Aluminum and Carbon

So, I'm reading about so many people bike size regrets and they are talking what the bike is made of.

Please tell me, what does what it's made of have to do with a bike size?

If people go to the Little Bike Shop, they trust the place, they have been riding for years. Why blame the bike shop for selling them an ill fitting bike?

Sounds like when you go to try out a bed in a store, it could be the day your dead tired, Seally posture pedic feels great. Then 5 nights later they are complaining the store sold them a bed that was too hard. :confused:

Not sure about the materials part of your comment, but the bike sizing is relying on the "professional" not to push you into buying what's in stock or always assuming that a lady HAS to ride a WSD/Femme bike. A good sales guy will take mesurements ( but not always ) or watch you test ride and ask you questions as well as answer all you questions in a non condescending tone, even if it is a newbie question.

Down the road your never going to achieve comfort on a bike that is too big/small and no amount of fitting is going to solve the issues either. Id rather a shop tell me to go down the road then sell me something that will be collecting dust in less then a year. I would respect that and do as much business with that shop it'd more then make up for the loss of that sale.

As to materials, perhaps it's being too eger for others (customers) to agree with your (sales guy) pov on frame materials. Some believe steel is the ONLY materials frames should be built with and others think carbon fiber is going to break in a slight wind. So yes there are some over jelous sales guys that drink the kool-aid the marketing folks print.

Ill fitting bikes sold by sleazy shops and material are two separate issues. They are just being discussed in the same thread. The OP questioned some relative merits about different materials (steels, carbon, alu) in her post, in addition to the size/fit issue.
Why do bike shops sell the wrong sized bike?
Because they want to make a sale. It is never the customer's fault. When many people go to an LBS to buy a bike, they don't know what to ask and what to try. They may not be familiar with all of language about components or geometry. Trying out a bike in the parking lot or on a trainer is not enough. You need at least a 10-15 mile ride. Shops tend to do this with women, but it happens to men, too.
A friend of mine just bought a Specialized road bike, after riding a flat bar road bike. We sent her to a shop we knew would have what she needed and is not pushy. Still, if she hadn't been armed with the questions and information myself and DH spent hours going over with her, I am sure she would have been screwed. She got a crash course in components, shifters, gear ratios and it paid off. She has a beautiful bike she loves.

I still don't get why they blame the shop. I don't believe they are all out just for a sale. They know treating a customer right will get them many years on the sale.
I think people grow more into a need then saying it was the bike shop fault. I happen to like my bike shop and trust the owners. They both ride and I believe that helps. maybe more bike shops need to hire bike riders then just employees.

Never the customers fault... Not sure I can hug that one. They just don't understand the language and want to start. That's not their fault.

Because no self-respecting bike shop should sell the wrong-sized bike to a customer while giving them the impression that it's the correctly sized bike. Period. Now, it's possible to buy the correctly sized bike and be very uncomfortable due to the current adjustments or even the bike's geometry, but a wrong-sized bike is just never going to work. No one should do that to a customer, particularly a customer who is new to cycling.

Oh, and people who go to the LBS haven't necessarily been riding for years. I bought my first bike as an adult as an LBS and went in there knowing NOTHING.

And your mattress example...is why most mattress stores have an exchange/return policy.

THen bikes should have one too. and not all mattress stores do take them back. You know some folks got lice..... lol.

I just feel bad for the bike stores that get blamed for someone's ill fitted bike. I'm also an adult who is buying her second bike from a store and just took rides about the building and not even on the bike I ordered.

I'd blame my optometrist if he gave me glasses that weren't the right prescription, and I'll blame a bike shop if they sell me a bike that doesn't fit. Why feel bad for them - it's their fault!!

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Originally Posted by tytbody

THen bikes should have one too. and not all mattress stores do take them back. You know some folks got lice..... lol.

I just feel bad for the bike stores that get blamed for someone's ill fitted bike. I'm also an adult who is buying her second bike from a store and just took rides about the building and not even on the bike I ordered.

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I agree...but because I was very new with road riding and I only had longest ride was about 20 miles until I did 50 miles and wrecked my back doing it (only because I was stupid jumping from 32 - longest to 52 miles within a week). Part of it was the fit, but mostly because I didn't gradually get up to that point, especially if you're a newbie. I had NO idea WHY I was uncomfortable. I just was. I had the handle bars replaced. But the third guy made it so obvious - the bike is too big.

Too late to return my bike...and I think there's only a 30 refund policy with 15% restocking fee. So...how the heck was I supposed to know?

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Originally Posted by CyborgQueen

Too late to return my bike...and I think there's only a 30 refund policy with 15% restocking fee. So...how the heck was I supposed to know?

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I hear ya. (shaking head---up and down) :(

Most bike shops are owned by people who are, naturally, bike geeks. A lot of the time they are "roadie purists," and if they see a person who is a newbie or they perceive is not fit, wants a hybrid, etc. they do not really want to spend a bunch of time with you. They also have a nasty tendency to speak to the male half of a couple, if you go with a male. This may have worked when most of the people buying road bikes were racers and men, but cycling is hugely popular (at least in my area) and a lot of people are new to the sport. It is most definitely the shop's fault if they sell you a bike that doesn't fit you. They want to SELL.
When I bought my Trek 5200 (my second road bike) we went to the shop to pick it up. This is a well known shop with a few stores around Boston. A small chain that begins with L... the computer was put on backwards and the pedals were also not installed correctly. They barely spoke to me. I never went back there. And quite a few bike shop employees are teenaged boys who have the attention of a flea. And I say this as a mother of someone who worked in a shop when he was 16. I would not have wanted to buy a bike from my son.
The best remedy for all of this is to research, research, research. Know your stuff. Don't let anyone tell you what you "need." Test ride as many bikes as you want to before buying. I always tell new riders, if your bike doesn't fit or the components break all of the time because you didn't want to spend the extra bucks for better components, well, you won't be riding your bike.

Stories like that cranking do help me understand how it can happen. I'm very very glad I got an experienced person to help me. She's the reason I am purchasing from her shop and not a shop say, 5 miles from my home.

now what is the name of that store,..??? got me thinking. I'm not that far from Boston and see, I don't even know the store. pm me the name so I can please know of whom you are referring.

@tytbody, all you have to do is google search bike shops in Boston and look for one that starts with an "L"- it has 4 locations. Took me all of 20 seconds.

OMG> I did it. I almost was going to buy from them also. Thank goodness a fellow TE member steered me clear.

My first road bike was TWO frame sizes too big for me. A 54cm, when now I ride a 49cm roadie, 48cm xc bici, and 16" mtb.

The lbs was local and has been in biz for a while with experienced cyclists, as you say, for owners. I trusted them with my heart and soul on many things for advice and my hard earned cash of $1K+ & gear $ to get no help after the sale, or return.

For that, they can burn in bad bike karma hell. And believe you me, of the thousands of students I've encountered in my Spinning classes at local gyms where I teach, both cyclists and aspiring ones, I surely share my experience when asked "where should I go to for the lbs?".

The only good thing that came of that ill fit sale was my finding wonderful TE here at my wits end in pain and frustrated in tears of what to do.

So hey... I guess every cloud has some type of silver lining, right?!:rolleyes:;)

Bottom line... it's a matter of business ethics and professionalism... and that's pretty sick when you screw people over who believe you have a passion... and those who are aspiring to have the same.

Please know I do believe it's bad to screw People over. I was just trying to say I would hope it would not be intentional.

I don't think these shops do it intentially, but end up not doing the right thing in the name of the dollar, plus hiring the wrong "kids" who seem well intentioned. Immiturity will show itself in the I don't give a bleep about you, I'm with a customer who I think will drop $$$ on a new racy road bike-- and oh by the way, IF i do make this sale, it will likely save my job as bossman is telling me I have to sell bikes.

Like many here have said, it's all about self educating yourself, and armed with information you can make the right calls.

Shannon