Support your local bike shop!
You’ve probably heard this phrase before, uttered in the same tone as “save the bees”
or “don’t text and drive”.
I take a lot of heat for working with direct to consumer brands and featuring products
that are mainly sold on Amazon.
But the truth is, I spend thousands per year at local bike shops.
This tailgate cover was bought from a shop.
This wheel was built at a shop.
This tire was purchased and mounted at a shop.
This helmet was bought in Whistler at a shop.
Remember that time I learned to backflip at Highland?
Yeah, my bike didn’t exactly feel right after that.
I ate lunch while Highland’s in house shop replaced my gear cable, aligned my hanger,
and dialed my linkage.
That afforded me the time I needed to send these drops before the lift closed.
I don’t support shops out of charity, I support them because they provide value.
James opened Squatch Bikes and Brews a few years back.
People thought he was making a mistake.
Squatch gets half its business from locals, and half from tourists.
Both populations need different things, and James ensures they have access to both.
He understands that a local will still order their parts online and service their own bike,
but might need to stock up on nutrition before a ride, or require a complex repair like suspension
service or wheel building.
Tourists, on the other hand, need to get back on the trail as soon as possible.
When you’re on vacation, time is precious.
You don’t have time to wait for a part, and you certainly don’t have the tools to
perform a complex repair.
What’s a few extra dollars when you’ve already paid thousands to travel with your
family?
Squatch knows this, so getting people back on the trails is their main priority.
Of course, this means keeping parts in stock.
Another opportunity that James found was with rental bikes.
By making every rental available for purchase, Squatch found another way to say “yes”
to customers.
As Squatch replaces the bikes they sold the fleet stays fresh and up to date.
Another benefit is being able to sell expertly maintained used bikes at a discount.
Each leaves the shop with a tuneup, a new chain, fresh sealant, and a brake bleed.
This is the kind of innovation that makes for a successful shop in 2018.
So a good shop has all the parts you need, qualified mechanics to get you back on the
trail, and plenty of perks to keep you coming back, but what if that just doesn’t matter
to you?
What if you’re broke?
What if the only way for you to afford to ride, is to perform your own repairs, and
buy your parts for as cheap as possible?
To Squatch, it’s still important to be there for you even if you’re not spending money
there.
And those direct to consumer bikes that are killing shops?
Not everyone has as forward thinking a view as James does, but he makes a good point.
There are more people on bikes than ever before, and many of those people never had a reason
to go to a bike shop until now.
The Internet creates as many competitors, as it does opportunities.
However you keep your bike running is your business.
If you don’t find value someplace, you’re under no obligation to spend money there.
But if you keep procrastinating on some big messy repair, it’s probably because your
time is valuable.
I have a full shop with almost every tool in my garage, and I thoroughly enjoy working
on bikes.
But when it means getting a video out on time, I’ll happily pay a great mechanic to straighten
my bike out.
There never was and never will be any shame in that.
From there, whether or not you support your local shop isn’t really up to you, it’s
up to them.
Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.