Quote Originally Posted by 7rider View Post
If he wants as much bike as he can for the money and the 2 bikes he's looking at are about the same price, then it seems a no-brainer to go with the local purchase. He'd get much more than a bike. He'd get a shop that would stand by what they sold him and be an ongoing resource for him as he learns and grows as a cyclist. I doubt the online retailer would do much more for him than take his credit card info.
+1 for the local purchase.

On a whole different topic, where is your friend planning on riding? It seems odd that both bikes have a compact crankset as the only choice... Of course you can always change the crankset later, but unless you live up a mountain why buy a compact to begin with?