If you could own your own bike shop...

[Boudicca]

This is to make the store as accessible as possible for cyclists....who bike like me to do errands /don't have a car /near a very heavily used bike path and if you want to encourage others to bike for transportation/daily lifestsyle (and they tend to have a carrier, pannier racks, etc.). Trail was intended to mean more a defined bike path for commuters.

The most well-known and used bike stores where I've lived and biked in Toronto (14 yrs.), Vancouver (8 yrs.) and Calgary are all with half km. or right along a marked bike route. Sure you get people who browse, look around and won't buy..but you will also get more people who will buy and prefer safety/convenience of cycling on bike paths, bike lanes, instead of far flung mall locations with no safe cycling access.

Ah, I misunderstood. I rarely drive anywhere, so the idea of a store that doesn't have access for a bike just didn't cross my radar screen.

I agree on the bikeability of the store, but I'd like transit access, and (outside of big cities) some sort of parking too, for those people who do drive.

[Kernyl]

I'd like to see more higher end bikes in small sizes/WSD available to try in the shop. As a women with a very "womenly" geometry (short reach, long legs) I am frustrated by the lack of choices for me when I walk into a shop and look at bikes. Yes, I want carbon and high end components.
I do understand the inventory issue though, a shop doesn't want to get stuck with bikes they don't think will sell. It's a risk for me to have to order a bike without having a chance to ride it though. My last two bikes have been purchased this way and luckily worked out. I do appreciate the shop that is willing to work including special orders, swapping components etc. to get me what I need/like and not try to sell me something I don't want or like just because it is what they have. Maybe if more women start buying higher end bikes it will get better.

[Becky]

I'd like to see more higher end bikes in small sizes/WSD available to try in the shop. As a women with a very "womenly" geometry (short reach, long legs) I am frustrated by the lack of choices for me when I walk into a shop and look at bikes. Yes, I want carbon and high end components.
I do understand the inventory issue though, a shop doesn't want to get stuck with bikes they don't think will sell. It's a risk for me to have to order a bike without having a chance to ride it though. My last two bikes have been purchased this way and luckily worked out. I do appreciate the shop that is willing to work including special orders, swapping components etc. to get me what I need/like and not try to sell me something I don't want or like just because it is what they have. Maybe if more women start buying higher end bikes it will get better.

The shop I work at got stuck with a high-end carbon road bike in size 44 because of a special order situation (not going into details). It took a year to sell that bike because of its size and pricepoint.

I do understand your frustration though. I'm not particularly short, but short-torsoed with long arms and legs. I ride ~50cm frames, and I can't tell you the last time I got to test ride a bike prior to buying. I've made do with trying similar bikes and studying geometry charts, which is admittedly not ideal.