Australian Mountain Bike – August 01, 2019

44 AMB

Getting a new bike can be a great experience. With more options than just visiting your local bike shop, we

take a look at the pros and cons of buying from a shop, buying from a website – or even buying second hand.

WORDS: MIKE BLEWITT

BUY A BIKE

HOW

TO

The range of bike shops that you can visit is
vast. From mum and dad shops in small towns,
through to major concept stores for the big
brands and boutique mountain bike specialists.
So it is hard to know what to expect when buying
a bike from a bike shop, as the variety in stock,
staffing and service will differ vastly.
Some say, choose your bike shop and then
choose your bike. The reasoning is that the store
with the best service is likely to be the store who
can provide the bike that suits you along with a
long term relationship to keep your bike running
well.
In the age of bargain basement deals on parts
and accessories online, service is what makes a
difference for any bike shop. Ask friends who you
ride with who they recommend, and why. Find out
what brands the store stocks, but be open minded
if they’re not the exact brands you were after.

MEET AND GREET

Staff in a shop are completely used to people
coming in to browse and ask questions. Gathering
the information you need is really useful. You can

find so many details about different bikes and

models online – but you’ll find the staff in good

bike shops have even more insight. These are the

people building the bikes, making adjustments,

and often demoing many models. Staff in a good

shop will probably have a whole lot of specific

knowledge about the bikes they sell, and the bikes

they don’t sell.

Be upfront with what you’re looking for, and

be realistic about the riding you’re doing. At the

same time, be open to their suggestions. Even if

you want a 160-180mm big rig, if your riding is

going to be easy trails and bike paths, chances

are the staff will suggest something you’ll enjoy

using a lot more. And vice versa, if your budget

is $1000 but your aspirations are hard double

black-diamond trails and jump lines, good shop

staff will know the limitations of the products they

sell, and suggest something that will suit your

needs better.

LIMITATIONS ON STOCK

Not every shop can stock all the bikes that they

can order in. Unless they have a huge floorspace

and rent is low, it’s just not possible for most

businesses to have so many bikes on the floor.

Very few stores operate on consignment, so if it’s

in the store, they have paid for it to be there. Most

stores will have a selection of bikes on the floor

that represent what they can order in or custom

build. In this way, you can get a sense of fit or

finish on a bike before placing an order. Shop staff

will have complete sizing and component details

to show you the differences from what they have,

and what they can order or build.

DEMO BIKES

About 10-15 years ago, being able to demo a bike

before buying it was almost unheard of. Sure,

maybe a shop owner had a bike you could ride,

or maybe another staff member did. With major

brands and stores now investing a lot of money

into whole demo fleets for test ride events around

the country, there is a very real chance you might

be able to demo the bikes your are interested in.

“Test rides are really important for us” said

Jamie Borg from For The Riders in Brisbane. “We

have over 30 bikes that we use for test rides. It is

VISITING A BIKE SHOP