What do you guys think?

[indysteel]

Interested in hearing other opinions on the shop guy's behavior but I have a 6 hour drive to a regatta in the AM and need to go to bed. Will check back in tomorrow.

I am sorry. You are correct. When I was pulling up the details under each bike, it lists a compact, but I did not see the option on the left (at least on their mobile site this is the way it appears) for a triple. My humble apologies.

[OakLeaf]

I agree, look for another bike shop. If she's really interested in a Trek, maybe even try another location - I know the Columbus stores are all under the same ownership but the personnel might be different from store to store. Otherwise I don't really have personal experience with any of the LBSs there, but there are several independent shops - whenever I go in Baer Wheels they seem to know what they're doing, and Paradise Garage and B1 both seem to have good reputations.

[girlontheroad]

I agree with the posters who say find another shop. Doesn't really matter if the salesperson was mistaken or saying it to make a sale--either way he probably is not knowledgeable enough about the bikes he sells to be very helpful. I've had this problem at a Trek store before and bought a bike from them only to wonder later if it was the best purchase. I have a Trek Lexa and I love it and as many have mentioned it has an option for a triple. Good luck and let us know what she ends up getting!

[Skierchickie]

I mentioned this to a friend today. She and her husband are the local Trek dealers. She said Trek DOES still make triples. She was just in Madison for the Trek show last week.

I'd avoid that place, if it were me

[kajero]

this is kind off the subject a little, but still about bike dealership personnel. When I bought my bike, the salesperson fitted me for a 44, which had to be ordered from the factory because there wasn't one that size available in the other stores. I kept telling him it was too small and that I needed to the next size up which was on his sales floor. He could have walked away with a sale that day, but he told me the next size was up was too big and he wanted me to try the smaller size. He explained why and what I needed to know about the bike. The shop kept the bike there for 6 weeks after my accident as well. When I finally went to get it fitted, he told me how I was supposed to position my body to ride it and what to look for. No one has ever done that!

Well, I have the smaller size and it is perfect and I love it. I stop and buy stuff from him and I told him how happy I was he didn't listen to me. He said he couldn't have comfortably sold me the wrong size bike!

[FlyingScot]

It's all good Indy. And thanks to all of you for your input. I just got this hinky feeling about the whole situation and was worried that she wasn't going to get the info needed to make a good decision and ultimately would end up unhappy. Since I am the one who introduced her to cycling I have a sense of personal responsibility as she takes this first step and as a novice (4 year rider) I'm relying on the experts to educate both of us.

[FlyingScot]

So she ended up with a Giant Avail 5...beautiful bike. I'm totally jealous of the teal and silver combo. I don't fit WSD bikes so I can't get pretty colors. Mine's basic black and grey. As far as I know she ended up with a double which confuses me a little since the website lists it as coming with a triple but it doesn't matter. She is thrilled and I'm thrilled for her. We're going for her first road ride on Tuesday after work.

[FlyingScot]

Update: we have been on 3 rides now. The first one was 8 miles on the bike path. She did so well that the second was upped to 20 miles on the road with mild rollers. Dropped her chain twice but otherwise she did great. Our last ride was 30 miles bike path/road combo with rollers and two rather challenging hills. She's getting the hang of shifting and has increased her speed from about 8 mph to a solid 12-13. I think I've created a monster! LOL. She'll soon be smoking me on the road.
The bike goes to the shop on Friday for some adjustments and slight fit issues but she is so excited and her family is in total shock!

[thekarens]

That's awesome! Glad you've made a convert :-)