It’s hard to choose a bicycle repair shop near me. I live in a rural area and the closest bike shop is about 15 minutes away on a dirt road. The closest large retail store is about an hour away. Most of my neighbors have bikes, so it is not a common thing for them to come to me for repairs. It is always someone who comes to me when their bicycle breaks down or they need a new wheel after a storm.
I decided to try and locate a bicycle repair shop near me by using the internet. I figured that if I looked at websites of bike shops, they would probably have local addresses. I was wrong. Many of the websites that I looked at were not local. One site said they were in Los Angeles but were actually in Santa Barbara. When I brought the bike in, it was covered with ice, there was no oil inside the sprocket, and the seat was so damaged that I had to put it up on a stool to get it up.
Other bicycle repair shops also seem to be more expensive than their smaller, closer competitor. This might be because they do not own the shop. If they do not own the shop, they hire employees, which means they have to raise the prices to cover the payroll. I also noticed that they were charging more for the parts. I know that it is cheaper to buy a new part than it is to repair the bicycle. But, when I looked at the prices of the bicycle repair shop near me, it made it seem like they were charging the same prices as the bigger, closer competitors.
Another problem with bicycle repair shops that are not near me is that the repair person may not know much about bicycles. They could give me an estimate and take the money right out of my wallet. Then, when it is time to pay them, they could give me a completely different price for the same piece of equipment, or tell me they cannot fix the bicycle because it is covered by their insurance.
When it comes to bicycle repair shops, you should always find one that is close to where you live. If you live in a town of any size, then that bicycle repair shop is probably nearby. In small towns, this is especially important because people who live in those towns do not have cars, which means that the bicycle repair shops are usually attached to garages, or to a local store that sells bikes. In larger towns, the bicycle repair shops may be in a bigger building that houses a whole service station that sells everything from oil to paint to nuts and bolts.
My advice is to find a bicycle repair shop near you. There are plenty of great ones around. You do not have to drive far to find one that is honest, reputable, and has high quality repair work. It should also have modern equipment, so that you are sure to get a good repair job that is fast and accurate. These are just some of the reasons you should make your bicycle repair visits at a bicycle repair shop near you.