Road bike shopping from the boonies

[DeniseGoldberg]

It's very possible that the larger bike shops you are considering visiting while in Oklahoma City will have bikes in your size that they will need to assemble before you can test ride them. For that reason, you may want to call ahead of time to see what they have and what they are willing to build. But - by building out the bikes and spending time with you as you look at and test ride bikes, those shops are spending time trying to meet your needs. While I'm a fan of supporting your LBS, I think you should consider purchasing the bike at the shop that you are using for test riding. You can always use your LBS for service later. (Can you tell I feel strongly about this? And no, I don't work for a bike shop!)

And - at this time of year many of the larger shops are running sales, with a price cut on last year's models. Might be easier to fit your budget.

Happy shopping!

--- Denise