The Chainlink

When a website that claims to be promoting local cycling in the city of Chicago has a banner ad for a site which is one of the many internet discount outlets that make it hard for local bike shops.

Way to go Chainlink, bravo.  Is the advertising dollar worth making things harder on the local shops here in Chicago?

Is this site about serving the local community or is it about being a profit center for it's owner?

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I guarantee you're wrong.  I can't speak for other shops, or even other people, but I am more interested in selling people what they want regardless of it being on the shelf or not; the shop gets money in it's pocket either way.  I would be interested to hear what shops, if any, you have had that actual experience at vs, just assuming all of them would.  In fact I can think of 3 shops, outside the one I work at, that would be happy to sell a dyno-hub.  Personally I would never push anyone away from a dyno-hub, mostly because I like them but also because it's usually more money than regular lights.

Shops don't stock them because there is low demand so shops don't want to stock what is a fairly expensive item  In fact very few people even inquire about them at all let alone express an interest in them.  Shops tend to bring in new stock items based on special order sales or customer inquiry.  You want to see dyno-hubs in shops you need to go to shops and ask for them and buy them.

James BlackHeron said:

I guarantee that if you go into an LBS they will steer you solely to the products they have on the shelf and poo-poo any other options.  Seriously, I don't really think there are ANY LBS's out there pushing dyno-hub systems much less carry many decent dyno systems or components.  This alone is one of the many reasons I prefer buying stuff online because the LBS's in Chicago do not really cater to such things.   Is it because there isn't much demand or because they just don't supply anything -chicken or egg?  




+1 I think it's great that the chainlink site exists and is as good as it is. This is a trollish thread.

The support your LBS mantra, down with the internet store ad criticism is backwards. Would you rather keep this site free to use and see some ads, or not have this site work at all?

Besides many local bike shops are over rated and a business model based on hoping for customer pity should be allowed to die. That said, some local shops are great, but many just want to sell what they have in stock at a higher prices whether or not it's the best choice or right size for their customer, and their supposedly valuable advice and answers to questions may be questionable. If I knew a LBS that I liked I would use them as much as possible, but I wouldn't blindly choose any LBS over buying online.


Brendan said:

I really think this thread should be deleted.  It's such garbage on all accounts.  

It seems like some people want to put a halo around the phrase "local bike shop", while ignoring the reality that it is not some noble civic duty to go out of our way to support a business that often either a) doesn't deserve it b) does not make monetary sense for a number of consumers.  

As far as RT goes, maybe Dug is taking the Bill O'Reilly approach to promoting cycling and buying cycling gear.  It doesn't matter what you say, just how loud you say it.  Whatever works I guess.  

My experience with Rapid Transit on Halsted was not a good one...I bought a Bern helmet in the spring that was too small and did an even exchange for a larger one that was $5 cheaper. I noticed the price difference and the guy with the tatoo fingers said we were "even" after the exchange. Guess he needed the fiver to buy lunch...Asked both him and the mechanic some technical wheel questions, and they both seemed quite uncaring and useless...That was my 2nd and last trip to Rapid.

Does anyone know what I have to click to see the current score?


Matty Matt Matteo said:

+1 

the power button

h' said:

Does anyone know what I have to click to see the current score?


Matty Matt Matteo said:

+1 

Alt + F4 should do it.  


h' said:

Does anyone know what I have to click to see the current score?


Matty Matt Matteo said:

+1 

Chainlink: Supports local cycling this fact is obvious.

Chainlink: Accepts ads from LBS and non-local suppliers.  This act isn't mutually exclusive from my perspective.  People vote with their dollars every day.

Chainlink: Accepts post from members promoting services offered by an LBS, (that would be DUG).  If it's okay with the host no harm no foul.

 

I pay my dues to Chainlink, $60.00 annually, because I like this place and the people who frequent it.  So I vote with my dough that this site doesn't run in the red.  I don't expect Hochstaster to subsidize it, do you DUG?  Profit center, that's a good one, sounds like stranded bike broken key, idiot advice from Chainlink.

 

Please do not delete this thread.  DUG has been civil and doesn't warrant censure.     

It would violate free speech, which we should all work to protect.  If you do not care for my posts simply sidestep around them as you might manure in a pasture, same with DUG.

Steel Driver said:

I pay my dues to Chainlink, $60.00 annually,


There are dues? I guess I've been freeloading this whole time.

It is my understanding that the Chainlink has cost Julie way more money than it has produced. She doesn't get paid anything for the time she spends managing the site. She is just trying to break even without charging a fee to users so the site doesn't cost her any money. Even if she were making some money from the site, it would not bother me in the least. Think of all of the Chainlinkers who have moved away and commented that they wished there was a similar site in their new home towns. I for one am very appreciative of the fact that the site exists at all, even with the new ads which I mostly just ignore. Thank you Julie for all your hard work and effort.

Dan Korn, you've just been unaware, very easily rectified.

http://www.thechainlink.org/page/support-the-chainlink

Many users have probably been unaware they can support Chainlink directly!

 

Thanks to DUG for the courage to post this thread.  He has inadvertently provided an important PSA, illuminating our community of the opportunity to properly support local bike driving, AKA Chainlink.  I think I ran a stop sign in that last sentence.

This brings up something I've been really curious about.  Why do Chicago LBS's have such a terrible selection of good commuter accessories?  I would have thought that things like decent panniers have huge markups and are cash cows for an LBS, but there's only a handful of shops in town where you can buy something better than Banjo or Avenir, and even in those there's generally not much choice.  The idea of going to a Chicago LBS to, say, compare two or three good laptop panniers really isn't a possibility.  There's a thread going on next door about local sources for things like the PDW cupholder or good eyeglass mirrors, kind of obvious stuff for commuters I would have thought.

I didn't think much of this before, but this summer I was in Quebec, a relatively tiny city of 500K or so, and even the smallest out-of-the-way bike shop had a wide selection of good quality panniers, handlebar bags, etc., good quality stuff for people commuting to something other than a messenger job. It really stunned me.  The smallest stores I saw had a better selection than the even best stores here.   I've had the same experience in many other cities (all non-US, admittedly).

I'm not complaining, I'm just curious why this is.  Is it that the bike market is much more tilted toward the economic low-end here? Or is it that bike style here still leans strongly toward the hipster/fixie/messenger low-cost look, or perhaps that the crime rate makes people avoid nicer accessories?  Maybe shops here have lower capitalization and higher rents that don't allow for a larger inventory?  Or is it the tax structure that pushes people online for higher-cost items?  Or is it something to do with how manufacturers provide inventory here (i.e., purchase vs. consignment or something)?



James BlackHeron said:

Seriously, I don't really think there are ANY LBS's out there pushing dyno-hub systems much less carry many decent dyno systems or components.  This alone is one of the many reasons I prefer buying stuff online because the LBS's in Chicago do not really cater to such things.   Is it because there isn't much demand or because they just don't supply anything -chicken or egg?  

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