The age old question of supporting your local bike shop or ordering online has raged for a while and is still a very hot topic. I don’t want to banter the pros and cons of doing so but would rather discuss why local bike shops aren’t taking advantage of social media and trying to draw local riders into their shops.

As most of you know, I’m in the hunt for a new bike. As I sat here at the kitchen table this morning drinking a cup of coffee, wishing I was riding instead, I wrote a tweet saying that I was considering going to a local bike shop to look at what they had to offer. Then I tacked a question onto the end of it: Why aren’t they (the local bike shops) on here (Twitter) trying to get me into their shop?

I think that’s a valid question. So many people are using social media (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, etc.) and using it to connect to one another. Cyclists in particular are using Twitter like nobody’s business after seeing professionals like Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, and Christian Vande Velde (to name a few) create accounts and begin interacting with their fans. Local Bike shops are missing out on this by not using the tools to connect to cyclists in their area. I could see local bike shops offering special discounts or coupons via Twitter, group discussions on Facebook, or posting pictures from the local evening ride on Flickr. Lance Armstrong did this the other day when he invited Twitter followers to a group ride that departed from his own bike shop (Mellow Johnnys).

After posting this tweet I had one follower (thanks for the feedback @lowcandence) say that,

“They may not know where you are. If you are in CA, it wouldn’t do much good for a NY shop to try to get you in.”

I couldn’t agree more. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t people in NY looking for bikes, parts, or repairs. If that’s holding the local bike shops back then that means they don’t know how to use the tools that will connect them to local cyclists. Tools like Twitter Search, TwellowHood, Facebook Search, etc. The tools are there, they just need to use them. Or hire somebody who knows how to use them.

Local bike shops are always complaining that they lose business to online retailers. Fine. But what are they doing to pull the local cyclists in? If they aren’t using social media tools to connect to the cyclist down the street, around the corner, or across town then they are missing out.

Tell me what you think. Am I wrong? Is Social Media not what it’s cracked up to be? Do you know a local bike shop that is using Social Media?

Today is Wednesday so I headed down to Flagpole Hill near White Rock Lake to get my hill repeats in. My ride itself was actually pretty boring. I did five repeats up the hill to start with (five miles with the recovery sections), then headed to the lake for one loop (12 miles), and then one more time up the hill (about one mile). All told I was right at 18 miles for the ride. I think my legs were still a little heavy from the one-leg drills on Monday but I needed a good hard ride.

When I road around the lake I was really surprised to see all the trash still there from the weekends heavy rains. They had cleared the debris from the trail but the trash was still there. They have volunteer Saturdays to pick up trash but with it as bad as it is I’m surprised the parks department here in Dallas hasn’t taken care of it. Maybe there’s a reason they haven’t such as money.

I also saw a couple of groups rowing out on the lake. If I counted correctly each of the shells had 8 people in them. Pretty cool.

I’m a little concerned about my bike. My rear rim is working its way out of true and making some noise again, the front brake is giving me problems and my front hub doesn’t feel right. I may forgo rides tomorrow and Friday so I can give it a good once over up at my Mom’s house this weekend where I can use my Dad’s shop. I probably need to take it in for a complete overhaul when I have the cash. I just have a feeling it needs more love than my maintenance skills can give it.

With me having problems with my rear rim again I’m becoming more convinced that I need to invest in a set of wheels that can support me better. Maybe the Velocity Deep V rims that jaxgtr keeps talking about. My rear rim was replaced about 8 months ago when I noticed a problem at the seam. I almost wonder if this new rim isn’t as sturdy as the original was. The bad thing is that the Velocity rims will set me back about $280 and I’m concerned about the rear spacing because of my bike being older. I would have to take it to the bike shop for some advice. The only problem is that I haven’t found a shop I’m comfortable with yet.

Well, I had to go by the bike shop today to pick up the last item I needed to replenish my seat bag – CO2 cartridges. As it turns out, my wife went with me. We went by a shop that we were closest to at the time (one I’d been in before) and looked around. I found the CO2 and they wanted $5 for one threadless cannister. That seemed a little high to me. I also checked on some tire prices (since mine are in need of serious replacement) and also thought they were high. The lowest priced tire they had (700×23) was $35. I was like no way. My wife convinced me to go to another shop that she was in a few days ago and bought me some new tubes at. How can I turn down my wife wanting to go to another bike shop? So, off we go. We show up and I find the CO2 right away. They are, get this, half the price at $2.50. Amazing. I ask about tires and he brings me two kinds. One recreational and one a little more bomb-proof. The recreational (a Bontager) was $18 and the other was, I think, $25. What a difference! I liked the shop much better too. The people are both shops were very nice but I just liked the second one better. It may be that I’m tight with my money but I just felt more comfortable. It was nice having my wife drag me around the shop showing me what I needed too. Then she started asking questions about the differences between my bike and some of the new ones. I was in heaven! She couldn’t believe how light some of the new bikes are. She concluded that at some point I would need to replace my 15-year old Cannondale. That’ll be a while though. All-in-all it was a good trip.

Now that I’ve replenished my seat bag, changed tubes, and healed, I should be ready to start riding again. I’m going to shoot for tomorrow.