An alternative to Peter White Cycles

Do you like the selection of parts that Peter White stocks, but are frustrated with his refusal to move into the 21st century? There is now a new website which supplies a lot of the same parts (lights, hubs, connectors, brackets, etc.) without having to put up with Peter White's idiosyncrasies.

Longleaf Bicycles

Simple, clean website, online ordering, online order total display, fast shipping and mail tracking..

PS. I am not affiliated with Longleaf, but are happy with their service.

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Permalink Reply by Legacy Frameworks on January 6, 2014 at 10:48am

I would be extremely surprised if Longleaf didn't get their stock from PW. PW has developed the relationship to import quantities of B&M, Schmitt, Sanyo, etc.... from oversees (not easy thing to do) and mainly sells it wholesale to shops and builders like myself.

I bet Longleaf drive the 40 miles, or maybe bike, to pick up orders to resale at their e-store. I can picture it -Peter probably chews their ear off for a while, Linda might serve refreshments while the order is being filled...



Tom Dworzanski said:

The plot thickens . . .


peter moormann said:

Longleaf has similar stock to P.W.  ...funny as they are NH neighbors.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on January 6, 2014 at 11:13am
Anthony at Longleaf is doing it right. He secured an order large enough to have Velocity make the A23 in 650b, he is the only US importer of S&P dyno hubs, and has explored the idea of bringing Kogswell back from the dead. These are valuable projects for commuters and randonneurs in the US. He is present and supportive on a number of cycling forums.

On the other hand, I stopped going to Rapid Transit a while back because the Dug's excessive vitriol on CL.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on January 6, 2014 at 1:22pm

I doubt they are drop shipping, they have a huge warehouse.  QBP and such do not want to drop ship because of the added cost to them; this is true of most wholesalers. 

Duppie said:

Why are places like Universal Cycles able to drop ship cost effectively from large distributors, and small LBS are not. Surely someone must have seen a business opportunity and developed an e-commerce platform for small bike shops that hooks directly into the QBP's of this world?


?

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on January 6, 2014 at 1:24pm

I haven't worked there for a year so you can probably start going back...


Kelvin Mulcky said:

Anthony at Longleaf is doing it right. He secured an order large enough to have Velocity make the A23 in 650b, he is the only US importer of S&P dyno hubs, and has explored the idea of bringing Kogswell back from the dead. These are valuable projects for commuters and randonneurs in the US. He is present and supportive on a number of cycling forums.

On the other hand, I stopped going to Rapid Transit a while back because the Dug's excessive vitriol on CL.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on January 6, 2014 at 1:37pm

There is not simple answer, it depends on the shop and it's situation but all the plans, in my opinion, have downsides that hurt everyone.  You can specialize, but that only limits your customer base and makes a large section of products less available to people locally driving them away from the LBS.  You can invest in massive amounts of stock but that is risky and requires you tie tons of capital and high overhead for the space to keep it.  

I think the key lies in providing added value to the purchase but that, in itself, is one of the biggest killers of the LBS.  See tons of shops try to bend over backwards for customers only to have them make use of that service but take their dollars elsewhere because of price point.  It's a double edged sword, you get good staff and teach them to give 110% service but unless people buy from you when they use that service you have to drive up your prices to pay the staff which keeps the people who shop on price point from purchasing from you, but not from getting advice from you.

I know I beat this dead horse a lot, but you really have no idea how bad some people can be about it with absolutely no shame.  Orr even any understanding that they are doing something obnoxious.  Seriously, it's unreal out there!  I;ve had people call to come test ride bikes and then walk out thanking me for my time, but not paying for it, and TELLING me they are going to buy a bike off of Craigslist!

I'm not saying never buy online, it's almost impossible to not buy online sometimes just based on price or availability but give the LBS a chance.  People are surprised at how often we can get something for the same price or close to it in pretty close to the same time frame with the added advantage that you have a better chance of getting it right the first time and it's easy to return if there is an issue.


Duppie said:

Dug, what are your suggestions to adapt to the changes in the bicycling industry (proliferation of SKUs, low cost online competition, etc) beyond telling people to keep patronizing their LBS for fear of that it may not be there tomorrow?

Surely there must be solutions that preserve the benefits brought forth by changes in the bicycling industry and the benefit of having a LBS nearby. I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

Permalink Reply by Drewbacca on January 6, 2014 at 6:36pm

If the OP is looking for German odds&ends, I'd suggest trying amazon.uk and then have your local shop put stuff together.

Permalink Reply by mike w. on January 6, 2014 at 11:40pm

Intersting that Longleaf's homepage features a pic of a Velo Orange bike...

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on January 7, 2014 at 2:32am

My front door is about a local as it gets.   When I buy my buggy whips I love the individual service I get from having them sent in a lovely purpose-built brown box by their delivery agent to my doorstep.

Thanks for the link to Longleaf Duppie.  The one thing I find myself needing again and again is those silly German-spec 2.8mm s spade connectors used on B&M lights that no electronics/electrical shop in the USA seems to carry without paying through the nose in bulk for a special order.   Peter White seems to never want to give you enough of them and you have to beg him to give you a bigger quantity.  I always seem to be out of them in my shop but recently they have shown up on Amazon for $0.22/each for a 20-pack with free shipping. These are the higher-quality butted and plated connectors used in the marine industry rather than the cheap ones that Peter White and Longleaf sell.   Unfortunately they ship from China directly so it takes about a month from the time of order.  

Permalink Reply by Anne on January 7, 2014 at 8:20am

Lexco is a Chicago local distributor, and Olympic is based in Milwaukee. Duppie is correct to say that auto industry distribution is a profit center, but there is a much tighter relationship between manufacturer and disty/retailer. That is to say that MOPAR is the official parts/service/customer support  of Chrysler. The OEM and aftermarket business on the auto side is much more controlled than the bike side (in the US).

We are certainly seeing a shift in distribution channels on the bike industry side, such as Shimano going dealer direct.

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