NEIL GARDINER, GLOBAL MT B SERIES HEAD OF MARKETING, AND FORMER HEAD OF MARKETING AT SWIFT CARBON, RESPONDS:

PRETTY SPOT- ON. Online stores are hurting the LBS, but the good ones are embracing it – they say: “We don’t care where you buy your stuff; bring it here, and we’ll make sure you get the coolest bike build ever.”

Many LBSs use this opportunity to sell accessories like colourful bar tape, colour- coded cages/cables/ bottles, nutrition, and any other trinkets that may catch the customer’s eye.

In terms of comparing profitability, it may actually even out; and perhaps the LBS would prefer it if online retail (with its fast- moving inventories and efficient supply chains) sold the commodity items, like off- the- shelf wheels and drivetrains.

Consider the notion of an LBS selling a DuraAce groupset. To ensure a sale, the owner needs to keep it in stock, in all [or some] variants: three crank lengths, three chainring ratios, Di2 or mechanical, disc or rim brake, power crank set- up… that’s a dazzling number of options, and I’m excluding cassette ratios. Even if the owner carries only two variants, that’s thousands of rands of inventory sitting on a shelf for weeks or months – they don’t move fast! – selling at low profit margins to compete with online retailers.

It would be more efficient to focus on the resources the shop can access easily – a workshop, and good advice (both technical and in terms of style).