Afan Forrest Shed Took Me In!
Discussion
Internet shopping is very good, but I still (or did until Sunday!)like to try and support local shops. Whilst at Afan Forrest at the weekend my chain snapped (repaired and continued the ride) so I decided after talking to the 'shed' that his prices were only a little more expensive than 'well known' internet sites. I should have known better, I expected to be paying a little more, but later found that the chain and the cassette cost me almost double (paid £77, on line wouold have been £30 cheaper), the difference I felt was a little excessive, and I really felt robbed and taken in.
Lesson learned, I will never use a local bike shop again, will stick with the internet giants especially when I re-visit Afan!
Afan Forrest, what great routes through the Forrest with spectacular views, tough climbs resulting in breath taking down hill sections! Would recommend, and will certainly re-visit!
Lesson learned, I will never use a local bike shop again, will stick with the internet giants especially when I re-visit Afan!
Afan Forrest, what great routes through the Forrest with spectacular views, tough climbs resulting in breath taking down hill sections! Would recommend, and will certainly re-visit!
Jimbo. said:
Kept you going there and then though. I'd like to see the internet do that 
Precisely . Which is the idea if the shop.I read a post from the shed this morning on fb complaining about someone complaining their prices were too high. How Coincidental!
Buying power of crc and the like makes it impossible to compete. A man has to eat.
Price is one thing, value completely different.
Go to a Bike Shop, prod the fancy new bikes a bit (everyone loves doing that) speak to an expert about the problem you're having, or upgrade you fancy, generally get decent advice (I've been talked out of buying overpriced crap loads of times) have everything fitted, indexed, cleaned, greased or whatever and ride out happy.
Or
Go online, have a 95% chance of ordering the right thing from an endless selection without any expert input, about if it's worth paying £5 more for a much better do-hah, or paying half as much for something just as good, wait 2 days for it to arrive, spend an hour of your own time fitting it, with the tools and consumables you bought, ride it, go back, tweak it till it sort of works, live with it or go to a Bike Shop and pay them to make it work faultlessly.
Go to a Bike Shop, prod the fancy new bikes a bit (everyone loves doing that) speak to an expert about the problem you're having, or upgrade you fancy, generally get decent advice (I've been talked out of buying overpriced crap loads of times) have everything fitted, indexed, cleaned, greased or whatever and ride out happy.
Or
Go online, have a 95% chance of ordering the right thing from an endless selection without any expert input, about if it's worth paying £5 more for a much better do-hah, or paying half as much for something just as good, wait 2 days for it to arrive, spend an hour of your own time fitting it, with the tools and consumables you bought, ride it, go back, tweak it till it sort of works, live with it or go to a Bike Shop and pay them to make it work faultlessly.
I have used the Afan shed a few times, mostly due to some sore of ride stopping mechanical. I found them to be good, efficient and courteous and very helpful given the constraints they are usually very busy. No they are not as cheap as an online retailer but that is not what I wanted, I wanted to complete my ride. For that I cant fault them. Perhaps your expectations of walking into a shop with an emergency repair, have them sort it with minimum wait and be charged an online price are a little bit much?
John D9395 said:
Internet shopping is very good, but I still (or did until Sunday!)like to try and support local shops. Whilst at Afan Forrest at the weekend my chain snapped (repaired and continued the ride)
So why splash for new stuff if you fixed it, I don't understand?Surely if you're "away for the weekend" riding you take a few spares and tools with you (like chain links?), even if you're a LBS fan you're unlikley to find one on Sunday afternoon halfway up a mountain!
Hardly fair to compare one shop to the internet giants either, that shop probably pays almost as much for parts from the trade supplier as online stores can charge the end user- buying power and turnover make a big difference in some industries where trade prices change depending on who is buying and trust me- the individual shops get the worst deal
Sounds pricey, but as others have said you have to pay more considering the conditions. Did they fix it/provide the parts on the spot?
Its very tough running a business at the moment, I bet they couldn't make the Hut work if they charged less, esp as it is very seasonal and weekend based. It is also difficult to find decent trained and reliable cycle mechanics who want to work weekends.
All the shops near me are backed up for at least 5 days with work, so to get something fixed on the spot is impressive and should be charged accordingly
Its very tough running a business at the moment, I bet they couldn't make the Hut work if they charged less, esp as it is very seasonal and weekend based. It is also difficult to find decent trained and reliable cycle mechanics who want to work weekends.
All the shops near me are backed up for at least 5 days with work, so to get something fixed on the spot is impressive and should be charged accordingly
The repair to the chaion was done during a ride, ie link put in to repair.
I felt it was time to replace the chain and cassette, this was at the end of the weekend, no more riding to do (was there for 3 days)I had no urgency to buy at that moment in time, wanted to support a small indimendant shop, and to confirm, the shop did not fit the parts, I did that the following day at home.
A mate had just bought a jacket (£100)from the shed, and said it was only £5 more than on line prices, which is well worth paying given that he got to try it on etc.
As I said in my thread, I like to support local shops for a small increase in cost, as you never know when you may need them, I just felt that £30 hike in price (almost double the internet) was a little excessive.
I felt it was time to replace the chain and cassette, this was at the end of the weekend, no more riding to do (was there for 3 days)I had no urgency to buy at that moment in time, wanted to support a small indimendant shop, and to confirm, the shop did not fit the parts, I did that the following day at home.
A mate had just bought a jacket (£100)from the shed, and said it was only £5 more than on line prices, which is well worth paying given that he got to try it on etc.
As I said in my thread, I like to support local shops for a small increase in cost, as you never know when you may need them, I just felt that £30 hike in price (almost double the internet) was a little excessive.
As above, there was no fitting involved, I fitted them myself when I returned home.
I am surprised that so many people find it acceptable for someone to charge nearly double the internet price. In reverse, I wouldn't expect to save 50% by shopping on line unless it was a discontinued line, which is why I bought the items from the 'small independent' trying to support him in supporting riders in the Forest.
I am surprised that so many people find it acceptable for someone to charge nearly double the internet price. In reverse, I wouldn't expect to save 50% by shopping on line unless it was a discontinued line, which is why I bought the items from the 'small independent' trying to support him in supporting riders in the Forest.
John D9395 said:
As above, there was no fitting involved, I fitted them myself when I returned home.
I am surprised that so many people find it acceptable for someone to charge nearly double the internet price. In reverse, I wouldn't expect to save 50% by shopping on line unless it was a discontinued line, which is why I bought the items from the 'small independent' trying to support him in supporting riders in the Forest.
I find it odd that you just assumed they would be close enough to the online prices without checking. They exist for people who need parts to continue their day so they're going to be more expensive because you pay for the convenience and the use of Afan you'd otherwise miss out on.I am surprised that so many people find it acceptable for someone to charge nearly double the internet price. In reverse, I wouldn't expect to save 50% by shopping on line unless it was a discontinued line, which is why I bought the items from the 'small independent' trying to support him in supporting riders in the Forest.
John D9395 said:
Internet shopping is very good, but I still (or did until Sunday!)like to try and support local shops. Whilst at Afan Forrest at the weekend my chain snapped (repaired and continued the ride) so I decided after talking to the 'shed' that his prices were only a little more expensive than 'well known' internet sites. I should have known better, I expected to be paying a little more, but later found that the chain and the cassette cost me almost double (paid £77, on line wouold have been £30 cheaper), the difference I felt was a little excessive, and I really felt robbed and taken in.
Lesson learned, I will never use a local bike shop again, will stick with the internet giants especially when I re-visit Afan!
Afan Forrest, what great routes through the Forrest with spectacular views, tough climbs resulting in breath taking down hill sections! Would recommend, and will certainly re-visit!
Lesson learned, I will never use a local bike shop again, will stick with the internet giants especially when I re-visit Afan!
Afan Forrest, what great routes through the Forrest with spectacular views, tough climbs resulting in breath taking down hill sections! Would recommend, and will certainly re-visit!
OP isn't pissed off with the LBS - he's annoyed at himself for not checking before he decided to go for it. He had the products then and there, and didn't want to wait. Then he finds they are cheaper online, and rather than just chalking it up to experience (or indeed, reasoning with oneself that the price paid was fair for the parts supplied in that location, at that time, and with the on-hand advice - as I'm sure most of us would have done) he's decided to launch into a rant that it's someone else's fault to try and make himself feel better.
HereBeMonsters said:
OP isn't pissed off with the LBS - he's annoyed at himself for not checking before he decided to go for it. He had the products then and there, and didn't want to wait. Then he finds they are cheaper online, and rather than just chalking it up to experience (or indeed, reasoning with oneself that the price paid was fair for the parts supplied in that location, at that time, and with the on-hand advice - as I'm sure most of us would have done) he's decided to launch into a rant that it's someone else's fault to try and make himself feel better.
Nail - head - hit.We always check to see just how good that bargain was - when you suddenly find out it wasnt what you thought you feel ripped off.
Daft thing is as the OP said, it was the end of the trip and there was no urgency in the purchase.
I will often do a google search on my phone to check prices if Im unsure as to whether its a bargain or not.
Still, it is difficult to run a business at the moment and if the shop is selling at RRP then whats the problem?
I too would like to support my LBS, but unfortunately there isnt one within a 25 mile radius that sells anything decent.
I went out to look at a few bikes last week and chatted to a decent guy, very informed and keen to get the sale.
I said plainly that I was not going to buy the bike today and would go think about it.
If I were to buy it, I could have paid RRP on it and get a 10% voucher to spend later. Or I could have bought it for £100 less on-line. The LBS would have got the sale purely because the sales guy took the time to explain why the cheaper bikes would have been a bad move as Im used to riding a reasonably decent FS.
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