Thought Id Ask Again With More Details, What Do You Think Of Sport Chalet As A Place To Buy A Bike?
Last time I asked I did put much detail cause I assumed people have been in one at some time.
Just to be clear, Sport chalet and Sports Authority are two completely different stores.
Anyway, since last time I asked, I went and got more information from the store. They stock Fuji, Diamondback, Dk, Free Agent, Electra and Marin bikes, assembled in the store by mechanics they hire. It has its own section in the back of the store with a glass counter where you can buy clipless pedals, shifters and shift cables, a few handlebars, derailleurs, cassetes, and alot of other components. They have a stand filled with (I think park? whatever the dark blue packaging one is) tools, like chain cleaners, pedal wrenches, patch kits, and alot of other stuff that i cant remember. They dont have too many waterbottles, Giro helmets, a big selection of gloves, I forget all the brands. Mostly Avenir tubes, but a big selection of them, not many tires though. Lots of Cateye lights and a good variety of cycling computers. A number of Avenir and Blackburn mini pumps and genuine innovation co2 pumps. Lots of reflective accesories from nathanhttp://www.nathansports.com/our_products…
Sorry to list so much, but last time I asked someone assumed it didnt have more than my local walmart. I actually went to mine today and he was right, lots of helmets and water bottles, but not nearly as much other stuff as sport chalet. I wouldnt have posted the question if it didnt have more than those kind of stores.
Dont get me wrong, I love to support the local bike shop but I couldnt afford to spend a grand on a new bike. I did however buy some new slick tires and tubes from them and plan on going to them for tune ups, all though I feel the mechanics at the Sport Chalet were just as good, seeing as both of them gave me the same advice on a few different occasions.
Sorry if I sound like im standing up for the place a bit too much, but I hate hearing it being put in the no category without people even being in one.
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November 13th, 2009 at 4:07 am
There is just one thing I am curious about. Does Sport chalet do repairs and service in their store? It is easy to sell parts, tools and accessories but more difficult to maintain a workshop with all the special tools required to work on bikes. A new shop starting up may have to buy thousands of dollars worth of professional quality tools to get their shop going. Assembling a new bike by contrast, requires only a few simple tools. The exception to this is in really high end bikes where everything is shipped separately, all the parts are custom specced by the shop, and the bike is actually built, on site by the mechanic in the shop. A bike that is shipped to a store in a box is about 85% assembled and requires very little work to be put out on the floor. I worked in one shop where the mechanic could assemble 3 bikes per hour, ready to ride. To build a bike from scratch takes a very experienced mechanic at least 2 hours if he rushes. The point is this: there is a lot of profit to be made in selling parts and accessories, bikes, not so much, but there is a real cost to maintaining a workshop for after sales service. That is why bikes sold by bike specialty shops cost somewhat more. Selling is selling wherever you go, just make sure that you will have some support for your purchase wherever you buy it.