LBS and womens bikes

[breeze]

I'm looking for my first road bike, and have been test riding bikes at various shops around town. (So far: Jamis, Trek, Giant). I'm having trouble finding bikes that are small enough. My current bike is a Terry Susan B (hybrid), and I have an old beater MTB (no visible name) that serves as an occasional commuter.

After a long conversation with a Terry rep at BikeNY in May, I was motivated enough to call the company and inquire about having a bike sent to an LBS in my area (closest Terry dealer is about 3.5 hour drive away). I ended up speaking with Georgena, who said that she would find an LBS from her contact list and send me the info to follow up with the shop. She did, and I called the store that afternoon, and was given the general manager's email address. Dropped him an email asking him to call me, and giving him the info about the bike and my reason for contacting him. That was last Wednesday. In the past eight days, I've left three messages, with the response that they would have him call me. I felt like I should be understanding about the holiday and the busy season, but I actually want to ride this bike sometime soon.

How much time/leeway would you give an LBS? Basically, I think this guy is just avoiding my calls. The Terry company indicated that they were willing to send the bike out as soon as I was able to confirm with the GM, but the dude hasn't even called back to see what size, etc, I'm looking for. Apparently last night he was out racing at the track (according to the other employee) and so wouldn't be able to call me back. I sent him an email last night stating that I was about to move on, and he actually called and left me a voice mail this morning stating that he was sorry it had taken him so long to get back to me. Of course, when I called him back ten minutes later, no answer. No returned call today.

The shop does not usually sell Terry bikes, and the closest Terry dealer is 3.5 hours away. I'm willing to go there, but would rather find an LBS that I can build a relationship with here, if possible. At this point, I think this one is not going to work out.

I live in Pittsburgh, and there are other shops in town. Do you think there is any reason that I should stick with this one? Have you run into shops that don't want to bring in smaller bikes for you to try? Any suggestions? I still feel like a newbie, in that this is my first road bike purchase, and I don't want to end up with a bike that doesn't work for me.

[TigerMom]

You are looking to BUY a bike and the LBS is not responding within 1-2 days to your email or your phone calls (assuming that you had the correct email address/LBS phone number). That is definitely NOT a LBS that I would do business with.

Can you imagine if you ever had a bike problem/question....how long would it take the LBS to call you back?

____________________________________

2012 Specialized Amira Elite, upgraded carbon handle bars, Jett saddle 143mm switched to 145mm 2012 Selle Italia Max SLR Gel Flow saddle

2011 Specialized Ariel Sport,suspension post,Serfas Rx Women's Microfiber saddle

[Irulan]

Hi and welcome. Here's my take on it...
It might be worth it for you to take a road trip to the Terry dealer.

In general, some shops don't stock smaller bikes because there isn't as big of demand for them. Or, they will only order one in on condition that you purchase it. ( right) While it's getting a lot better now, it will really vary from shop to shop.

Back to the Terry. This guy may not get a whole lot of of it from Terry, and that may be the lack of enthusiasm... again, if he gets it together to bring it in for you, he doesn't have any guarantees that you'll buy it and that's his time and money. Just because he's on their list doesn't mean anything, really. This is why I think , if you must try the Terry, go to a Terry dealer that has something invested in the sale.

I'd certainly keep looking for a shop that understands the needs of the small rider. For example, one of my favorite shops here, the owner's wife is 4-11 and an avid cyclist.

[Koronin]

I agree with dumping this LBS. We actually have and do on occasion drive 2 plus hours to a couple of the LBS's in Raleigh, NC. We're at the coast and do have a new very good LBS, but they do not carry a lot of clothing (which I understand in this market), going to a larger city we have more options. As far as the bike it's self and parts the LBS here is great. Well the new one is. I don't care as much for the older one. Until we found the new (opened less than a year, their 1 yr anniversary will be next month). We were actually all set to drive 2 plus hours so I could figure out which bike would be my next purchase.

[kajero]

I recently purchased a 44 cm Specialized WSD Ruby Carbon Compact bike. The LBS had to order it from the company. The saleperson, who is wonderful, said they just don't stock them because there isn't much demand for them. They did have one left in my size from last year which was a really good deal so I did get to test ride it. But I hated the color, so I didn't buy it. The LBS still has it. I am pretty sure that's why they don't stock the smaller sizes. they don't want to mark them down to sell them.

[nuliajuk]

... I am pretty sure that's why they don't stock the smaller sizes. they don't want to mark them down to sell them.

That could happen with any size bike. My Look 566 is a really common size (medium/53cm) and it would probably still be sitting there unsold, last year's model on sale, if I hadn't bought it recently.
Some bike shops are selling on sites like eBay, I've noticed. For a person who does want an unusual size, at either end of the spectrum, it exposes them to a much wider range of choices, and the shop to a wider range of customers.

[breeze]

Thanks for the feedback-- I'm definitely dumping this LBS.

There's another LBS, about a 30-min drive, that I'm going to check out this weekend. They sell Specialized, Trek, and Surly, and have a Dolce that may fit me. If I come in for a fitting, they are willing to order a Terry for me to try, as well.

Depending on how well that goes, I'll probably also get in touch with the Terry dealer that's 3.5 hours away and plan on a weekend trip sometime soon. While they don't have a smaller Symmetry in stock, they said they could get one in for me with 1-2 weeks notice, no problems, no charge/obligation. That's the shop where I bought my first Terry, and I've referred a few other customers their way, so it is a decent option.

[moderncyclista]

The saleperson, who is wonderful, said they just don't stock them because there isn't much demand for them.

*beginning of rant*
I don't quite believe there isn't a demand for smaller bikes.

My LBS doesn't stock them either and I've been their patron for over 10 years. Believe me I see tons of small women go in there and "special order" sight-unseen, lots of bikes. It's then ridiculous when I see them selling those bikes on consignment, a year later because they "don't fit."

Because women aren't a priority in the cycling industry, even though I believe we're the largest growing base!

Also, commuters are the largest growing base, but all I see are road-bikes in all my local shops. One of my LBS just started carrying fixed-gear bikes (Way to be late on that one. Lulz.) and the other never has. I know there is general snobbery in the cycling community, but I don't care what type of bike someone rides as long as they're on a bike!

To sum up, I think that the cycling industry in general is missing out on marketing to women - the demand is there.
*end of rant*

[Owlie]

Moderncyclista, I think you hit the nail on the head. Because women still comprise a relatively small portion of cyclists overall (road, mountain, commute, whatever), it makes more business sense from the shop's perspective to stock what they know is going to move. Likewise, if you go to most LBSes, they dedicate much of their stock to road bikes because the "roadie elite" are probably seen as more likely to plonk down a lot of money in their stores, as opposed to buying a low- to mid-price bike to minimize loss due to theft. I think the money thing is the same in road bike land. A few weeks ago we had a thread about why women didn't ride. One idea that came up repeatedly was "beginner women are less willing to spend a lot of money on a bike." So why stock the higher-end WSD stuff if it's not going to move?

My home LBS is pretty big, with several locations. Their women's road bikes are sadly lacking. They stock the mid-range sizes (48, 51cm), with not much on the high or low end of the bell curve. It's annoying. (And they don't have anything nicer than partial 105 on the floor.)
ETA: And they don't have anything in the way of WSD mountain bikes, either!