what if...

[kitten]

what if all the lbs that you go to take one look at you, and decide you can't be serious because your not a trim little thing. i found out yesterday that the one place i really liked lied about not having a fitting machine. i was told that i should just hop on a bike and find my fit that way. i was planning to spend 2k on a really nice first real bike for myself, but i don't want to spend my cash, which took me a very long time to save up, on a place that would treat it's potential customers that way. another i visited offered to fit me for a price, but discouraged my doing it because if i bought the bike, then they would fit me for free. i don't want to buy something that only might work. the last was staffed by a nervous young college guy how didn't quite know what to do with me. am i really going to have to go out of town? this can't be typical.

[Biciclista]

I'm afraid this IS typical. Most of us looked around quite a bit before we found a shop we like. The good news is there are lots of people on TE and maybe someone near you that can help you find a good place to shop. And you can develop a relationship with your favorite of the shops near you as well, that will help.

Welcome to TE!

[Pax]

Welcome to TE!

I experienced something similar and ended up getting fitted and buying my bike in Chicago (130 miles away). As Mimi said, there might be a TEer from your area who can offer some advice. Good luck with your new bike purchase!

[batsheva]

sorry you feel like you have been treated badly - but i think this might be a miscommunication from what you say-

yes, you do just hop on bikes and ride them until you find one that feels right - only when you have bought a bike do they then do a 'fit' and finetune and tweak little things like saddle position, handlebars, seatpost etc to make it perfect - it would not be normal to do a fit to SELECT at bike-- you select a bike by just hopping on and trying them out and getting the feel for different ones - a fitting is then a finetuning to optimize things -

so it sounds to be like the first place you liked was spot-on - just ride the bikes and see which feels better for you, and when you have made a decision and bought the bike they 'fit' it by tweaking the small details - you do no choose a bike by having a fitting first--

hopefully this was just a misunderstanding of what a fitting is and you can go back to the first shop and just hop on those bikes, confident that when you find the one that feels best to you, they will fit it to you at that point so you absolutely LOVE to ride it!

batsheva

[smilingcat]

well, the shops you visited have some major issues. You are the one with the money. Keep looking until you find one that you like. Being in Syracuse, there must be some decent bike shops around.

Might check around with some cycling clubs and get their help (recommendation). Many of the bike shops survive because of overweight, rich men who don't know what to do with their money. (who can afford to blow $4-$10,000 bike, accessories like power tap ($1000+) and other goodies). You can have a very nice bike for $1000 range. We just don't fit their "normal" demographic. At least where I live. But money is money so I think you are being wise as to how you want to spend it.

and what Bicilista says welcome to TE ;)

Meeeooowwww!
smilingcat

[ny biker]

This is not true. Before I bought my road bike, the guy at the lbs measured me using a fit kit to determine what size frame I should get as well as other basic measurements like handlebar size. From there we picked out a couple of bikes to try, and he told me to go ride them around the neighborhood for a while to see which one I liked best. Then after I decided which one I liked, I paid him for it.

After that, we made some changes (e.g., handlebar and seat height). Over time based on specific issues we made other changes.

But I was measured before we did anything. They measured things like inseam and arm length.

[batsheva]

that's pretty basic - measuring you up - a fitting i think takes about an hour or so--

[bluebug32]

Check out cycle-cny.com

It's a great forum and I've ridden with some of the members. They will, no doubt, have a good shop recommendation for you.

[SadieKate]

There are bike shops that will measure you first. A good experienced fitter can often size up someone's body build, flexibility, etc., and be able to recommend brands and sizes that are more appropriate. So, they may start with some measurements or putting someone on a fit bike to help narrow the search right from the beginning.

The body is a greatly adaptable thing and will tolerate much for a short period, so what feels comfortable in a 20 min. test ride may be painful on a century.

You don't have to go this route to find the right bike, but it is an option.

[michelem]

another i visited offered to fit me for a price, but discouraged my doing it because if i bought the bike, then they would fit me for free.

I suggest asking them if they are open to you paying for the fitting and then applying that fee toward your bike purchase, should you decide to buy from them? If they are not willing to do that, well . . .

I am so sorry that these shops are treating you this way. For what it's worth, I am quite small and it took me visiting several shops to find a place to do a proper fitting. Like your experience, most said, "just hop on and see what feels good." While that may work for some, for me, when I'm going to spend that kind of money, I want to jump through all the possible hoops first! :p I ended up paying for a fitting, which lasted at least an hour. The amount would have been applied to a bike purchase, but I ended up puchasing my bike elsewhere (one they didn't carry at their shop). But, I continue to frequent the shop that did the fitting and give them referrals because of their stellar customer service.

Good luck to you! :)

[derailed]

I have had some similar experiences, and respect your frustration.

Have you expressed your concern to the fitter? He may feel he has a basic idea of general size for you, and want to hear your first impressions before getting more specific.

My best wishes to you for finding a respectful interaction with a supportive shop.

[short cut sally]

Kitten, how far are you willing to travel if you can't or don't find a good bike shop in Syracuse????
I visit all the bike shops that I can, just to get the lay of the land so to speak, and then make decisions upon how they treat other customers and what they do and don't do. I am willing to travel, heck, I traveled almost 2 hours one way to get the shoes and pedals that I wanted because they actually had a wall of womens shoes to choose from.
There is a bike shop in Geneva, which is what , an hour or so west/south west of you... I have no affiliation with this shop so that is not why I am plugging them, but I went there as an observer and just meandered for at least an hour in the store. The womens selection of bikes was the most impressive section that I have ever seen ( a whole floor dedicated to womens bikes, clothing and tri stuff). Granted the clothing was too small for me but what the hey, they at least had the stuff...They were very courteous to all the women that came to the store and they measured and tweeked the bikes for them. One lady said she had no intention of buying, she was looking, the saleman said he didnt care he wanted her to enjoy the ride anyways to see if it was something she liked.
HOpe that helps, and good luck

[bluebug32]

There is a bike shop in Geneva, which is what , an hour or so west/south west of you... I have no affiliation with this shop so that is not why I am plugging them, but I went there as an observer and just meandered for at least an hour in the store. The womens selection of bikes was the most impressive section that I have ever seen ( a whole floor dedicated to womens bikes, clothing and tri stuff). Granted the clothing was too small for me but what the hey, they at least had the stuff...They were very courteous to all the women that came to the store and they measured and tweeked the bikes for them. One lady said she had no intention of buying, she was looking, the saleman said he didnt care he wanted her to enjoy the ride anyways to see if it was something she liked.
HOpe that helps, and good luck

GREAT IDEA! I can't believe I forgot about this shop. I've shopped there for the past three years as my FDH finished his chiropractic degree nearby. We've bought a lot from them and when I was having knee issues they did a complete fitting (they have a great fitting station upstairs). They took their time and took all of my complaints and worries seriously. I would recommend them to anyone and they know a lot about women's bike fit and issues. Plus they have an awesome assortment of women's bikes and a woman on staff who rides and races. More than I saw in San Diego. It's worth the drive. Good luck and report back if you go!

http://www.genevabikes.com/