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Went to 4 Bike Shops today...
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I went to 4 bike shops today looking for a road bike. Did my research before hand and knew what frame size I was looking for based on Stack/Reach and seat tube angle.

4/4 bike shops told me the bike I wanted was too small for me and tried to get me to stand over a bike to see if a bigger one fit. I politely tried to point out the horizontal size difference between 4 frame sizes was very small and a simple change in stem size and spacers could easily make up the difference. After many incorrect comments, I walked out.

How are the LBS in your area?
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Nick B] [ In reply to ]
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Nick B wrote:
How are the LBS in your area?

They're great.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Nick B] [ In reply to ]
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They are good.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Nick B] [ In reply to ]
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Same experiences most the time. Treat everyone they don't know personally like they know nothing.

Also, it's sad when I ask about a pretty typical part on a bike they have in stock and they look at me like I'm talking in russian.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Nick B] [ In reply to ]
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Majority of bike shops cater to the recreational crowd. It's tough to find a shop that has a racer or more advanced rider.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Economist] [ In reply to ]
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Economist wrote:
Majority of bike shops cater to the recreational crowd. It's tough to find a shop that has a racer or more advanced rider.

nah it is easy.
look at the yelp reviews
go to the shops with the worst yelp reviews



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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [zachboring] [ In reply to ]
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zachboring wrote:
Same experiences most the time. Treat everyone they don't know personally like they know nothing.

Also, it's sad when I ask about a pretty typical part on a bike they have in stock and they look at me like I'm talking in russian.

Second comment....Triathlon Lab!! It's hilarious. I commented on this when Dan made the "top triathlon stores" list. They might stock tri gear but they don't know what it is.

As for bike sizing.. yes, same EXACT story everywhere I go. I think most stores only know what a 90mm stem is.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [BrentwoodTriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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Oh and because I do long course tri, the bike will be too low for me.... love that one
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Nick B] [ In reply to ]
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I'm in colorado so we have some great ones. Although I called one store and they said they don't like to sell P5s because they have too many problems..... Uh huh
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Nick B] [ In reply to ]
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The right bike for you is the one that is in stock right now!

Though if 4 out of 4 told you the same thing, maybe you really ARE off-base in your research, or maybe you missed something.

I guess my local shops are OK, though there is one that I visited two years apart where I thought the guy was jerking me around. I brought in my softride solo to have the headset redone, a winter of sweating into it had totally roached it. while there the mechanic told me I might not want to spend that much money on a bike that old. Admittedly, the softride solo is an old bike, but I think a lot of folks might consider it a classic.

Then, about 2 years later I am there with a titanflex, similar thing; this time I think I was asking about building a powertap wheel. Same guy tells me I might not want to spend that kind of money on a bike that old. It was less than a year old titanflex.

I was confused more than anything, I thought I was in the twilight zone. I literally had not set foot in the shop in two years and he told me the exact same thing about a totally different bike. Strange.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Kevin in MD] [ In reply to ]
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Every bike is too old if it isn't the current model!
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Economist] [ In reply to ]
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A lot of shops don't cater to racers because it's tough to make money with that as your core business. The freds and commuters are where it is at for making money.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Nick B] [ In reply to ]
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Where do you live and how far did you have to go to find the same bike at 4 different places? I'd have to go beyond what I consider LBS to do the same. I could do 2 for most popular brands but that's about it.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [ In reply to ]
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I actually have 2 high end bike stores around me but I haven't purchased a brand new bike locally since 2009. Those two shops will measure you and calculate the right bike.

Come to think of it, there is another smaller high end shop around but I really don't know how they stay in business with their limited sales.

I recommend those shops to friends and they've bought many bikes.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Nick B] [ In reply to ]
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Most bikes shops I have gone to do this also.. even for some of the ones that sell tri bikes ;( Standover height on a tri bike fitting, awesome.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Nick B] [ In reply to ]
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Where are you situated?

Here in Toronto area we seem to be blessed with several great shops including some dedicated to Triathletes and /or Road Racers.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [jackmott] [ In reply to ]
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jackmott wrote:
Economist wrote:
Majority of bike shops cater to the recreational crowd. It's tough to find a shop that has a racer or more advanced rider.


nah it is easy.
look at the yelp reviews
go to the shops with the worst yelp reviews

I laughed because it is true.

I was working at shops pre yelp but the one I did work at we had 2 locations. One was in an affluent town on a main highway in front of a mall, we moved 200-300 buck mountain bikes all day long and put skinny slick tires on them because people wanted the look but never go off road. Our other store had half the staff because they didn't move the volume but catered to more high end custom builds. We'd get people in all the time that didn't realize we were the same shop complaining that the smaller store was rude to them stuff like that. Wasn't right necessarily but they just weren't used to dealing with give me the cheapest you have crowd.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Nick B] [ In reply to ]
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Nick B wrote:
I went to 4 bike shops today looking for a road bike. Did my research before hand and knew what frame size I was looking for based on Stack/Reach and seat tube angle.

4/4 bike shops told me the bike I wanted was too small for me and tried to get me to stand over a bike to see if a bigger one fit. I politely tried to point out the horizontal size difference between 4 frame sizes was very small and a simple change in stem size and spacers could easily make up the difference. After many incorrect comments, I walked out.

How are the LBS in your area?

Did you consider the possibility that your "research' was wrong? Maybe you, in fact, do need a larger frame.

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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Nick B] [ In reply to ]
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In my experience the guys that know the most are generally in the basement working on bikes not at point of sale. Which is unfortunate. The best shops realize this and make sure that they have educated people in front. Unfortunately, bike shops don't pay enough to expect too much knowledge off of the kids that are the only ones who can afford to work there. Most bike store employees blow most of their money on bike parts. Totally not speaking from experience here. :>

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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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Grant.Reuter wrote:
I'm in colorado so we have some great ones. Although I called one store and they said they don't like to sell P5s because they have too many problems..... Uh huh

Good point. It's the people that buy the P5s that are the problem.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Nick B] [ In reply to ]
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Nick B wrote:
How are the LBS in your area?

worthless, the are nice, and when i need to buy a tool in a pinch they usually have it, way overprice. when i first got into Tri's i took my bike there twice, both times they convinced me to replace instead of repair and they parts they put on were never on right.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [James Haycraft] [ In reply to ]
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James Haycraft wrote:
They are good.

I see what you did there!!!!

Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Economist] [ In reply to ]
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Economist wrote:
Majority of bike shops cater to the recreational crowd. It's tough to find a shop that has a racer or more advanced rider.

This. Our little business has a product on every bike shop in town, so I know them very well. Not a single one knows what stack or reach is. What I hear most often (and they're talking to me as a supplier, not a customer) is, "We can make any bike fit any body." And yes, they start off by asking folks' inseam and pick a bike that they can easily stand over. That's about it..
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [Nick B] [ In reply to ]
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let me make this easy for you. do you know what your fit coordinates are? and by fit coordinates, specifically i want to know the following:

saddle height: BB to saddle top, midway between tip and tail
saddle type: standard saddle or split rail?
nose to hood trough: nose of the saddle, just a straight shot to the low point of the hood, right before the upturn in the hood. make sure the front wheel's straight.
saddle top to handlebar top, just the elevation, the vertical drop, to the top of the 31.8mm section, right next to the handlebar clamp.

tell me also your:

overall height
wingspan (fingertip to fingertip, vitruvian man style).

finally, are you confident that these fit coordinates are what you want on your road bike? are you going to buy the bike and transfer or emulate these fit coordinates? i ask because i'll faithfully find your your bike(s). i just want to make sure i don't precisely identify your perfect bike, perfect being a precise solution to your shitty position. you are confident in your position, yes?

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
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Re: Went to 4 Bike Shops today... [jackmott] [ In reply to ]
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