LBS deals vs. Bikes Direct / Nashbar?

[TwoWheelsDC]

Soooo….I may be a solitary voice here, but I don’t buy bikes in shops anymore. Maybe if I was buying a high end bike where there’s not going to be much in the way of online discounts, but my last few bike purchases have all been in the $1000 range. And as you point out, your dollars just go so much further when buying online, particularly at that price point. My last bike, for example, was a GT gravel bike with SRAM Rival 1 HRD. Ostensibly, the bike retailed for ~$1700. If I could’ve found it in a shop, I suppose I could’ve gotten it for cheaper than that, but I bought it online from Jenson USA and it was like $1100. The bike before that was a Fuji with 105 components that had a similar retail and a similar purchase price. I got that one from Performance bike and did an in-store pickup. Performance has some crazy deals online, with the bonus of doing the local pickup and getting 10% rebate if you’re a member. I wouldn’t call that a plug for Performance, since I would never use them as an LBS, but for complete bikes, they’re generally one of the first places I look for deals.

So yeah, if you are capable of putting the bike together yourself, the only real reason to NOT buy online is the LBS support issue, and I’m pretty “meh” on that point. Personally, I’d avoid BD and Nashbar, but Jenson, Performance, Wiggle, etc…I wouldn’t hesitate.

[DismalScientist]

I believe Performance and Nashbar are the same company. I prefer BD over Nashbar because I think they put more grease in their hubs.

[dkel]

I have heard that BD bikes will sometimes be advertised as having a particular groupset, but there may be one or two of the components that don’t match the gruppo. I haven’t experienced it myself, so I don’t know if it’s actually true; if others that have actual experience with it can refute this, please do. I did buy from BD once, but it was a bike for my kid, and I wasn’t picky about the groupset. I will say the bike came with a carbon fork that I was not expecting to get.

[anomad]

I have two frames from nashbar and one bike from bikesdirect. Online and/or manufacturer direct is the way to go for me.

[dkel]

@DismalScientist 164551 wrote:

I believe Performance and Nashbar are the same company. I prefer BD over Nashbar because I think they put more grease in their hubs.

Yeah, that’s a fraction of a cent more value right there!

[TwoWheelsDC]

@DismalScientist 164551 wrote:

I believe Performance and Nashbar are the same company. I prefer BD over Nashbar because I think they put more grease in their hubs.

I think you’re right. I guess I’d clarify by saying Performance sells more mainstream brands like Fuji, GT, Ridley. I’d probably hesitate to buy a “Nashbar” bike (I had a Nashbar fixed gear that was…fine) for warranty and QC issues…not that I’d expect to have issues, but I’m willing to pay a little more for a name brand just for the (admittedly not fully rational) peace of mind.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@dkel 164552 wrote:

I have heard that BD bikes will sometimes be advertised as having a particular groupset, but there may be one or two of the components that don’t match the gruppo. I haven’t experienced it myself, so I don’t know if it’s actually true; if others that have actual experience with it can refute this, please do. I did buy from BD once, but it was a bike for my kid, and I wasn’t picky about the groupset. I will say the bike came with a carbon fork that I was not expecting to get.

This is true…you have to read through the specs pretty carefully to figure out what’s what. Usually the crank and rear derailleur are where you get downgraded for some reason.

[hozn]

Note that “mainstream” bike brands do the same thing with mixing groupset components, though usually the lower-pricepoint groups (e.g. 105). Usually the crankset gets swapped out for something like an FSA, Truvativ, Oval, etc.

[hozn]

From my experience Nashbar carbon bikes are on par with ordering a carbon frame direct from China if maybe a little more conservative in spec.

Yeah, in terms of value, it is hard to do better han online. I don’t buy bikes complete anymore, but my last complete bike (also my first adult bike) was from Performance and I’d go back there or to BD if I wanted a good deal on a complete bike.

It’s sad, because the LBS does good things for the cycling community. But they can’t compete with consumer-direct pricing — or gray-market component pricing. Maybe they need to change and charge for the values they provide (like charging membership to participate in their group rides) rather than try to rely primarily on bike sales. But that is another topic. There was always be people who do find value in free tune-up and the other support you get when buying from people instead of the consumer-direct brands.

[DismalScientist]

@dkel 164554 wrote:

Yeah, that’s a fraction of a cent more value right there!

Actually, it’s more valuable than that. I felt compelled to repack the hub bearings right out of the box on the Nashbar bike.

[hozn]

These days I would have assumed they would be selling cartridge-bearing hubs. Shimano? I would avoid any hubs you have to service if you have a choice.

[DismalScientist]

This was a few years back.

[Lt. Dan]

It’s hard to quantify the added value that comes with purchasing a bike from your local shop. First- the bike is assembled, tuned, and test ridden (I charge $70 for that service). Any issues that may have arisen during shipping(bent wheels, damaged fork, etc) have already been addressed. Warranty issues that may pop up down the road are easier to deal with… And of course(depending on the shop), you’ve earned a bit of respect and gratitude from that shop owner that may be paid back to you above and beyond in the future… I’m part of a new breed of “bike shop”(service oriented, mobile), but purchasing your bike from a local shop still has definite values….

[mstone]

Online is the way to go if you’re trying to buy a groupset. It’s interesting how hard the online discount shops push that one thing, because it’s so easy for them to undercut major brands with a quick bullet point, without having to worry at all about what the groupset is attached to.

[n18]

Performance Bike has road bikes with Shimano 105 11-Speed starting at $900, and they have 30% back in store credit(Ending next Monday, Sep 4th), so it’s $630 after store credit. Select “Road Bikes”, then Drivetrain–>Shimano 105. Here is Fuji website. Scroll down to the bottom and look for “Bike Archive” if you want to see prior years models. Typically Fuji assigns lower model numbers for better spec’ed bikes, so 1.0 is the best. 3.0 is worst. Their store brand is now called “Access”. It used to be called “Scattante”. They have a fully carbon bike with Shimano 105 for $999, or $700 after store credit. I think this is lower than Nashbar/BD.

[Author]

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