skatetokil]

I..n..t..e..r..n..e..t

What is this magical invention you speak of?