Why I love my LBS (or not): Jump In!

[indysteel]

My LBS is rated really highly by locals and in magazines and I do understand why. They are very knowledgable and have great stock and great policies about trying bikes and getting the fit right. But I do think there is a hole in their store for women. They don't have any women that work at my location (there is one at another store I believe) and you can tell they don't feel as knowledgable about the WSD bikes. They also carry almost no clothing or gear for women - especially compared to the men's selection.

I can understand all the reasons, I am in the retail business myself, but at the same time I have been in the stores dozens of times and have NEVER been the only female customer there. To me that says that the cycling community here has a lot of women. So having such a gap in your knowledge and selection in frustrating.

In the end I have gotten very good service there. I just have to work a little bit harder to get it (and be more prepared) than my husband does.

I don't disagree that a lot of shops don't understand the WSD product they carry and/or carry less of a selection for women, BUT some of the worst service I've gotten is from sales women who didn't understand what a particular manufacturer's "WSD" label means. It sometimes means very little, and yet they insist that it does.

This is my take after buying a number bikes: Somebody either understands bike fit or they don't. There are only a few fit issues that I see as being absolutely specific to women. We come in all shapes, sizes and proportions. WSD is just a starting point when it comes to fitting a bike to a woman. You don't have to be a woman to get that, nor does being a woman guarantee that you do. There are plenty of men who deviate from the norm enough that they could benefit from a fitting with someone who isn't going to make any fit assumptions based solely on gender. The same applies to women.

I'm not saying that your bike shop does or doesn't get bike fit, but I would suggest that it's not necessariliy a gender issue if they don't.