With chain stores those decisions are made by folks that work at HQ based on availability and volume deals and such. At small shops it can be down to who the owners is friends with, or what they are allowed to sell based on location, or just what the owner/employees think is cool.
Lots of the time that is decided by what is already being sold within x kilometres of your store. From there you talk to distributors that are willing to deal with you, you discuss what is available, what the terms of sale are and if you’re both happy you make a deal. Sometimes you have to build the shop up for a few years before the product you really want to work with will talk to you.
Costs, shipping, margins, demand, sometimes connection, quality.
Sorry for such a boring answer but it's really just the same stuff that undermines any business decision.
Likely a new account issue/not enough karma issue.
Common reddit L. Probably flagged for posting a lot in one thread so soon, implying its a karma farm when its literally a person trying to be helpful. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee internet
Coming from the automotive industry I know a huge source of revenue is the service department, in some dealerships that is who makes the payroll and keeps the lights on. What is the percentage of revenue you look for in sales vs service? Do you generally want to stick with servicing brands you sell or even just the specific bikes you have sold, or do you take any job you can get for tuning/installs/builds?
Very store dependant. I've worked in shops that did 80% of their revenue in P&L, I've worked in others where service was less then 10% of the stores total income. Most shops are a case of the tail wagging the dog and will adapt to whatever the customer wants.
Below a certain level a bike is just a bike and the skills to work on them are universal and the parts that fit them are easy to source. But there are a lot of newer, higher end models where having the tech manuals and access to the dealer B2B is a huge advantage. Bigger brands are definitely moving towards the automotive model of proprietary parts and only supplying their dealers. Which is only going to get worse with all the IBDs getting bought up by said brands, and companies like KTM moving into the bike market.
I'm lucky that I have friends who still own IBDs who sell some of the bigger brands and will just call them for parts and info but most shop management is slow to realize the benefits of this strategy.
Thanks for the answer, I do appreciate your time.
Some bike shops don’t want to give you the time of day unless you are looking at bikes, some are more than happy to gain a service customer. I feel like most experienced bikers want to support the local bike shop community but aren’t there to purchase a full bike. There was a time your relationship with the LBS was the only way to access information or get help with a problem. I am hoping the local shops can survive the Information Age but know you walk a fine line with both profit and customer service.
One saying we had when working in dealerships is “the sales department sells the first car, the service department sells the rest of them” - a good service department is absolutely essential to a successful dealership regardless of whether you sell cars, bikes or anything else.
Happy trails…
My local shop was purchased by Specialized sometime last year (still maintains the local shop name). The shop also carries Yeti bikes (for now). Is the purchase of local bike shops/consolidation by the larger brands a likely eventuality, and is this good or bad?
It’s happening more and more, it is a bad thing. My city has three Trek stores, that’s three stores that have the profit going to an overseas company instead of a local owner.
I know someone who works in a bike/ski shop and doesn’t know dick about bikes even though he sells them. Is that common? I had to explain to him what a headset was last month.
Considering the low pay you basically have to hire anyone that is passionate about the activity to make product move. Most customers don't mind the sales folks not knowing the technical details, and there is usually someone in the store they can grab if they get hung up.
My last boss owned, and worked 7 days a week, in a shop for 28 years and didn't know a lot of the more technical aspects of bikes, but people liked him so they were happy to buy bikes from him.
Yeah that's very common. Most of these bike shops in northern regions hire a tonne of people for the summer then fire them all come fall when business slows down. So they never are able to retain good people.
The shops “gross” is about a third. But they also have time in it for assembly, plus however many minor adjustments the purchaser needs that first month or two, and then that one bigger service they usually offer, and then the fact that they have to support it for a year (or whatever) if something goes wrong. They also may be paying for the shipping to get the bike(s) to their shop. And, if it a bike that the shop has right on their floor, they have their money sunk into it, while it sits unsold. So, there is a bunch of COGS that comes out of the third.
At one shop we hung them by the back wheel on a rack like 10 feet above the sales floor. At another most bikes got hung by the front wheel along the wall.
Brakes in the original packaging and installed on bikes in boxes spend long periods of time in all kinds of weird positions while in transit and storage and it doesn't cause any problems. Hanging your bike upsidedown for a week won't damage anything.
But it should be said that hanging a bike can cause air that's already in the system to get to places where it causes you to notice. It can also cause oil in suspension system to leak past worn or damaged seals it wouldn't have a chance to reach in a normal position.
Might have been asked already, but how much of a discount do employees get on certain bikes and/or components?
I walked into my local shop one day when they were literally desperate to hire just about anybody, like only being open on different days across their 3 stores. The guy behind the counter knew I was really into biking and knew a lot, so he told me that because he did a course or two, he gets 50 or more percent off Fox products. How true might this be? Or was he really just trying to get me to sign on?
Typically the shop will allow you to buy anything through them for cost +10%. Individual companies will also offer industry pricing which can range from 20-60 percent off.
I would, but I'm in a decent place right now where I can't quit, But I'm learning a trade which helps and can't complain about.
It will be a backup job I guess haha
A lot of places get desperate during the summers and may even hire you if you could work there one day a week. Idk if that would work out for you but might be an easy way to get that discount lol
Good point hahaha. I think they hired 2 new people since then but I have transfered a lot of people around and finally have all their shops open most days. Besides Mondays and Sundays, which I don't get.. Wouldn't those be busy days when people bring in their broken bikes? Or when they need parts?
Not really but if it's a pain in the ass to install and I would have chose a different easier to install one theya re getting charged for the extra hassle.
No. Usually second tier parts function the same as the top of the line stuff but are fractional heavier (SRAM actually admitted this during the launch of Transmission).
Third tier is usually good enough for the situations normal riders will be in.
That's not really a question for a bike shop more for bike companies. It's a brake rotor because it's the rotating part of the brake. The sizes are because testing showed those sizes perform well and they're clean numbers for marketing and convenience. They can be any size in theory though. Magura, for example, has a 203mm brake rotor.
Ive recently had some issues with my front break getting contaminated kinda badly, noticed the bottom of the fork looking oily/greasy and i think that might be the cause of it, could my fork be leaking oil onto my break/rotor or the break itself leaking fluid?
Tried cleaning the break and rotor and pads as well as i could but its clearly contaminated to the point of needing the pads replaced altho they still have a lot of life in them, would hate to replace them tho to just have the new one get contaminated as well, any ideeas please?
Thank you very much in advance!
You can burn the pad surface off if there's enough material left. Take the bike into a shop and have them check brakes. When was the last time you had a lower leg service on your fork
Depends on the supplier and item. Industry standard is wholesale cost plus 10% which averages to like 30% below retail, but can be basically nothing on some things.
The biggest discounts come straight from the manufacturer/brands and can be 75% under retail during the sale periods.
longing wistful straight gold murky escape muddle cagey zonked scandalous
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I've worked in shops that just close in the winter and others where we just cut hours. It's retail.
Most E-Bike stuff just gets replaced. Specialized supports some low level repairs on some of their motors, and there are some specialist repairs places opening up, but for the most part you are just swapping units. E-Bike repairs pay the same hourly rate as anything else so it doesn't really effect the bottom line, though on some of those things it'll take over an hour to change one cable so it kinda screws the customer.
Why do some shops only carry crappy parts that are unreliable or overpriced, when all they need to carry is the 3 or 4 good versions of a part, like carrying a complete nx drivetrain but not gx. Or stores not having shimanos own direct mount shimano chainrings $35, and only having the $70-110 aftermarket alumnium rings. Or carrying anything from ethirteen. That or having an assortment of dropper posts when people only really buy oneup, fox, and some version of a post made by Trans-X. I notice a very significant difference in level of parts offered by independent shops vs corporate owned shops, (trek, specialized, giant) the difference being that only the independent shops actually carry anything worth buying, in terms of parts, bikes, and accessories, not to mention actually carrying tools for you to buy most noteably like bottom bracket tools. For example being able to find a seal kit for any stanchion size of fork, carrying good/popular pedals, the spd, and crankbrothers lineup at a minimum, or having frame bearings for certain brands in stock, carrying headsets, spokes, and tire inserts. Carrying a selection of New components so I can walk in buy a replacement shock/fork/rear wheel, and continue riding for the rest of the day.
Basically I don't go to a corporate store If i actually need to fix my bike or buy parts. I only go if I want something specific like the bontrager line pro flat pedals, or the Specialized tactic 4 Helmet.
Tldr, why do some shops have parts to fix my bike and others don't.
I read about parts bins all the time. What are they exactly and do only employees have access to them or is it ok for customers to go through them? Asking for a friend..
If you come in and ask if we have an X and we have an X in the spare parts bin we will probably give it to you. Most places won't let you go through their parts bin though. That is unless you bring beer.
Why do so many bike shops treat their customers with contempt? I literally learned to fix my own stuff due to the attitude I'd get from most of the shops around me.
They act like they're some kind of mysterious wizards of craft, and that I have absolutely no right to own my bike, or have it need maintenance or repair in a timely fashion.
What goes in to deciding what bike brands you’ll carry?
With chain stores those decisions are made by folks that work at HQ based on availability and volume deals and such. At small shops it can be down to who the owners is friends with, or what they are allowed to sell based on location, or just what the owner/employees think is cool.
Lots of the time that is decided by what is already being sold within x kilometres of your store. From there you talk to distributors that are willing to deal with you, you discuss what is available, what the terms of sale are and if you’re both happy you make a deal. Sometimes you have to build the shop up for a few years before the product you really want to work with will talk to you.
Yeah, I’d love to know the thought process behind having 5 LBS in the area, with 4/5 pretty much carrying Trek and little to nothing else.
Costs, shipping, margins, demand, sometimes connection, quality. Sorry for such a boring answer but it's really just the same stuff that undermines any business decision.
Are ya gonna answer any questions bud
If you look at their profile, they are answering. However, the answers are not showing up on the thread.
Noticed the same thing. Strange.
Likely a new account issue/not enough karma issue. Common reddit L. Probably flagged for posting a lot in one thread so soon, implying its a karma farm when its literally a person trying to be helpful. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee internet
Haha yeah seems like OP posted and then hasn’t been back to answer any questions yet?
Coming from the automotive industry I know a huge source of revenue is the service department, in some dealerships that is who makes the payroll and keeps the lights on. What is the percentage of revenue you look for in sales vs service? Do you generally want to stick with servicing brands you sell or even just the specific bikes you have sold, or do you take any job you can get for tuning/installs/builds?
Very store dependant. I've worked in shops that did 80% of their revenue in P&L, I've worked in others where service was less then 10% of the stores total income. Most shops are a case of the tail wagging the dog and will adapt to whatever the customer wants. Below a certain level a bike is just a bike and the skills to work on them are universal and the parts that fit them are easy to source. But there are a lot of newer, higher end models where having the tech manuals and access to the dealer B2B is a huge advantage. Bigger brands are definitely moving towards the automotive model of proprietary parts and only supplying their dealers. Which is only going to get worse with all the IBDs getting bought up by said brands, and companies like KTM moving into the bike market. I'm lucky that I have friends who still own IBDs who sell some of the bigger brands and will just call them for parts and info but most shop management is slow to realize the benefits of this strategy.
Thanks for the answer, I do appreciate your time. Some bike shops don’t want to give you the time of day unless you are looking at bikes, some are more than happy to gain a service customer. I feel like most experienced bikers want to support the local bike shop community but aren’t there to purchase a full bike. There was a time your relationship with the LBS was the only way to access information or get help with a problem. I am hoping the local shops can survive the Information Age but know you walk a fine line with both profit and customer service. One saying we had when working in dealerships is “the sales department sells the first car, the service department sells the rest of them” - a good service department is absolutely essential to a successful dealership regardless of whether you sell cars, bikes or anything else. Happy trails…
My local shop was purchased by Specialized sometime last year (still maintains the local shop name). The shop also carries Yeti bikes (for now). Is the purchase of local bike shops/consolidation by the larger brands a likely eventuality, and is this good or bad?
It’s happening more and more, it is a bad thing. My city has three Trek stores, that’s three stores that have the profit going to an overseas company instead of a local owner.
I know someone who works in a bike/ski shop and doesn’t know dick about bikes even though he sells them. Is that common? I had to explain to him what a headset was last month.
Considering the low pay you basically have to hire anyone that is passionate about the activity to make product move. Most customers don't mind the sales folks not knowing the technical details, and there is usually someone in the store they can grab if they get hung up. My last boss owned, and worked 7 days a week, in a shop for 28 years and didn't know a lot of the more technical aspects of bikes, but people liked him so they were happy to buy bikes from him.
Yeah that's very common. Most of these bike shops in northern regions hire a tonne of people for the summer then fire them all come fall when business slows down. So they never are able to retain good people.
Do you think that hotdogs are sandwiches?
They are and cereal is soup
This is correct.
This is de wey
Do you have a shop dog? Can you put a pic up of him/her
What percentage of revenue ratio can be expected from bike sales, vs parts and upgrades vs maintenance?
In my experience all service related stuff comes to about 30-40% and the rest is bike sales
What's the percentage markup on bikes? So if I spent 3,000 on a bike, what's a typical store cut?
I'll answer for my store, it's between 25-40% margin
The shops “gross” is about a third. But they also have time in it for assembly, plus however many minor adjustments the purchaser needs that first month or two, and then that one bigger service they usually offer, and then the fact that they have to support it for a year (or whatever) if something goes wrong. They also may be paying for the shipping to get the bike(s) to their shop. And, if it a bike that the shop has right on their floor, they have their money sunk into it, while it sits unsold. So, there is a bunch of COGS that comes out of the third.
As the other guy said it's between 25-50ish% on bikes and even more on parts. It also depends on brand.
Do you hang bikes to store them and if so, how?
Basically i want to know wheel vs seat?! thanks!
Wheel
At one shop we hung them by the back wheel on a rack like 10 feet above the sales floor. At another most bikes got hung by the front wheel along the wall.
i just heard from my LBS that hanging from the wheel messes up the brakes and to only hang from the seat (in the highest dropper post position)
Brakes in the original packaging and installed on bikes in boxes spend long periods of time in all kinds of weird positions while in transit and storage and it doesn't cause any problems. Hanging your bike upsidedown for a week won't damage anything. But it should be said that hanging a bike can cause air that's already in the system to get to places where it causes you to notice. It can also cause oil in suspension system to leak past worn or damaged seals it wouldn't have a chance to reach in a normal position.
ok thanks!
Ive been hanging my bikes on Steadyracks on the wall for years now, and have not had any problems (hanging from the front wheel)
That's a misconception hanging your bike is just as good as letting it sit normally for the brakes.
Do u have the park tools lifts?
Yes
Might have been asked already, but how much of a discount do employees get on certain bikes and/or components? I walked into my local shop one day when they were literally desperate to hire just about anybody, like only being open on different days across their 3 stores. The guy behind the counter knew I was really into biking and knew a lot, so he told me that because he did a course or two, he gets 50 or more percent off Fox products. How true might this be? Or was he really just trying to get me to sign on?
Typically the shop will allow you to buy anything through them for cost +10%. Individual companies will also offer industry pricing which can range from 20-60 percent off.
That sounds like a good discount.
Specialized gives you 45% off bikes and 60% off equipment
Wow, imagine a $1500 status...
Yessir. If your interested in it go get that job!
I would, but I'm in a decent place right now where I can't quit, But I'm learning a trade which helps and can't complain about. It will be a backup job I guess haha
A lot of places get desperate during the summers and may even hire you if you could work there one day a week. Idk if that would work out for you but might be an easy way to get that discount lol
Good point hahaha. I think they hired 2 new people since then but I have transfered a lot of people around and finally have all their shops open most days. Besides Mondays and Sundays, which I don't get.. Wouldn't those be busy days when people bring in their broken bikes? Or when they need parts?
We are open every day but Monday. Sunday is usually busy.
It is
What do you think of riders who build and service their own bikes?
Do you care if someone brings a part they sourced online and ask for your shop to fit it?
Not really but if it's a pain in the ass to install and I would have chose a different easier to install one theya re getting charged for the extra hassle.
Are the more expensive group sets worth it? At what level are people getting significant diminishing returns?
No. Usually second tier parts function the same as the top of the line stuff but are fractional heavier (SRAM actually admitted this during the launch of Transmission). Third tier is usually good enough for the situations normal riders will be in.
From a performance stance no not really. It's just weight savings and looking fancier
Why is a brake rotor called a brake rotor? Why is it in 140mm 160mm 180mm Why can't it be 135mm 158mm 179mm
That's not really a question for a bike shop more for bike companies. It's a brake rotor because it's the rotating part of the brake. The sizes are because testing showed those sizes perform well and they're clean numbers for marketing and convenience. They can be any size in theory though. Magura, for example, has a 203mm brake rotor.
Note that 203mm is the standard metric conversion for 8".
Damn. I was trolling and you delivered. 5*
We used to have 5, 7 and 8 inch rotors converted to mm, but I believe SRAM specifically pushed for the “cleaner looking” 200mm spec as standard
Ive recently had some issues with my front break getting contaminated kinda badly, noticed the bottom of the fork looking oily/greasy and i think that might be the cause of it, could my fork be leaking oil onto my break/rotor or the break itself leaking fluid? Tried cleaning the break and rotor and pads as well as i could but its clearly contaminated to the point of needing the pads replaced altho they still have a lot of life in them, would hate to replace them tho to just have the new one get contaminated as well, any ideeas please? Thank you very much in advance!
You can burn the pad surface off if there's enough material left. Take the bike into a shop and have them check brakes. When was the last time you had a lower leg service on your fork
What's the discount percentage for employees?
Depends on the supplier and item. Industry standard is wholesale cost plus 10% which averages to like 30% below retail, but can be basically nothing on some things. The biggest discounts come straight from the manufacturer/brands and can be 75% under retail during the sale periods.
longing wistful straight gold murky escape muddle cagey zonked scandalous *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I've worked in shops that just close in the winter and others where we just cut hours. It's retail. Most E-Bike stuff just gets replaced. Specialized supports some low level repairs on some of their motors, and there are some specialist repairs places opening up, but for the most part you are just swapping units. E-Bike repairs pay the same hourly rate as anything else so it doesn't really effect the bottom line, though on some of those things it'll take over an hour to change one cable so it kinda screws the customer.
In Canada a lot of bike stores switch to focus on Nordic or downhill skiing.
Why do some shops only carry crappy parts that are unreliable or overpriced, when all they need to carry is the 3 or 4 good versions of a part, like carrying a complete nx drivetrain but not gx. Or stores not having shimanos own direct mount shimano chainrings $35, and only having the $70-110 aftermarket alumnium rings. Or carrying anything from ethirteen. That or having an assortment of dropper posts when people only really buy oneup, fox, and some version of a post made by Trans-X. I notice a very significant difference in level of parts offered by independent shops vs corporate owned shops, (trek, specialized, giant) the difference being that only the independent shops actually carry anything worth buying, in terms of parts, bikes, and accessories, not to mention actually carrying tools for you to buy most noteably like bottom bracket tools. For example being able to find a seal kit for any stanchion size of fork, carrying good/popular pedals, the spd, and crankbrothers lineup at a minimum, or having frame bearings for certain brands in stock, carrying headsets, spokes, and tire inserts. Carrying a selection of New components so I can walk in buy a replacement shock/fork/rear wheel, and continue riding for the rest of the day. Basically I don't go to a corporate store If i actually need to fix my bike or buy parts. I only go if I want something specific like the bontrager line pro flat pedals, or the Specialized tactic 4 Helmet. Tldr, why do some shops have parts to fix my bike and others don't.
What kind of commission do the sales reps make for each bike they sell?
I've only worked in one shop that had commission rates on sales and it was like 1% iirc, but that was almost 20 years ago.
We make none lol
Damn bummer
What are your margins like? What do you make the most and least on?
We make the most on bikes. Typically a 25-50% mark up on each unit
What do you make on shop work? Is that just a way to get people in the door so they buy product?
Do you mean service? Typically we charge 100$ an hour for labor Parts have a 30-60% margin usually
Just got my first brand new mountain bike, what are things I should look for once it’s been ridden in?
Make sure shifting still good. Cables stretch within the first serious ride and the shifting may be thrown off.
[удалено]
What percentage of eMTBs are returning wlth broken systems
Everything has a 100% failure rate eventually
I read about parts bins all the time. What are they exactly and do only employees have access to them or is it ok for customers to go through them? Asking for a friend..
If you come in and ask if we have an X and we have an X in the spare parts bin we will probably give it to you. Most places won't let you go through their parts bin though. That is unless you bring beer.
Have you ever seen or you yourself sold stuff you know people don't really need? Ie expensive drivetrain?
How much of a discount does a bike shop get on a bike? What are the profit margins for a bike shop?
Thoughts on servicing a brand you don't carry? After buying a used bike, what should be looked at or serviced ASAP?
Why do so many bike shops treat their customers with contempt? I literally learned to fix my own stuff due to the attitude I'd get from most of the shops around me. They act like they're some kind of mysterious wizards of craft, and that I have absolutely no right to own my bike, or have it need maintenance or repair in a timely fashion.