Online Deals - December 2012

 You can buy DOT4 and DOT5 fluid in the car retail shop. In europe it's about 5eur/litre. The high prices of the bike industry are really ridiculous.

 Yeah, I know that, I was wondering since DOT is corrosive do you have to use special fluid lines?

And instead of paying the 15-20 bucks for 500ml (tiny ass bottle) for REBRANDED Shimano Hydra M-Oil, I use Pentosin which you can get online for $25 for 3L-6L depending on package. Works even better, German Auto Grade. People shouldn't fall for those kinds of tricks with the whole "you need to buy our special formulated proprietary Mineral Oil fluid that is made of special and carefully extracted formula." ..it is all BS. Many other brake brands that used Mineral Oil even listed Pentosin as their recommendation until they caught onto what Shimano was doing lol. If you have old enough manuals for brands like Formula or Magura , it'll tell you.

 This particular bleed kit is expensive because of the high quality syringes. The regular avid kit is cheaper. But yes, the rebranded dot fluid is ridiculous. I get my dot fluid at motorcycle shops. As for mineral oil, a friend of mine used baby oil in a pinch and it even worked fine.

 Not sure if it was me and you who was talking about this, but try telling him to use Pentosin 7.1 or LHM Plus.

Baby Oil although technically mineral oil doesn't have the additives and wt to be the best choice for hydraulic brake systems.

Here's the article I wrote check it out.
www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomments/?threadid=140344

 as if you ve never put in a CRC order

 It always sucks shopping at a bike shop to find out they don't stock anything I'm remotely interested in and get the standard "but we can special order it for you." No thanks, I can do that myself and find a better deal.

 +1 to that my friend. when ever i got into the lbs for anything he just says sorry he has not got it but he can order it in for me and it will take 1-2 weeks. well no its okay i can order it my self and get it in 2days.



The only reason anybody uses lbs is because they need something that day or for a tube or something like that.

i have stoped going in to the shop's. times have moved on we dont need you to order stuff in we can do that we need you to have stuff in. now i understand you cant go out and spend ££££££ on loads of stock but you could at least have a betrter selection than a few tyres chains and tubes.

 yea its defiantly a good idea to try and support your LBS, but when your young and cash is a bit tight (or older and tight on cash), its hard because if im looking for a new rim set, grips or what ever and i can find them half the price online, im going to buy them online. because to go into a bike shop here ODI Ruffians are $40 witch is freaking stupid and then i go onto a site like jenson usa and they are $22. the only time i use a shop is for tubes, or other small parts other wise im buying online. And when it comes to maintenance i try do do it my self, because if the shop is going to charge me $80 just to true my wheel set, $70 to do a tune up or $20 to remove my cranks, thats a joke. id rather run wobbly wheels and watch a bunch of tech tuesday videos and try to do it my self and save my self the extra couple of months of saving to have a shop do it.

 Youtube can tell you how to do anything! But I do trust my lbs for the more complicated or finite maintenance.

 i do agree with that, when it comes to more technical stuff like suspension then i would take my bike into get that done.

 Sounds like you guys have the worst bike shops ever to go to. If it's 80 bucks to true a wheel, you shouldn't support them. That's not a local bike shop, that's a place where biking goes to die. Chances are you only see $10,000 Cervelos in the bike stands.

 haha yea it is. but no, thats just what they charge. i would assume they charge that much because almost nobody goes there. over all, most shops around me are pretty shitty and dont deal in high end bikes.

 Calm down guy, wrenching bikes isn't rocket science. Most of us do enjoy working on bikes almost as much as riding them and yes a lot of us on here do know exactly what we are doing.

I've got nothing against supporting LBSs that do it right but unfortunately the vast majority of them cater to the lowest common denominator rider, stock absolute rubbish and slap up a dump of BTI's catalog and call it an online store. I'm not supporting any LBS that just wants to sell $500 Made in China Treks to people who ride once or twice a year and not support actual riders...which unfortunately is about the majority of LBSs out there.

 @gamblor. are you telling me to calm down?

 Everytime i go to my local bike shop to buy something, price is always the double!! CRC ftw, they have everything i want at good price. Support my lbs.. ok, pay twice the price... no thanks.

 No cretin82, I'm fairly sure he was talking to tandembikemike up there. You seem calm and rational to me.

 I'm pretty calm, I'm sitting behind a computer screen. If you have an image of some dude stomping around all frustrated, you might be crazy. I'm just sharing experiences of working in a bike shop that were irritating. Yeah sure, you guys might be able to fix parts on a bike, but there are people here who are awful at it. And they just mess stuff up real bad and wonder why their new stuff doesn't work because they went to town with a crescent wrench and a screwdriver. And then they get mad at the shop because of it.

 I think its hard for a lot of shops, in Canada anyway, because they have to get bikes/parts through seemingly greedy distributors who are adding an overly unfair amount of mark up on stuff - not to mention agonizing slow delivery. If you look at the few brands that deal direct or have their own Canadian distribution the prices are much more equal to US pricing. Santa Cruz, Transition, and Giant are few examples. The dealers likely don't make as much as a lot of people think.

 calm down

 I HATE BIKE SHOPS..I'm not going to pay for their angry and unhelpful 'employee' paycheck, let alone covering the overhead. Bike shops do nothing but BAD...spend some time online, and learn how to do it yourself--if at all possible go to a shop for tips and pointers..NEVER buy anything through them...they RAPE the cycling community, as if component/frame companies aren't already doing this on the consistent...YALL KNOW THIS BE THE TRUTH

 I have tried several times to support local shops but like others here sadly I find the prices are way waaaaaay too high. Not only that but they NEVER have what i'm looking for. Decided to fore-go the bike shop service too and just buy the tools and learn myself.

 +1

 I know, all the prices stated from Spesh are the regular retail. I have those shoes, I didn't pay that for them. The white/grey look rad... I wish those were out when I got mine.

 yea man wish I still had my old specialized road shoes, sure they're not sidi's but better than the diadoras I got now, and I apologize for that I thought 370 was the deal price not the regular

 I don't know why that price is posted, unless it's a misprint by spesh. The RRP in the states is $370. A good pair of shoes is almost invaluable... I wore through my S-works pair from 2010 rather quickly, so was stoked when they beefed them up as they fit my foot perfectly.

 But those shoes make it possible to walk on water, right? Ha they cost more than my bike and half of my car!

 They do allow you do hike for 2+ hours, and then still feel your feet enough to ride back down. I hate soft soled shoes, and living in PHX they get torn up pretty quickly. So a burlier version of what I liked was a go to.

 It's all about the relationship. I love my lbs, they've always done right by me, and it is nice to be able to send people to them knowing that they'll get treated well. Good mechanics are worth their weight in platinum, and earn their keep by keeping our rides functioning flawlessly. I order most parts through them, have them do the maintenance I don't want to do, and it all works out. Of course, if more people actually shopped at their lbs then the lbs would be more prone to carrying higher-end parts. Great shops also are involved in the community and support trails and access. Sure, the $500 entry-level 35lb hard-tail that will get ridden 2/year is the bread and butter of most shops, and these pay the bills and keep the doors open. I am not sure I would want to live in a community that didn't have a great LBS. Fortunately, I live in a town with no fewer than 5 great shops. I favor one, but am on good terms with all.

Support the LBS!!!

 no don't..they take that consistent gullibility as weakness...bike shops PREY on weakness (case in point--women coming in with a 'flat' or some other trivial fixer upper that gets overcharged)

Shops are NO GOOD..they price rape EVERYTHING, and ALWAYS act like an elite level of goons that take kindness and dedication as WEAKNESS....forget a LBS--BE GONE WITH THEM

 Not sure where you have been, but a lot of bike shops are not like this. Yes, I have been to shops in which I have had more knowledge than them about their own products and have had to deal with falsely large egos. However, on the flip side, most shops will NOT take advantage of people and if you are a loyal customer, you will get better prices and exceptional treatment.

Don't says "be gone with them" in reference to LBS's because guess what? No bike shops and all of a sudden everyone has to order factory direct. Prices go down, BUT major companies lose money and thus start producing lesser goods to match new prices and therefore our sport comes to a technological standstill. Not to mention that most riders are not professional mechanics, so who will repair their bikes?

 ,..wrong on oh so many levels--where do I being?

First, the majority of shops are NO good at looking out for the good of the people. Casual TREK stores are FAR more common than a decent mountain bike shop that carries REAL mountain bikes. Even then, having found a shop with real bikes..the service is SO snooty--it's god damm unbearable.

I have hit up FAR too many shops, just to get my dick sucked on by all the shop employes over such 'trivial' things like asking for them to quickly torque down a headset or brakes. I have ALWAYS gotten a hard time, and personally, I know I'm treating them like cool guys that are doing ME a favor. They ALWAYS throw it back in my face in more ways than one. #1 Is snooty, elitist service--the ever classic, "I have been racing FAR longer than you, little buddy--Here, I'll turn my nose to you because I'M DEEP IN THIS GAME..YOU ARE N00B!! #2 TAXZ TAX TAX unbelievable pricing..$44+tax for XTR brake pads? I know they sell for $26-30 online....aint no way I'm paying to keep that shop lit, employed and profiting off an ALREADY overpriced item..just can't support that #3 Why the hell would I EVER want to show allegiance or support toward a place that caters toward the stupidity of the public...they work on shit bikes most of their days, and end up having a creep attitude about it--so once someone with a real bike comes in, they get to SNOOT all over you. Be it they don't like your build spec, what your asking them to do..or even price matching so you can keep the money "local"...f*ck a bike shop 100%. BE GONE WITH THEM..f*ck BIKE SHOPS!!!!

 "As for working for a shop I'd try to avoid that if at all possible. The pay sucks and you'll turn into that angry shop guy that hates everything.

..shop guys can be the biggest pricks until you get to know them. But the best shops always seem to employ pricks. The reason they are pricks is they get stuck working on Shit bikes all day and they usually have to sell shit they don't like."

advice that was given to me about working in a shop so I can get the discounts....hahaha

 I'm not even going to argue with you, Gabe. It is apparent that you have been to some lousy shops and that has forever altered your opinion about LBS's as a whole.

I am here to tell you, that although the shops that you portray do exist, there are also great shops. I have 4 that I visit (depending on what area I am in at the time), and the reason that I keep going back is because I am treated well. In the end, we all ride mountain bikes because it is a passion, and all you have to do is find a shop where that passion is alive. How about next time you go to an LBS, you talk to the guys (or gals) about your favorite rides, show them some pictures on your phone, get to know them and why they love biking. Thats a better way of going about things than racking your brain for a piece of biking trivia that shows that you have one up on them.

 ha fool..only if you knew how cool and personable I have played with many different local shops.
If anything, it's them giving me a "one up" on anything and everything I say...snoot factor is OVER 9,000!!! Seeing how these bikes are so expensive, and the effort so great to become a half decent rider..I see how these elite level shop monkeys have their brisk attitude...they have put in more "work" than I, and deserve to be snooty...hahaha, f*ck a bike shop 100%

 Gabe, there is so much anger in your responses it is hard to know how to respond. I wish you well.

 go eat a sub

 yeah but the marshguard is longer/wider/better suited to downhill forks, hence whey everyone is buying them...

 agreed, just get an r2c2 and put an air spring in it, same thing but cheaper although you don't get the keronite

 Never had anythying take longer then 10 days and everything I have ordered has come from the other side of the world, not their department here in Aus.

 2 days to vancouver with the free shipping....

 Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

 3 days to quebec... free shipping have to pay custom fees though

 WTF!!! that's almost a new moto price, does the frame come with a chick in a bikini? (not from Corona)

 I've heard it both ways (good and bad), but I just use a hose and avoid my seals -- gotta keep her clean somehow, eh? Pressure washing can blow a ton of shit sideways, but I've also known some serious riders who swear by it.