It seems like I have a ton of bike shops but very little selection

[Orange utopia]

There are tons of shops within an hours drive for me but it seems like they all carry the same bikes! I have been trying to test ride some different style rides to get an idea about what I want to move to in the future. My road bike is ok but the more I ride the more i realize it isn't what I want to ride long term.

So I have tried to find a kona honky Inc and the salsa vaya and can't find one anywhere. I did get to ride a specialized ruby last week and that was really nice but I have tested carbon bikes before so I would really like to ride a more utility minded steel bike to see the difference.

[Velocivixen]

Ohhhh, I want to get the Kona Honky Inc. & have test ridden it along with many others. What did you think about it?

[Orange utopia]

Ohhhh, I want to get the Kona Honky Inc. & have test ridden it along with many others. What did you think about it?

It looks great on paper. I really want to see on in person and give it a spin. I don't know if it is the one for me or not but right now it is the one that I want but can't find.

How did the test ride go? Was it a nice ride? What did you like about it over the other bikes you tried?

[Trek420]

There are tons of shops within an hours drive for me but it seems like they all carry the same bikes!

Guess I'm lucky here. Some LBS are like fast food chains. Manufacturers dictate what bikes, tools, even clothes they can carry. My favorite shops remain independent so they can pick the stuff they and customers like.

If you have a lot of shops you may just have to continue to look for a more independent shop. Kona site may link the LBS who carry their bikes. Is there one near you?

[TrekTheKaty]

I feel your pain. The least helpful shops "almost" have what i need. The most helpful shops have limited stock or carry the wrong brand.

I'm getting ready to test ride at one shop, then have it ordered by another shop. Crummy? Yes. But having worked my whole life in customer service, i refuse to reward bad behaviour.

[Sky King]

Do go on the mfg website and look for dealers near you, do call the dealers, do email the mfg if necessary. When we had our retail shop sometimes we would "trade" bikes with a LBS in Utah when one of our customers needed a size we didn't have. The other thing we did was call into service some of our excellent customers and ask them if the interested rider could take their bike for a test ride that way we weren't ordering in a bike that wasn't going to be the right bike for the customer.

[jessmarimba]

I second what sky king said. Most of the manufacturers have a dealer search on their website, and I believe Kona's will even tell you what bikes each dealer carries for the current year. Or at least it used to.

The salsa guys are very nice, too, and generally respond to an email pretty quickly if you have to resort to emailing them for info.

[Possegal]

Did you try Proteus for the Kona? Not sure if they have that one specifically, but I bought my Kona Dew Plus there. They are also so helpful. If you haven't gone there, I'd do that for sure. If they don't have it, I'd talk to them about what options you might have to get a chance to try and ride it. I'm sure Jill (the owner) would want to help you as much as she can.