One day recently, I was wheeling a very large box home on a cart when one of my Chinese colleagues passed by.

"What do you have there?" he asked.

"A bicycle," I answered. "My wife ordered it online."

"What? We don't do that."

Well, maybe not yet. But e-commerce is most certainly a trend, so much so that in some sectors, brick-and-mortar shops have suffered or closed.

Being able to go online and order what you want, without having to travel around town shopping, is an undeniable attraction. You can do it for an ever-widening group of goods.

But, to be honest, I still feel a tinge of guilt about buying from a disembodied entity on a screen. The experience of trying out your prospective purchase beforehand also is missing. Call me old-fashioned.

All this does not mean there isn't a place for physical stores and their employees. We asked a scooter store we like to send a mechanic to assemble the bicycle, which was missing assembly instructions or drawings needed for those of limited mechanical abilities.

The key is the right products at the right price with the right service.

Shortly after we arrived in Beijing, we bought a pair of bicycles from an independent shop. They had a variety of bicycles, lots of related products and a helpful staff. The bicycles, relatively simple models, seemed like a good value. We also bought helmets, locks, mirrors, lights and other accessories.

We would go back to get air in our tires, or have the bicycles serviced, and often buy something there. It was a big disappointment when we went back one day and the shop was gone, without a trace.

We started patronizing a mechanic who had started a business in a closet-sized space. We admired his pluck and he did good work. But not too long ago, his budding business disappeared, too.

Now we try to add merchants we like on our WeChat.

My wife just about rode the wheels off her bicycle, which she called her "mommy-mobile", taking it to work every day. She wanted to upgrade to a model with more than just a couple of gears. We found what we wanted in a good, Chinese-made bicycle online.

I'm pretty sure we would have given serious consideration to buying from our old shop, if it were still around.

I have a few leads from bicycle clubs on finding a full-service shop with a range of accessories and a friendly and helpful staff. In today's world, some of these shops are getting ahead of the pack by not only providing good products and services, but also becoming a good source of information for cyclists, even helping bring the cycling community together.

I suppose that to feel totally at home in such a shop, we need to get more serious about our cycling. That means we need to upgrade not only our equipment but also our athletic abilities.

Now, that's one thing that you can't order online.

Contact the writer at matthewprichard@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/17/2017 page2)