My sister has a Novara MTB, we bought it because she needed a good bike on a very limited budget and with a 20% off coupon we got a great deal, about half the cost of my very similarly equipped bike. The bike itself was a great value but the service at REI was less than stellar. We got all of her accessories at our favorite LBS, figured we'd give them that business since the prices there were comparable and we love our LBS. The mechanic got his hands on it to install lock mounts/lights/etc. and ended up tuning up the bike ("Hey, I just have to fix this thing..." he kept saying) he adjusted the brakes, both derailleurs, fixed the crooked handlebars...all this the day after the REI guy spent an hour and a half tuning it up before we brought it home. I told him that I'd go ahead and pay for a full tune up but the guy wouldn't hear of it...even though he knew we'd *just* bought the bike and not from them. Then the fit guy came by and asked if she wanted him to take a quick look.

My sister & I are training for a ride together and decided that our increasing distances warranted road bikes. We looked all around, I wanted to get the best bike for me, so again I included REI and various bike shops around town. The Novara bikes seemed like a pretty good deal but I got a much better value at my favorite LBS on last year's model. My strategy was this: I set a budget, looked around to determine the various bikes that fit that budget then went out to see and ride them. I've read that the best deal you'll get on components is with the purchase of a new bike since the manufacturers buy in bulk, so I decided that it was better to buy a bike that I thought would meet my needs for a long time rather than upgrading over time.

Test riding at REI basically consisted of riding around the parking lot. The salesperson wasn't terribly knowledgeable and there was a hiking with poles class going on that had hordes of senior citizens hiking around the store. Clank, clank, clank went the hiking sticks. Ooops, sorry. Excuse me. And meanwhile the REI guy is trying to get bikes off the ceiling. It just wasn't happening, the bikes didn't feel great, but I'd never ridden a road bike so there was a lot I didn't know, like how to shift the thing.

The next day we moved on to our favorite LBS. They let us test ride bikes on a group ride they had, gave us a complete lesson on how to ride a road bike, shifting, body positioning, etc. The leader was great about helping us and answering questions. After 20 miles I knew it wasn't the bike for me, but I also knew what qualities I was looking for. We test rode bikes for the entire day (my Garmin says it was 68 miles of test riding) and when I got on my bike I knew it was the right bike. I ended up getting a *much* nicer bike than I thought I could get and only went a little bit over my budget.

In short, I think REI's bikes are great, but their bike shop service is likely to be hit or miss, definitely a miss here. The outstanding service at my LBS made buying a bike from them a joy. I was willing to pay a little more to buy a bike from my LBS but I ended up getting the best deal there too.

Sore hands, part of that is getting used to the new position, sort of like getting used to being in the saddle when you haven't ridden in a long time. Part of it may be that you are gripping too tightly, though, or putting too much weight on your hands. Switching your hand position around helps. As I've developed new muscles and gotten more comfortable on the bike I've been a lot less sore. Also, once you buy a bike you can fine-tune the fit. I shortened my stem a little yesterday and that helped a lot.

Anne