new wheelset vs. new bike

[missliz]

Adam has racked his brain and his rolodex, and unfortuneately he can't think of anybody in Portland. He totally understands about the difficulty women can have being treated well in some shops, and so he offers two suggestions- One, track down the officers of the most hard core racing clubs in town and ask them who they'd reccommend. This is a good way to find a top notch mechanic, too- the same person does both. A lot of racers build up their own wheels and wrench their own rides and may not really recommend anybody, but remember, this is a chance to talk to a lot of very fit men about their favorite subject. It's been a while since I had a date, please bear with me. Then there's plenty of touring clubs. Another thought, check the Terry site for a local dealer. They usually like women and don't jerk us around.
Even after you ask the locals, you can go talk to whoever and see what they reccomend and get an estimate. If you don't like the person move on. The Northwest is big cycling country and there's gotta be plenty of decent mechanics who can do you right.
There's a sports federation governing road racing who's name I totally can't recall- anybody? Their officers, or the local LAB people (League of American Bicyclists)... this is getting long. Just look for club listings in shops or the sports section, call them up. Bike folk are freindly and I bet you get invited to rides. It could be fun! But there's a certain karma thing about who works on your bike, so be comfortable with whoever laces up your wheels. It's an art form, and you wouldn't want to live live with crummy art, would you?
Sorry I couldn't help more.

missliz

If all else fails, a suspension seatpost can be a cheap and easy short term fix if the wheel thing gets frustrating. Mine is a Kalloy UNO, 'bout $45, it helps.

[goddess1222]

thanks liz, if you were here in person, i would hug you graciously!!!! i will take your advice and see what i can find. thanks mucho.

[missliz]

Well, aw, shucks.
Actually, the girls have to stick together in sport- we do get jerked around a lot in bike stores. Glad I could help.

missliz

[missliz]

I called our gracious forum hosts, Team Estrogen, "cos they're in Portland! And they had great info on the local scene, the proprietress gets her wheels built at Bike Gallery in Beaverton, really pleased with their work, also recommended River City bike shop and theres a website, bicyclewheels.com for a wheelbuilder named Jack who is in Portland. Call T Estrogen up, they'll be glad to help you. She had other resources too, but I was getting overwhelmed.
The shop you like for wheels will probably be a shop you'll like for a new bike, if you want to go to steel after all. Scope these places out.

missliz

[goddess1222]

well, thanks my friend!!!!! simple concepts like calling T estrogen are always beyond me. i always seem to make things harder than they could be.

[missliz]

People have no respect for degrees in filmmaking, but I learned a lot of usefull stuff like working a phone and getting other people to do stuff. The Liberal Arts have more going on than people realize!
So tell us all about fun shopping stuff- I have no excuses to crawl bike stores at present. Wanna know how it works out.

missliz