Colorado Fave Bike Store Recommendations

[Smilie]

I am looking to purchase a road bike and need any advice on where to purchase one. I would like to have a proper fitting, and get a good deal(who doesn't!) Need a great place maybe around the Denver area, as that will be about a four hour drive for me.

Please recommend any good places to check out, and of course let me know of the places I might be wary of! ;)

Thanks for any help!

[Kathi]

For fit I really like Sports Garage in Boulder. Not sure how good a deal you'll get. The owner is a Serotta fit trainer and very knowledgable about fit. I bought my Serotta from them 2 years ago and the care they have given me far exceeds my expectations.

Some women like Wheatridge Cyclery in Wheatridge. They're a larger shop with more options but I don't get the same feel there that I do at Sports Garage. With the right person you will get a good fit and decent price. They are a big Serotta shop and have the Serotta fit training.

While I go to the big box stores, ie, Bicycle Village, I only buy clothing and have not bought a bike from them.

Several women I know have mentioned Schwab Cycles in Lakewood. I also like Treads, a new store here in Lakewood, also in Parker and Aurora.

BTW, the Sports Garage women's jersey matches the color of my bike. The owner helped me chose the colors. I can't ask for anything better than a matching jersey. :)

You could call these shops and see if they recommend anyone closer to you. I called Sports Garage when I was looking for my bike and the person I spoke to was so patient, knowledgable and encouraging that I was willing to make the hour drive to Boulder to check them out.

[Smilie]

Thanks Kathi! I googled places in Colorado and looked at Bicycle Village, Lee's Cyclery, and Wheatridge. It is good to get a recommendation!

I will definitely check them out. Very cool to match your jersey to your bike!

[Kathi]

If you do decide to come down all 3 stores, Wheatridge, Treads and BV are on or off of Wadsworth Blvd.

Wheatridge is a block or 2 off Wadsworth and if you continue south you can visit Treads in Lakewood, near 285, and BV in Littleton, a few minutes away.

Treads told me today that everyone, no matter cost of bike, gets a basic bike fit, all employees are trained to do it.

[Smilie]

I forgot to check out Treads, they have great deals right now! Thanks again for the recommendations, they will certainly help. Planning on coming down on Saturday to get a bike! Woohoo!

[Kathi]

I'm very close to Treads. Was in there today. If you meet a guy named Bill tell him I sent you. I mentioned you to him, he's the one who suggested the route down Wads.

Good luck, I hope you find the perfect bike.

[Kathi]

When you demo bikes be sure to spend plenty of time on the ones you chose. You can tell a lot more about a bike when you actually get it out and ride it vs riding in the parking lot. Wheatridge and Treads are both very close to bike trails. Wheatridge is a couple of blocks to the Clear Creek trail (ask for directions) and Treads is straight down Wadsworth to the Bear Creek Trail.

Both trails are flat but have lots of turns which will help you evaluate the handling of the bikes. Let me know if you would like a good hill to climb a couple of miles from Treads. :)

[Smilie]

I certainly will look out for Bill and tell him! Treads has great deals right now. Even my friend is thinking about getting a new bike since they are having such a great sale.

Will they let you take a bike for a longer ride? I guess I can leave the keys to my car there since I won't be bringing my first born with.:D

[Kathi]

Yes, they will. When I bought my mtn bike from Wheatridge I rode it on the Clear Creek trail. Sports Garage told me to take the bike I demoed out on the road so we did a 10 mile ride. It's the best way to determine if the bike is right for you.

Most shops require a driver's license and credit card.

If you have a favorite saddle and pedals bring those along. A good shop will put those on the demo bikes. Sports Garage had me bring my old bike, it fit well, and replicated the position as well as they could on the demo bikes.

If I were to demo a bike I would expect the salesperson to adjust my saddle height, the fore,aft position of the saddle and the handlebar height.

I think it's pretty awesome that you're driving all the way here for bikes. What bikes are you looking at?

[Smilie]

Favorite seat?! That brings me to another aspect of riding, how do you "know" what seat is right for you besides taking it for a very long ride? I have read the threads about measuring your seat, but it still seems a bit wierd to me.

This Cannondale (http://treads.com/itemdetails.cfm?id=2963) is one that I am looking at. We only have 2 bike shops here, and they don't carry any small enough for me, plus they are very expensive and maybe have 10 bikes in stock. Mostly for men.

[Kathi]

I had a feeling that's the one you're looking at.

First get a bike that fits well, then you can determine the best saddle for you. A saddle can be the perfect one for you but if something is out of whack with the bike fit, tt to long, handlebars to low, no saddle will be comfortable.

Saddle choice is often a matter of preference. I'm small, too, and love the WTB Deva. Treads doesn't stock it but they ordered 2 more for me. When I'm riding I don't know the saddle is there. Cut outs don't work at all for me. There are lots of threads on saddles here on TE.

If you're interested in the the Deva I can meet you at Treads and show it to you. PM and let me know if you'd like to see it.

[Smilie]

That is great they did that for you! Do people generally change the saddle that comes with the bikes? Seems everyone has (that I have read posts on anyway!) I have the same saddle on my mountain bike that came with it and it seems fine. But then I haven't sat on it for hours at a time. I think the longest ride was maybe 3 hours.

[Kathi]

It used to be that the shops would swap out the saddle but they ended up with so many unwanted saddles they discontinued that practice. Not sure how that is handled now. My last 2 bikes were custom builds so I bought what I wanted.

I'd work with the saddle that is on the bike. It may or may not be ok. If you absolutely cannot stand it after a while then change it. If you're going from a mtn bike to a road bike the positioning is different and it will take your body some time to adjust to the new position.

[Smilie]

That makes sense about swapping and why they stopped. But darn it anyhow!

On the tandem I rode my century on, the seat is called Body Geometry. It fits well enough, but I still got a bit chafed after doing the 199 miles in two days. I think that might be normal though? Or was the fit not exactly right?

[Kathi]

Yes, it could have been bike fit, especially if the bike wasn't adjusted to you.
I just did a 380 mile, 7 day bike ride in N.Dakota with my Deva saddle and I had no chafing at all. I didn't even know the saddle was there.

I still have my old saddle on my other bikes and when I ride them I feel the pressure from them. Eventually I get used to it as I get more saddle time but the first few rides I feel them.

My old saddles were WTB also but with more padding. The Deva is very thin and at first look it appears it would be uncomfortable, however, it felt great the very first day.

I'd venture to say that bike companies cut corners on saddles knowing that the buyer will most likely replace them.

Find out what the shops have available, they might let you try out different ones. And pick the brain of the salespeople.

If you've ridden 3 hrs on your mtn bike saddle and it's not to bothersome the shop can figure out the width and compare it with the saddle on the new bike. That's how I decided to get the Deva, we compared the width of my old saddle with the width of others available in the product catalogs. Since my old saddle width was fine we used that as our guide. When you do find the perfect saddle buy extra. Companies seem to have a way of changing them then you have to do the search all over again.

[Smilie]

That would be a great ride! Was it hot? I picture North Dakota as hot and barren. Don't know why as I have never been there! Very cool about the saddle. Sounds like it is perfect for you.

Thanks for all the information on the saddles. I am sure Treads will help me out with that as well. Thanks so much for letting me know about the stores there, that is a huge help. We plan on leaving around 7 so hopefully will get to Treads around 11. Unless we feel more ambitious and leave earlier. :rolleyes:

[Kathi]

Yes, it was hot but not barren. Picture fields of golden grain. The terrain was rolling hills and it kept threatening rain so the last couple of days were cloudy and cooler. It's a ride called Candisc sponsored by the N.Dakota parks and very well supported. We've done it twice now and have really enjoyed it.

I'm headed out for a ride. I can take a quick detour and tell Bill you're coming so he knows to look for you.

I'm looking for motivation to ride so I will plan to stop by tomorrow.

Did you see this post from TxDoc. Very good information on what to look for in an initial fit.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=25980

[Smilie]

Sounds like a great ride. That is something I would like to do next year. Will have to find a tour that would work for me!

Thanks for that link, yes I did read it. Is that how they fit you at Treads? That is something I would need!

Cool if you can stop by. I am short and have long dark hair!

[Kathi]

Not sure how they do it but Bill was trained by my fitter who took a lot of care with me. Bill stressed that they focus on getting you set up with a good initial fit no matter how much you spend on your bike.

I met 2 TE's, Electic (Christine) and KJay (Karen) on Candisc 2 years ago. Saw them again this year.

If you've never done a tour and would like to try one Candisc is a good one as the sag service is outstanding. Some rides discourage sagging but you can sag everyday if you need to. It's a small ride 300-500 participants and they didn't run out of food like some rides have been known to do.

[Smilie]

That is great, I am looking forward to meeting you and Bill!

That is cool how you can meet someone from TE on a ride. I will look up the Candisc ride and see how it may fit into my summer. Thanks!

[Kathi]

I'll have my Sports Garage (pink, gray, black) jersey on with a pink helmet. I have short blond hair and ride a Serotta.

Since you're small getting a good fit is going to be harder for you especially if you have narrow shoulders. Bike companies put what they think is average sized components on their bikes. You may have to switch out handlebars, stem or seatpost. When I bought my mtn bike we had to do all of that. I had to get a zero degree seatpost, they cut the handlebars down and put on a different stem. Because the seatpost was an upgrade I seem to remember that they split the difference with me.

If the frame is a good fit then swapping out components isn't that big of a deal.

Don't forget shorts, shoes, gloves, helmet, etc.

[Smilie]

Cool! I think we plan on leaving around 6, with a short stop in Ft. Collins to drop off my dog for dog sitting. Then will be there I am guessing 10:30 or 11. Hope my fit isn't too challenging.

[Kathi]

Weather looks like it's going to be great, high of 83 but isolated storms in the afternoon.

I stopped by and told them you were coming. I also saw the bike, very pretty.

See you tomorrow.