Endura used the Core Bike Show to show us the new FS260-SL Pro bib short, which, for £90, will be offered in five conventional sizes, each with a choice of three pad widths and two leg lengths.

Endura are pitching the shorts as an extension of a bike fit offered by a retailer and that seems a fair shout to us. After all, if you are to spend hours in the saddle, perched on a firm, narrow saddle which most non-cyclists would consider a weapon, rather than something to sit on, then you want to ensure your shorts are up to the task.

Now, excuse us while we go off on a tangent, but it got us thinking about the wider retail experience offered to cyclists. In an age where kit and equipment invariably costs less online – and that’s no bad thing – it’s up to the bricks and mortar shop to diversify and offer an experience which can’t be replicated behind a URL.

Customer service is, of course, vital to that, and the few that offered the type of unsatisfactory experience that might have resulted from consultation no better than eyeing a  prospective customer, most likely a new cyclist, and saying, “Ohhhhh, you look roughly like you’ll take a 56cm frame” before sending them off on their way with a bike that’s too big, are likely to have been flushed from existence by the online revolution.

But it’s not just about ensuring the bike (or shorts) fits. It’s about group rides, creating a sense of commuting, having a trusted and reliable mechanic, organising a turbo trainer club or WattBike sessions, hosting talks on training and nutrition, and everything else in between.

We don’t expect every bike shop to tick every box, but those that thrive in the face of online competition will offer than something extra that can’t be found behind a computer screen.