There are shops that will treat you nice even though you didn't buy your bike there. AllezGirl's LBS double checked my fit, measured my bike, ordered me new parts and spent hours installing them for only $40 labor. But I also spent more than $400 on parts and accessories and would recommend them to anyone.
I was convinced my stem was too short, but it was actually the saddle that was bothering me. I was always trying to push myself farther back on the seat, and I equated that to the stem being too short. Shop could have profited by selling me a stem, but said it was the perfect size for me and didn't pressure me to buy a new saddle (although I did). With the new saddle, the top tube/stem feels dead on.
You'll have the last laugh by not going back there and not recommending the shop to others.
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12-11-2006, 06:23 AM #1
Going gluten-free
- Join Date
- Oct 2006
- Location
- Allentown, PA
- Posts
- 587
~ Susie
"Keep plugging along. The finish line is getting closer with every step. When you see it, you won't remember that you are hurting, that anything has gone wrong, or just how slow or fast you are.
You will just know that you are going to finish and that was what you set out to do."
-- Michael Pate, "When Big Boys Tri"
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12-12-2006, 06:42 AM #2
Godiva's mom
- Join Date
- Oct 2006
- Location
- Reporting from Moonshine Mountain
- Posts
- 1,327
Indy - Regarding the way the guy "fit" your friend to her bike - I had a similar experience with my own LBS when I bought my old road bike. Knowing little or nothing about fit, I trusted the guy at the shop. He checked my standover, eyeballed my knee/toe alignment & asked if, when in the drops, I could see the front hub. That's it. At first I loved the bike & it did take me many thousands of miles, but eventually I began to have chronic aches and pains that were later attributed to the too-long TOP TUBE. Eventually I found a bike shop I love - it is almost 60 miles from my house but I will not go anywhere else again! I now have a bike that fits, and the comfort that comes from knowing that the people I now work with know what they are talking about (the owner of my LBS also wrenches for the Ironman series).
"When I'm on my bike I forget about things like age. I just have fun." Kathy Sessler
2006 Independent Fabrication Custom Ti Crown Jewel (Road, though she has been known to go just about anywhere)/Specialized Jett
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12-12-2006, 11:33 AM #3
I am the cheese. ^_^
- Join Date
- Jun 2006
- Location
- Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Posts
- 529
The solution to this quandry is simple.
Scout your LBSs for women staff. (no I'm not being sexist, It's coming from experience here)
I seriously lucked out when purchasing my road bike, I got a guy first who was a bit OVER my desires in what I wanted in my road shoes... then the girl who'd finished with her customer interupted him and kicked him away! I was really lucky cause she was a triathlete who had the same tastes in shoes I did. (The shimano's weren't our first choice, but the pearl Izumis were digging into the top of my foot I was sure I was getting a BLISTER after only 2mins of wearing them!)
So what If I bought the socks and other things with my road bike and shoes... She gave me such good service I'd happily go back there.
And the guys aren't all that bad either. ^_^ I'll be going back
Just depends on who you get. The girls tend to be better salespeople and actual riders themselves. The guys are riders too but the girls know all the problems we seem to have.
You're more likely to buy more with a woman sales rep but I think it's worth it for the levels of service.
But yeah indysteel, Just because you're not a man doesn't mean you can't research. Just let all your riding friends know who he was and what shop he was at. Word of mouth is by FAR the best advertising. And if you let them know then then the chances of them shopping there drop considerably.
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