Cycle gear likes the C14

[Jay]

do people really purchase and trust the Cycle Gear "Built" brand gear?   

I bought the Bilt Leather/Mesh Hybrid Jacket (made in Pakistan) and thought it was reasonable quality for the price.
It is comfortable until 90 degrees, then not so comfortable. Ordered a First Gear mesh jacket for $108 on clearance from Cycle Gear and will compare. What is really convenient--especially with online orders--is the store return/exchange policy.

That said, my local Cycle Gear shop employed a mix of helpful folks and dips*ts. They eventually weeded out some of the nincompoops and it is better now. No fan of their cheap "Made in China" crap, but it is a good store for beginners who don't have a lot of $ to start out.

I don't trust those $50 full face Bilt helmets, but cannot currently afford a $300 to $600 Shoei.
Bought a carbon fiber Joe Rocket (HJC) helmet on Craig's List for $100. Until my piggy bank swells that will have to do. 
For folks on a smaller budget, however, Cycle Gear provides basic essentials for a reasonable price--albeit, sometimes of questionable quality. 

[roadPilot]

Cycle Gear sucks. They closed the location closest to my house, because of protracted road construction. I drove up to the next nearest location (about an hour away) and the kid I talked to used to work at the store near me. He told me the construction impacted business and corporate felt they could never recover those losses. Bullcrap.

You must either be clairvoyant, or had a way to look into their financials to see the impact of the construction on the business @ that location then, eh?

Oh, and that day when I rode up there, I went for a specific tank bag that I liked and of course.. they were out of it! The sales kid (same one) said "we can't keep that one in stock"! I told him maybe he ought to stock more ...

Maybe you should have call ahead to find out availability?

[Cheesecake]

It's nice to have a motorcycle store open every day of the week. Typically dealers close up at 3 PM on Saturday and don't open again until Tuesday about 10. So if you break down on the road, it can be really nice to have a Cyclegear where you can buy a tire, have it mounted, etc.

[EpicBadass]

You must either be clairvoyant, or had a way to look into their financials to see the impact of the construction on the business @ that location then, eh?

Maybe you should have call ahead to find out availability?

I'm glad someone said this LOL. 

As someone who manages a corporate retail store (not cycle gear) and recently had the experience of a local store closing and their customers coming down to me bitching I'm through with it lol.  For a store losing $200,000+ a year we probably should have kept it open so Joe blow wouldn't have to drive a little further. /rant

[Pokey]

Oh how I love living within 10 minutes of the Iron pony!