Tough Decisions...

[MartianDestiny]

As a middle-aged woman who was not in full biking attire like some of their customers, he might have assumed I didn't know anything at all? (I didn't appreciate his dismissive comment afterward that most of the time I 'wouldn't be needing the big ring'. How could he possibly know how I ride? I told him that I wanted to see how the gearing felt-and (gasp) how smoothly it shifted.)

I hate this kind of attitude. I've had my fair share as a "kid" and a "woman" quite a few shops assume that a) I don't know what I'm doing and b) I can't afford what I'm asking to look at anyway.

I've turned this into a bit of a blessing since I DO know what I'm talking about. If they treat me the way they treated you I turn around and walk out. They will never ever see me again, not even for a tube. Works wonders for narrowing down shops to "the one", which I have now found! Go SGCycling

[Kubla]

I hate this kind of attitude. I've had my fair share as a "kid" and a "woman" quite a few shops assume that a) I don't know what I'm doing and b) I can't afford what I'm asking to look at anyway.

This reminds me of buying a car on my own-which I have done for a number of years. DBF sometimes comes along, just for the entertainment of observing while a salesman tries to appeal to him-only to be reminded that I am his customer.

I had the specs of each bike with me, printed and highlighted. I'm certainly not an expert, but I'm not afraid to say what I want. He looked surprised, but it seemed that he was not taking me very seriously. This shop is well-known in the area, but I don't think they need my business all that much.

I liked the Speciale CX, but will go with my gut reaction and give the sale to the shop where I bought my Coda last year. I brought it in yesterday for an adjustment, and the mechanic couldn't have been more pleasant (he also mentioned that the Aurora was a particularly nice ride). The staff is friendly and quickly checked each bike over before sending me out to test ride. (Obviously this didn't happen with the bigger shop...)

[Crankin]

Kubla,

I didn't know you were really looking for a Jamis, so I didn't address that in my PM.
You should try Quad Cycles in Arlington. I bought my Jamis Coda Femme there and my DH bought a Coda Sport. It is a smaller shop, though not teeny, and they were super nice and had lots of Jamis bikes.
Just a thought.
We are where you are now, too. The Jamises are great, but very heavy, for me and the flat bars are killing me, even on the shorter errand rides I use it for (though I have ridden 50 miles on it). We are now looking at lighter weight touring bikes, too, for just the reasons you specified. I can't put anything on my carbon road bike, because it's so light and small, so I really want a dropped bar bike, with fatter tires that I can put a rack/pannier on. he fact that I am short and live on a huge hill makes it hard to find exactly what I want, but we are working on it.

Good luck!

[Kubla]

Kubla,

I didn't know you were really looking for a Jamis, so I didn't address that in my PM.
You should try Quad Cycles in Arlington. I bought my Jamis Coda Femme there and my DH bought a Coda Sport. It is a smaller shop, though not teeny, and they were super nice and had lots of Jamis bikes.
Just a thought.
We are where you are now, too. The Jamises are great, but very heavy, for me and the flat bars are killing me, even on the shorter errand rides I use it for (though I have ridden 50 miles on it). We are now looking at lighter weight touring bikes, too, for just the reasons you specified. I can't put anything on my carbon road bike, because it's so light and small, so I really want a dropped bar bike, with fatter tires that I can put a rack/pannier on. he fact that I am short and live on a huge hill makes it hard to find exactly what I want, but we are working on it.

Good luck!

Crankin, sorry for the delayed update. (Work and other things seem to get in the way of my computer time.) I went back to Harris Cyclery on Saturday, took the 2009 Surly Cross-Check out for a much longer ride, then asked if the price was negotiable. (We are well into 2010 and they are still asking list price.)

I did like the bike's ride -but the 'beef gravy brown' color was not exciting enough to inspire me to pay full price for a leftover.

Unfortunately, he would only reduce the price by $55-not enough to forego my back-up plan of ordering the '10 Aurora that I'd coveted in the first place. He seemed surprised, but it is doubtful the Aurora will disappoint me; I really enjoy my Coda Sport. There was apparently some question that he'd be able to get one-even though it's only April-but I was prepared to grab the Cross-Check if it fell through.

The condensed version of the story (admittedly, I'm not good at this...) is that it's now on order and might even be here by the end of the week. As much as I liked the Masi Speciale CX, I got bad vibes from the other shop. Without mentioning the name of the other shop, I told Mr. Harris that their customer service is superior and greatly appreciated. He was tickled to hear that. They wouldn't even write up a purchase order until I've ridden the Aurora and am satisfied with it.

[MartianDestiny]

YAY! Good shop. Hope the Aurora is everything you want when it finally gets in.

[Kubla]

I've been very pleased with them. They are courteous and treat all of their customers with the same respect-regardless of how much money is being spent. (I did not get that same feeling from the other shop-where I was chastised for daring to change gears on a test ride.)

I brought my Coda back to Harris Cyclery for a free adjustment Friday, and the mechanic was more than willing to take care of it-as soon as I walked in the door. He also helped me with my bike computer-which decided to poop out between Friday and Sunday for some unknown reason.

Although there are other LBS in my area that I would be willing to recommend, Harris is the closest that carries Jamis.