Thank you for your road bike advice

[Bike Goddess]

Hi Sandy- Your bike story sounds a bit like mine, except I didn't take the bike out for a spin- I just tried frames until I found one that worked for me (also a steel frame). I had the same experience- the guys were super patient with me (even though I found out later they were pretty skeptical!) and in the end I have been pleased with my purchase too! Good for you not to let those youngins intimidate you!

Let us know how your very first ride goes

Do you have a friendly bike club in your vincinity? Hopefully you do. Most guys are thrilled to see women riders if they are serious (I think you are). I am also ecstatic when I find older women riding. We just have some catching up to do!

[nuthatch]

Hey, Sandy! So glad you shared your experience with us. I'd love to hear how you like the Bianchi, how you feel about the steel after you've ridden on it for a while. Share with us when you get a chance. I'm in Illinois and we have spring "bike" fever to the max!! Com'on 60 degrees!!

[cyclingnewbie]

Congratulations on the new bike! I just went through the same process, with exactly the same problems with the local bike shops. Fortunately, the brand I chose was sold by the bike shop I liked the best. All the talk about properly fitting a bike seems to be lost on the LBS. Every one of them I visited went by the "try it and see how it feels" method of fitting a bike. I bet you are going to love your new Bianchi. Let us know how the inaugural ride goes!

[shewhobikes]

Hello from another older rider! I love the celeste color and wish you many happy miles on your new Bianchi. Good to hear you had such great service at your bike shop. Stick with them! Be sure to post about your first ride.

[Jo-n-NY]

I also want to welcome to the forum. Like you and I am sure many others, I was lurking quite a long time before my first post. Although that was not very long ago either.

I want to wish you much luck with your new bike. I will never forget the excitement when my husband wheeled mine into the house. It was on order and was just hoping it would get to me by my birthday. But boy, don't you feel like a kid again?

Wishing you many happy pedaling miles.

~JoAnn

[SandyLS]

I picked up my new Bianchi Veloche yesterday. She is just beautiful. The bike I ordered was a 53cm The fitting was an interesting experience. On the bike (on a trainer in front of a big mirror) off the bike, on the bike , off the bike, repete. The guy doing the fitting did a lot of holding a plumb bob by my legs and used some kind of an odd shaped plastic ruler thingy. I know that the shop had a sign on the wall that said that a fitting fee was $150.00 but it was included in the price of a new bike.
I learned that I had a long femur. and narrow shoulders. I ended up with the seat quite high, narrower handle bars and a Salsa stem that placed my arms at the right angle. The shop swapped the look peddles that came with the bike for SPD ones so I could use my new Cannondale shoes. The peddles are the same beautiful celiste green as the rest of the bike, very cool! I don't know if all of this was done right, but they sure seemed to know what they were doing.
I was suprised to find when I got home and checked my bill that there was an extra charge for the stem and a $20.00 charge to install the new computer I pruchased there and had them add to the bike. I still would have purchased these items if I would have known about the charges but it seemed strange to me that these charges were not brought to my attention. I guess I just assumed that these were included in the price of my new bike.
I took my first ride this afternoon. I can't believe how much easier it is to ride this road bike than my old Trek 850 mountian bike. I was flying up hills (well, small ones) that took much more effort on the old bike. Only an eight mile ride today as the bike and I are still getting aquainted with each other. So far, so good. I felt really good after the ride, no aches and pains. I did reach 21 miles an hour at on point on the flat and really didn't feel as if I was working all that hard. Hubby and I averager 10 to 12 miles an hour last summer. It will take some time to get used to the more bent over position I'll be using on this bike as compared with my more upright mountian bike. I am still learning about the campy gearing system and I did have a little trouble finding the sweet spot to clip in, but all of that will come in time. It's too soon to tell about the saddle comfort, but it was pretty good for today's short ride. At least I didn't do something stupid like tip over or run into something. I did miss not having my mirror. Where do I mount one on a road bike?
A strange thing happened. I went to get my helmet out of my car and found one that did not belong to me, but luckily was the right size. All I can figure is the day I test rode bikes and ordered mine, I must have been so excited that I accidently left mine on the counter and picked up one from someone else. I have no idea if I got the better deal in the trade of if they did. Neither were new or fancy. I think I also left a pair of gloves with my helmet though.
I sure am looking forward to getting back on that bike tomorrow. Happy biking to all and to all a good night.

[cindysue]

I finally found a shop that worked the way I've read they are suposed too. I drove 70 miles from my home to buy from this shop . ......
but when I am thinking of spending a considerable amount of cash on a bike I don't like to be told that I don't want/need upgraded components and that I wouldn't know what wheels look cool. I guess the kid thought that I would be dead in a few years, so why should I bother with the good stuff.

I was suprised to find when I got home and checked my bill that there was an extra charge for the stem and a $20.00 charge to install the new computer I pruchased there and had them add to the bike. I still would have purchased these items if I would have known about the charges but it seemed strange to me that these charges were not brought to my attention. I guess I just assumed that these were included in the price of my new bike.

Hi Sandy - welcome to this great forum. Well at least taking part in the posting since you've been lurking for awhile.

I am sorry to hear you had to drive 70 miles to find a good bike shop. What a shame no one took you serious. Reminds me of that scene in Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts gets blown off by the snooty salesgirl - then comes back later with her hands full of shopping bags and says "you work on commission, right? Big mistake, big mistake!" I love that movie!

Having a close-by shop is so valuable. I was having some trouble with the cleat on my road-shoe and I went in today to have them look at it. They were great - and very sympathetic to my experience of not being able to clip in on a long organized ride this weekend. They fixed it (it took a good 15 minutes) and didn't even charge me. I'm so happy with the service I receive there!

As for charging you for the cyclometer installment. I think that is CRAP! It should most definitely be included in the price of the computer - not to mention you just spent a small fortune in their shop! I would write a letter to the management/owner telling them how great their service was, but for this extra charge - that you weren't even TOLD about!

Happy Riding Sandy - Best to you!