Bike purchases used to be a strictly in-person transaction: you went to the bike shop, tried whatever inventory they had, and handed over your payment. The internet changed that—a lot. Today, the options for buying a bike online are seemingly endless—you can pre-order the latest and greatest model before it’s even available to customers, build a super-customized steed from the wheels up, or have a used bike in Michigan shipped to your home in New York, all with the click of a button.
Pros and cons of online bike shopping
As with any shopping experience, there are pros and cons to buying a bike online. Some people prefer the convenience of the online shopping experience: instead of traveling to multiple locations to comparison-shop, the customer can simply open multiple browser tabs. For someone who lives in a rural area and/or does not have the time or resources to hit up multiple stores, shopping for a bike online can be a whole lot easier. Online shopping is also great for those who have a hard time finding exactly what they need – most bike shops do not keep hard-to-find sizes or high-end upgrades on their sales floor, whereas an online store lets you search for certain features or even design a bike from scratch.
But convenience comes at a cost. If you’re not completely sure of what you want, buying a bike online can be a gamble. When you visit a local bike shop, you have the ability to interact with the bike you’re…
